/ games / seasons of the sakura /

Warning: The following game is classified as an h-game, and viewer discretion is advised for sexual gameplay and animated nudity, as you are recommended to be at least 18 years of age before playing a game in such a genre.  I am not held responsible if you wish to play the game.

Seasons of the Sakura
Words Don't Give This One Enough Honor (10/10)
Review by TaronWarrior

Seasons of the Sakura (SotS) was one of the first h-games I ever played, and I accidentally found it when I was looking for an anime game. Rather than being disgusted with the content and nature of the game, I was oddly intrigued. Other games of this genre didn’t appeal to me, but this one did for the reason that there was almost no h-scenes. And the ones there were they were all at the end of the game...  Some of you may be thinking, "what the hell?  What's the point of playing an h-game with barely any h-scenes, and they're all at the end?"  Well, it's really simple.  This game kind of draws you in, because the story is so incredibly realistic that you will make tens, if not hundreds of connections just by playing through it once.  The replay value is the h-scenes, but also the pure nostalgia, as every day I played this game I woke up feeling great, not because I got a good night's sleep, but also because I played a great game.  Very seldom will you be disappointed after playing this game.

The graphics in this game are excellent.  The ultra-gamer of today would shield his eyes at the sight of the 256-color, DOS graphics, but if you really want a great story, you can look past the outdated graphics.  Though, for the time, the graphics were pretty good, and all the characters are splendid to look at.  It's a really good looking game if you aren't looking for 3D rendered, Half-Life 2 graphics.  It was a simpler time when this game was made, and it really portrays that well, especially considering the pleasant and surreal atmosphere the game is set in.  You'll feel like you're in a dream when you find yourself looking at the wonderful environments and awesome characters.  There are a total of fourteen characters in this game, but it plays in first-person perspective, so the only time you'll see yourself is during the h-scenes or special scenes such as the dance.  All the characters blink and shine and feel like real characters.  The girls are very attractive, and each male in the game (it actually has males in this game, unlike some h-games) looks good as well.  Although some might say that a few of the girls look like they were improvised from such animes as Neon Genesis Evangelion, you can't really tell if you've never seen the anime.  Everything really looks great though.

Back in the days of DOS, you had seldom sound, and when you did it usually consisted of beepy midi music.  That's not to say midis are bad, but they certainly outdated as of today's standards.  Back in the time, this was fairly good though.  The tunes are all upbeat or low when they need to be, and it all fits perfectly.  The song that plays during the dance is joyful and nice to listen to, while the opening theme's midi is a nostalgic piece of work if you're returning to the game.  Neat music, while not awesome, it sure is nice to listen to while you play this light-hearted game.

If you've never played an h-game before, you're in for a surprise, as most of them all play the same.  You are presented with an image consisting usually of a background and a couple of characters, usually up to two or three.  Text is displayed at the bottom of the screen, at the time it was usually white text over a black background, but it differs more in this day and age.  You then read several lines of text before being given the option to do one of several things, usually a verb followed by a noun.  Such an action would be Look, followed by Door.  There are infinite combinations for this, but most of the verbs are the same throughout the game, however the nouns change often.  Once you select the right combination of verbs and nouns, it will trigger the next event, causing you to progress in the story.  Seasons of the Sakura is about eight hours long if you read through everything and sit through it, enjoying it.  You also have the option, if you hold a button (it differs on some computers) to skip through the text and move onto the next option.  This is usually only good if you're replaying the game for the h-scenes, but it's a feature none-the-less.  Another great feature that appears in almost every h-game is the option to go back and view h-scenes or CG.  Season of the Sakura puts it even farther though, by allowing you to replay the entire section of the game that has the h-scenes in it.  You are also allowed to view each character's stats, such as weight, height, etc.  An awesome feature for an awesome game, I have yet to see another pull it off.

But what's really great about this game is the story.  I have never seen such a miraculous story in my life, though few would argue that it doesn't even have a story.  You play the role of young (16 or 19, depending on which version of the game you play) man by the name of Shuji.  That's pretty much it.  You go to preparatory school every day (junior college in Japan, it's their way of getting around the under 18 thing so they can put teenage characters in h-games) and do things all set in stone in the story.  Different events will happen with different characters in different ways depending on the choices you make in the game, but the story is pretty much the same no matter what choices you make.  You may fall in love with a girl in the end, and chances are you will, or you might actually lose.  The real grab for attention in the story here is the sheer simplicity of it.  The game is fresh, in the fact that it has a cheery atmosphere and you can relate to it in almost any situation.  I often found myself asking "what would Shuji do?"  Then I traced back to the part of the game and related it to real life.  Scary?  Yeah, but the game is so awesome that it's okay to do that.

All in all, this is a game that you shouldn't miss, whether you're looking for an h-game or you're just looking for an enchanting story.  You'll wanna play this game again as well, as there are so many different situations you can put yourself into it's amazing.  The game is excellent, and if you manage to find a copy of it on eBay or something, consider yourself lucky, as this is more than ten years old!  But still a classic.  Get it now.

Final Thoughts: Awesome game, lots of story, lots of fun, if you want h-scenes, try Do You Like Horny Bunnies?  Otherwise, this is an awesome game.