Sakura Succubus 5 brings Hiroki and his harem of succubus girlfriends back for another round. The latest chapter also introduces more potential love interests for our protagonist, but the full package of this entry in the series feels tamer than previous ones.
One of the things that I appreciate about the Sakura Succubus series is that each new chapter feels just like that – another chapter. Rather than a series that has a definite ending, where another entry feels unnecessary and excessive, this series is more of a slice of life experience. Another entry is like another week in the life of Hiroki. In theory this series could go on forever, and I’d be okay with that.
As the reader I’m almost jealous of Hiroki. Not that he has a gaggle of beautiful women all vying for his attention, though maybe there is that. It’s that he’s living his best life. What started out for the young adult, working long hours in a drab job, turned out into a fantastical adventure. Love and adventure are now hallmarks of Hiroki’s daily life.
After meeting and wooing a series of succubi, Hiroki is now prepared to settle down with his harem and enjoy a quiet life.
Fate, however, has other plans, after Hifumi becomes embroiled with Princess Stephania Sofia Maria Isabella: a noblewoman who hails from the small European country, Astoria.
Stephania asks Hifumi to stay with her in Astoria, so she might teach her about karuta, and share with her stories about Japan. In Astoria, Hiroki meets and befriends both Princess Stephania and her dutiful maid, Elizabeth. As the days pass, both the princess and her maid begin to show an interest in Hiroki.
Could Elizabeth be more than she’s letting on – and what, exactly, is she scheming?
With the trip in the game to a new country it’s inevitable that there would be new women to interact with. In an effort to prevent the new story from feeling too busy, not all of Hiroki’s succubus harem are making the trip. While I’m sad that Cosmos wasn’t a major part of the story this time around, it was a good idea. It’s tougher to keep the story flowing with too many characters to follow. Especially with all of the character interactions featuring Hiroki.
That’s one of the things that I like about the Sakura Succubus series, with this fifth entry being no exception. The story keeps moving naturally. While certain scenes can feel long, they aren’t drawn out and have a natural feel and flow to them.
The only thing that doesn’t seem to flow, which has been a criticism I’ve had throughout the series, is that some scenes seem to abruptly end. Sakura Succubus is an ecchi series and on Steam it’s very much NSFW. I haven’t played through the original versions of the game and have been enjoying the series on the Nintendo Switch, so it’s possible that these jarring scene shifts are from cut adult content. These transitions where more intimate scenes are possibly being removed makes the resolution to the scenes feel a bit abrupt and lacking.
I’ve seen some of the images from the Steam versions, which definitely would never be approved on the Switch version, but it’s too bad there isn’t a way to include that part of the narrative. Assuming I’m correct about the missing content.
Related: Gamuzumi lewd waifus (NSFW)
As in previous episodes in the series the visuals of the game are stunning. The character art and images in the character gallery are beautiful as always. However, in contrast to the other games, the poses and art feel less lewd. Despite the M rating of the game, the images feel closer to a T rating.
With other recent releases from Gamuzumi (the console publisher of this game) including some nudity, three has been some talk that other games could recieve an update to include more lewd content. It would definitely be welcome.
The catchy and familiar soundtrack from previous Sakura Succubus games in back. A few more tracks were also introduced which have the same catchiness.
Winged Cloud recently announced a sixth entry in the series is coming in Q3 of 2022, which is great news as the game ended without a resolution. There were a few things up in the air and left unresolved.
While Sakura Succubus 5 feels less lewd than previous entries, it’s definitely another fun entry.
