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[Alexios]

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This is a launch trailer to celebrate the release of the Sakura Wars fan translation patch for the Sega Saturn version of the game. This marks the very first time that the original entry in this long-running franchise will be playable in English since it was initially published in Japan over two decades ago!

SakuraWars_EnglishPatch_v2_1

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Instructions on how to apply the patch are included in the Readme file.

Trailer Credits: Edited by TrekkiesUnite118 and Bowl of Lentils VO by CrouchingMouse Narration Script by Eien1No1Yami and cj_iwakura The trailer was made to look similar to Sakura Wars' original 1996 Japanese television commercial. The clean animated footage and animated English logo were provided by/edited by TrekkiesUnite118 while the trailer itself was put together by myself (Bowl of Lentils). The script was written by cj_iwakura, which was based off a translation of the Japanese ad created by Eien1No1Yami, and the voice-over was recorded by CrouchingMouse.

Sakura Wars – Hardcore Gaming 101

www.hardcoregaming101.net

Sakura Wars – Hardcore Gaming 101

www.hardcoregaming101.net

Sakura Wars is a Japanese steampunk media franchise created by Oji Hiroi and developed and owned by Sega. The first game in the series was released in 1996, and has since spawned five other main entries and numerous spin-off titles since then. The series—set during a fictionalized version of the Taishō period—depicts groups of women with magical abilities using steam-powered mecha to combat demonic threats.

The original Sakura Wars was an ambitious title for the then-in-production Sega Saturn. The first game's overlap of the tactical role-playing, dating sim and visual novel genres prompted Sega to classify it as a "dramatic adventure", a moniker which has endured during the series' lifetime. Both Red Entertainment and Sega co-developed most of the games until 2019, when Sega became the sole developer. While the series has seen continuity in the main actors who could both act and sing as well as composer Kohei Tanaka, several other designers, programmers and animation studios would be employed through a number of games.

The series has sold over 4.5 million copies as of 2010, and garnered both critical and popular acclaim. The original Sega console games have been voted among the most popular for the Saturn and Dreamcast. The Sakura Wars franchise includes numerous anime productions, manga, and other media projects such as stage shows. With the exception of Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love and Project Sakura Wars, the video game series has not been released in English. Several of the anime series have been localized for English territories.

Edit: as you'll see in my later posts complete with screenshots from various parts of the game, it is confirmed to work 100% flawlessly with the Saturn Beetle core in RetroArch (which is a Mednafen emulator core) and the SSF stand alone emulator. Saturn emulation has been near perfect years now. If something doesn't work for you perhaps there's a setting you need to change or something went wrong with your ripping or patching. I can help a little bit if you want but for proper usage of the various emulators from scratch and acquiring bios files and all that stuff, then look elsewhere.

Update: More Sakura Wars translated & some big updates for this already excellent fan translation too (it's now up to v2.1)!


Update: I guess I never wrote that they've also been working on Sakura Wars 2: Thou Shalt Not Die!
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[lame gag1990]

Thanks for letting us know. Funnily enough, I was actually looking yesterday to see if this had been released yet.

 

[Alexios]

I tested a bit and for me it doesn't work with SSF, but it does work with the Beetle core in RetroArch (which is basically Mednafen and therefor essentially the recommended in the read me file emulator).

Note if your game rip already uses the file format the read me file instructs then you don't need to go through the whole isobuster procedure, just apply the patch. If it's a good rip it should work just fine.

I also found one untranslated thing, if you enter Disc 2 first and try to start a new game then it will of course bring up a warning screen that I guess tells you to insert Disc 1 instead but it's in Japanese

 

[petran79]

I tested a bit and for me it doesn't work with SSF, but it does work with the Beetle core in RetroArch (which is basically Mednafen and therefor essentially the recommended in the read me file emulator).

Note if your game rip already uses the file format the read me file instructs then you don't need to go through the whole isobuster procedure, just apply the patch. If it's a good rip it should work just fine.

I also found one untranslated thing, if you enter Disc 2 first and try to start a new game then it will of course bring up a warning screen that I guess tells you to insert Disc 1 instead but it's in Japanese

SSF latest version suddenly gives me a "set event error" and refuses to start. Very picky program. Older versions dont play it either

Tested it on mednafen, it refuses to launch. Retroarch refuses to run the patched iso too. Yabasanshiro runs the game in software mode, though fmv videos dont play smoothly.

Though I dont know which game version is the correct one. There are 4 dumped versions labelled with [6],[7,9],[8],[8,9]

 

[Komatsu]

YES! Have been waiting for this a long time. I own the original game and played it for many hours about a decade ago, but my written Japanese is not really up to snuff. Glad to have this.

 

[Dazrael]

Has anyone managed to test this with a Phoebe at all? Been fiddling around with it and can't get it to work.

 

[Alexios]

Does the read me file mention anything about that (I've deleted it now)?

 

[Dazrael]

According to the readme it works on real hardware via a cd-r but I don’t know if it supports a Phoebe due to it being a bit finicky with .iso files.

 

[Ceallach]

Couldn't get it working with Phoebe, so I just used my round button Saturn with PS Kai=\

 

[Valonquar]

Xmas came early!

 

[a multicultural team of v]

This looks like a perfect game to play through during my Christmas break.

Now I just gotta get my hands on the damn thing lol

 

[Psajdak]

Any other game in series left to be translated?

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Any other game in series left to be translated?

Everything between this one and the PS2 one I think.

Gonna play it on a physical Saturn eventually since it will be possible.

 

[Alexios]

I tested a bit and for me it doesn't work with SSF, but it does work with the Beetle core in RetroArch (which is basically Mednafen and therefor essentially the recommended in the read me file emulator).

Note if your game rip already uses the file format the read me file instructs then you don't need to go through the whole isobuster procedure, just apply the patch. If it's a good rip it should work just fine.

I also found one untranslated thing, if you enter Disc 2 first and try to start a new game then it will of course bring up a warning screen that I guess tells you to insert Disc 1 instead but it's in Japanese

I got it to work in SSF as well by mounting the game (in Daemon tools, not WinCDEmu) instead of loading the file so presumably it works with a burned CD too.

 

[Alexios]

I've just played for a while, going with SSF for now. It's a fine, modern-feeling, VN/Dating Sim/SRPG-Lite!

If you've seen So Long My Love it is near identically setup, with simpler combat and P3P-like wandering.​

 

[cireza]

Will try this on my Saturn in the coming weeks. Just completed a Policenauts playthrough in English and it was great.

 

[Alexios]

One is called Lord Satan (previous set of screenshots) and another has that on his forehead. Such evil!!!

The dating sim elements are honestly a bit cringe for me, I wish it was about friendship like the anime...​

 

[KiteGr]

It's a bit late.... Actually It's VERY late!
Aside from having to play the game on the Imperfect Saturn Emulators, the game looks old as fuck. They should had translated the Dreamcast remake instead.

 

[Komatsu]

Will try this on my Saturn in the coming weeks. Just completed a Policenauts playthrough in English and it was great.

It doesn’t work with a modchip - had to dig out my pseudo-kai to play it on my Saturn. I own the original Japanese discs so wasn’t expecting to have so many issues with it but the thing doesn’t run well in a bunch emulators, including the super reliable Beetle/Mednafen core in Retroarch.

 

[Alexios]

It's a bit late.... Actually It's VERY late!
Aside from having to play the game on the Imperfect Saturn Emulators, the game looks old as fuck. They should had translated the Dreamcast remake instead.

Saturn emulation is great, what are you on about? Especially for a game like this it's virtually identical to the real hardware. Also the Dreamcast version is just a port, not a remake. There is a PS2 remake though (and a probably worse state of "imperfect" emulation for that system, as popular as it is).

And yes it's old, that's a fact, lol, it's literally in the thread title so why even enter if that's all you have to say?

It doesn’t work with a modchip - had to dig out my pseudo-kai to play it on my Saturn. I own the original Japanese discs so wasn’t expecting to have so many issues with it but the thing doesn’t run well in a bunch emulators, including the super reliable Beetle/Mednafen core in Retroarch.

What problems did you have running it on Beetle? It seems perfect as far as I can tell (without having played on original hardware). Basically just like my SSF screenshots and no performance problems or anything anywhere is how it's been, is something missing?

 

[Komatsu]

Saturn emulation is great, what are you on about? Also the Dreamcast version is just a port, not a remake and if anything Dreamcast emulation is in a worse state than Saturn emulation at this point. There is a PS2 remake though (and a probably worse state of emulation). And yes it's old, lol?


What problems did you have running it on Beetle/mednafen/SSF? It seems perfect as far as I can tell (without having played on original hardware). Basically like my screenshots and no performance problems or anything anywhere is how it's been.

Beetle/Mednafen crash Retroarch as soon as I load the cue file. YabaSanshiro runs it, but the anime cutscenes flicker (a bug that has been reported already).

 

[Alexios]

It sounds like something else is wrong (for Beetle, Yaba & others aren't on its or SSF's level, it is known). Are the cue files with the proper file information for sure? I did have to edit them as my rip had different names for the iso and wav files. Beetle screens, it seems flawless just like on SSF:​

Maybe you need to refresh your usage of RetroArch, I only got into it recently (thanks to EmuVR though I've since stopped using it for anything but lightgun games, I didn't wanna bother learning it previously) and refresh the cores daily so perhaps things have changed. Though the whole cue file thing is the same in all emulators. For Mednafen I can recommend the Mednaffe GUI but it doesn't work on the very latest version, you'll need to get a slightly older to match it with that frontend. SSF is good as is as long as you mount the cue file with Daemon Tools or whatever so SSF sees a disc.​

 

[Closer]

One is called Lord Satan (previous set of screenshots) and another has that on his forehead. Such evil!!!

That is a manji, you know...

 

[cireza]

It doesn’t work with a modchip - had to dig out my pseudo-kai to play it on my Saturn. I own the original Japanese discs so wasn’t expecting to have so many issues with it but the thing doesn’t run well in a bunch emulators, including the super reliable Beetle/Mednafen core in Retroarch.

I don't use a modchip, I play translated games on an unmodded Saturn. Always worked fine. Never used emulators.

 

[Komatsu]

I don't use a modchip, I play translated games on an unmodded Saturn. Always worked fine. Never used emulators.

I got it to work on my modded Saturn, w/o the need for the Pseudo cart. My region key, which I mapped to my reset button, wasn't switching between NTSC-U and NTSC-J. Now it's working fine!

 

[JohannCK]

That is a manji, you know...

Always a classic.

 

[cireza]

I got it to work on my modded Saturn, w/o the need for the Pseudo cart. My region key, which I mapped to my reset button, wasn't switching between NTSC-U and NTSC-J. Now it's working fine!

That's good.

I use a normal Saturn. You can simply swap your original game with the translated copy after the console goes into sleep mode and the disc stops spinning, and do a soft reset. This is a simple trick but most of the people don't even know about it.

 

[Kazza]

The dating sim elements are honestly a bit cringe for me, I wish it was about friendship like the anime...

That's what is putting me off the game (and the new one as well). Is it still worth playing despite this?

 

[Alexios]

That's what is putting me off the game (and the new one as well). Is it still worth playing despite this?

I like it. The characters are fun. I wanna see how the story goes and how it differs to the anime series which I liked (and itself wasn't so much about the harem deal imo, despite the central theme of the one guy in the all female troupe, it was mostly about bonding all together and overcoming their issues to perform properly). You can probably deliberately avoid going for the obvious flirting as long as the other responses/actions available don't actively make the person dislike you which would turn their mood negative and their battle performance would grow worse. Or not, I'm not really sure just yet. The battles are fairly simple without xp gain. Other than the battle graphics it's a fairly snappy modern feeling game which surprised me, I expected an outdated clumsy slog and it's anything but, it feels super polished too. It's a lot like So Long My Love but I like the setting and characters better and instead of full 3D wandering around the adventure areas it's P3P style point & click.

 

[Bootzilla]

That's what is putting me off the game (and the new one as well). Is it still worth playing despite this?

In fairness, it's not really "dating" as much as just building your relationships with the characters. Which, thank god because the need to include lolis is really creepy.

I am going to dig into this tonight. I played 1, 3, and 4 back in the day (2 didn't have a complete translation guide at the time), and really liked them. They felt like playing an anime. But to actually play it in English without the mess of having to read along with a guide is going to make it a lot more fun.

The patch seems great. I usually use SSF, but I think I'm going to finally switch off to RetroArch/Beetle Saturn for this. It seems like it's finally more mature than SSF and obviously has more features. Even if Dragon Force II still only runs in SSF.

 

[Holammer]

A game I always wanted to play back in the days. Call me a snob, but I prefer the 90's anime look over the new fancy pants reboot.

 

[petran79]

I noticed that cue file of translation tools had the file name wrong. They added a gap (track 01.iso instead of track01. iso), this is why it couldn't work on mednafen.


I hope they patch the Windows version with same translation because together with Dreamcast they feature much better visuals, FMV and ost quality.

If ST2 or ST3 is going to be translated, Windows and DC version should be the preferable option

 

[Alexios]

In fairness, it's not really "dating" as much as just building your relationships with the characters. Which, thank god because the need to include lolis is really creepy.

I am going to dig into this tonight. I played 1, 3, and 4 back in the day (2 didn't have a complete translation guide at the time), and really liked them. They felt like playing an anime. But to actually play it in English without the mess of having to read along with a guide is going to make it a lot more fun.

The patch seems great. I usually use SSF, but I think I'm going to finally switch off to RetroArch/Beetle Saturn for this. It seems like it's finally more mature than SSF and obviously has more features. Even if Dragon Force II still only runs in SSF.

Are you sure about that? I've not even played a lot but characters are already commenting that I'll make Sakura jealous if I keep it up or something like that (and er, she did get jealous right after that point with the new lady that showed up and kissed the guy's booboo better, lol!). And there was a scene with the Chinese gal that I could also attempt to take her glasses off and stuff (but she hated me for it, lol, maybe another time or if I had invested more in making her happy). I mean, I doubt there are sex scenes or anything more than a mild pay off but it's clear there's flirting, not just friendship/bonding with the occasional sexy time gaffe as in the anime.

 

[Bootzilla]

Are you sure about that? I've not even played a lot but characters are already commenting that I'll make Sakura jealous if I keep it up or something like that (and er, she did get jealous right after that point with the new lady that showed up and kissed the guy's booboo better, lol!). And there was a scene with the Chinese gal that I could also attempt to take her glasses off and stuff (but she hated me for it, lol, maybe another time or if I had invested more in making her happy rather than Sakura). I mean, I doubt there are sex scenes or anything more than a mild pay off but it's clear there's flirting going on, not just a friendship/bonding thing with the occasional sexy time gaffe as in the anime.

Oh yeah, it's not platonic, but it's very innocent. You aren't like kissing or sleeping with the girls, it's like a long drawn out build up to "I like you!"

 

[Alexios]

Oh yeah, it's not platonic, but it's very innocent. You aren't like kissing or sleeping with the girls, it's like a long drawn out build up to "I like you!"

Good to know

 

[Alexios]

I forgot to post this. The original game's translation is also up to v2.1 (1.0 at the thread's creation). Go get it folks, this is grade A professional stuff like the Mother 3 translation.
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[a multicultural team of v]

Really looking forward to another playthrough now that I have an actual Saturn, an updated version of the translation is just icing on the cake.

Kohran best girl best hanafuda music btw

 

[Alexios]

Update: I guess I never wrote that they've also been working on Sakura Wars 2: Thou Shalt Not Die!


Just about a year later comes a meaty progress report:
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[Team Andromeda]

Thank you for the update


I hope the main DC games will get the same treatment too. Love the Sakura games they were so polished and the DC games had amazing visuals that really pushed the system.