Sakura Taisen 2

Sakura Taisen 2 continues the story of the Imperial Combat Revue a year after the events of the first game and deepens both the relationships between the characters and the tactical kobu battle mechanics. The player once again alternates between calmer sections set in the Teikoku Theater, where the LIPS dialogue system and timed responses to questions are used to build trust with individual revue members and influence their morale, and battles on tactical maps, which now feature new units, special abilities, and more elaborate enemy placement requiring a more cohesive tactical approach and better knowledge of the individual kobu.

The sequel builds on the developers' experience with the Saturn hardware — transitions between narrated scenes and battles are smoother, more animated sequences with voice acting have been added, and the soundtrack further develops the character themes that became an integral part of the series' popularity and later took on a life of their own on albums and at concerts. The second game's story is also darker and places greater emphasis on the personal dramas of the unit's members amid a growing supernatural threat over the city, as well as on their rivalry and friendship, while the player gradually uncovers the origin of a new adversary threatening the very foundations of the revue.

Sakura Taisen 2 further cemented the series' status in Japan as one of the key reasons to buy a Saturn and expanded the media phenomenon with more songs, merchandise, and stage performances featuring live actresses in the roles of individual characters. For overseas players, it remains available mainly through fan translations, yet it is considered one of the high points of the genre-blending of tactics and visual novel on this console and a fitting, emotionally stronger conclusion to the story begun in the first game, one that many series fans still hold as the most cherished memory of the entire Saturn.

Why play it: For fans of the first game, it offers an emotionally stronger conclusion to the story and stands as one of the high points of the tactics-and-visual-novel blend on the Saturn, available mainly through fan translations.