Gekitei-SakuTai

I think many of you have, by now, heard the news, but there is a new Sakura Taisen game coming out called, appropriately, New Sakura Wars in English. Some of you have messaged me about making a folder for this game, and I was unsure about what I would do.

If you don't know, the new game has virtually no connection to the old games in the creative department. The series creator, Ouji Hiroi, got in some hot water because he apparently made some strong passes at members of idol super group AKB48 when he worked with them on some projects. There were photos of him leaving an apartment in the morning with a member 30+ years his junior, for example. While this is happening, Kousuke Fujishima, the character designer, pissed off a LOT of fans when a 20 year old pro cosplayer announced they had married (he was like 56 at the time) because she had given birth to his baby. There are rumors he had something to do with her getting hired for a game he designed for despite the fact that she had no experience being a voice actress.

So those two VITAL members of the staff are out. I don't know if anything happened per se, but Satoru Akahori, the script writer and a veteran creator himself (Bakuretsu Hunter, Saber Marionette series, etc) is no longer involved. The only key member from the original series involved is Kouhei Tanaka, who did the music. So, in my mind, the music is the only part of the original franchise that I might enjoy.

The new character designs are by Tite Kubo (Taito Kubo) aka the man behind Bleach. I don't know about you, but that was a big "hell no" for me. I think he can draw handsome male characters but I have always thought his girl characters are pretty ugly, with long, floppy boobs and masculine faces even when they are meant to be feminine. I saw his designs and was so disappointed. I'm not really interested in a single character from this game. He broke tradition in a lot of ways-- the main girl does not have her hair pulled back in some kind of pony tail, there is no girl with glasses, there is no little kid character (technically there is, but she doesn't look young the way Iris did) and I don't think she has an animal "spirit" as all the other kids had (Jean Paul, etc). The playable character looks pretty cool but   you won't be seeing much of him!

The game is totally rendered with 3D, so no 2D art when interacting with characters. All of the voice actresses are relatively young and some inexperienced, which is unusual for a SakuTai game. I didn't recognize a single voice actress.

The only things about this game I am interested in are the fact that fans have spotted a clue in some released footage that Sumire is now in charge of the theater in place of Yoneda (but how will she look with Kubo's designs? Bleh). I am also interested in the music but I can buy that without playing the game. I am not planning on pre-ordering the game and, unless it gets INCREDIBLE reviews on Amazon, I won't be buying the game at all. The first SakuTai game I have no desire to play!

I was really looking forward to this, but I have no interest in it now that I have seen the characters, the designs, and seen that a whole new staff is taking over the creative aspects. I am treating it as something separate from the original 5 games, and so I will not be adding the NEW Sakura (yes, the main character is named Sakura, no she is not Sakura Shinguuji) to the group icon and I will not go out of my way to look for art from the new game to add to the group. I will make a folder for it, since you all have asked, but since I won't play the game I won't be able to curate that folder as effectively.

Just thought I would let you all know where I stand on the subject. How do you all feel about the new game?