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Bleach's Tite Kubo Designs Characters for New Sakura Wars PS4 Game (Updated)

posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Game set to launch this winter in Japan, Asia with Western release planned for spring 2020

Sega revealed more information at its "Sega Fes 2019" event in Tokyo on Saturday for the new game in the Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen) franchise revealed last year. The game is still temporarily titled Shin Sakura Taisen (New Sakura Wars), and it will launch this winter for the PlayStation 4. The official Twitter account for the franchise is streaming a promotional video.

Sega also announced that the game will launch in the West in spring 2020, and streamed an English-subtitled promotional video on Saturday.

Bleach manga creator Tite Kubo is the main character designer for the game. Kōhei Tanaka is returning to the franchise to compose the music, Jirō Ishii (Under the Dog, BBK/BRNK, Monster Strike the Animation anime, 428: Shibuya Scramble and 'Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors' games) is in charge of story composition, and Ouji Hiroi is credited with the original work.

Sega stated that the game will feature both "adventure" and "battle" game systems, and players will also be able to forge bonds with the game's heroines.

The account also revealed some screenshots.

The game stars:

Ayane Sakura as Sakura Amamiya, a 17-year-old member of the Imperial Assault Force's Flower Division. She is the division's new recruit who looks up to Sakura Shingūji, the top star of the original Flower Division.

Yōhei Azakami as Seijūrō Kamiyama, the protagonist of Shin Sakura Taisen. He is the 20-year-old commander of the Imperial Assault Force's Flower Division. He was a naval special forces ship captain until he was reassigned as the head of the revived division.

Maaya Uchida as Hatsuho Shinonome, a 17-year-old member of the Imperial Assault Force's Flower Division. A typical Edo native born in Tokyo's Shitamachi downtown district, she loves Shitamachi, festivals, and everyone in the district.

Saori Hayami as Clarissa Snowflake, a 16-year-old member of the Imperial Assault Force's Flower Division. Born in Luxembourg, she is a intelligent, literary girl who loves reading books.

Hibiku Yamamura as Azami Mochizuki, a 13-year-old member of the Imperial Assault Force's Flower Division. A descendant of a ninja clan, she has possessed genius-level talent for martial arts, tactics, and handling weapons since she was little.

Ayaka Fukuhara as Anastasia Palma, a 19-year-old member of the Imperial Assault Force's Flower Division. Born in Greece, she was a star on the stages of Europe. She transferred to the Imperial Assault Force.

The game will be an all-new work that "inherits the DNA of the series." The game will take place in the 29th year of the fictionalized "Taisho" period of the franchise in the capital of Tokyo, taking place 12 years after Sakura Wars V. Japan's actual Taisho period only lasted for 15 years, and the kanji used to write "Taisho" in Sakura Wars is different from the kanji used for the real Taisho period.

The game's protagonist is Seijuro Kamiyama, and it follows him as he leads a "New Imperial Assault Force" as Kouma once again appear in the capital, and as Assault Forces are created in towns all over the world.

Sega previously stated that it is planning to release the game simultaneously in Japan and Asia.

Sega Holdings President and CEO Haruki Satomi stated in an interview in April 2018 that the new game will "not end with just a game."

Original creator Ouji Hiroi and Sega launched the first game in the franchise for the Sega Saturn in 1996, and the latest game in the series, Sakura Taisen V: Saraba Itoshiki Hito yo, launched for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2005. Sakura Taisen V is the only game in the series with an official English release. NIS America released the game under the title Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love in March 2010 for the PS2 and Nintendo Wii. The franchise recently received a new smartphone game in Korea last year.

The multimedia franchise also includes a television anime series, six video anime projects, an anime film, and manga.

Update: Added character profiles, character designs, and Western release information.

Sources: Sega Fes 2019 event, Shin Sakura Taisen game's website and Twitter account, Famitsu.com


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