DZ writes: "The Sakura Wars franchise is a series that I’d heard plenty about, but have never been able to play because the entire series was exclusive to Japan. It’s a strange predicament because the franchise is developed and published by Sega, but it’s Nippon Ichi Software USA who are bringing the latest game to the English market for the Nintendo Wii. It has taken over 13 years and five main games in the series for a chance to be able to play a Sakura Wars game in English."
Dating sim games aren’t a very popular genre in North America or Europe, but they are a huge phenomenon in Japan. They are known for containing certain elements and for most dating sims, those elements do not include steampunk mecha, magical monsters, or storylines filled with action, adventure, and emotional character development. Sakura Wars is not like most dating sim games.
Not many people realize that at one point this was one of Sega premier series. Actually Sakura Wars 2 on the DC was the first game I actually imported and the fist thing I ever bought online. I feel old now=/
Kinda funny is that i still own this game on the PS2. It was a very unique experience with its 'dating sim' elements but underneath that aspect of the game lies an extremely top notch tactical JRPG.
I have to check my memory card but i think i spent over 70 hours on this game primarily due to the high replaybility of it. There is so many choices you can make like which girl to court, dialogue choices, endings & numerous other stuffs to keep u interested.
It came very late in the PS2 & Wii life cycle so it was probably missed by a lot of people. If you can find a copy I highly recommend it if you love the series or JRPGs in general.
Visual novels are something of a niche of a niche for gamers in the West. The majority of them are imported from the East, with only a few receiving critical acclaim – or attention at all.
But that doesn’t mean they’re a medium best left alone. Representing a wholly different method of interactive storytelling and portraying games as art, the visual novel is gaining momentum here in the States.
This list will hopefully serve as an introduction into the world of visual novels. A couple of these games you’ll probably recognize; others, not at all. All that’s required is an open mind and a willingness to be surprised.
It's tough being an owner of the Nintendo Wii. Often looked down upon by 'real' gamers because of its waggle gameplay, large catalogue of party/family games, and lack of HD visuals, the Wii is labelled a console for casuals and grandmas. Even though the Wii has some of the best games to be released this generation (such as Super Mario Galaxy 2, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Donkey Kong Country Returns) critics will gladly point out the insane amount of shovel ware in the library.
This unfair criticism has caused many great games to go overlooked. Well, we're here to point out some great games for the Wii.
Hopefully this will show some people that the Wii doesn't just have party games. There is quite a bit of stuff for the core gamer on the console, and it is sad that there are gamers that don't realize that.
I think Cursed Mountain was a criminally overlooked game. I wish it would have come to 360 or PS3
