Sakura Taisen Sega Prize Figure Luminasta Shinguji Sakura

As a devoted Sakura Taisen fan for over a decade, it’s genuinely painful to see the series struggle to make a proper comeback after its glory days. Still, if there’s any consolation, Sega is releasing a new prize figure for this beloved classic—starting, of course, with Shinguji Sakura as part of the Luminasta lineup. Scheduled for a Q4 release, the Luminasta Shinguji Sakura figure is expected to retail at around 2000 yen SRP for the overseas market.

Sculpted in her iconic combat pose, this prize figure of Sakura instantly evokes a wave of nostalgia for longtime Sakura Taisen fans like myself. Even though I already own a premium PVC figure of the series’ main heroine, I’d gladly double dip for this one, if only to show support and hopefully pave the way for the rest of the Teikoku Kagekidan to follow.

There have been several attempts to revive Sakura Taisen merchandise over the years, but here’s hoping Sega can finally make it stick this time, for the sake of one of its true golden-era franchises.

Sakura Taisen 2 Fan Translation is out!

 
 A rather pleasant surprise that this classic series deserved, but after almost 3 decades Sakura Taisen 2 finally got a Fan Translation recently! Available in the Sega Saturn version, Sakura Taisen 2 is now available in English thanks to the dedicated team who apparently also worked on Sakura Taisen 1 as well.

If you are ever interested in Sakura Taisen series, do not miss this opportunity because Sakura Taisen 2 is the title where this legendary series peaked at, even if Sakura Taisen 3 won my heart with its overall superior production value.  Obviously it is advised to finish Sakura Taisen 1 first which Sakura and Sumire being one of the better waifu candidate for your first playthrough. With Sakura Taisen 2 got its fan translation, hopefully the Fan translation journey will conclude with the complete Tetralogy because it is the requirement for the complete experience.

If anyone interested, I have written a full article for Sakura Taisen 2 last year which you can find it here

Sakura Taisen 4 First Playthrough Clear!

 Finally I reached my first milestone for the Final Destination of my Sakura Taisen 4 with the first playthrough cleared! As expected, It wasn't easy to keep pushing through when your wonderful dream spanning over a decade is almost coming to an end which will be met with plenty of farewells. But it is part of the life journey after all.

As expected with many issues riddled with the game production at the time, Sakura Taisen 4 is a very short game which can be finished within 5-6 hours from the start. Regardless of the rushed development hell that this game suffered, Sakura Taisen 4 is a well made Swan Song to wrap up this legendary series providing the conclusion from the journey that players experience in Sakura Taisen 2 & 3. If you seek the conclusion of your Favorite Sakura Taisen maidens, you will get it in Sakura Taisen 4. 

As I finished my first playthrough, Sakura Taisen series truly ended with Sakura Taisen 4. The second wind attempts of the series revival with Sakura Taisen V and Shin Sakura Taisen never really get anywhere just simply because they lack the Idealistic & Grandeur Visions that the original Tetralogy had. If you have been following my Sakura Taisen series articles you will most likely know which Heroine that I aimed for my very first run but I will just leave the evidence below. That particular heroine will definitely get her dedicated Route post in near future.

Starting Sakura Taisen 4 Playthrough

 Having wrapped up my unfinished business with Sakura Taisen 2 last week, It is time for me to move on to the last of Sakura Taisen original Tetralogy with Sakura Taisen 4: Fall in Love Maidens. This is the ultimate Swansong for Sega Dreamcast as Ogami will conclude his journey in the series and settled down with one of the 13 Maidens from Teikoku & Paris Kagekidan. 

If it was not for Sega throwing the towel on the Console race which spells the demise of Dreamcast console, I believe Sakura Taisen 4 could have even reached a greater height that this series deserved. In any case, I have planned out my route playthrough for Sakura Taisen IV and will commit to finish at 80% completion at very least. At some point I might even will backtrack to Sakura Taisen 3 for the completionist sake before aiming for Sakura Taisen 4 100% completion, If I ever reached that point. At the moment I will just savor everything that the final present that Sega bestowed upon Sakura Taisen fans.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Shinguji Sakura

 At long last we are finally at the last destination of Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk! This side project which started from early June last month now concluded at the Final stop with the titular main heroine of Sakura Taisen series, Shinguji Sakura! While Sakura has always been the titular main Heroine since the first game, Sakura Taisen 2 decide to step up the game and really puts her in the spotlight! Throughout ST2 main story, you will get to see why this Yamato Nadeshiko is the main star of this classic series of the Sega's Crown jewels.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Reni Milchstrasse

 7th Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk is here and we are almost at the end of this great journey! I tend to reserve the best things for the last and so does for this particular Mechatalk series. The 7th Mechatalk will feature no other than the second and the last Teikoku Kagekidan member, Reni Milstrasse the Wunderkind aka Wonderchild from Germany that graced upon Sakura Taisen series. Being one of the newer Heroine, Reni do get special treatment just like Orihime but her route quite stands out because you get to Ogami in his coolest moments during her route.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Iris Chateaubriand

6th Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk is here! Without being realized we are almost done with this particular series which started from last month. To prepare what is coming up next for this Mechatalk series, the 6th Sakura Taisen Mechatalk will feature the youngest member of Teikoku Kagekidan, Iris Chateaubriand! Do not be fooled by her tender age though as this French Lass is full fledged member of the Floral assault squad through and through!

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Soletta Orihime

 5th Heroine Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk is here and we are finally getting to the New Heroines starting with Half Italian-Japanese Ojou-sama, Soletta Orihime. Given her new heroine status in ST2, Orihime is given quite a preferential treatment in the game to elevate her already Top tier character design. On top of that I have to say Orihime Character theme is easily the best in Sakura Taisen 2 as well as in whole Sakura Wars series. Overall Orihime's route can be prickly like a Rose at first but the payoff for the player's patience with this particular tsundere heroine will be just as good, as Sakura Taisen prepares a fairy-tale like experience for Orihime route which this article going to try to provide a glimpse.

Mechatalk Sakura Wars: Sakura Taisen 2 - Li Kohran

 We are now truly Halfway through the Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk series! This time the Heroine who gets the turn is yet another one of more underrated heroine just like Kanna and actually one of the most invaluable member of Teikoku Kagekidan when it comes to support, Li Kohran! In Sakura Taisen 2, Kohran is actually one of the original Teikoku Kagekidan member that is given more opportunity to be fleshed out and unexpectedly have one of the better ending. So let's use the opportunity of this Mechatalk article to see what Sakura Taisen 2 had in store for this Genius scientist of Teikoku Kagekidan.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2 - Maria Tachibana

 3rd time is the charm and we are almost halfway through the Sakura Taisen 2 Heroines mechatalk! This time the series will feature the Vice Captain of Teikoku Kagekidan herself, Maria Tachibana! While her story arc has pretty much wrapped up in Sakura Taisen 1, Maria still serve as the ever reliable member of Teikoku Kagekidan providing reliable assistance for Captain Ogami  throughout the Span of Sakura Taisen 2.

Sakura Wars Mechatalk: Sakura Taisen 2: Kanna Kirishima Route

 2nd Sakura Taisen 2 Heroine Mechatalk is here as I am trying my best to consistently wrap up my business before moving onto Sakura Taisen 4. After Sumire, I will be doing Kanna Kirishima! While Kanna might be one of the least popular Heroine from Ogami Kagekidan, she still deserve to belong to this legendary group. But arguably among whole Sakura Taisen casts, Kanna VA is still overall the most successful one as she is one of the Legendary VA who managed to attain mainstream success.

Mechatalk Sakura Wars - Sakura Taisen 2: Kanzaki Sumire Route

As a part of Realm of Darkness Sakura Taisen 2 Project, I will be making articles covering all of the Teikoku Kagekidan 8 Heroines on weekly basis. I feel this is the least I could do with the legendary Sakura Taisen  before I inevitably started my final pilgrimage for this series with Sakura Taisen 4. 

And the 1st Heroine who become the benefactor of this Sakura Taisen 2 Article is obviously my personal favorite heroine from Teikoku Kagekidan who is no other than Teigeki Top Star; Kanzaki Sumire! This series of Sakura Taisen 2 Mechatalk Article will cover briefly the background of each Teikoku Kagekidan Main heroines, their most significant role in Sakura Taisen 2 Main story as well as their route story and lastly anything noteworthy side event featuring the heroine. Given my asset gathering project back then came to abrupt end, some of the heroines article will not be fully fleshed out as others but I will make the amend once I made it to Sakura Taisen 4. 

Sakura Taisen 2 - Thou shall not die

It has been more than 7 years since the last full-fledged article that I dedicate for Sakura Taisen series. Initially I have planned to make full coverage for Sakura Taisen 2 back in 2019 as I attempt to gather the necessary assets which was at 80% completion at the time. But due to my PSP broke down in the assets gathering process, this projects ultimately put into grinding halt as I lose my motivation while have to deal with real life situation at hand.

However, as I have recently completed compiling my journey with Final Gear, I feel that I have nothing much to hold me back any more. Thus I decided to do the right thing with the assets instead of letting it sitting in the dust and proudly present the Sakura Taisen 2 Main article! At some point this article will be gradually updated with the Teikoku Kagekidan Main Heroines storyline in the game just like the previous Sakura Taisen series. I think this is the very least I could do for Sakura Taisen 2 before I finally move with Sakura Taisen 4 and conclude my journey with this Legendary series that has lasted more than a decade.

Heroine Route:

• Sakura
• Sumire
• Maria
• Iris
• Kohran
• Kanna
• Orihime
• Reni
  

Endings:

• Sakura
• Sumire
• Maria
• Iris
• Kohran
• Kanna
• Orihime
• Reni

Realm of Darkness Sakura Taisen I-IV Masterlist

 

 It has been quite a long time since I got into Sakura Taisen series around 2014! This is one of the few Mecha series that will always have a special place in my heart even if Sega had no idea what to do with the series anymore and I already got my dose of reality check with Japan. Seriously Sakura Taisen really make me put on Rose Tinted Glasses when it comes to Japan until I had my hands-on experience myself.

 Eitherway Sakura Taisen Original Tetralogy will always be the definitive experience of the series because it is one-of-a-kind masterpiece created by some of the Top talents of the time assembled together and creating something special leaving lingering fond memories for the fans. 

Mechatalk Final Gear: Sakura Taisen Special

  After 17 Mechatalk articles featuring Final Gear original units, now it is time to do something more special! For the next 2 Final Gear Mechatalk articles, I will be will be covering Final Gear Crossover units starting with Sakura Taisen! The series might have been neglected for good amount of years but it doesn't mean that my fond memories with Sakura Wars will fade away and the collab event of this series is pretty much my main reason why I stick with Final Gear even if their own Devs doesn't care anymore long time ago. I might have made some Sakura Taisen x Final Gear crossover articles before, but this one will provide more in depth informations compared to the previous ones and I will also add some materials from the original Sakura Taisen 2 game as well. Something that I feel Sakura Taisen and Final Gear deserves before Final Gear server inevitably concluded their service in near future. 

Final Gear Sakura Taisen Collab Units Review

 The Sakura Taisen event collab on Final Gear had been going for 3 Weeks now and with one more week left before the crossover event ends, I think it is the time for me to make some coverage for the Collab Units. Sakura Taisen is easily the best collab event in Final Gear and this event turns out to be rather generous compared to GiTS and Evangelion collab for me. In this Article, i will be sharing my personal experience using the Koubus in this one of the few Mecha Gacha game.

Final Gear Sakura Taisen Collab

 I have been  waiting for this very moment! At long last Final Gear Global version will be having the Sakura Taisen collab event early next month, most likely on 2nd June considering the game tend to update on Thursday. In this event, the original Teikoku Kagekidan will be featured as crossover units with Sakura, Maria, Sumire and Kanna recruitable from two separate banners while Kouran obtainable as the welfare unit and lastly Iris through some kind of spending scheme.

 Out of the gacha game that i have played, Final Gear is the most time consuming one since i have to spend at least 2 hours everyday for the daily grind. However i managed to put up with these nonsense for 6 months solely because of the very prospect of this Sakura Taisen collab event, so hopefully the effort will worth it. Personally i think Komoe is way too aggressive with the collab release considering we have collab event once in every two months and a UR banner recently. Because up until now, Final Gear collabs always demand Players to spend some money if they want their crossover unit raised up to their full potential,

 With this kind of release timing, Final Gear is definitely not F2P friendly game which i expect non paying players will show their plebeian sides badly, but personally it is fine for me because i have specifically reserved Crystals for this very collab which fortunately sufficient even after i spent a significant chunk during Evangelion 2nd event.

In any case i hope Final Gear will survive long enough that we can have another continuation for Sakura Taisen collab since Paris Kagekidan is way too under-represented despite being top tier material.

Final Gear

 Over past five years, I have played several Gacha Games and at long last i think i have found the right one for Mechas. Around last week, i tried this particular Gacha Game called Final Gear which featured Mechas with Waifus. Final Gear had been around for 2 years in China and Japan but it was only available on Global Server two months ago in which the localization handled by Komoe Games.

 When it comes to Gameplay, Final Gear feels closest to Azur Lane or GFL where you assemble a team of four mechas destroying everything that blocks your team's Path. Final Gear also features parts customization system akin to Medabots, Danball Senki or Custom Robo so you will feel right at home if you were fans of those games. Compared to AAA Gacha Games like FGO or Arknights or Genshin, Final Gear story or waifus are nothing special but the Mechas is no doubt its Strongest selling point good enough to be 1v5 Carry. To put it frankly Final Gear have plenty of Cool Mecha designs which will pamper anyone who consider themselves as mecha fans. Perhaps in near future, i might even consider to make starter guide for Final Gear.

Shin Sakura Taisen SPM Amamiya Sakura

  The new Teikoku Kagekidan is here!

January 2021 Loot

  Another accumulated loot post as past three months have been rather hectic for me. In any case another well rounded acquisition for me with a balance mix of Bishoujo figures and Mechas. The best haul of the bunch is Hi-Metal L-Gaim which is no doubt a good product overlooked by its obscure series. The SHM Rathalos probably catches the attention the most among the rest of the loots and i am certainly looking forward to the future release for Zinogre. In this haul saw myself another sizable addition for Beastbox series including the second AMTS series, Deep-One. Lastly My FGO and Ensemble series are getting steady addition and certainly i need to catch up for the latter as i have been lagging 2 volumes behind. As usual Prize Figures and the Beastbox series will be likely getting the review first.