Seasons of the Sakura

"A sakura worth smelling is a story worth playing"

The flower is blooming, another school year is starting (in Japan), and what's a better way to start the school than going to a co-ed school with chics swamping you like honey. Seasons of Sakura is not your average hentai game, where your sole purpose is to dig chics at every available opportunity. This game, without the H scenes, could work very well as a G rated romantic graphical novel. But for what it is, this game stands out among countless hentai game out there.

Plot

You play as a high school student Shuji Yamagami. Being an energetic and physically fit young man that you are, your athletic ability is a very much sought after commodity. It is only natural that members of the opposite sex would find it appealing and would come after you and tries to persuade you to join their sporting clubs.

As the story progresses, you will meet new girls, trigger events, and depending on the choices you make, you will end up with one or none of the girls.

On many levels, Seasons of Sakura is several bars above the rest of the H games out there at the time. For one, this game is actually worth playing. By that, I mean it is actually worth my time reading every sentence, going through every scenario and thinking it through before clicking on any of the choices presented. There is a certain level of engagement, whereas in many H games, you just blindly hit all the options until the story moves forward.

Unlike many other H games, you can feel the characters develop as you advance the plot. You can feel their love as they are drawn closer to you by the choices you make. It has everything that a H game doesn't, character development, choices that lead down different paths, and more importantly, a plausible and somewhat appealing plot.

Overall, the story is well written and the characters are well developed.

Game Play

There is one thing that this game cannot get away from other H games, and that is game play. Like ten million other H games before it and several millions after, Seasons of Sakura works on a click, read, click, read routine. You click on an option, read a bunch of text or dialogue, then choose another option, read another bunch of text, click the next option, so on and so forth until such time that the plot advances to the next scene. You continue to pick options and read the accompanying text until the end of the game.

Seasons of Sakura has a complex set of decision tree that will lead you down a different path. By different path, it basically means different events with different girls, and ultimately, different endings. It is no surprise that you can end with any one of the girls or in the worst case scenario, none of them.

There are eight girls in total, so there are plenty of options to choice from. Some choices you make will affect the plot later on. For example, at a cultural event, the dance partner you choose may affect the plot. So right from the beginning, if you already have a girl in mind that you want to end the game with, you will almost exclusively concentrate your efforts towards her and select any options that are connected to her at every possible opportunity.

Graphics

At the time of the game's release, the graphics are fairly standard. It is by no means bad. In fact, I quite like the drawings. The girls are drawn in anime style, and look remarkably like well-known anime characters, even down to their personalities. Plagiarism? You bet. Despite that, the characters are well drawn. Besides their school uniforms, they have different outfits as well, such as swimsuit (no decent H game can do without that), casual wear and sports uniform.

There is no animation to speak of. All of them are just 2D still drawings. Sometimes, you will have to imagine what they are doing.

Backgrounds are appropriate, and instantly recognisable. No complaint there.

Sound

No complaint here either. Nothing remarkable, but it serves its purpose well. Music is serviceable, but for the most of the game, you probably will not notice it.

Replay Value

With eight girls to choose from, Seasons of Sakura certainly has great replay value. Choosing one option over another at any one point will stop you from access the other path. For example, choosing to dance with one girl will obviously stop you from dancing with another girl during the same event in the same game.

Hence, the game entices you to pick another path during your next play through. Some choices might not have a significant affect on the graphics, while others can trigger a totally different event.

There is a way to cheat, though. Just save the game before you make an important decision. Go through with the scene and then reload it back up and choose another path. That way, you will be able to see quite a few in game events that you would not normally see during one game. Obviously that does not work for the end game where you have to pick a girl that you want to end up with.

Nonetheless, whether you cheat or not, Seasons of Sakura warrants at least several play through if you want to see all the endings, especially if it is the H scenes that you are after.

Overall

Seasons of Sakura has a much deeper meaning than just screwing chics. It is about puppy love, it is about affections between two individuals. Sex just comes with it. Without the H scenes, the game probably would not sell as much. That said, sex is not just there for the sake of it. You boing the chic because you are emotionally attached to her, not just because you can.

It is worth noting that during the transition to the US market, the age of the characters have been bumped up to conform to the US law.

As I have mentioned in the introduction, this game could work very well as a G rated romantic graphical novel with the H scenes. The story is well developed, characters are well developed, and the girls' bodies are definitely well developed ^_-. This is one of a handful of H games that you can enjoy without feeling dirty.

Good:

* Decent graphics
* Great plot
* Memorable characters
* Great replay value

Bad:

* Unavoidable 'click-read-click-read' game play
* Graphics might be outdated by today's standard
* Lots of text to read through

Score (out of 10)

Plot: 8
Gameplay: 5
Graphics: 6
Sound: 5
Replay: 8

Overall: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/08/09

Game Release: Seasons of the Sakura (US, 1996)