I seldom get excited over a video game, but I fell in love with Sakura Taisen after watching the opening song of this Sega Saturn game only once! It definitely has the look and feel of a great anime (check out the Sakura Taisen OVA Series!). The exciting thing about Sakura Taisen is (apart from the cute characters of course ^_^;) the refreshing combination of an RPG adventure game with a light-weight dating game. Another important ingredient which makes this game unique is the very colorful and nostalgic background story, a contrast from other games in the genre. Oh and did I mention the cute characters that everyone must fall for? ^_^ (the characters are designed by none other than Ah! My Goddess's Kosuke Fujishima) The story happens in an alternate Japan around 1922, where the player assumes the role of Ichirou Oogami, a 20-year old ensign in the Imperial Navy. Ichirou has just been assigned to lead the operation of the Hanagumi (Flower Team) of the secret Imperial Floral Assault Unit. To his initial surprise and dismay, the Hanagumi is composed of 6 young girls who're also members of the Imperial Theater Company (which sounds the same as "Imperial Floral Assault Unit" in Japanese). It will be Ichirou's lucky (or otherwise ^_^) task to keep the girls in line while leading them into battles against a host of villains. Depending on how Ichirou interacts with the girls during the course of the game, their fighting morales will differ, and more importantly, their amorous feeling towards Ichirou (the player) will differ as well ^_^ Needless to say, everyone wants to go after Sakura (the main heroine) but it isn't always easy ^_^ Sakura Taisen came out in September of 96 and took Japan by storm. Since then it has been the most popular Saturn game in Japan and has won numerous awards and honors.
Besides Fujishima-sensei, the production team of Sakura Taisen also includes other celebrated talents like voice actress Yokoyama Chisa (Sasami in Tenchi), anime creator Akahori Satoru (who's responsible for many of the best anime shows), and many others. Sakura Taisen is indeed a game with an all-star cast.
I haven't had this much fun playing a video game like I had with Sakura Taisen, so my recommendation is: If you own a Sega Saturn, go get this game at once! If you don't have a Saturn, go get one just for this game! No kidding, it's that good! (in fact I think I already spent much more on Sakura Taisen products than the cost of my Saturn ^_^;)