Sakura Wars is very anime. Very. Anime. And I mean that as a compliment from the bottom of my heart.

It is cheesy, over-the-top, and completely sincere. This is a game with giant mech armour, flying buildings powered by massive crystals and dramatic never-ending monologues with wild gesturing. It knows exactly how ridiculous all of that sounds, and it absolutely makes it work! And I became completely invested.

The pace was one of the first things I noticed. Sakura Wars is relaxing without ever feeling slow. It gives its characters time to breathe, lets Kamiyama the protagonist wander around the city and builds its world through conversations and secondary events. I soon found myself actively looking forward to those events because they flesh out not only the members of the Flower Division but also the many people surrounding them.

Those characters are where the game truly shines. Hatsuho’s trust event revealed an unexpectedly vulnerable side to a woman who normally feels like a bar fight waiting to happen. Azami’s story left me crying. I was genuinely happy when Claris succeeded because the game had made her happiness important to me. Even smaller moments make the world and its inhabitants feel wonderfully alive, such as Elise from the Berlin Combat Revue fangirling over Sumire Kanzaki.

The presentation remains gorgeous. The character models are wonderfully expressive, with facial animations that communicate far more than I expected. Clothing, surfaces and reflections still look impressive years after the original release, which was in 2019 for PS4. It is frankly a crime that a game this beautiful has no photo mode. Photo modes should be mandatory!

The soundtrack is equally impressive. It moves effortlessly between traditional Japanese folk, intense orchestral pieces and enormous 90s-anime themes, always matching the mood and never getting in the way. I even listen to it out of the game months after finishing Sakura Wars.

Combat is simple but enjoyable as a diversion from life inside the theatre. I especially liked the surprise raids that could suddenly interrupt an otherwise peaceful shopping trip. And the characters really play very differently and have distinct moves and specials.

Eventually, Sakura Wars takes its comfortable rhythm and throws it out of the window. The final stretch delivers the spectacle, emotion and escalation it has been building up to. It's weird, over-the-top and a pure delight!

After 27 hours, I finished Sakura Wars with a 10/10 rating and an enormous amount of affection for it. It is silly, dramatic, heartfelt and utterly unapologetic about everything it wants to be.

I love it dearly.