Seasons of the Sakura

"A simply amazing and captivating animated story..."

Seasons of the Sakura...This is one of the first bishoujo games I have been able to get my hands on, and though there is very limited ''gameplay'', the story is so captivating you just won't care. And on a very nice note, this particular game focuses more on drawing you into the characters' personalities, rather than just a bunch of freelance sex. The sexual encounters, in fact, are fairly limited, which is actually somewhat refreshing for a change.

You're given the persona of Shuji; your average teenage male about to enter his first day of prep school (A common scenario for many bishoujo/hentai games). Throughout this long, yet captivating scenario, you get to select, though somewhat limitedly, Shuji's actions and reactions to various events and happenings throughout the story.

Of course, there are a horde of beautiful women who all end up developing some sort of feelings for Shuji...some more than others depending on your actions. The thing I really like though, is how detailed the character's personalities were made. They're so deep you almost feel as if these are actual people you've gotten to know (Which makes it all the more depressing when the game comes to an end).

That said, that's about the one FLAW in this game...granted it's much longer than most games of this genre, it gets so deep and involving you just don't want to stop, and it's a tragic shame to realize it's over. But, there is some replay value, as different actions can set you on different story paths, should you have the patience to do so. I'm a very impatient person, but this game is just so deep and captivating I have no qualms playing through some of it to reach new places.

Graphics/music and such aren't much of an issue here. I personally was listening to some of my own music; and I was still pulled in too deep to this game to care about anything else. The graphics are about the epitome of what you can expect for a DOS game, but the character images are beautifully done, and the animations of the characters correspond to the current situation (Even with the classic anime sweatdrops). One thing you miiiight notice, though, is the fact that many of the game's characters resemble characters from other animes. Some in both looks and personality, others in just looks. Think Magic Knight Rayearth and Neon Genesis Evangelion, and you'll see what I mean.

All in all, I loved this game. I stayed up in the late hours of the morning with coffee in-hand just to finish it. That's basically what it is...a damn good book you just can't put down. It's hard to find online if you're looking to download it, but you can certainly purchase it from JastUSA, for a fairly reasonable price. In fact, I do believe it was just recently re-released in a memorial collection, so that's more than worth checking out.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/03, Updated 05/19/03