Important Importables: Sakura Taisen

A long time ago, back in January 2009, Important Importables covered dating games for guys. The game Sakura Wars was brought up in the comments, along with a question why it wasn’t mentioned in the game round up. Today, Sakura Wars, better known as Sakura Taisen in Japan, gets the respect it deserves.

So what’s Sakura Taisen? It’s an odd series from Sega that defies genres. It’s generally geared towards men, but has a devoted female fan following as well. Personally, when I think of Sakura Taisen, I always think Japanese steampunk musical theater. It makes sense, trust me.

See, the series is set in the early 1900′s. The original games were set in Japan, but later ones also featured task forces in Paris and New York. Demons have started appearing around the world. The only way to really take them down is using steam spirit armor, which can only be powered by people with strong spiritual power. Though men “can” power the armors, women are the main warriors.

Each game follows secret task forces of women who are musical theater performers by day and warriors when demons appear. There is the Japanese Imperial Assault Force, which is made up of the Hanagumi, Kazegumi, Tsukigumi, Baragumi, Hoshigumi and Otomegumi divisions. They perform at the Grand Imperial Theater. The Paris Assault Force was established next, has a base at Les Chattes Noires and only has a Hanagumi division mentioned in the series. The last group is the New York Fighting Troupe, made up of the Hoshigumi and Nijigumi divisions at Broadway’s Little Lip Theater. While each game will primarily focus on one group, it isn’t uncommon to see character cameos…