If you have played a previous version of Hakuouki and just want to see what’s new in this release, I have a review on Edo Blossoms that discusses only the new content here.

Firstly, this is an otome so the target audience is teenage girls, and the situations and story do reflect that, but the character development, theme, and historical focus seem more refined than a typical for-girls story, landing this in the josei category of literature. Secondly, though it promises romance, this is only the first half of a two-part game ending on a cliff-hanger; the romance doesn’t show up until the sequel, so be prepared to double the price tag. I’ve only played two visual novels like this—loved this one and hated the other—and being a bit older than the target demographic, I’m likely to offer a different view than others who are more experienced with the genre.

The voice acting, without exception, is superb. Every romanceable character is unique and interesting, though nearly all of them take some warming up to and are given plenty of room for character growth, and the story’s subtle characterization truly makes you want to learn and understand your potential love interest. However, these men are soldiers, and I think the game does a pretty good job of constantly reminding you that their priorities are soldiering and not wooing little girls—until the end (in Edo Blossoms) when everything starts going to pieces and the only one who can save the day is you! I really cannot express how excellent the story-telling is for these true-to-history men struggling to find their path and purpose under the leash of fate, nor how cleverly their personalities are revealed through both amusing and heartbreaking interactions between such diverse and fun characters.

However—I’m speaking of the original content. The new scenes, translation, and romance, dispersed throughout every route in this new version, in fact ruined the whole thing for me. If I hadn’t played the original and didn’t know about the gem hidden underneath all the new garbage, I certainly would have given this a negative rating. If you want to hear me rant about the horribly written new content, feel free to read the second half of this review in Edo Blossoms. But I can’t quite bring myself to betray a story I loved for so many years.

From the beginning, there has been plenty of criticism for the protagonist, and in part I support that criticism: she’s passive, inept, dumb as a doorknob, and is pretty much good at only two things: preparing tea and cleaning. -.- (Not true: she can also cook, sew, and kiss your booboos better.) However! Remember the time period: there weren’t too many girls running around town with swords, or who were allowed to be particularly assertive (especially when surrounded by the absurdly forceful and violent Shinsengumi warriors—warriors, not a host club). But, to be honest, I found that somewhat refreshing. In a gaming world where protagonist females have to be butt-kicking, male-dominating, ego-wielding combatants, it was nice to be reminded that women can have multiple qualities that have nothing to do with killing people. And Yukimura, the protagonist, has many—and they happen to be things that girls (or anyone) could actually emulate in a normal world and still have friends. So I like her, even if she is a dimwit. But she grows (by Edo Blossoms), like any good character should. And eventually they will stop telling you to go bed on time.

If you really want to be concerned about something, you’d be better off worrying why there’s an entire game dedicated to a defenseless girl attracted to the bestial side of men who, pitying their carnal lack of self-control, enables them to hurt and use her. But eh.

Truthfully, after the ‘now with added romance’ aspect of the expansion, I’m reluctant to recommend the game at all. The new ‘romance’ is way too heavy, and the smutty descriptions they use are uncomfortable, ill-fitting, and laughably silly most of the time. The transition into them is equally jarring, as though they called in a special harlequin translator just for those scenes with no regard for the theme or characters. Really, the best word I can use to describe it is stomach-turning. If this is a concern for you, there’s always the option of playing an older version where the romance is far more innocent and sweet.

I’m not a huge fan of the supernatural aspect of the game either (or Kaoru’s nonsensical whining)—the story really didn’t need it. And I really don’t want to see men licking blood from veins. But some people like that it seems. Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. Fair warning.

The crown jewel of the game, however, is the history. Oh the people who wrote this game loved their history! And because of them, I love this history now too. The Shinsengumi were remarkable men with remarkable stories, and in this game you will hear them all and live in the emotion of it and experience the confusion of a nation-changing era. I appreciated too that, though this is an otome, there is still so much sword fighting and discussion about warriors!—like the writers knew that us ladies like to see some martial action too, and want to know what it feels like to be in the middle of a battle. But there is also a very respectful treatment of what it must feel like to be a soldier, in their successes and loses and confusion over right and wrong. I don’t typically see that in a made-for-men war story, so this one feels somehow more honest, and you can see the hearts of men exposed in ways I think they would not be so willing to show to their comrades, but only to a woman like our protagonist.

I really don’t recommend planning on playing all the routes (unless you really want the achievements) because by bachelor number 12, you’re going to get pretty sick of ground kicking, screaming furies, tumbling down the same ex machina hill over and over, and Amagiri’s patronizing interruptions. But I can guarantee that it’s going to be hard to choose just one route, so you can anticipate putting in at least 20 hours per game (50+ if you want the achievements).

In deciding your new romantic pursuit, I’d suggest just playing the game and following around whoever looks most interesting, but I also suggest starting with one of the original characters because their routes are lightyears better than the new content. The following link is a preview of those original characters plus a review of the still interesting but poorly presented routes from the new content: Individual Character Review.

So here’s the real question. Should you save 60$ dollars (hopefully less on a good sale) and just watch the anime? Yeah, probably. However, if you really want to admire these men and find out their whole story and all their personal struggles, then you’ll need to play the game. You’ll get a peek in the anime, and the pacing’s definitely better, but you really only get to follow one man’s story. Also, you will cry. But you will cry more if you play the game first. Then, after you’ve done both, and you need to stop crying, watch the movie because it’s beautiful, high quality, and the music still makes my heart seize up when I listen to it. If you’re not into the romance (or creepy blood-letting), and would prefer the PG version, the anime is likely the best version of them all.

Because of space limitations, this review is continued on the Edo Blossoms page here.

[h1]For those who have never played Hakuouki, I offer a glowing review:[/h1] [quote]If you have played a previous version of Hakuouki and just want to see what’s new in this release, I have a review on Edo Blossoms that discusses only the new content [url=https://steamproxy.com/profiles/76561197995408661/recommended/733340]here[/url]. [/quote] Firstly, this is an otome so the target audience is teenage girls, and the situations and story do reflect that, but the character development, theme, and historical focus seem more refined than a typical for-girls story, landing this in the josei category of literature. Secondly, though it promises romance, this is only the first half of a two-part game ending on a cliff-hanger; the romance doesn’t show up until the sequel, so be prepared to double the price tag. I’ve only played two visual novels like this—loved this one and hated the other—and being a bit older than the target demographic, I’m likely to offer a different view than others who are more experienced with the genre. The voice acting, without exception, is superb. Every romanceable character is unique and interesting, though nearly all of them take some warming up to and are given plenty of room for character growth, and the story’s subtle characterization truly makes you want to learn and understand your potential love interest. However, these men are soldiers, and I think the game does a pretty good job of constantly reminding you that their priorities are soldiering and not wooing little girls—until the end (in Edo Blossoms) when everything starts going to pieces and the only one who can save the day is you! I really cannot express how excellent the story-telling is for these true-to-history men struggling to find their path and purpose under the leash of fate, nor how cleverly their personalities are revealed through both amusing and heartbreaking interactions between such diverse and fun characters. However—I’m speaking of the original content. The new scenes, translation, and romance, dispersed throughout every route in this new version, in fact ruined the whole thing for me. If I hadn’t played the original and didn’t know about the gem hidden underneath all the new garbage, I certainly would have given this a negative rating. If you want to hear me rant about the horribly written new content, feel free to read the second half of this review in Edo Blossoms. But I can’t quite bring myself to betray a story I loved for so many years. From the beginning, there has been plenty of criticism for the protagonist, and in part I support that criticism: she’s passive, inept, dumb as a doorknob, and is pretty much good at only two things: preparing tea and cleaning. -.- (Not true: she can also cook, sew, and kiss your booboos better.) However! Remember the time period: there weren’t too many girls running around town with swords, or who were allowed to be particularly assertive (especially when surrounded by the absurdly forceful and violent Shinsengumi warriors—warriors, not a host club). But, to be honest, I found that somewhat refreshing. In a gaming world where protagonist females have to be butt-kicking, male-dominating, ego-wielding combatants, it was nice to be reminded that women can have multiple qualities that have nothing to do with killing people. And Yukimura, the protagonist, has many—and they happen to be things that girls (or anyone) could actually emulate in a normal world and still have friends. So I like her, even if she is a dimwit. But she grows (by Edo Blossoms), like any good character should. And eventually they will stop telling you to go bed on time. If you really want to be concerned about something, you’d be better off worrying why there’s an entire game dedicated to a defenseless girl attracted to the bestial side of men who, pitying their carnal lack of self-control, enables them to hurt and use her. But eh. Truthfully, after the ‘now with added romance’ aspect of the expansion, I’m reluctant to recommend the game at all. The new ‘romance’ is way too heavy, and the smutty descriptions they use are uncomfortable, ill-fitting, and laughably silly most of the time. The transition into them is equally jarring, as though they called in a special harlequin translator just for those scenes with no regard for the theme or characters. Really, the best word I can use to describe it is stomach-turning. If this is a concern for you, there’s always the option of playing an older version where the romance is far more innocent and sweet. I’m not a huge fan of the supernatural aspect of the game either (or Kaoru’s nonsensical whining)—the story really didn’t need it. And I really don’t want to see men licking blood from veins. But some people like that it seems. Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. Fair warning. The crown jewel of the game, however, is the history. Oh the people who wrote this game loved their history! And because of them, I love this history now too. The Shinsengumi were remarkable men with remarkable stories, and in this game you will hear them all and live in the emotion of it and experience the confusion of a nation-changing era. I appreciated too that, though this is an otome, there is still so much sword fighting and discussion about warriors!—like the writers knew that us ladies like to see some martial action too, and want to know what it feels like to be in the middle of a battle. But there is also a very respectful treatment of what it must feel like to be a soldier, in their successes and loses and confusion over right and wrong. I don’t typically see that in a made-for-men war story, so this one feels somehow more honest, and you can see the hearts of men exposed in ways I think they would not be so willing to show to their comrades, but only to a woman like our protagonist. I really don’t recommend planning on playing [i]all[/i] the routes (unless you really want the achievements) because by bachelor number 12, you’re going to get pretty sick of ground kicking, screaming furies, tumbling down the same ex machina hill over and over, and Amagiri’s patronizing interruptions. But I can guarantee that it’s going to be hard to choose just one route, so you can anticipate putting in at least 20 hours per game (50+ if you want the achievements). In deciding your new romantic pursuit, I’d suggest just playing the game and following around whoever looks most interesting, but I also suggest starting with one of the original characters because their routes are lightyears better than the new content. The following link is a preview of those original characters plus a review of the still interesting but poorly presented routes from the new content: [url=https://steamproxy.com/app/589530/discussions/0/1742220359690125284/]Individual Character Review[/url]. So here’s the real question. Should you save 60$ dollars (hopefully less on a good sale) and just watch the anime? Yeah, probably. However, if you really want to admire these men and find out their whole story and all their personal struggles, then you’ll need to play the game. You’ll get a peek in the anime, and the pacing’s definitely better, but you really only get to follow one man’s story. Also, you will cry. But you will cry more if you play the game first. Then, after you’ve done both, and you need to stop crying, watch the movie because it’s beautiful, high quality, and the music still makes my heart seize up when I listen to it. If you’re not into the romance (or creepy blood-letting), and would prefer the PG version, the anime is likely the best version of them all. [quote]Because of space limitations, this review is continued on the Edo Blossoms page [url=https://steamproxy.com/profiles/76561197995408661/recommended/733340]here[/url]. [/quote]