Hakuouki

Hakuouki is one of the oldest westernized otome that Idea Factory has brought over, and has expanded and grown up since the days of PS3 and beyond. MC has joined the Shinsengumi in search of her father during the historical time of the Japanese warring states, just as the Eno era was transitioning to the Meiji era. The evolution since the older versions of this game (yes I did play them) has been immense. From the 6 original men, to the addition of 3 storylines for existing side characters, to the introduction of 3 brand new characters, the changes have been earth shattering - and for the better. The absolute complexity of which the game is now capable is absolutely fantastic. How often does a visual novel game’s story change completely with almost every single choice? After all the ones I played, I can honestly say, this is one of the very few. Yes, it is split into two (Kyoto Winds is Part 1), but as someone who actually waited, impatiently, for each release, my advice to new players is: tough luck, suck it up, just buy both, read the story and enjoy!

Fair warning, there is a lot of historical content, which is quite accurate, down to the individual context surrounding these characters, and woven in quite well with the fictional elements that drive the story forward. I first started realizing this when I recognized names I had heard in the Rurouni Kenshin anime, and started a googling rabbit hole into Japanese history. The amount of effort put into context in this game is definitely praiseworthy. Side note, the addition of Sakemoto as a character who has a storyline instead of being just briefly mentioned (as it was originally) is understandable: he presented the “other side” of some of this game’s main themes. As such, I can appreciate his existence. However, personally, I couldn’t stand the guy, and since I had already played the previous games, being forced to choose between him and the Shinsengumi boys was definitely torture.