In fact it really is curious that they'd license the anime before the games, as you'd kind of expect a spin-off series to be rather unsuccessful without its franchise power.
The Sakura Taisen fanbase has been asking this question since the 90's, believe me (thanks to the Sega Saturn version's wild popularity). I guess with the release of So Long, My Love (which is actually the fifth game in the series; they're not intending to release an English-language port of the first four, sadly) I can no longer say that it's an example of "no exports for you". Granted, Sakura Taisen V has a somewhat independent storyline from the previous four, so it should make sense in its own right without having to refer to the first four.
In any case, the Sakura Taisen canon is really fucking weird. There's the original games, of course, and there are also at least four OVAs (Gouka Kenran and the like), spin-off games, an anime, a movie, a manga series, several live-action musicals,
one TWO eight-disc compilations of music from the series (something like 17 hours' worth of music, because Kouhei Tanaka is a god), and hell, even
a restaurant. Each and every one of them is canon, too. And they all contradict each other in many respects (the anime compared to the games comes to mind), so you actually have to identify
which canon you're using in fanworks or references.
In any case; of that list, the anime, manga, and the OAVs have made it stateside. The rest (namely, the games) remain unexported. Which is... odd, to say the least.
Okay, perhaps she's not quite as powerful as that but otherwise I'd say it's a pretty accurate description. I wonder if she'd even be in this game though, since material I've seen suggests that the series doesn't only use one setting...?
Actually, the original Sega Saturn version (not the PS2 remake) of the first game had Sakura with a special attack that
had infinite range. :V The only part that sets her apart from Raymoo is that she's not terribly religious the way a shinto miko should be. The comparison to Youmu is much closer. (Kazuma as Yuyuko!)
And if you don't want to spoil yourself, don't watch this, but even though Sakura doesn't show up in in Sakura Taisen V*,
Gemini can use her signature attack, the Ouka Houshin.
*Except she shows up and sings Subete ha Umi He with Ratchet Altair in one of the New York Revue live-action shows, so eh.
