Genre: Casual, Indie
Developer: Hiqosoft
Publisher: Sol Press
Release Date: Nov 20, 2018
Edited by KnightAvenger
Sakura Sakura-when just one character called Sakura in your visual novel isn’t enough!
Sakura Sakura follows Tohru Inaba, a second year student who is transferring to Rintoku Academy (yet another school of conveniently 18+ characters!). In this school, the clubs are at an almost war-like state with one another to secure funding; thus, a new second-year student is the center of attention.
You find your first love interest, Nanako Sakura, as your math teacher and dorm mother to Tsukimi Dorm – the small house you find yourself living in for the semester. She’s kind and, at times, naive but, in all, is a pretty good character that possesses some agency.
Your second love interest, Sakura Kirishima, is the jewel in the crown of the Art Club – the most prestigious and well-funded club in Rintoku Academy. From a slightly icy start, she quickly becomes compassionate and vows to do anything to get Tohru, the worst artist in the world, into the club.
There’s an additional cast of characters in Sakura Sakura, including Naoki Fuse (your self-proclaimed creepy pervert, best friend), Akira Nitta (Naoki’s oldest friend and resident Angry Gal), Kurumi Tachibana (the first ever child-like girl trope that I haven’t outright hated!), Masashi Yoshioka (another transfer student that gets confused with Tohru), Mr. Takada (an armadillo? For reasons?) and a couple of other less story-heavy individuals. Any non-important characters appear as eyeless nightmares that may, in fact, haunt me until my dying days.
In terms of gameplay, there are some interactive elements, such as the ability to move around Tsukimi Dorm, deciding if you want to move on with the main story, or take part in some of the game’s sub-routes and side stories. The choices made in the game are minimal, and often are simply the illusion of choice. There seems to be only one “bad end” choice in each route, and even then, it signposts it to buggery, essentially stopping the game if you pick the “wrong” choice to tell you it’s not the right way to go. There’s also a mechanic of showing how well or how poorly your relationship with each woman is, but it means next to nothing, as most of the positive and negative points you obtain are unavoidable in the story.
Sakura Sakura has all the fixings of a typical visual novel, but there’s something special about it that’s hard to put into words. Your main character is a creep (as per usual), but there’s a kindness in him that doesn’t come from a place of wanting to sleep with women but from an actual desire to be a good dude. While Sakura Sakura falls slightly into the trap of having remarkable women falling for what seems like an unremarkable guy, Tohru seems to have this sway over everyone he meets. Each character, to some degree, wants to please or help him, regardless of whether or not they want to date him. It made for a fun side-plot that I got to create in my own head that he has some otherworldly fey powers that suckers people into liking him. But, hell, those powers worked on me, too, I guess!
The extra content in the game is entertaining and enjoyable to seek out. From the “Seven Mysteries of Tsukimi Dorm” to the unlockable scenes for some of the items you obtain, the game gives you some pretty fun and interesting backstory that really rounds out the game. As a bonus, there are extra stories you can explore, including another love triangle story, playing as your friend Naoki, as well as a “one year later” scenario for both love interests.
There are parts of Sakura Sakura that do seem to drag, especially in Sakura Kirishima’s route, where there are a good stretch of days that are very same-y and add very little to the story. But overall, the game is really enjoyable to play. It’s able to get away with a lot of things by having a main character who actually seems to be a good dude and female characters who (though primarily in love with Torhu) seem to have personality and agency behind them.
Sakura Sakura may have a list of flaws and tropes that I don’t necessarily enjoy, but because of its strengths, it’s far easier to look over them and simply enjoy the game and its story as the sum of its parts.
Pros:
- Multiple stories and sub-routes
- Interesting characters with agency
- Well-written dialogue
- Fun, varied art styles
Cons:
- Illusion of choice
- Many women-hating women
- Unavoidable “spying on unaware women” moments
- Slow-paced at times
aTeacupGamer gives Sakura Sakura a Drastik Measure of 7.8 out of 10 (78)
Sakura Sakura is available on Steam for $34.99 (USD).
