This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love or Sakura Taisen V: Saraba, Itoshiki Hitoyo (サクラ大戦V ~さらば愛しき人よ~) is the fifth game in the Sakura Taisen series, and was developed by Sega for the PlayStation 2 and released in 2005.
Sakura Taisen V was designed both to appeal to an international audience and a non-Sega consumer base, due to the demise of the Sega Dreamcast. It takes place mostly in New York with an entirely new set of characters, though is still canon to the rest of the series. It was released as the last entry in the "Sakura Taisen World Project" marketing strategy, and is the first game in the series to be officially released in North America, where it was renamed and released in 2010 as Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love. Europe, alongside North America, also saw the game brought to the Wii in around the same period.
In 2009, Nippon Ichi Software'sAmerican division announced they would release the game in English. The PS2 version was released in North America in 2010 as and a translated port to the Wii was released in both North America and Europe shortly thereafter. It represents the first Sakura Taisen release in English.
A special "Showtime Box" version with merchandise was also released.
Release
Though successful in Asian markets (as with prior games), Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love bombed in the West and failed to see the series anywhere near the same amount of traction as in Japan.