NCS Update: March 17, 2008
Early Partial Shipment
One of our suppliers in Japan was able to get a small shipment of Dramatic Dungeon Sakura Taisen shipped out to us on Friday of last week. We won't be able to fill all preorders today but we'll ship whatever we can. The remainder of our shipments are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Please note that the limited edition of Dramatic Dungeon Sakura Taisen is expected to arrive on Thursday. We did not accept preorders for the limited edition but we'll update our website once we have news on pricing and availability.

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Ever since Sakura Taisen shipped on the Saturn console in 1996, the series of Sakura games and videos have sold over 400 million copies. Those are impressive numbers by any metric and a resounding validation of the franchise's drawing power. The Nintendo DS is the gaming platform of choice in Japan at the moment so Sega produces a new Sakura-themed dungeon exploration game for the handheld. The cast of characters from multiple generations of Sakura Taisen games are all present including the main heroines Sakura Shinguuji, Erica Fontaine, and Gemini Sunrise.

Steampunks are absent from the game so the heroes such as Oogami, Sakura, Iris, and many others walk around in their theater clothes while attacking with swords and blunting oncoming blows with shields.

Jan Code: 4974365910396

View the back cover and screenshots for this item on the main NCSX website.

» Soon after leaving HQ, the party runs into three blue beasts that look like jiggling jellies with arms. A tutorial starts which explains the battle system and Sakura slashes one beast while Iris twirls and unleashes a teddy bear move which heals party members. Sakura later takes care of the other two creatures while Ogami watches. Afterwards, the party commences north where they descend a stairway to a dungeon.

» To attack, press the "A" button and Ogami lunges forward with a rebel yell. Sakura and Iris attack on their own volition when trouble rears its head. The movement and battles in the game are turn-based so that monsters and party members move in concert with each other. For example, every move you make governs the monster's move. If you don't move, no one else moves in the game world. Take one step forward and the monster takes one step.

» When exploring the depths of a dungeon, the top NDS screen shows an auto-map of the area as you spelunk and plumb. No matter how deep the party goes into a dungeon, cherry blossoms waft through the air.

» Maria is very helpful as a party member because she's the only one in the beginning team who can fire projectile attacks from short range.

» The second dungeon pairs Ogami with Ri Kouran who has a special attack which puts monsters to sleep. Once the Zzz's are evident, her second attack turns the beasts into three gold bars. Nice talent if you can get it. Ri Kouran does most of the work in the second dungeon although Ogami serves nicely as cannon fodder. At the lower level, they run into Sumire Kanzaki who destroy three monsters with a single sword stroke. Later, a beetle-monster of some sort drops from the ceiling next to her and he runs off with a scream. Ogami and Kouran follow and the three join up and become a team. Kanna Kirishima eventually joins the trio in another one of the lower levels and the quartet finish out the dungeon by defeating a gnome-like creature..

» For every three steps taken, Ogami recovers 1 HP. When he reaches a certain level, he'll recover 1 HP for every two steps taken.

» Ogami starts the third dungeon by his lonesome. He enters the dungeon with about 100HP which is enough to withstand the attacks from the monsters he encounters. The toughest enemies are the red-armored knights who shoot artillery that takes 10-20 points off of Ogami with every hit. When he plumbs the lower levels, he meets up with Orihime Soletta and then Leni Milchstrasse who provide some much appreciated support.

» Traps are littered throughout the levels. When a trap is sprung, there's a dialog box that appears with three choices - one of them will allow Ogami to escape the effects of the trap. Leni's special skill is locating and disabling traps.

» Dungeon crawling is tough work and requires a lot of energy. As such, Ichiro's stomach will growl something fierce from time to time. If you don't feed him after the second or third growl, his HP indicator will turn purple and he'll lose 1 HP for every move.

» The dungeons are created randomly every time you play. This means that each time you replay a certain level, it'll be something different.

This document is ©NCSX 2008. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.