Defined by Sega as a "dramatic adventure" game, Sakura Wars combines overlapping tactical role-playing, dating sim, and visual novel gameplay elements.

Set in a fictionalized version of 1923 in the Taishō era, the game follows the exploits of the Imperial Combat Revue, a military unit dedicated to fighting supernatural threats against Tokyo while maintaining their cover as a theater troupe.

Imperial Japanese Navy Ensign Ichiro Ogami is assigned leader of its all-female Flower Division, a group of women with magical abilities that defend Tokyo against demon attacks using steam-powered armor called Kobus.

In 1993, his small team in the Planning Department of Red Company began elaborating on his concept, with full development beginning the following year after being approved by Sega.

Several prominent figures were brought on board the project including writer Satoru Akahori, composer Kohei Tanaka, and character designer Kōsuke Fujishima.

Sakura Wars is a cross-genre video game in which the player controls Ichiro Ogami and the all-female Flower Division of the Imperial Combat Revue, who must save Tokyo from the Hive of Darkness.

Dubbed a "dramatic adventure" game and taking place across 10 episodes, the gameplay segments incorporate tactical role-playing, dating sim, and visual novel elements.

When Ogami is faced with critical choices during conversations with both members of the Flower Division and supporting characters within the combat revue, dialogue trees are displayed with a time limit for the player to input.

[9] The game ends when certain conditions, such as winning a battle, are not met or if the HP on Ogami's Kobu reaches zero, although the player can continue by selecting "Rematch".

Traveling to the Grand Imperial Theater together, Ogami meets the team's main actresses: Sumire Kanzaki, Maria Tachibana, Iris Chateaubriand, Kanna Kirishima, and Kohran Ri.

Central to the unit is the Flower Division, the Imperial Revue's main actresses, who use their spirit powers to defend Tokyo against demon attacks using steam-powered armor called Kobu.

The current wave of attacks is being controlled by the Hive of Darkness, a group of black magicians led by Tenkai and his powerful subordinates the Lords of Death.

Tenkai's goal is to restore the shogunate and banish the growing Western influences from Japan, with the Hive of Darkness destroying magical seals around Tokyo that keep a powerful demonic horde at bay.

The Flower Division are unsuccessful in preventing the Hive of Darkness from destroying the seals, allowing Tenkai to summon a magical fortress from which he intends to conquer Japan.

Satan summons a great fortress called the Seima Castle from the sea near Tokyo, intent on releasing the population of Hell to overrun humanity.

While distinct from the final Sakura Wars the proposal shared an alternate historical setting with steampunk technology, a female lead and mecha combat.

[17][21][24] The inclusion of adventure segments alongside the strategic simulation elements was contentious early on, with some fearing Sakura Wars would turn into a bishōjo game.

[19] LIPS was born out of staff frustration with the adventure game tradition of time freezing while the player decided which response to select in a tense situation.

[41] The Taishō period meant he could combine traditional Japanese clothing with Western accessories such as shoes, allowing the female characters an otherwise improbable range of movement.

[47] When designing the Kobu, Nagata was guided by Morita, who showed him photographs of both steam-powered trains and early deep-sea diving suits—specifically those made of spherical segments.

Nagata did extensive research on the Second Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom and consciously avoided the trope of anachronistic near-future technology while creating the designs.

[54] Hiroi wanted to create a version of the Taishō period where the social advances and freedoms the Japanese began exploring continued without being brought to an end by the Great Kantō earthquake and the subsequent shift to militarism before World War II.

[34] The role of the male protagonist was given initially to a young man named Kusaku Kanuma, a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department who inherits a blade forged by the Japanese swordsmith Muramasa and must work with Sakura to pilot a two-person mech.

[65] Hiroi personally approached each of the voice actresses who played members of the Imperial Combat Revue based on their acting and singing abilities before they were pitched the concept of Sakura Wars.

[83] As part of his training, Hiroi went to karaoke sessions, studied the work of famous songwriter Yū Aku, and bought old records of vintage songs.

Teikoku Kagekidan"[c], based on Hiroi's instruction to combine the music of a Super Sentai opening theme with the vocal style of the title song for the film Aoi sanmyaku (1949).

[105] Efforts at localizing the series were not undertaken due to Sega's uncertainty over whether the game's blend of genres would find a large enough audience in the West to be profitable.

[112] Developed by Overworks, the successor to Sega's CS2 R&D division, the remake was directed by Takaharu Terada, who had been battle planner for later Sakura Wars titles.

[124] GameSpot's Peter Bartholow, reviewing the Dreamcast port, also praised the game's visuals and story, while noting a lack of real gameplay and the low degree of difficulty.

[1][140] The success of Sakura Wars led to a wave of games that combine role-playing and visual novel elements, including Thousand Arms, Riviera: The Promised Land, and Luminous Arc.