On April 18, Sony’s PlayStation Blog published new information regarding the plot, setting, characters, and steam-powered mecha that make up the world of Project Sakura Wars. We break the details down below.
Plot
Setting
In the year Taisho 19, in the Imperial capital of Tokyo, a battle known as the “Great Kouma War” erupted. The mighty Combat Revues of Tokyo, Paris, and New York confronted the threat and saved the world from disaster.
Sadly, the heroic Combat Revues were annihilated as a result of the battle.
In the aftermath of the war, the Combat Revues’ city defense efforts were celebrated worldwide for their achievements. The World Combat Revue Federation (WLOF) was established shortly thereafter. Combat Revues began to form in cities across the globe, as a result. The WLOF organized their first “Combat Revue Competition”, in which the Combat Revues of each country would compete on two stages: the musical theater, and on the battlefield.
The event, which was aimed at increasing the strength of the various Combat Revuees, attracted onlookers from across the globe. They went gaga over this battle between maidens. Thus began a biennial tradition, which became known as the “Great Combat Revue World War.”
In the year Taisho 29 (1940), it’s been ten years since the first Great Combat Revue World War. The prestigious Imperial Combat Revue was revived in the place it had previously called home, Tokyo. This New Combat Revue has come together to do battle in the upcoming Great Combat Revue World War, with the goal of securing victory.
What was meant to be a peaceful competition among friends and comrades takes a sudden turn, though, as a peacful festival becomes a struggle for the fate of humanity. The fearsome Kouma have been revived, and appear across the globe as a mysterious new foe appears.
Can this New Combat Revue, led by new protagonist Seijūrō Kamiyama, be able to protect the peace across the capital and the world? Can they bring justice back in the face of this fearsome foe?
An all-new Sakura Wars story begins now!
Screenshots
Gameplay Mechanics
As previously confirmed, the Live Interactive Picture System (LIPS) gameplay systems are confirmed to make a return, as is the general Trust Level system. The Trust Level system previously worked two-fold:
- Trust Levels played directly into which ending the player would receive, with the player seeing the ending for the character with the highest level.
- Trust levels would affect combat segments, as characters would have higher overall stats with a higher trust level.
The game will feature full exploration of the Imperial Theater and the surrounding Capital, which will occur on a fully 3D map and full-sized versions of the characters, a first for the franchise.
Screenshots
Characters
The characters are as follows:
Seijūrō Kamiyama
Age: 20
Project Sakura Wars‘ lead. Seijūrō Kamiyama is the newest leader of the Imperial Combat Revue’s Floral Division (Teikoku Kagekidan, Hanagumi). He originally served as a special service ship captain in the navy, but received a new assignment to serve in the Imperial Combat Revue. Here, he was appointed the commanding officer for the all-new Floral Division.
Screenshots
Sakura Amamiya
Age: 17
A member of the Imperial Combat Revue’s Floral Division. Amamiya holds an admiration for Sakura Shinguji, the top star of the former Floral Division, and enlisted with the Floral Division as a novice member. Amamiya feels strongly for both the Imperial Combat Revue, which serves as a vanguard to protect Tokyo, and the Imperial Opera Troupe that brights light to the hearts and minds of the people. She wants nothing more than to bring both sides back to their former glory.
Screenshots
Hatsuho Shinonome
Age: 17
A member of the Imperial Combat Revue’s Floral Division. Hatsuho adores the Shinonome Shrine, which has been under her family’s care for generations. She is a “pure woman of Edo” born in the old town, who adores her hometown and its people, as well as festivals. Though she comes across as rude much of the time, she’s a skilled mediator who proves to be a reliable figure within the Floral Division.
Screenshots
Azami Mochizuki
Age: 13
A member of the Imperial Combat Revue’s Floral Division. Azami is the descendent of a family of ninja who practice the Mochizuki Style of martial arts. She’s a young prodigy who mastered martial arts, strategy, weaponry, and other areas of expertise. She’s had a strict upbringing since the days before she could perceive the world, and firmly believes in the “108 laws” that have been passed down in her village. She places a great importance on following and protecting those laws.
Screenshots
Anastasia Palma
Age: 19
A member of the Imperial Combat Revue’s Floral Division. Anastasia is a star who played an active role in the European theater, wandering from troupe to troupe before joining the Imperial Combat Revue. Her singing and acting abilities are top tier, and, given her looks, she’s able to take on a wide range of roles, from men to “sexy female roles.”
Screenshots
Clarice
Age: 16
A member of the Imperial Combat Revue’s Floral Division. Clarice hails from Luxembourg, and is a sweet literary girl who loves reading books. She’s brimming with curiosity, and learns new things every day through literature. Her full name is Clarissa Snowflake.
Clarice is the successor to the “Juumadou” black magic, which is passed down through the Snowflake family, and utilizes books.
Screenshots
Spiricle Armor
Spiricle Armor is a humanoid form of weaponry that was developed for anti-magic combat. They can only be powered by steam, which has a strong spiritual power. Two variants of Spiricle Armor were revealed: Spiricle Fighters and the latest line in the Koubu family, the Koubu Mk. III.
Spiricle Fighter
Spiricle Fighters were designed by Kanzaki Heavy Industries, and are based on the traditional Spiricle Armor design. These special armors use a new framework of Spiricle Weaponry that was designed by the World Combat Revue Federation (WLOF). These special fighters were developed as a standard format, which was intended to be used in every country after the events of the Great Kouma War.
Spiricle Fighters differ from the base Spiricle Armor, as they have a higher output from their “Spiricle Systems.” This grants them a far higher efficiency in Spiricle Conversion, which in turn, requires less energy from the pilot.
Screenshots
Mugen
The Mugen is Kanzaki Heavy Industries’ first mass-produced Spiricle Fighter. The mech is based on the development of the Koubu Mk. III, and equipped with a Spiricle Supercharger. As a result, it’s easy to operate the craft with few negative effects in terms of performance.
These are the main weapon of the Imperial Combat Revue’s Floral Division. The image below features Seijūrō’s Mugen.
Screenshots
Koubu Mk. III
The Koubu Mk. III (Sanshiki Koubu) was developed by Kanzaki Heavy Industries with the aim of updating the framework and shifting lines from the Spiricle Armor to the Spiricle Fighter. This new entry into the Koubu line was based on the Koubu Mk. II (Koubu Nishiki) using Anshar Steel. That said, the overall design isn’t notably different from its predecessor, and the unit lacks a Spiricle Supercharger. As a result, its overall spiritual efficiency isn’t very good. Despits its shortcomings, though, it became the basis or the Mugen units that would follow it.
To date, Sega’s shown off images of Sakura Amamiya’s Koubu Mk. III.
Screenshots
Source: Gematsu, PlayStation Blog
