Season of the Sakura 
(1997 JAST)


Synopsis:
You are Shuji Yamagami. You think back to your college days 
with your girlfriend standing beside you. You re-live your 
student days, where you meet a lot of cute girls who like you. 
Who your girlfriend actually is will depend on what you do and 
who you woo in this trip down memory lane. But watch out! If 
you are too indecisive you may end up all alone after all... 

Review:
I must say, I had a lot fun playing through Season of the Sakura. 
The game is simple -- you have to get yourself a girlfriend before 
the schoolyear ends. You have 8 girls to choose from, all of them 
spoofs of popular female anime characters such as the Evangelion 
girls (Rei and Asuka), the Rayearth girls (Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu), 
and so forth. The Season of the Sakura girls share the physical 
appearance and personalities of their anime counterparts. The girls 
aren't the only spoofs here either. Other characters such as your 
alcohol-loving homeroom teacher (ala EVA's Misato Katsuragi) and 
your peeping-tom father (ala Tenchi Muyo's dad Nobuyuki) also add 
more color to the game. 

Anime fans will definitely have a blast. You can look at this 
game as a chance to "pursue" some of your fave anime gals. If you 
win their hearts, you'll see them naked and get to have hot steamy 
sex with them. You'll never see any action if you don't succeed in 
your courtship though, so getting your girl actually presents a bit 
of a challenge. 

The artwork is pretty good and vibrantly rendered. With regards to 
sexual content, you'll see most of the scenes only when the girl 
accepts you as her boyfriend. The scenes are very graphic and are 
shown in their full uncensored glory, so it's worth the effort. 
You won't find anything hardcore like S&M or bondage though, as 
most of the girls you can make love to are first-timers and beg you 
to be gentle. 

Another great thing about Season of the Sakura is the multiple paths 
and endings. This gives you very good replay value for your money. 
I just wish Season of the Sakura had a fast-forward feature like 
"Snow Drop" so you could breeze through parts you've already read. 
It's a pain having to re-read lengthy dialogues over and over when 
trying to win the other ladies. But as it is, Season of the Sakura 
strikes a nice balance between story, gameplay, and adult entertainment.