Sakura Wars In Hot Blood: Recapturing the Magic
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2023
- Sakura Wars back on the Sega Saturn was an amazing game that holds up incredibly well, even today! Combining RPG gameplay with a visual novel dating simulator was a concept way ahead of its time if modern titles are anything to go by, making the game a hit. Unfortunately the series' popularity was slowly but surely starting to lessen, so as a part of a plan to turn that around, a ground-up remake for the original was made and released on the PlayStation 2... only in Japan. Also, the plan to revitalize the series' popularity? Yeah, it failed, so that's cool. That said... is this remake any good? Or did the project fail as a result of mediocre content? Let's talk about it, and find out what truly is the best way of experience the classic, iconic story of Sakura Wars!
Much love to my thumbnail crew~
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MUSIC CREDITS
(in order of appearance)
Main Theme 1
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Let's All Make It Together! The Cheerful Imperial Capital
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
We, The Kuronosu Council 1
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Friendship!
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Main Theme 2
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Move Out! Imperial Floral Assault Group Theme
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Seductive Mambo
• Sakura Taisen - Langui...
Minigame Sakura (Sakura Wars 1)
• Sakura Wars Sega Satur...
Enemy Battle 1 (Sakura Wars 1)
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Enemy Battle 1
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
The Heartwarming Life of the TeiGeki
(no UA-cam link for this one, but if I found it, you can find it wink-wink)
Ending Theme
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Pause Menu (Mario Strikers Charged)
• Pause Menu [Extended] ...
Try Your Best! Imperial Floral Assault Group
(no UA-cam link for this one either, but you can find it, I believe in you)
For the Sake of the Imperial Capital
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Victory!
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Inside the Oblivion of Time
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Cherry Blossoms (Instrumental)
• Sakura Wars In Hot Blo...
Blooming Maidens
• Sakura Taisen - Bloomi... - Ігри
thank you for watching! played this one on a whim but was super shocked to see how much was different about it that i just had to give it a video of its own. next time we dive into this series i promise that it'll be another entry :P hope you enjoyed the video - please give it a like if you did and subscribe for more sakura wars/sega content!
Thank you for actually understanding the nuances of Sakura Wars and Sega’s localization decisions. I think it’s important just to recognize the reality of what happened and the fact you can’t always live in “what if” scenarios. Sometimes people throw out the more pragmatic and realistic perspective of games and businesses because emotions. At the end of the day, it’s Sega’s series and ultimately they decide what they do with it.
I love Sega and I fully recognize they were basically going all out like a burning star on the Dreamcast. I think their output and efforts were unmatched at the time (and even still), and I love revisiting those games.
You really do all their games justice and I love your reviews. Some people get so caught up in certain parts or characters in Sakura Wars that it becomes kinda a nuisance to listen to other reviews/fans sometimes. Thank you for remaining impartial and just listing what really came to your mind. (Sometimes I think when people are super critical of certain things all the time… I’m just like “Do you even enjoy these games?”)
(Also, Sakura #1) 🌸
(I also finally played Panzer Dragoon RPG because of your review)
i really appreciate the kind words! i've been finding as a reviewer it should be more important to understand the game's inner workings and then decide if it's something you enjoyed, ya know? it's nice to know that kind of thing isn't going unnoticed, i've been really proud of my videos as of late and comments like these make my day.
i would've loved to live in the reality where sakura wars did numbers in every region but that just wouldn't have been the case. even still, the games are still good and i'm happy to be playing them now :)
I almost forgot how CLEAN the 2D art of the remake looks. I do wonder if the team who translated the saturn version would look into this
it's SO good!! i'd love a translation of this game because the art was so great. that alone was one of the best parts about re-experiencing this amazing game
Sumire in date kimono with ribbon ...
Fun fact. First two games did get an official russian translation and release in mid-00s.
Great games, especially second one. I hope there will be at least fan translation of the rest of the series some day
i'm waiting with so much anticipation for the second game's english fan translation. been hearing a lot of good about that one, and i already thought the first game was incredible
3rd is even better. Trust me.
I've said this over and over, but bless the fan translation scene and everything they do.
While I do wish we could have gotten Hot Blood internationally, I'm honestly grateful for the two Sakura Wars game we did get in English.
But hey, we can always keep our fingers crossed that the trend of localizaing and releasing old games that never were before makes it's way to this series
honestly they made the right call in prioritizing the original. this remake is a luxury, and using the original's fan translation as a basis can help playing through this game on its own. i'm glad we're sorta getting them in release order, with 2 and 3 being worked on at the moment. can't wait for those to be done!
@@ZaffreRevolution I haven't delved deep into the fan translation scene much myself (trying to clear the stack of games I actually purchased before I get into emulation xD ) but when I do, the Sakura Wars games are gonna be right at the top of my list, for sure
Literally just woke up. What a way to start the day 😌
oh hey perfect timing :P
@@ZaffreRevolution Seriously 😅 Good stuff once again! Got me to think about trying the PS2 version out, even though I'm not too fond of replaying games. Also, insanely based Valkyria Chronicles, FE Awakening, and Persona 4 mentions
I was gonna make a comment about how honestly localizing the first game back in the 90s would've been a horrible move that would've just led to a flop over here and all future entries being Japan only anyway but you pretty much covered all that in like the first minute lol. Still, that was the 90s, NOW is a great time and the Ps4 game is an all time favorite of mine. Just started so long my love recently (and the columns spin off lol). They really gotta get around to bringing the rest over, my soul needs it
Edit: YOU CAN ROMANCE AYAME IN THIS VERSION?! BET
Edit Edit: Koi-Koi tip; it's basically the Character Card minigame from Tales of Berseria, if that helps you understand it a bit more lol. They're based off the same irl Japanese card game (though koi koi more directly)
yeah i've heard so many upset about the lack of their localization in the past but i get it, and it seems like you do too. but like you said, i truly believe these games would *thrive* in the current jrpg landscape. i'll be holding out hope for a collection of the originals fully translated until the day i die. hope you enjoy so long my love, i'll be reviewing it soon and i have so much to say! maybe even give this version a shot, it adds sooooo much to the original experience, i wouldn't be mad if this one got translated at some point!
Awesome video! My brothers and I played the remake back in the day (using the old guide where we could) but it has been years since I last revisited it so I forgot about a lot of the new content. It really is a cool version of the first game and you did a great job highlighting that.
18:34 from what i remembered playing, shin sakura wars also tried incorporating this intensity method aswell, with it having just as much of an impact or lack there of in the game.
The perfect remake of the game that started it all!
Glad they gave Kohran her own dedicated episode. I really like her in the original being my 2nd fav but she got the short end of the stick. Apparently she got more development in Sakura Wars 2.
that's not surprising. in her chapter for this game, you get a flashback of her along with the new girls from 2 and one of the characters from so long my love. she had a big hand to play within the overall lore of the series, so perhaps she's a character who only gets better as the series progresses. which in and of itself is pretty cool, i'm just glad she got more time in her debut title
Hopefully we will able to play Sakura Wars 2 soon 😥
Okay the Earthbound joke got me. But also I kinda like the idea of the lip system? Pretty much how the character says something - aggressive or timid. A cool concept but sad to hear it wasn't much fun to play around with. I'm the same way, like in Persona I'm to afraid to mess with the silly answers because raising affinity levels on a tight schedule ain't no joke! Great video - as is tradition!
really appreciate that pel! yeah i was pretty bummed that the analog lips wasn't the best to engage with, but the idea wasn't dropped and definitely saw an improvement in later entries which ended up becoming one of the most fun features to play around with!
You always do such a good job exploring the appeal of these games! The first game had me interested with the living anime aspect, but the combat of this one really appeals to me! So excited to play these someday!
yeah 3 and up really introduced such a cool take on tactical gameplay, it's easy to see why it lives on through valkyria chronicles! i'm excited to talk about 5 and all the ways it evolves the whole formula even further, at least in terms of combat. you'll be even more sold than you already are on this series i'm sure!
Great review man! I thought I knew everything about older sega games but there's always something I don't know about and this was fascinating to see.
in your defense, sega's history with japan's gotta be a lot to keep up with on top of their history with other regions. the rabbit hole just goes so deep, this one flew by my radar for a while too. it's cool to learn so much about the company's rich history, especially when there are gems like this tucked away!
I think the best way to look at is how you would look at the 4 versions or RE4. Both games are fantastic and I don't think one version is better than the other...nor should you. There are two versions or a criminally overlooked series in Japan and the fact there are 2 options with plenty of replay value is just the coolest thing
amen to this!
Thank you for the video. These days there a lot of remakes on the market anr it makes me wonder if Sega would try it with Sakura Wars once again?
Will they make another remake or remaster and localise In Hot Blood?
Any option is preferable than franchise dying off with Shin Sakura Wars😆
oh i'm with you 100%. would love a complete collection with all of the classic sakura wars games and this remake up there as a bonus or something fully in english. that'd be the dream!
The problem is probably simple. They don't have man power (we don't know what is going now with Valkyria Chronicles developers), and remastering those kind games is long and very laborious (text heavy games). In this case full remake of those games will be much easier task, but on other hand much more expensive. Second problem is more pragmatic - remasters and remakes usually sells much worse than original in Japan, and Sakura Wars is series when most of sales is from Japan and Asia, not from West, so it's risky for Sega.
A video in 4:3? Damn, my guy is dropping the Zaffre cut on Sakura Wars.
had to do something a lil special for sakura wars hahaha
I haven’t played this one yet, I’m interested now
you should! it's an incredible game, so glad i played it
The Tsuki Gumi and Yoneda plus Ayame having trsut is due to something you unlock in the last chapter after finishing the game once which becomes easier to get if you prioritize the supports rather than the Heroines which you can easily raise trust via Ogami's cover command on his turn for 3x per battle variations as shown in one of my recent uploads. ua-cam.com/video/y-hlrnFCrHg/v-deo.html Thank you though for telling me something I missed Sir. SO the CG was cut from the left right most? That is surprising.
Even though the version of this game I'm probably going to play is the og Saturn one since only that has an English tl at the moment, I do agree that more people should view remakes as their own experiences and not just as "replacements" of the original. I recently played through the two original Yakuza games (also Sega games what a coincidence) on the PS2 despite having already played their Kiwami remakes, and even though I do prefer the Kiwamis, the PS2 versions are still worth playing, if not for the vibes that the PS2 aesthetic brings, then for the content that was cut or changed in the remakes. And yes, there are definitely remakes that do kind of make the original obsolete (see Metroid Zero Mission and Odin Sphere Leifthrasir which both also include the og game in the package) but I kinda hate this narrative that some people have tried to build that remakes are automatically bad if they don't replace the original. In my opinion, we need MORE remakes that don't replace the original so that I have more interest and excuse to check out where the remake came from! So even if I'd play In Hot Blood first, I'd gladly give the og a shot as well (though probably not right afterwards lol)
Got a little wordy there, but great review as always, the So Long, My Love teases really got me lmao
no apologies necessary, i totally agree! it's nice to have remakes be different takes on similar experiences, giving you fresh takeaways from one particular thing and i think that's pretty dang cool. like for ffvii, it's best to play *both* the original and it's remake, and the same holds true for in hot blood and the og. i also think that's the best approach for a remake, as it's cool when one makes the original obsolete or whatever but i like having both options be viable and maybe even preferred.
appreciate you watching as always my friend, hope you like my review for so long my love whenever that gets done, i'm really happy with the script so far!
Where is your tales of arise coverage? Whats going on? How have you not got more content on this game?
The Saturn was so dope, it’s a shame they never got off the ground. Sooooo many classics but like he said, it was a niche audience. Us Japanese fans, anime fans, manga fans, and def video games that related, were so damn underrated on the Saturn. I still have mine but most of these great games are crazy expensive now. Ironic for a console that became irrelevant after 5 years.
yeah that's why the saturn's been clicking with me so much, there are a ton of incredible rpg and weeby games that hold up haha it's a treasure trove! sucks about how expensive the games and system have gotten but hey, we have our ways...
What the hell, I had no idea there was a remake of the first game!
i didn't know for the longest time either, but when i found out i was like "wait, WHAT???" haha
There is also ... PSP remaster of SW 1+2 :)
Triangle Strategy has a similar problem where your units can get pelted with attacks before they get a single turn. It’s infuriating 😅
yeah as much as i enjoy dynamic turn orders, stuff like that really throws strategy out the window haha. i think i've been converted to the player phase, enemy phase mindset
Been on this channel from time to time. The newest video has been a while ago. This guy quit or something?
It both being good but not canceling any reason to the play the original I actually find quite nice.
yeah that's a big reason why i want remakes to include a port of the original, but that just doesn't tend to happen anymore. companies have caught on to the fact that we're willing to pay for both a remake and a port separately
Personally, I’m a big fan of Koi Koi, so it was a huge positive when I discovered it was a common minigame in the Sakura Wars series! I also spent a LOT of time playing it in both the Yakuza series and Tales of Berseria, where I was especially shocked and pleased to see it being used as a celebration of the casts of previous games.
another comment pointed out that it was in berseria and it's been so long since i played the game that i didn't remember it being there! maybe it'll help me learn the rules because i was just matching pretty pictures lmao
@@ZaffreRevolution Honestly, a lot of Koi Koi is really just matching pictures lol. The trick is to remember which pictures match together, and which matches are easier or worth more to get in which situations.
Love this game and I see the remake is really worth it, hope that you could enjoy 2, 3 and 4 eventually......And obviously 5 :P
2 and 3 i'm willing to wait just a liiiiiittle bit longer for fan-translations, but that may change in a few months or so i really want to play them all. 4, i'm definitely gonna just use a guide for considering how short it is once i finish the rest, and as for 5 and 6... stay tuned ;)
A new zafferevo video?
I need to watch his sega videos...and finish them
damn right you do, they're bangers!
@@ZaffreRevolution...whelp I need to try a sakura wars games now
Where are your tales of videos?
I sure wish there was a fan translation of the PS2 version.
me too but i know that'd take a while so i didn't feel like waiting T.T
It should be definitely more accessible for more people than Saturn version (PS2 is easier to emulate and more people have modded PS2 than Saturn).
I think Hot Blood (PS2 Remake) is even better in some aspects than original game. They added new portraits (this game have the best looking ,,jealous'' Sakura in series), full screen, Kohran episode, more about Ayame and Wind Division, changed battle system, audio is in higher quality, they not changed cutscenes from original game (aside of few and some elements in 3D, they must did that, because Saturn 3D CGI aged badly) which still have that late 90's felling, also added more voiced lines, and upgraded Koubu design looks great (especially Sumire). The only downgrade in PS2 Remake is lack of character minigames (aside of card game), some 3D elements in battle sections looks very basic compared to much more detailed from Sakura Wars 3 on Dreamcast (i think it is Skies of Arcadia engine problem, which looks much better on Dreamcast than on PS2), maps are too small in my opinion, and some purist / hardcore fans do not like changed ending cutscene with Satan. Overall this was a great remake: solid 9/10 for me, and my second favourite game in series after Sakura Wars 3.
the changed satan scene at the end was an interesting move. i didn't mind it but i'm of the mindset that the original had a much bigger impact on me and was a more fitting end for the character. really cool how different that was though i wasn't expecting that
If i remember they added new dialogues to satan cutscene with Michael, i think it was better in PS2 remake than in original, because in Saturn version Satan sounded more like generic villain from anime not like a Satan ,,hahaha you defeated me, but i will return !!!! then disappeared LOL''. In PS2 Remake they added dialogue with is more focused on biblical Satan when he hate God because he (by his meaning) rejected him, but Michael forgive him, sended him into heaven and that was awesome.@@ZaffreRevolution
P r o m o S M
man, maybe i'll bite the bullet and play sakura wars.i've never been fond of the male-focused dating sims, which is why i've fallen out of love with persona in recent years, but the tactics gameplay of these games looks SO GOOD.
Valkyria Chronicles gameplay is based on battle system from those games, but those games are pure SRPG.