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Review


SAKURA ARMS REVIEW

Reviewed by Tyler Chancey

Published: July 22, 2022 11:00 AM

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Sakura Arms is one of the most popular fighting card games in Japan. The core
idea is that, rather than picking up booster packs or premade decks, each box of
the game contains everything you need to play. Furthermore, it is highly
replayable thanks to the variety of playstyles it allows. Now, thanks to a
successful Kickstarter campaign, Bakafire Party and Level 99 Games have given
this unique take on a card game a full English localization and overseas
release. It is also one of the most pleasant surprises I have had at a gaming
table this year.

My first mistake was thinking Raira was a berserker. My second was not fully
reading Chikage's poisons.


HOW TO PLAY SAKURA ARMS?

Sakura Arms is a competitive card fighting game. Every match is framed as a
sword duel with you and your opponent seeking blessings and guidance from sacred
goddesses as you fight under a sacred sakura blossom tree.



Each box of Sakura Arms contains the following. You have six different Goddess
boards, 40 wooden sakura petal game pieces, a game board, six different
component sheets, a rulebook, and 80 different cards. At the start of every
match, you pick two different Goddesses, using their boards and component sheets
to better understand their unique playstyles. You then take the cards related to
your selected Goddesses and assemble a small deck of ten cards. Seven of these
cards are shuffled together to form your deck, the other 3 are Ultimate
abilities which are set to the side and kept face-down until you activate them.

Once you and your opponent's decks are built, you put together the game board
and fill it with the wooden sakura petals. If your selected Goddesses have
boards tied to their unique mechanics, you attach them to the board as well. The
petals represent not just the distance between your opponent, but your resources
and your health as well. You and your opponent then draw and play cards in
alternating turns, resolving their effects and moving petals on the board
accordingly. Whoever loses all ten of their health petals loses the match.




HOW DOES IT FEEL TO PLAY SAKURA ARMS?

Sakura Arms made an amazing first impression with its production quality. The
cards feature beautiful woodblock-style artwork, packing each of the Goddesses
with personality and visual flair. The game board and sakura petals are drenched
in palpable texture and care, making you feel like you are about to take part in
a sacred duel between two respected equals. The wooden sakura petals are painted
perfectly and sport a fine texture, making it easy to pick them up and move them
consistently. The game boards are of a high quality double-layered cardboard.
Each box even contains six tuckboxes featuring chibi-artwork of the various
Goddesses. Finally, the English localization, barring one or two typos, is
great. Whenever you pick up a Sakura Arms box, you aren't just picking up decks
of cards; you are getting a full card game experience.

In addition, while each Sakura Arms box can be played as a complete standalone
experience, they are also compatible with other boxes. If a single box with six
Goddessses allowing for multiple different configurations and deck strategies
weren't enough, try mixing and matching with all three boxes with a grand total
of eighteen Goddesses.

As for playing a match of Sakura Arms, it can be intimidating at first. As
mentioned before, each Goddess coincides with a certain playstyle. Yurina's a
straightforward aggressive type with her katana; just close the distance and
unleash hell. Shinra is all about interrupting your opponent, either by
disabling abilities or by exiling cards from their discard pile. Himika uses
guns, which means you have to keep your distance to use her abilities
effectively. Chikage fills the opponent's deck with hand cluttering poisons that
damage over time. The list goes on.

Shinra disrupts, Yurina closes the gap and finishes them off. I won two games in
a row with this combo and it felt amazing.

Furthermore, each Goddess' deck is made up entirely of cards that either support
this playstyle or play into their more involved unique mechanics. Each one of
these cards are effective and appealing in one way or another with very little
unoptimal choices. If you can imagine doing a draft in Magic: The Gathering but
only getting high-tier mythic rares, you have an idea of what you're in for.



However, this does make the barrier to entry higher than normal. My first
matches were nightmares. Certain Goddess strategies didn't complement each other
as much as I thought, or I misunderstood a mechanic and realized the playstyles
weren't compatible. Or worse, my opponent caught on faster and got first pick of
their Goddesses, leaving me to improvise on the fly. Even choices made in the
moment are daunting. Your hand can never exceed two cards and whenever you
discard at the end of a turn you discard your spares face-down to keep your
opponent guessing. Sakura Arms expects you to have some experience with deck
strategies as well as mind games in order to play at the level it demands and it
can be a lot to process at first.

However, after my seventh match or so, everything began to click. The resource
economy of the sakura petals that take into account not just your health pool
and distance but your consumable defensive Aura and offensive Flair. Card combos
that lead to devastating Ultimate abilities bringing my opponent to zero in a
single turn. The shear variety of playstyles went from being an overwhelming
demand to an exciting challenge.


Adorable, functional, and conveniently packaged for ease of set up and storage.
Brilliant.


SHOULD I BUY SAKURA ARMS?

If you are familiar with fighting card games and are quick to learn some new
strategies, I highly recommend any of the Sakura Arms boxes. If you are worried
about steep learning curves and are turned off by the lack of onboarding but are
still interested, I still recommend Sakura Arms. Start with the Yurina Box, and
once you feel comfortable and want more, you can check out either the Saine or
Yatsuha Boxes. It can be a lot to take in at first, but it is a Japanese board
game experience that you won't forget.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Sakura Arms Yurina Box, Saine Box, and Yatsuha Box used for this review were
provided by the publisher.


REVIEW SUMMARY

If you can get through some intimidating early learning experiences, Sakura Arms
is a deeply rewarding Japanese fighting card game packed with great art, well
made game pieces, and endlessly replayable variety.
(Review Policy)


Tyler Chancey | Staff Writer

Ever since he was small, Tyler Chancey has had a deep, abiding love for video
games and a tendency to think and overanalyze everything he enjoyed. This… More
about Tyler



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