SEGA Reveals New Anime, Gameplay, And Trailer For Project Sakura Wars

Over the last week, SEGA unveiled a bunch of new information concerning the state of one of their franchises, Sakura Wars. We got a look at the opening movie of the game, as well as a new trailer giving us more of the series with it’s newest transition into being an action RPG.

The trailer focuses on showing off the two halves of gameplay: Adventure Mode and Battle Mode.  Adventure Mode will see the lead character get used to his new life in the Imperial Combat Revue.  Players will explore a city reminiscent of Imperial-era Tokyo, while also getting to know the girls who make up the Revue.  From the looks of things, we’ll also be helping the women with their performances, which are designed to hone their spiritual energy so that they can better fight against threats in battle.  Speaking of, it seems combat has gone from the old strategy gameplay to full on action RPG.  Players will pilot different robots with various abilities that aid them in and out of combat to protect the city and country.
The game actually looks to be placing as much focus on the out of combat elements as they are the battle scenes, with the story unfolding between the Imperial Combat Revue, the Berlin Combat Revue, and other characters with their own designs and goals to achieve.

Lastly, SEGA has confirmed a new anime series called Shin Sakura Wars, releasing sometime in 2020.  This show will feature the characters from the game, with animation by Sanzigen (the same studio responsible for the opening movie for the game), with  Manabu Ono of Sword Art Online: Alicization fame, directing.   The script duties will also be handled by Manabu Ono, as well as Tatsuhiko Urahata, known for his work on GATE.
It certainly seems like SEGA is trying to put themselves back on the map, between this and Yakuza.  Could a revival for the beloved company be coming fairly soon?
Sakura Wars is going to release December 4th in Japan for the PlayStation 4, then Spring 2020 elsewhere.