The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu magazine (11/21/2019 Issue) announced four new cast members, as well as several details on the general gameplay mechanics. We break the details down below.

Cast

The series will add the following:

• President G: Ryoutaro Okiayu
• Hinata Amamiya: Mariko Kouda
• Tekkan Amamiya: Shu Hayami
• Yattansai Mochizuki: Masaharu Satō

Details on the characters, as well a the mysterious Mister I were also revealed.

President G

President of the World Combat Revue Federation (WLOF). Much like predecessors, President G’s name, age, place of birth, and other identifiable aspects are cloaked in mystery. Rumor has it that G is the initial of his real name, but that can’t be verified.

Hinata Amamiya

Sakura Amamiya’s mother, who passed away at age 27. Though she is no longer with us, her positive, unflappable attitude had a great impact on Sakura. Sakura’s favorite sword, “Amamiya Kunisada”, is a memento of her late mother.

Tekkan Amamiya

Sakura Amamiya’s father, and a blacksmith by trade. He specializes in forging ritual objects (shingu), a trade in which he takes great pride. He’s a quiet man of few words who, despite his appearance, is a kind and dependable person deep down.

He refers to Seijuro as “Seibon.”

Yattansai Mochizuki

Azami’s foster father, and leader of the Mochizuki Style ninja village, this silver-maned individual’s true age is unknown. He passed the clan’s 108 Laws down to Azami, who holds to them firmly.

Upon Azami’s enlistment to the Floral Division, Yattansai asked that that she keep a daily journal. He has since made voyages to the capitol on a weekly basis to check in on it.

Mister I

Mister I is the leader of President G’s Men In Black and most trusted subordinate. He maintains an arrogant demeanor, and proclaim that his own words carry the same weight as his employer’s. On the clock, Mister I carries out intelligence operations.

Mechanical Designs

The article highlights President G’s flagship: a massive craft that projects both the size of the WLOF and the extent of President G’s power.

Lore

The Great Combat Revue World War is overseen by the WLOF, who holds the event every two years. Matches are three-on-three affairs, with the team captain choosing whom to hit the field with.

In a match, adversaries will begin to populate the field, which must be destroyed in order to earn points. On occasion, golden enemies will take the field, which are worth three points.

In-game, this is shown as a meter, which will fluctuate back and forth between the two teams, until one group fills the bar completely.

In the context of Project Sakura Wars’ plot, Seijuro and company will square off against the Shanghai Combat Revue first, with challenges escalating with each successive match.

Project Sakura Wars will hit Japanese retailers on December 12. A standard and Limited Edition are both planned for the project. The Limited Edition will include a soundtrack CD set and an artbook. The CDs will feature more than sixty songs from the franchise’s history, while the artbook will contain seventy-two pages of art from the series.

Early adopters will also receive a PS4 theme, though details on this have yet to be announced.

The project will be released worldwide in Spring 2020.

The confirmed voice cast includes:

• Seijūrō Kamiyama : Yōhei Azakami
• Sakura Amamiya: Ayane Sakura
• Hatsuho Shinonome: Maaya Uchida
• Claris: Saori Hayami
• Azami Mochizuki: Hibiku Yamamura
• Anastasia Palma: Ayaka Fukuhara
• Sumire Kanzaki: Michie Tomizawa
• Reiji Shiba: Tomikazu Sugita
• Kaoru Rindou: Yui Ishikawa
• Komachi Ooba: Ryoko Shiraishi
• Yang Shaolong: Yuuichirou Umehara
• Yui Huang: Sumire Uesaka
• Arthur: Nobunaga Shimazaki
• Lancelot: Manami Numakura
• “Yasha”: Chisa Yokoyama
• Elise: Nana Mizuki
• Margarethe: Rie Kugimiya
• Itsuki Saijo: Mayu Yoshioka
• Hiromi Hongo: Haruka Terui
• Itsuki Saijo: Mayu Yoshioka
• Hiromi Hongo: Haruka Terui
• Oboro: Daisuke Kishio

Bleach creator Tite Kubo is providing the original character designs, while Jiro Ishii (Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Under the Dog) is in charge of the story structure. Series composer Kohei Tanaka (Sakura Wars franchise, One Piece, Mobile Fighter G Gundam) is scoring the game’s soundtrack. Other staff members include:

• Script: Takaaki Suzuki (Girls und Panzer, Strike Witches)
• Setting and Scenario Summary: Takanobu Terada
• Development Director: Tetsuya Ootsubo
• Producer: Tetsu Kitano
• Character Visual Setting: Masashi Kudou
• Main Mechanical Designer: Mika Akitaka
• Executive Producer: Haruki Satomi
• Original Concept: Ohji Hiroi

Project Sakura Wars will be set twelve years after the events of Sakura Wars 5: So Long, My Love. In this new entry, the Combat Revues, which previously protected nations from evil while working incognito, are well known to all.

Indeed, the Great Combat Reveue World War is more of a global sporting event, in which the Combat Revues from across the globe gather in Japan’s Imperial Capital to compete in a tournament. These disparate groups then compete to determine which country’s kouma-crushing corps reigns supreme. By the time Project Sakura Wars begins, two such events have already taken place, and the nations are gathering in the Imperial capital for the third. What should be a peaceful event, though, suddenly takes a turn for the serious.

Sega’s email communication describes the story as:

The stage is set in a romanticized version of 1940s Imperial Tokyo. 10 years ago, a cataclysm resulted in the devastating loss of the Imperial Combat Revue of Tokyo, the capital’s global defense force operating out of the Imperial Theater. The theater has since fallen on hard times and risks closure. As captain of the new Tokyo revue, it’s up to you to mend the hearts of your troops and restore the Imperial Theater back to its former glory!

Project Sakura Wars will receive an anime series, which will air in 2020. Manabu Ono (Sword Art Online: Alicization, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere) will direct the project at Sanzigen and co-write the scripts with Tatsuhiko Urahata (Hi-Score Girl, GATE). Sakura Wars composer will score the soundtrack. Ohji Hiroi and Sega are credited with the original concept.

According to their Tokyo Game Show stream, the project will be a side story that supplements the events of the game.

Project Sakura Wars was first revealed on April 14, 2018 at Sega Fes, and was originally tentatively slated to launch prior to March 31, 2019. On April 19, 2019, Sega Holdings President and CEO Haruki Satomi confirmed that the project will be “more than a game.”

A western release was not confirmed until March 29, though Japanese Asian releases were confirmed to be in the works.

Sakura Wars is an original project by Sega CS2 R&D (later Overworks) and Red Entertainment. Ohji Hiroi (Moeyo Ken, Far East of Eden), Satoru Akahori (Saber Marionette J, Martian Successor Nadesico), and Kosuke Fujishima (Ah! My Goddess, You’re Under Arrest!) are listed as the original creators of the franchise.

The first title appeared on the Sega Saturn in 1996. The initial entry, while released only in Japan at the time, was estimated to have a 200,000 lifetime sales goal. The title sold 205,270 units in its opening week, which was roughly 57% of the launch shipment. At the time, the title was seen as having the largest debut for a Sega title to date. It would go on to move 359,485 copies throughout the Saturn’s lifespan.

Since then, the title has gone on to spawn:

• Five main-line titles
• Fifteen spin-off games
• An anime TV series by Madhouse
• Five anime OVA series
• Seven manga and light novel adaptations
• Sixteen high-profile live stage shows

The final main-line title in the series, Sakura Wars V: So Long, My Love was released in North America by NIS America. The title is available on Sony’s PlayStation 2, as well as Nintendo Wii console.

Source: Gematsu

Project Sakura Wars Cast Adds Ryoutaro Okiayu, 3 More; Details Gameplay Systems – Samantha Ferreira