Being surrounded by a harem of succubi can be an exciting time. Plenty of women vying for your attention while also getting along well with each other seems like a dream come true. But things can’t be simple forever. A storm is brewing in Sakura Succubus 3 and it’s going to take the entire cast to fight against the new force.
Story
Hiroki Ogasawara has settled into his role as the center of a succubus harem, with Marina, Cosmos, Ayu, Hifumi, and Hazel showering him with attention. However, there is a threat on the horizon: the leader of the succubi has finally turned her attention to Hiroki and we come to find out that the leader is actually Hiroki’s ex-girlfriend from high school, Yukie. And unlike the other succubi, she’s not looking to share.
Due to having a bit more conflict than the other two Sakura Succubus games, things are a bit more interesting. Yukie, also known as Lady Yue, is not friendly with the other succubi at first, with the exception of Hifumi and Hazel. Heads butt in multiple scenes and we even see new sides of characters that otherwise wouldn’t be shown if not for Yukie’s appearance. It’s a welcome change to fleshing out some of the girls’ personalities.
But of course, the addition of a new character does mean that some of the cast take a bit of a backseat. This is a growing problem with Sakura Succubus and one that will only precede to get worse as more women are added.
New Character
Yukie, also known as Lady Yue, is the newest addition to Hiroki’s harem of succubi. Her personality is fairly similar to Ayu’s in that she’s much more prickly than the other girls. Along with her jealous streak, her relationship with the other succubi (especially Marina) does add some dimension to the dynamic. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and given her status as the leader of the succubi, there aren’t many that are willing to stand up to her.
Gameplay
Sakura Succubus 3 continues in its predecessors’ footsteps by being a kinetic novel with a single ending. There are a few choices that you can make during your playthrough that will result in different text, but the actual moments during the game are exactly the same. Â Given the short nature of the game, you can choose to either save before the choices and play through to see the slight variations of text, or just play the whole game through multiple times.
Aesthetics
The art still holds up between Sakura Succubus 3 and the last two installments, although something that was more apparent with this title is the fact that CGs are starting to be reused in a way that is much more noticeable. Of course, given the cheap price point and short playtime, it makes sense to reuse some assets such as backgrounds and character sprites. But it does feel as though a precedent is being set when CGs during specific character moments such as dates end up being reused again.
Music and Audio
The music for Sakura Succubus 3 is the same as the last two games, to the point of immediately being filtered into the back of one’s mind. Like the backgrounds and character models, it makes sense to reuse some tracks, but it does beg a question of why these games are sold separately rather than altogether into one game.
Conclusion
Sakura Succubus 3 offers a bit of excitement when it comes to the introduction of Lady Yue, with her wanting to monopolize Hiroki’s attention. But outside of the addition of yet another character, it is much of the same old when it comes to this series. The art is still nice to look at, the writing is passable, and the characters have their own charm to them. But whether that alone is enough to insist that someone continue to invest in this series is a bit of a stretch.
Rating: 6/10.
