Overview

Welcome to Sakura! This guide will help you get started playing NScripter and ONScripter visual novel games natively on your iPhone or iPad.

Sakura is a launcher app that runs classic NScripter and ONScripter visual novel engines directly on iOS. These are the engines behind thousands of Japanese visual novels released since the early 2000s — games distributed as a folder of scripts and art assets rather than an App Store binary. Sakura imports that folder, detects which engine it needs, and runs it natively with modern conveniences layered on top: save management, iCloud sync, real-time translation, and display upscaling.

Sakura also supports ONScripter-RU, a GPU-accelerated fork used by games like Umineko no Naku Koro ni. Sakura detects which engine a game needs automatically — you never have to choose one yourself. See Supported Engines for the technical details.

1. Install Sakura — Get the app on your device.
2. Import your first game — Add a game archive to your library.
3. Play! — Open the game from your library and tap Launch Game.

• Broad format support — Import zip, 7z, rar, tar, gz, bz2, and lzh/lha archives, plus NSIS/Inno Setup/SFX installer .exe files. See File Formats.
• Wireless transfer — Move games and saves from your computer over Wi-Fi with Web Transfer — no cable required.
• Save management — Per-game save browsing and backups, plus global save folders shared across your library.
• iCloud sync — Saves and backups can follow you across devices.
• Real-time translation — On-device translation of game dialogue using Apple Translation.
• Display upscaling — CAS sharpening and xBRZ upscaling for crisper art on modern screens.
• In-game overlay — A quick menu and full overlay for rewind, skip, auto-mode, and settings mid-game.
• Custom game icons and color tags — Organize your library your way.

• Check Troubleshooting for common issues with imports, saves, and display.
• Join our Discord for community support.
• Email us at [email protected].