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Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love Premium Edition | 
| From: NIS America
Category: Video Games
List Price: $39.99
Buy Used: $34.99
as of 7/30/2010 15:31 CDT details
You Save: $5.00 (13%)
New (19) Used (6) from $34.99
Seller: papo
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 699
Platform: PlayStation2
Genre: role_playing_games
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Edition: Standard
Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: PlayStation 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.7 x 1
DualShock
Memory Card
Vibration
MPN: 8135
Model: 8-135
UPC: 857823001352
EAN: 0857823001352
ASIN: B002DC8GW2
Publication Date: February 28, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Additional in-game activities and functionality including Broadway performances with AI Stars teammates, in-game photo functionality, secret events and a quiz game. | | • | Premium Edition includes: game for PlayStation 2, artbook, poster and limited edition packaging. | | • | Adventure Mode allowing the player to explore New York City and build relationship with in-game AI teammates. | | • | A strategy RPG battle system allowing for coordinated control of a team of diverse female fighters, each operating Mech battlesuits that can fight both on the ground and in the air. | | • | Anime-style storytelling with tons of anime movie scenes and dual voiceover (English/Japanese), as well as high replay value through different possible endings, each of which hinges on the bonds created between characters in-game. |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The first Sakura Wars game to reach North America, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love takes the franchise to America with the franchise's first story set in America, following a new hero who joins the US version of the Hanagumi. Demons have appeared in New York, and its up to Shinjirou, Gemini Sunrise and a new cast of characters to take them out. The cast serves as performers during the day and warriors when called upon, continuing series tradition. Sakura Wars is a strategy RPG that features a unique sim-based story system. Character interaction plays a major role in a storyline that never follows a set course, and your responses to the various characters in the game can ultimately change the story content and even the final outcome. The battle system is divided into two main parts; ground combat and air combat. Ground combat takes place using two-legged mechanized suits, which transform into jet fighters to take the fight to the sky. Every mech unit in the game can transform from battle mech mode to jet fighter mode during combat.
Amazon.com Product Description
Sakura Wars: So Long My Love is a single player strategy role-playing game (SRPG) and the first game in the popular Japanese Sakura Wars franchise to be released in North America. The game features both an exciting and fast-paced mech/air battle system and a unique, sim-based storyline. This in-depth storyline allows for character interaction that plays a major role in the progression of game action as the players interactions with various characters in the game can ultimately change the story content and even the final outcome. In addition, the PlayStation 2 Premium Edition contains several extras, including an artbook, poster and limited edition packaging. Fight to save NYC as Shinjiro Taiga.
View larger. | Story
New York City has always been the focal point of the American experiment. Since colonial times it has served as a melting pot, but recently more than just the "huddled masses yearning to breath free" have established a foothold in the Big Apple. Along with peoples and influences from all over the world it has also accumulated masses of relics and artifacts not meant to exist in proximity to each other, resulting in malignant energies from the past. But New Yorkers are not alone in the coming struggle. The Star Division has long battled such forces around the world, and now they have come to the New World. Officially titled the New York Combat Revue, Star Division, this diverse group of covert operatives uses their front as an all female troupe of Broadway performers headquartered at the Littlelip Theater as a front to protect the people of the city. The latest member to join the team from the Tokyo branch is Shinjiro Taiga. Being a young man, he is not quite what the other members of Stars Division expected and as such must prove himself, but filled with hopes and dreams he is determined to fight for justice. To be successful he will have to build relationships within his new team and learn to fight with them. Gameplay
Sakura Wars: So Long My Love is a strategy RPG. Gameplay is split between two modes: Adventure Mode and Battle Mode. In Adventure Mode Shinjiro explores the Littlelip Theater and greater New York City, interacting with other members of the Star Division and various other characters in a variety of ways, including timed and untimed dialog and action selections and on-screen manipulations using controller analog sticks. In addition, players take part in events such as Broadway shows. Depending on your interactions with team members, their "Trust" in you will change. If this change is positive the player will form "Bonds" with the respective team member, which will affect skills, abilities and possibilities in battle. Battle Mode features a strategic real-time RPG battle system in which players control up to six team members in ground and aerial combat with the goal of destroying enemies. Ground combat takes place using mechanized suits referred to as STARS (Super Telekinetic Assault Robots). Every STARS unit in the game can transform from a battle mech into a jet fighter during combat, depending on the situation. Once transformed, weapons and movement methods will change accordingly. For example, the hero’s ground mode utilizes a sword as his main weapon, but in jet mode he will use long-range missiles. In coordinating attacks with team members players can adopt differing strategies which utilize fluctuating amounts of mobility, hit points and healing abilities. Each character also has access to unique Super Attacks that can be unleashed. Focused joint attacks can also be enacted by two or more characters which have built sufficient bonds between them in Adventure Mode. Additional features available include the ability to take, save and collect in-game photos, hidden secret events and a quiz game. Key Game Features - Premium Edition includes: game version for PlayStation 2, an artbook, poster and limited edition packaging.
- Anime-style storytelling featuring tons of anime movie scenes and dual voice-over (English/Japanese).
- Adventure Mode allowing the player to explore New York City and build relationship with in-game AI teammates.
- A strategy RPG battle system allowing for coordinated control of a team of diverse female fighters, each operating Mech battlesuits that can fight both on the ground and in the air.
- High replay value through the various different endings possible,each of which hinges on the bonds created between characters in-game.
- Additional in-game activities and functionality including Broadway performances with AI Stars teammates., in-game photo functionality, secret events and a quiz game.
| Additional Screenshots:
Build bonds with teammates.
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Ground & Air based combat.
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Character specific mechs.
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Premium Edition extras.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A pleasant surprise that has finally reached the U.S. May 9, 2010
Magnus Raiker (Pensacola, FL USA)
This game is a real treat at the end of the PS2's lifespan. All I knew about Sakura Wars before I played 'So Long, My Love' was it had multiple anime productions I was never interested in and it was a long running games series in Japan. But NISA's premium edition release in the States was enough to pique my interest and give it a shot. Furthermore, members of the development teamed worked on Skies of Arcadia and Valkyria Chronicles, two other great games.
If I had to compare it to something, it's like Persona 4 with a stronger emphasis on dialogue choices/character interaction, a lighthearted and more anime-esque story, and substituted with tactical rpg combat. It sounds like a strange hybrid but I've had a blast all the way through the game. The characters are wonderful and the dating simulation is fun thanks to each girl having an interesting personality. The battles, though few, are engaging and entertaining. The Japanese voice over is great, but your mileage may vary with the English voice over.
Now I'm a late comer fan of the series and I lament that the chances of the older titles getting released or future titles are almost impossible. This is your best chance of experiencing the uniqueness and joy of Sakura Wars, and hopefully not the last.
 Like Voltron...minus the big robot, with flirting. May 2, 2010
M.D.C. (San Diego, CA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the kind of game that really needs to be finished in order to do a proper review. I held off on playing it for a while, as I've gotten somewhat disenchanted with games as of late. But I finally got the time set aside to play and beat this one, at least through one ending.
Sakura Wars is not a new idea. The Sakura Taisen (War) games have seen numerous versions across the years, as well as DVDs of the same name. It's a broad reaching storyline, and even in this game, there are a lot of mentions and cameos from characters of the previous installments. Don't let that deter you; the game does very well as a standalone story, but just know that what you get here is just a fraction of the overall picture. In the grand scheme, this is kind of like a side story.
You're Shinjiro. Your uncle has just appointed you to a squad in New York to take a leadership role. Apparently it's a fairly new squad and needs solid leadership. Your uncle is a battle hero, and the squad was expecting him to be assigned, and is initially disappointed at your arrival. Eventually you prove yourself as a solid leader and member of the team, to the point the squad cannot function without your leadership. Once you develop your squad, there will definitely start to be a sense of Voltron flashbacks, from the outfit designs to the way they take the pulley down into the tunnel, to how they get into their STAR. The STAR is a steampunk mech that is designed around the person's fighting style and personality (again, definite Voltron flashbacks abound).
In the middle of all this is probably the most unconventional battle engine ever detailed. Instead of experience, your strength comes from the bonds of your teammates to you. During non-battle times you'll be introduced to a number of sidequests such as fetching goods, taking pictures, and even going on "dates" with the girls. Sometimes you'll be asked to answer a question or make a decision about something, and what choice you pick will determine how good or how bad the girls' perception of you becomes. These are all of course optional - you can blow every single one, but just keep in mind that if you do, the fighting abilities of the girls in battle will be low. Sometimes you'll be asked to press a series of analog stick combination motions before a timer runs out, simulating such things as unscrewing panels, moving control sticks, and swapping pipes. While you don't have to get perfect timing, you do need to get fairly good at it in order to get a good response from the girl who asked you.
In battle, you can perform simple combination attacks, joint attacks, and special moves with an action bar that goes down. The strategy element here is that the same bar that lets you move is also consumed for attacking, so you have to find a good balance between moving and attacking. If your bond with the girls is strong, you might get a longer action bar, allowing you to do a little bit more. In some situations you might get the girls to be "highly motivated", which garners them and you a bonus in stats for the duration of the scenario. Ultimately, I'm telling you that the dating/relationship part of the game is critical to your success; if you don't like games like that (Persona is the most recent that I can think of besides this), skip it please.
Generally speaking I had fun with the game. But I have the same complaint about this one that I have with all Japanese games in the genre that have relationship aspects: The flirting is extremely convoluted. Even if a girl says something blatantly inappropriate (chest massaging is a topic that comes up later), if you say something flirty back, they get pissed off. It REALLY bothers me. It's like the Japanese have no concept of "this"-for-tat...that's how guy/girl conversations usually go, people. That every girl in the game gets offended when they talk about how their master effectively molested them and you say that it was inappropriate, is absolutely infuriating at times.
There are multiple endings to the game; one for each girl and then a grand finale ending. When you beat the game you do get to keep your ranking (gained from previous relationships, so the second playthrough you can afford to play around a little bit) and the battle skills. However, the path to get there is just not fun because of the convoluted flirting I mentioned before. Also, while you can now skip cutscenes and certain text, you can't skip the analog stick sidequest, and those are the most annoying of all. Before you ask, no, you can't just save before a certain point and then pick a different girl - the development of the relationship happens over the entire span of chapters. Even for characters that haven't joined the squad, you're still creating bonds with them well in advance, and by the time you're at the certain point, you could choose to date another girl, but the bond won't be the same. No bond, no ending.
So....
=- What Sakura Wars Does RIGHT -=
- Anime cutscenes. Love them in games.
- Battle engine is easy to get into and quite fun, if challenging later on.
- Some of the dialogue is downright hilarious, such as the exchanges with Cheiron.
- No grinding (although, see WRONG below)
- That it takes place in the "real world" is a good thing (but see WRONG below).
=- What Sakura Wars Does WRONG -=
- Some bosses just plain cheat. There are times when you get knocked off a cliff and that character is out of action for the rest of the battle. No warning.
- Sticks to the old Japanese RPG rule that "girls can flirt with you but you can't flirt back".
- Not a very long game, even if you do dating and sidequests. My fastest is 15 hours for one playthrough, so I figure under normal circumstances...oh...about 25-30 hours. Not TOO bad, just not quite lengthy.
- Japanese disc is included for those that want the true Japanese voices, but the save file is incompatible between the two discs; meaning if you start Japanese, you play it all the way through. Won't bother some, but others it might.
- Getting the bromides and pictures and whatnot was too tasking. There should just be a point where you can get all the bromides automatically after beating the game.
- Joint attacks do pathetic damage - sometimes even weaker than standard combos.
So...do I recommend it? As long as you're cool with the relationship aspect being the dominant one, yes. It's a great game. The negatives I mentioned are valid ones, but the game itself is still fun. It'd be what you'd end up with if you took the school aspect out of Persona 3, took the merged Voltron out of Voltron, and married the two games. Not a bad game, just different, but well worth a try anyway.
Great game for those looking for something different and fun! April 24, 2010
George Cano Jr. (Huntsville, AL USA)
Almost 14 years after Sakura Taisen was released on the Sega Saturn, the beloved Japanese series finally makes it stateside with Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love. As stated various times, this is actually the 5th installment of the Japanese series. NIS perhaps chose this game to bring since it takes place in New York, and the Japanese culture references would be at a minimum so not to turn off your average American gamer. I have played Sakura Taisen 1-4 on the Dreamcast, but didn't play part 5 when released since I didn't own a modded PS2. I have done my best to try and separate this game from the previous 4, since this starts a new story arc in the series.
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love puts you in the shoes of Shinjiro Taiga, a newly transferred Lieutenant from Japan. As it goes, your uncle is the main protagonist of the original Sakura Taisen series. The timeline is an alternate 1920s New York, where steam technology rules the world (and WWI never happened). You eventually report to a theater located right in the center of Times Square. Here's where some gamers might get confused: Wait? What? A military member having to work in theater? This is where some knowledge of the previous games comes in handy, but the in-game dialogue does a good job at explaining why. The heart of the game is the dialogue, and the responses you choose (or in some cases choose not to make). This directly affects the effectiveness and morale of your squad; members who trust you have higher attack/defense/movement and vise versa. The turn-based strategy portion is challenging and entertaining, but not groundbreaking. There are no experience points in the game (everything is based on character interaction) so therefore it is not necessary to lay waste to all enemy peons prior to reaching your objective.
The time in between battles can get long, and at times it does feel like you're reading a novel versus playing a game, but this is part of its charm: the game goes through great detail in describing the characters' pasts, aspirations, conflicts, etc. For those "completionist" gamers, this game provides 6 alternate endings to start. Although the average time to complete the game from start to finish is about 20 hours, another play through will allow you to explore areas of the story you didn't have time to. And finally, there is a mode in the menu called "A Free Day in NY" which allows you to do things 'outside' of the game (more features get unlocked when you complete the game with each character).
The PS2 version of this release comes with two discs: one with the original Japanese language track and the other with the English dub. These are considered two separate games, and the save games for each are not compatible with the other (games saved using the Japanese CD will not be able to be played with the English CD). I originally had no intent in playing the English dub (since it can be hit or miss). But after deciding to give it a shot, I played the entire game using the English track. Kudos should go to the English voice actors for a job well done in voicing the characters.
Gamers who are looking for a quick fix until (insert popular game) comes out will not enjoy Sakura Wars. Those who are willing to put time into a game to get the most out of it should seriously give this game a look.
A Great Final Farewell To The PS2 April 20, 2010
Patrick_91 (Canada)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
As many of you might have heard, or seen on many websites. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (hereafter Sakura Wars V) is most likely going to be the last RPG released for the PS2, all 10 other games coming out for the system are either expansions to FF11 or movie games/sport games.
With that being said, Sakura Wars V is an absolutely amazing game, I can honestly say I cant remember the last time I enjoyed a PS2 game this much! The story is set in a 1928 'Steampunk' New York. You play as fresh out of training 19 year old LT.Shinjiro Taiga who thinks hes going to be part of the Flower Division his uncle Ichiro Ogami was a part of (Ichiro was a new member of the Flower Division in Sakura Wars 1,but is now commander of it,only 4 years later) You also get to have a brief conversation with Sakura while Shin is in Japan. When Shin goes to see his uncle he is then told that he (Shin) is going to go to New York to become leader of the newly formed Star Division. Shin is at first a mix of disappointed and happy. However when he gets to New York his Teammates (Cherion,Subaru,Ratchet,and his CO Sunnyside) all disapprove of such a green horn becoming Captain,as they were expecting Commander Ogami himself. Although through a series of events and meeting people who boost his confidence (who will later join the party) Shin manages to tough it out and become an actual part of Star Division. The game is also fairly long (about 50-60 hours) and has 8 Chapters total.
Sakura Wars V is played 2 different ways, the first (and for most of the game) you are an Usher at the little lip theater,all the girl characters are actresses,and your main job in the game at this point is to impress them with your answers,further in the game you will eventually have to woo them with your answers and the game becomes a little more intimate, then eventually come X-mas time you will get to take anyone of the girls on a date and end the game with them. Although Ratchets ending is only available during a 2nd play through save file. A RELOADED SAVE FILE FROM CHAPTER 7 will NOT WORK since it is a first play through save file. There are a total of 5 endings in the game with a bonus 6th&7th if you go on a date with Ratchet. I should also mention that there is a fair deal of Anime quality cut scenes throughout the game that compliment it well.
The 2nd part of the game is all about mech battles, the battle system is done in a strategy style but you are free to move anywhere on the field as long as you have enough mobility to do it. Attacks and pretty much anything else you do in battle affects mobility. In each chapter there are 2 battles (1 ground and 1 air) with the exception of chapter 8 which has 4 battles (2 of them are a joke though)
The graphics in Sakura Wars V do the job just good enough. The game was released in 2005 in Japan and the graphics back then were just good enough for PS2 the robot designs are nice and in all truthfulness you hardly ever see any of the characters with in game graphics 95% of the time you are looking at there animated images. The music in Sakura Wars suits the 1920's New York well and is just a pleasure to listen to. The Voice acting is some of the best I've seen NISA do. And the main character is voiced by the same man who does Bleach (and who has done many other RPG's as well)
Overall if you can still find this game,I'd recommend you pick it up as soon as you see it. The prices for the game have gone up all over the internet. And just like every other quirky title your going to be hard pressed to find it soon.
Bang!! for my buck April 20, 2010
Ronald L. Mcendarfer Jr.
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love Premium Edition
I have long been a fan of NISA and the games they have localized to the NA audience, and Sakura Wars: So Long My Love is another in a long line of excellent releases for the PS2.
When i began to see previews of the game and found out it wasn't only based on my favorite genre(RPGs/SRPGs) but also a dating sim, i knew i had to have it for my PS2 library. As an added bonus the packaged extras are a nice touch, especially for the price.
The game is divided into chapters and tells the stories of your fellow squad members, and progresses to an insanely fun final chapter. The character plots are well thought out and fit nicely into the story itself. I have to add that i played the English dub only, and the voice acting is well done if not top notch in my opinion.
It pays to note that like all RPG/SRPG games, this game is text heavy, but with a twist. You actually have to interact with the characters in the game at certain points by using the joysticks. This interaction takes up a huge chunk of the game, so if you prefer your games to be in a state of constant action this game might not be for you.
There is plenty of replay value with multiple endings to see, and there are plenty of unlockable items in the game. There is a place on the main menu that allows you to go and check out all you have earned as well which i found to be a nice touch.
At this point in time i have beaten the game twice, and i find myself wanting to open all the possible endings.
This is more then likely my last PS2 purchase, and i have to say it has been one of the best investments game wise i have made in 2010. That includes PS3 games as well. I also made it a point to go to the NISA website to thank them for releasing this game. That's just how great it really is.
If you love RPGs/SRPGs or even just dating sims, you can't go wrong with this game. This isn't the last game to be released on the PS2 in NA, but it is a nice tip of the hat near the end of what i consider to be the greatest gaming library of all time.
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