RPGM - Completed - Sakura Gozen [v1.10] [kaniheadcrab]

tl;dr: The main story is unique and above average for the genre. The rest of the game is very middling with some pretty uninspiring H content.

Story 4/5
This is the main selling point of the game. They really tried to create something more intriguing than your average H RPG Maker game. While the main story offers numerous surprising developments it is completely separate from the H content outside of bad end scenarios where you lose to some monstrous beast. The side content is far less interesting and almost always boils down to "go talk to this person for 5-10 minutes to get a 2 minute CG H scene". The writing of the characters is above average but everyone just talks soooooooo much that it gets quite tiresome after the first chapter and I found myself skipping 90% of the dialogue because characters would just say the same things over and over when the objective of a given mission was very clear.

H Content 2/5
Static CGs with 2-3 frames to give illusion of movement. Frankly I didn't find the art style of the CGs very appealing nor the writing to be anything special. Most of the scenes were varying degrees of vanilla and they're so all over the place that I doubt someone looking for fetish content is going to be satisfied. H content is completely separate from the gameplay which is the game's biggest failing point. Enemies won't grab you, strip you, intoxicate you, or otherwise give you anything erotic in battles. All of the content is strictly either given upon battle loss or voluntarily engaged with from dialogue choices. This means that the content really doesn't feel integrated into the gameplay at all and is a really big missed opportunity.

During battle you get this huge sprite of the main character on the screen but she doesn't do anything other than just stand there. Nowadays I would highly expect a game like this to utilize a live 2d image of the protagonist taking battle damage or being harassed. At a minimum differing CGs in response to monster attacks. Instead you get *nothing*. This just adds on to the odd feeling from going from the game play to H content with no lead up or build up in between - a very dated design.

Gameplay 3/5
A mildly interesting combat system undercut by the fact that there are so many battles against pointless animals in the wilderness that you become incredibly overpowered without even needed to engage in the games built in upgrade system. If you do utilize the upgrade system you become so godlike that losing (and hence getting the H scene) becomes a binary choice of voluntarily consuming a instant loss item rather than organically coming out of the interactions between protag girl and whatever enemy she's fighting.

Translation 3/5
Understandable but about 1/4 text boxes has some awkwardly translated line that makes you scratch your head a little bit. The dialogue is all extremely casual and somewhat 4th wall breaking which sometimes doesn't translate well.

Awesome story & funny animation!

The H-scense are ok.

But a cool combat system!

A great game from beginning to end.

It took me about 8h to 100% complete it for the EX-Ending.

i really dont get the general positive vibe for this game, but everyone has a different opinion so here is mine:

boring text that you can BARELY fast forward, but you'll still sit here several hours seing text that i myself dont give a shit about. not to mention it reads cringy.

basic rpg combat gameplay.

sex scenes/cg basic. pictures, sometimes 2 different ones to give you the illusion of movement.

even with fast travel the walking back and forth just feels tedious and takes forever.

personally i just dont like it. at all.

Edit: People giving this 1-star after "playing for 15 minutes" are not a good indication of this game's quality. But that should be obvious.

Absolutely brilliant. One of the best H-RPGs I've played. Actually feels like an really good anime with H-elements.

Summary: Great art, entertaining story, sexy/endearing characters, dope outfits, H-stats system, multiple endings in one playthrough, S-tier lesbian scenes, oddly satisfying story etc.

Pros:

(+) Amazing art-style, with hand drawn CG including simple, yet impactful animations, really nice pixel art and animations too. Custom stances for some outfits, custom peeing CG for those outfits, custom scenes for some outfits, and lots of high quality scenes.

Standing models are great and character design is fantastic. Level and art direction is also on point, the general feudal game world setting is really immersive and peaceful.

(+) Great writing. I don't ever expect much from H-RPGs but this one was really good. Story is impactful and entertaining from the start, lacks the usual cringe VN style word-vomit that many of these games are guilty of. This was made with passion, and it's evident in the backstories and details in this games narration/story telling. Some super funny moments too. Really like some of these characters. Felt like an interactive anime sometimes.

Actually, went "wtf" during some of the scenes and actually had some wholesome feels during the true ending. All endings can be done in a single playthrough. Really likeable characters.

(+) H-stats system, progression feels decent. Different CG for corruption levels. It is a bit too simplistic and would've liked more H-levels. But overall quite good.

(+) Some of the best lesbian scenes. And some really hot low-key ones too if you're paying attention.

(+) Tons of outfits and sexy poses.

(+) Lots of QoL items and options to skip the grind.

(+) Turn based battle system with a fun interactive element, that gets easier with stats. Only really ruined by the constant flashing (which isn't a problem for those without photosensitivity)

(+) The UI/UX is actually fine. There's lots of QoL such as fast travel from menu, the option for shopping from menu, H-stats, Suzune notes/glossary etc. The design is thematic and the UX is usable. Nothing spectacular though.

Cons:

(-) Again, the story is entertaining, though there are some really dumb moments. And there are the occasional over explaining/word-vomit moments. Still really good as it doesn't happen too often.

(-) Censorship. Ruins this great art-style. Fortunately it's not too aggressive. Not the fault of the game but rather backwards Japanese laws.

(-) FLASHING! Cum flashing and battle flashing with no way to turn it off.

Conclusion: I really hope this gets released uncensored on Steam. I would insta get it. Really enjoyed this one.

Misleading 5 star reviews. Very mediocore game with basic CGs. Game tries too hard to include a bunch of fetish which ends up being mediocore if you are interrested in a specific one. Overall I couldn't play more than 15 minutes, because of how dull and boring the Game is. I gave it a 2 star only for the somewhat good quality of CG, other than that Very poor.

Played for the H-Content, stayed for the story. 5/5

No but seriously the story has to be some of the most insane and creative things I've seen. Hard to make a porn game with an even acceptable story but this one just hits. Amazing. Play it.

The visuals in this game are truly top-notch, showcasing incredible attention to detail and artistic excellence. The story is nothing short of a masterpiece, drawing you in with its depth and creativity. If you're searching for a unique porn-themed game that combines an engaging, well-crafted narrative with sexy artwork, look no further, this is the game for you.

I can't go below 3 nor above 4 stars for this. In the end I decided that the "Average" score fits it more.

Average doesn't equal bad, most games on this site are sitting between 3-4 stars. And I feel like this one fits into them.

Other reviews seemed so positive that I went "Oh shit" but I didnt feel the same while playing it. It's objectively speaking certainly of higher quality, but I can't find that amazing appeal people seem to find or pretend to find? Assuming a lot there but it doesn't feel genuine, it feels and reads like paid reviews for some reason. Like they're trying to make you buy the game because it sucks your dick and doesn't call you gay afterwards.


People gave other games 2 stars for far less, like "too easy combat, I dont give a shit, bad game", but here easy combat is dismissed for no reason other than "the rest is worth it".
Sadly the rest didn't hold my attention or interest. Again, I would give it 4 stars if speaking entirely objectively without any feelings because it IS above average, but I - subjectively speaking - cannot for the life of me find the appeal.


Lastly, the broad amount of fetishes it tries to please feels like it ends up pleasing noone. It feels like quantity over quality and some inevidable ones, which could be a huge turnoff if a certain kind of fetish would make you ALT+F4 just by seeing it. Great example being piss content. I dont like it and I couldn't avoid it. Fun times.

TLDR: I'm personally skipping on this one, but if you really feel like giving it a fair try, play the first 15-20min like other reviews said and decide yourself on whether it feels worthwhile.

A breath of fresh air from all the shitty games we usually play here, story is great, art is beautiful, gameplay is fun with all the different weapon and weaknesses but overpowered items makes it really pointless, but overall the game is really polished for a RPGM game.

I appreciate all the quality of life features, with no bugs and the ability to unlock the full gallery if you happen to get bored, there's no reason for you not to play it, it really is one of the best games I played in a while, for sure.

This game isn't worth experiencing for the porn or the gameplay, which are by themselves 3/5 and 2/5 respectively, but for the story. If you want to get the best possible experience out of this, DON'T PLAY IT UNTIL SOMEONE PROPERLY TRANSLATES IT!

It's one of those games where I say, play chapter 1 (not just prologue) and decide for yourself whether you want to play this. I don't think the game is perfect. The gameplay loop is repetitive, combat is too easy, the weapon system was interesting for the tutorial, but not in-depth enough to stay interesting past that, the H-experience system might as well not be there and the H-scenes are fine, but pretty standard these days.

But there's a point during chapter 1 which made me go from wanting to finish, to wanting to finish the game. The story is good. Too good for machine translation.

If you just want the porn, I'd still say wait until proper translation, because I didn't go in for the story, but it got me hooked anyway.

Standing CG generally drawn decently, but most else of the game is mediocre to poor, generally messy (albeit very easy game to navigate and play), is annoying on the eyes (e.g. low quality environment and backgrounds) and constant random sounds during dialogue. I'm not seeing the high score on DLsite (much of the 5/5 reviews on here can be dismissed as they've vested interest in the game). Likewise with the scenes/text, it's overall bizarro and sudden but sometimes humorous.

I can only chalk it up to one of those 'popular or highly-rated games that just doesn't do it for me'. If the art interests you, perhaps just give the prologue a play (~15-20 minutes) and then see if it still holds your interest. I found it to be overall mediocre and for RPGM standards, it's average at best and I generally like HRPGM too.

EDIT: Minor addition.

Okay! Obtained the final ending and I gotta say... FIVE STARS! The game absolutely stands above most other RPGM games on F95 here and showcases the great potential of RPGM as a platform. As expected from the makers of the Monstrous Horror Show! You can definitely tell the developers put love in this game.

Sakura Gozen pushes the boundaries of what we traditionally expect from RPGM titles with its entertaining writing, dynamic gameplay, and stellar art. The humor and dark themes blend well, creating a tone that's entertaining and interesting to prod into. From the good plot to the polished UI (which is shockingly smooth compared to most RPGM games), everything about this game exceeds expectations. The developers have clearly poured immense talent and creativity into every aspect of it.

The combat is fresh and fun, combining both turn-based and rhythm elements. The system of using multiple weapons with unique attacks offers plenty of variety, and while it might be easy to overpower enemies with the help of useful items, it's still satisfying. Plus, the option to skip erotic cutscenes after seeing the description of it is a major quality-of-life feature so you may skip any erotic scene of a certain fetish you're not into (for example, I skipped a scene with feet because I'm not into.

The art is great across the board—both the pixel art and CG are stunning. The minor animations in the art add life to every scene, especially the battle sequences. The music is just as impressive, always matching the tone and keeping you immersed, even during the more straightforward battles.

One of the best parts is how it respects your time—there's no unnecessary grind, and the pacing is perfect. The gameplay is designed to be fun and engaging without making you feel bogged down by repetitive tasks. The story is equally captivating, with unexpected twists that keep you on your toes from the very first chapter. The balance of humor and more serious moments is handled well.

On the downside, the game is easy due to the abundance of healing items and buffs, meaning you never really feel the pressure of defeat. Though I don't mind it too much.

Overall, this is one of those rare games in the RPGM genre that combines deep, well-executed mechanics with top-tier art and good storytelling. If you’re looking for a game with a entertaining plot, great gameplay, and fantastic erotic content, this one is definitely worth your time—and don’t forget to support kaniheadcrab, the devs who made it all happen!

Edit: Don't dismiss any review unlike what the reviewer above mine said.

Kino Masterpiece and an absolute best-use case example of RPGM potential by talented Devs that push the traditional expectation of what a game engine could be capable of, as well as excellent humors and artistic with dark themes, in other words, very Kino writing, systems , art, UI (not clunky at all and incredible actually compared to most RPGM titles) , both turn based and real time gameplay, plot, direction, Everything! Just exceeds every expectation and is extremely entertaining.

++ Props to the amazing translation! Really Amazing

The One CON is the ☆★LoliCON Content

Edit: Initially I wrote about difficulty scaling , but a certain ending feels like a pretty tough fight. I am still not done playing at the time of review

++ Some people on here are suggesting that the 5* is misplaced after having barely played 5 mins of the game, this game is a very immersive story rich narrative driven self-paced RPG with optional fast corruption , its moronic to even leave a rating. At the time of typing this sentence I have 7:17:00 clocking in my save and I'm deep into chapter 2 side missions with barely a SeXP of 4

Once in a while a game like this comes every few months that serves a good mix of erotica and story content. This is one of those games. Story engaging enough to keep you entertained and with a good amount of scenes with good quality. The battle system is also decent albeit takes some getting used to but its not too hard. Plus the option to skip already seen non-erotic cutscenes is a feature I wish most games of this genre would have.

Gameplay: 5/5 Very good gameplay. The system of having 5 weapons with multiple attacks is not too complicated, but not too difficult to deal with. Also, to avoid getting boring the game gives you the option to instakill regular mob enemies, making grinding for the best weapons a cinch.

Story 4/5 I liked the story a lot. What you think is gonna be a fun comedy game quickly shifts into what the fuck by the end of the first chapter, and proceeds nicely from there on. Despite the sudden tone shift, comedy continues while being fairly well executed and merged with the story. However, the use of a few characters like Sakuraba Ouma was somewhat botched I would say, since his position shifts wildly throughout the story.

Art: 5/5 The art in this game is fantastic, showing off dynamism and power. The music is also suitably dramatic. There was no shortage of talent in this game's development.

It's an excellent game.

This is one of those RPGM Gems, that pops up once in a blue moon.

Theres basically no grind, no bullshit.
Scenes, events and even music are great.
The table of contents is just perfect for its category.

Dude, just fucking play the game. And if it's possible, suport this creator.

The game feels a bit clunky in the beginning but you get used to it. The CG is really good and the game has a pretty good flow to it. The story is actually really good, what happens at the end of chapter 1 is pretty insane. The only downsides, one being personal and the other being more objective, is the protagonist's tits are a bit big for my taste and really makes the more serious cutscenes feel a bit off and the translations are a bit off, especially for the UI and tool tip related stuff. The heartache mechanic from the help screen seemed like it was permanent but it is not and actually quite easy to get rid of.

First off, I 100%'d this game (did the revising/editing and some bug fixes). To avoid bias, I usually refrain from reviewing games I've helped translate, but I think this one was good enough to just go ahead and do it safely.

Story 5/5 - The game has very humorous and tropey dialogue, and a good mixture of serious segments, as well. It never gets boring, even when doing the side quests. It is VERY Japanese, though, so be prepared to see a lot of weeb speak and TL notes (I could not localize a lot of the jokes, and had to settle for explaining them instead).

Artwork 5/5 - This game's art is great in all sections: H-Scenes, roaming, and battles. On top of looking good, a lot of it also has minor animations (e.g. 3 to 5 frames being looped). The pixel art is BEAUTIFUL, and I love that the gallery has preview pixel art for every single h-scene in the game, despite being completely unnecessary. I would honestly love to see a game by this developer that focuses more on their pixel artwork. No hate on the CG, though--both look fantastic.

Combat 4/5 - The combat is great, at its core... You select up to 5 attacks to use per turn, and then you do a mini-game to land "Perfect" hits for each attack. That part is fun. Unfortunately, the combat is WAY too easy. You're given all these healing items and stat-boosting combat items throughout the game, but you never need to use a single one. Even against this game's Superboss, I ended up using only 2 healing items.

Music 5/5 - Not much to say here. The music is just REALLY good. So good, that it makes the overly-easy battles still feel somewhat exciting.

Total: 4.75/5

An Awesome game. It's a "2d" rpg game with qte based combat. There are A LOT of different scenes, with a good variety of kinks. All it's main cast of characters are very well designed, and the story....is Very sad.

One of the honestly too few H-games where "I played it for the plot" works both ways.

It also feels like it respects the player's time, which is also an unfortunately uncommon aspect of these type of games.