Sakura Nova - PS5 Platinum Review

Sakura Nova follows along the lines of Winged Cloud's other visual novels like Sakura Succubus and Sakura Swim Club in the sense it follows a number of girls with giant breasts and some very revealing clothing. This time the story follows three girls; Mikage, Kaguya, and Arisa who are training together at an academy for young and sexy aspiring knights. Having been forced to work together, they must learn to overcome their clashing personalities in an adventure mixing action, magic and humour. An interesting addition for this game is that Japanese voice acting has been included for all of the main characters which further helps bring the story to life.

There are 3 different endings which are decided by your decisions at 9 dialogue choices throughout the story so you'll need 3 different playthroughs to see them all and to grab the Platinum, however with the fast-forward / skip functionality, you can easily get through the story in a few minutes each time.

As with most other visual novels, the game features a variety of settings you can change to increase the speed of the text or to allow you to skip to important choices by pressing R1 while you're reading through it. The correct dialogue choices for each ending are listed in the hints and tips section below.

---

Overview

• Release Date: 21st October, 2021
• Publisher: Gamuzumi
• Developer: Winged Cloud
• Date Started: 20th October, 2021
• Date Completed: 20th October, 2021
• Version Played: Digital
• Price: £9.49 (PS4 & PS5 Version Bundle)
• Note: Gamuzumi were kind enough to provide a copy of the game for me to review.

---

The Good

• The PS4 and PS5 version are bundled together meaning two Platinum trophies are available.
• Japanese voice acting for all of the main characters.
• If you want to fast forward through the story, the Platinum can be yours in around 5 minutes!
• The background artwork is beautifully designed and highly detailed as always.
• A good variety of outfits and poses for the characters, with the usual high level of detail and quality.

---

The Bad

• There isn't an awful lot of drama in the story and although there are choices to be made, they don't hugely affect the outcome.
• The story comes across more like a romantic comedy and shouldn't be taken too seriously.
• Not a game you can play from your desk on your lunch hour at work!

---

Hardest Trophy

• All roads wandered - Every ending achieved.

If you follow the walkthrough below, all of the trophies will pop across the three ending runs, with this popping after the third run is complete.

---

Helpful Tips / Bugs / Glitches / Exploits

No exploits are required. If you're looking for a fast Platinum, head into the settings before you start and copy the image below, then press R1 to skip the story. You can unlock all trophies in 3 playthroughs providing you make the correct choices for each happy ending so follow the walkthrough below and you'll have the Platinum in around 5 minutes.


 

Platinum Trophy Walkthrough

Follow the options outlined below as you play through 3 separate times and you'll grab the Platinum after you've seen all 3 endings. The [number] at the start of each dialogue choice is the number of the choice required, with 1 being the top option.
 

Kaguya Ending

• Start Game
  • TROPHY: The adventure begins!
• [1] Avert your eyes in a panic
• [2] It's precisely times like this where you need to be calm
  • TROPHY: Slime slayer
• [2] Not one bit!
• [1] Help her pick out a present
  • TROPHY: Monster slayer
• [1] Big boobs are justice
• [1] Not at all
• [2] You guys don't have to exaggerate so much.
• [1] Go shopping
  • TROPHY: Goblin slayer
• [2] It's not really that big a deal, is it?
  • TROPHY: Demon slayer
  • TROPHY: Dressed up
  • TROPHY: Calm one charmed

 

Arisa Ending

• [1] Avert your eyes in a panic
• [1] Save her as fast as possible!
• [1] Honestly, I am a little happy...
• [2] Leave
• [2] I like them more around your size, Arisa
• [2] It's not that it bothers me, but...
• [1] It's all thanks to you guys, really.
• [2] Take a walk
• [1] But as a human being, isn't that the right mindset to have?
  • TROPHY: Cheerful charmed

 

Both Girls Ending

• [1] Avert your eyes in a panic
• [2] It's precisely times like this where you need to be calm
• [1] Honestly, I am a little happy...
• [1] Help her pick out a present
• [1] Big boobs are justice
• [1] Not at all
• [1] It's all thanks to you guys, really.
• [1] Go shopping
• [1] But as a human being, isn't that the right mindset to have?
  • TROPHY: Taming the teacher
  • TROPHY: Duo charmed
  • TROPHY: All roads wandered

---

Platinum Difficulty Rating - 1/10

It's very simple. Just read (or skip) through the story and make your dialogue choices for each of the 3 playthroughs / endings. Follow the walkthrough above and you'll have the Platinum in around 5 minutes.

---

Platinum Time - 5 Minutes

Skipping the story and quickly choosing the dialogue options I mentioned in the helpful tips section above will allow you to complete each playthrough in a minute or two, so you should be looking at completing it 3 times in around 5 minutes with ease. Playing through and reading the story properly will obviously depend on your reading speed, but it could take up to 10 hours.

---

Platinum Enjoyment Rating - 10/10

Another incredibly easy Platinum trophy (or two of them if you include the PS4 and PS5 version). There aren't too many dialogue choices and although it takes 3 full playthroughs, you can skip through pretty quickly and effortlessly with the guide above.

---

Overall Game Rating - 7/10

I feel like this is another of Winged Cloud's games where making artwork of semi-naked girls was prioritised more than writing a fully engaging story. It is entertaining and does have its humorous parts, as well as being one of the longest stories they've written so far, but the girls don't necessarily need to be as sexy as they are for any reason in the story. Given the price isn't too high and you'll definitely get your moneys' worth buying it to read the full thing, it's difficult to complain too much, however if you're just buying it for the two quick Platinums, it might be a bit on the expensive side as there isn't really any replay value once the trophies have popped. Enjoy some shots from the gallery below!

---

Platinum #729

Here are my most recent Platinum Trophies up to and including this game.

---

0 Comments Add Your Comment

---