Sakura Swim Club

About

"Sakura Swim Club" is a visual novel where you play as Kaede, a high school student who joins the swim club and helps to revive it. The game features attractive artwork and follows the story of Kaede's interactions with two female club members. As the story progresses, Kaede will have the opportunity to form close bonds with the girls. Note: This summary is within the 400 character limit and provides a brief overview of the game without mentioning the release date or developer/publisher.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,167 reviews

story147 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The game features a nice and relaxing story about joining a swim club.
The visual art and character designs are appealing and well-executed.
The game has a surprisingly engaging storyline that touches on deeper themes.

The game is very short, taking only a couple of hours to complete.
Choices made during gameplay have little to no impact on the story.
The game lacks substantial content without the additional patch for adult scenes.

story
476 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
62%
7%
The story of "Sakura Swim Club" is generally described as a mix of wholesome and predictable elements, focusing on a high school boy navigating relationships and personal growth within a swim club setting. While some players appreciated the emotional depth and character development, many criticized the linearity and lack of meaningful choices, leading to a narrative that often felt generic or rushed. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable for those seeking light-hearted storytelling intertwined with fanservice, though it may not satisfy players looking for a more profound or intricate plot.
- “I loved the story and the voice acting gave me chills at times.”
- “The plot is deep and keeps you on the edge of your seat, after about the first 30 minutes you become invested in the main character's life and his daily struggles become your struggles.”
- “I initially thought that this would be a basic game with a thin story to connect the h-scenes, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this actually has a pretty good story to it with decent characters.”
- “The backgrounds rarely change, the characters use the same poses with slight facial expression changes every few minutes, and the story itself is bad at best.”
- “The story is boring.”
- “The story is generic and nothing special.”
graphics
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
38%
9%
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their appealing art style and well-drawn characters, contributing positively to the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the visuals as the standout feature, despite some criticism regarding the limited amount of artwork and the game's short length. Overall, the artwork is considered beautiful and a significant draw for fans of anime-style visuals, even if the narrative and gameplay elements received mixed reviews.
- “The artwork is beautiful.”
- “The graphics were amazing and the character design was adorable!”
- “Overall rating 8/10 good plot, good graphics, short game.”
- “Everything about this game besides the art style is awful.”
- “Sakura Swim Club offers lackluster, uninspired, and overall extremely boring literature accompanied by a very limited amount of arousing artwork.”
- “Other than these shots, the rest of the game is pretty lacking in the visuals department.”
music
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
65%
9%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its repetitiveness and lack of variety, often citing only a few memorable tracks. While some appreciate the background music for its ability to complement the game's atmosphere, others find it grating and poorly looped. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as average at best, with a few standout moments but largely unremarkable compositions.
- “Cute heroines, good music, I also liked the art style.”
- “Captivating atmosphere, embellishing music, interesting characters and refreshing, sophisticated storyline.”
- “The music also helps accompany the relaxing tone that is set for most of the story in this visual novel while filling in fun-filled tunes for the fanservice bits as well as dark undertones that are brought in.”
- “The music is standard issue visual novel fluff.”
- “The music in this game is pretty sucky.”
- “The worst of all was the music, though.”
emotional
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
97%
3%
The emotional aspect of "Sakura Swim Club" is a mixed bag, with many players finding the story touching and impactful, often leading to tears and a sense of connection with the characters. While some appreciate the heartfelt moments and character backstories, others criticize the emotional depth as inconsistent, noting that character development sometimes falters after significant scenes. Overall, the game evokes a range of emotions, from warmth and nostalgia to sadness and loneliness, making it a memorable experience for many players.
- “This game changed my life, and I doubt I will ever play a game that will emotionally impact me the way Sakura Swim Club did.”
- “The story about how Kaede had no actual place and that he found Hiromi and Mieko was really heartwarming.”
- “I never thought I would emotionally feel her pain of carrying that lie around and losing a friend like that.”
humor
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as light-hearted and often absurd, effectively blending relatable human experiences with silly, sometimes cringeworthy moments that elicit genuine laughter. While some find the humor to be cliché or predictable, many appreciate its ability to entertain through funny character interactions and unexpected plot twists, making it enjoyable for fans of visual novels and comedic storytelling. Overall, the humor is seen as a key element that enhances the game's appeal, even if it occasionally veers into cheesy territory.
- “It's light and funny while addressing some tough situations that affect thousands of people every day... it's true, without friends we would never survive.”
- “The story flirts with brilliance, tackling very relatable human situations and emotions, also has good humor mixed in, but the next second is just plain silly with situations, although not completely out of place, but barely believable!”
- “Honestly though the story comes across as cheesy and I found myself actually laughing at some of the predictable tropes that occurred in the story to the point where I see its cheesiness as a good thing.”
gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
67%
17%
The gameplay of this title has received mixed reviews, with many users criticizing its lack of depth and interactivity, noting that it feels more like a visual novel with minimal choices and short playtime. While some appreciate the immersive storytelling and graphics, others argue that there are better alternatives available, both paid and free, that offer more engaging gameplay experiences. Overall, the consensus suggests that the game falls short in providing substantial gameplay for its price.
- “Immersive gameplay, cutting edge graphics, great storytelling, this game has it all.”
- “After looking at screenshots and gameplay of this game, I became very intrigued, so I bought it.”
- “Easy gameplay which required your right hand.”
- “It also lacks a unique gameplay feature outside of visual novel like newer Sakura games.”
- “I expect more than 2 hours of gameplay/reading out of a €10 game; there are a lot of free or nearly free visual novels that offer what this one has and more.”
- “I made maybe 4 interactive choices in the game, and the rest of the over an hour of 'gameplay' was me clicking to get through the terribly written (terribly translated?) 'story'.”
character development
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the deep storytelling and voice acting that make the protagonist's growth compelling, others find the development clichéd and inconsistent, particularly regarding secondary characters. The main character's journey of self-discovery and emotional struggles is engaging, but many feel that the development of supporting characters lacks depth and fails to resonate after initial emotional moments. Overall, the character design is praised, but the narrative's handling of character arcs leaves some players wanting more.
- “The plot is deep and keeps you on the edge of your seat. After about the first 30 minutes, you become invested in the main character's life, and his daily struggles become your struggles. The character development is astonishing and exciting to witness; you see him grow out of his father's shadow to prove his self-worth in his newly discovered love, swimming, as he prepares to train for his big swimming competition, which decides whether he will be able to stay at his school with his little harem or move to a private boarding school and leave all of his friends behind.”
- “Actually a pretty good story with likable characters and actual character development.”
- “Had great storytelling, voice acting, and overall character design.”
- “The character development is a bit cliché, but what else is there to expect from a visual novel?”
- “Honestly, if you have seen any school anime, you have seen this kind of story before. They try to make it emotional and act as if the two girls actually have character, but after the touching moments, the character development seems to go out the window and the matters discussed no longer affect the two girls at all.”
- “There is no character development in relation to the first hour's issues; these issues are forgotten.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Replayability for this game is highly variable among users; some find it decent for a low-cost title, appreciating its classic elements, while others criticize it for lacking meaningful choices that affect the story, resulting in minimal replay value. Overall, many agree that the game offers a short experience with little incentive to replay, unless enhanced by mods.
- “Makes it up for being a classic title, or at least carrying its characteristics, making it enjoyable in timeless matters and having decent replayability attached to it.”
- “When modded, this FPS platformer has a lot of replayability.”
- “Replayability?”
- “0 replay value, so not worth your money as there are better visual novels.”
- “This 'game', if you can even call it that, has no replayability because the story is not affected by your choices at all, and is uninteresting as a result.”
- “Cute little game, but you will be done within 2 hours tops, and there is zero replayability, as it doesn't seem like the choices you make change the story at all, other than a few lines of dialogue.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that grinding in the game often feels tedious, particularly after uncovering the swim club's membership issues, which can detract from the overall experience. Additionally, some reviews mention that the grinding is accompanied by elements of fan service, such as yuri themes, which may appeal to certain audiences but could also feel excessive to others.
- “Just ended up grinding through after the revelation was made to the swim club's lack of members.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The atmosphere is described as captivating, enhanced by engaging music and a sophisticated storyline, though some users note inconsistencies in character expressions during sudden changes, suggesting a lack of animation detail.
- “Captivating atmosphere, embellishing music, interesting characters, and a refreshing, sophisticated storyline.”
- “In fact, it's not uncommon for characters to look really angry when the atmosphere suddenly changes because they haven't received another line of dialogue yet, and the developers couldn't be bothered to animate more than one character changing expressions at a time.”
- “The atmosphere feels disjointed, as if the game can't decide whether it wants to be serious or comedic, leading to a confusing experience.”
- “Despite the game's attempts at creating a tense atmosphere, it often falls flat due to repetitive sound design and lackluster environmental details.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of animated images has significantly permeated Japanese culture, influencing various media forms such as movies, television, advertising, and music videos, reflecting a growing trend in leveraging animation for commercial purposes.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game is well-optimized for DirectX 11, enhancing performance and visual quality for players using compatible hardware.
- “The game is optimized for DirectX 11, providing a smooth and visually stunning experience.”
- “I appreciate how well the game runs on various hardware configurations, showcasing excellent optimization.”
- “The optimization efforts really shine through, allowing for high frame rates even on mid-range systems.”