Sakura Beach 2

Developer: Winged Cloud | Publisher: Winged Cloud | Release Date: 2015 | Genre: Casual / Visual Novel / Indie | Website: N/A | Purchase: Steam

The original Sakura Beach starred a clueless boy named Seiji dealing with his two childhood friends Momoko and Ayumi throwing themselves at him while all he could think about was space. Seiji genuinely came across as braindead in the story as his two nymphomaniac friends did everything in their power to seduce him to no avail. At the end of the game, players could help Seiji decide whether he wants to date Momoko or Ayumi along with the third option of dating both of them at the same time. Sakura Beach 2 is set a few months after the events of the first game and sees Seiji and the girls returning to the same resort for another holiday.

At the start of the game, players can choose which choice Seiji made at the end of the last game, but apart from a few altered lines of text, it makes very little difference to the story. A sense of deja vu also immediately kicks in as the game features the exact same sprites and backgrounds as the original. Even with the addition of a new girl, named Nene, who shows up out of nowhere Sakura Beach 2 feels more like a fan disc than a sequel. The excuse for the holiday is that Seiji has been getting a lot of hate at school from other students because of his love life and that he needed a break. The irony is that despite having a personal harem, Seiji has still not even kissed one of the girls. Both girls still behave the same too and even scenes like Seiji getting knocked out by a pillow for walking in on them are trotted out again.

When Seiji is not walking in on the girls while they are in compromising situations he’s spending time with them on the beach or talking to Nene. The backstory for Nene makes just as little sense as the rest of the game as she’s apparently living close to the beach in a huge mansion with strict parents. Despite this, she’s clueless when it comes to social interactions and gropes Ayumi during their first meeting because of utterly ridiculous reasons. Predictably enough, Nene also takes an immediate interest in Seiji and signs up for his sexless harem. The other girls react to this with varying degrees of resentment and resignation while Seiji continues acting like a preschooler when it comes to love and intimacy. On a whole the writing is even more awkward than the first game and reading Seiji constantly refer to breasts as “fruit” is just cringeworthy.

Sakura Beach 2 offers the illusion of choice, but in reality, the different options in the game appear to not matter at all. For example, when asked where he wants to go the options are “the beach” or “fishing.” Pick the first and the characters will trot off to the beach. Pick the second and the girls will tell Seiji he’s an idiot and then go to the beach. This continues throughout the game with different choices only leading to one or two different lines of text before continuing along the same path. Seiji can once again pick one of the girls or all of them at the end of the game, but even the endings are pretty similar.

Visually Sakura Beach 2 looks exactly like the first game thanks to the recycled backgrounds and sprites. The only difference is the addition of Nene as well as some brand new CGs of the girls in their skimpy swimsuits or underwear. These scenes do show a lot of skin, but very little outright nudity and absolutely no sex. The game doesn’t feature any voice acting either and only minimal sound effects. In addition, the soundtrack appears to be the same as the first game as well.

Overall, there is very little to recommend about Sakura Beach 2. The humor is dull, the characters cliched and the protagonist even more annoying than the typical clueless VN lead. There’s definitely not enough to the story to keep readers interested, despite how short it is and even the CGs, as nice as they are, pales in comparison to other titles. Those who played and enjoyed the first game might be interested to know what happens to Seiji and his harem, but everyone else can give Sakura Beach 2 a wide berth.