For returning veterans that just want to know what’s new in this version of Hakuouki, I offer a glowering review:

Because of space limitations, this review was continued from the Kyoto Winds page. See the first part here.

Includes:
⠀⠀ ✿ Demon of the Fleeting Blossoms, Part I
⠀⠀ ✿ Demon of the Fleeting Blossoms, Part II
⠀⠀ ✿ Stories of the Shinsengumi: bonus scenes
⠀⠀ ✿ New scenes, routes, music, and CGs

Does Not Include:
⠀⠀ ✿ Zuisouroku (Shimabara, snow, festive night)
⠀⠀ ✿ Adventures of the Shinsengumi (cat scenes)
⠀⠀ ✿ Stories of the Shinsegumi: letters
⠀⠀ ✿ Hakuouki Memories: Short Stories
⠀⠀ ✿ Memories of Love
⠀⠀ ✿ Various hilarious CD dramas
⠀⠀ ✿ Reimeiroku (with Ibuki)
⠀⠀ ✿ Urakata Hakuōki (different cast)
⠀⠀ ✿ Yuugiroku (chibi mini games)
⠀⠀ ✿ Sweet School Life (high school version)
⠀⠀ ✿ Bakumatsu Musouroku (3D hack&slash)

The new artwork doesn’t have quite the same, natural aesthetic as the old, but it does look like quite a bit more effort was put into it, and not just on the costumes. They do all have new recolors and fancier clothes; Shinpachi looks less like a clown. And there are -lots- of new backgrounds and CGs, all of which are lovely. Most impressive to me were the new character models though. Their eyes express their feelings and personality superbly well: suspicion, disappointment, expectation. They can seriously read your soul.

It’s a port, so expect bugs and unnecessary demands on your CPU. Fullscreen didn’t work for me. It warped the image so badly that I had to play windowed. Running Borderless Gaming (from Steam) was the only workaround, but then I had to fight wonky Steam overlays and a fussy Application Frame Host. Big mess. Many lag.

There is now more and better sounding music. New animations (blood spatter, mist, snow, character overlays) and sounds (crows, cicadas, dogs, etc) add to the atmosphere while flash-bang sword animations detract because you are too blinded to read half the combat text. The characters still blink, but they don’t breathe or look particularly animated as they did in the PS3 version.

Don’t be fooled by the cringe-worthy old-man puns in the achievements; it’s still a classy game--just not committed enough to find an experienced translator, it would seem.

Which brings me to the really, really terrible translation. It’s grammatically accurate (mostly), but someone had the bright idea that peppering random slang into the text makes it seem more relatable or something, but then used that slang completely out of context and at all the wrong moments without understanding the nuances, culture, social appropriateness, and feelings associated with it. It feels like someone played Russian Roulettes with a thesaurus from the 60s, and lost. This was by far the most disheartening aspect of the entire game because it is pervasive. It just makes me sad because I love this game and how it so reverently yet entertainingly deals with a very sad and serious period in time, so I am embarrassed by such an unprofessional translation waffling between purple prose and Scooby-Dooh vernacular, knowing people won’t be able to see past it to the much better writing in the original Japanese. The respectfully literal translation of the original content was perfectly fine. I can see that they made an effort to brighten this version by using action, romance, and slang specialists, but the Frankenstein script that came out of it is nauseating.

Blue Language Alert: in Japanese the language is probably at a PG rating (officially CERO C ≈ ESRB T). In English, the game is rated MA for language. Why?? In the new scenes, even sweet, innocent little Chizuru cusses…all the time. Kazama is no longer the suave anti-hero he was; now he just sounds like a schoolboy hooligan with a potty mouth. It’s profanity to the point of distraction, a symptom again of an over-confident translator thinking that Japanese tough-guy language is the equivalent of English ⁴chan vulgarity. This game is for ‘maidens,’ not truckers. The inappropriate and out-of-character word choices (e.g. Okita) actually make me like the characters less. A simple native check is all it would take to fix this. I’m sorry to be so critical, but this is a novel: the words are important.

Speaking of language, I would have previously put this game at a PG13 for swearing (I’m looking at you, Hijikata), mild innuendo, and, well, blood-fetishes. But it’s gone way beyond that into MA territory this version by including Hijikata’s metaphors in Technicolor, strongly suggestive vocabulary, and a raρe scene—or I assume that’s what it was; but, once again, it might have just been the really awful translation.

Whereas before I would have said that every route was fantastic and worth playing through, I can’t say the same for the new content. They spared no expense on the voice actors for the new routes; the three new heroes all being from the top five list in Japan. However, the routes, in general, are considerably shorter and by far more poorly written: too preachy, absolutely too tell-and-not-show info-dumpy, rushed, and lacking the character depth and sincerity of the originals. While they do add a deeper look into the mythology of the furies, they’ve lost the theme and quality of meaning the old routes had, and are now merely lazy recaps of better writing. They consistently have terrible wording and, to put it simply, are just plain boring. But some routes are better written than others (Sakamoto, Sannan). I admit that it was hard to feel attached to any of the new characters; the brief but imposing appearances of the original crew just made me want to go back to them—every time.

Yukimura is quite a bit more spunky throughout. I suppose the devs were listening to everyone’s complaints about her passivity since the new characters frequently tell us how clever, strong, and capable she is (unconvincingly). But she has changed a great deal in one thing: her thirst for romance in Edo Blossoms is by far more erotic (though that’s a strong word here) than I remember the previous routes being, losing the endearing innocence of the older stories.

If you haven’t played since PS2, then you’ll be very happy with the new scenes first released in the Vita version. They blend in perfectly, expanding the story and quietly leading into the romance later with the characters we know and love. You’ll know you’ve hit the new content for this version when the mic can no longer handle Nagakura’s manliness, and the translation suddenly sounds as awkward as a stoned baby-boomer trying to fit in with high schoolers. Then Yukimura will proceed to explain the personalities of our heroes to us because the writers thought that would be easier than actually writing story. There really is nothing original or interesting about the new content except all the editing errors: sentences cut off and missing, often conflicting. Real sloppy copy. In addition, the sudden interjection of ‘nibbling’ in every single romantic scene as they swap out writers for added lustiness is indescribably annoying and disruptive. With such an old and successful franchise, it truly surprises me how unprofessional this new content is.

For more specific details, you can find my review of the individual routes here.

If you’ve taken the time to read this absurdly long review, then yes, for you, it’s worth it to get this game—one more time—with all its added flaws, for no reason more than that there’s more Shiranui.

[h1]⠀⠀⠀⠀ – ✤ – New Content Review – ✤ – [/h1] For returning veterans that just want to know what’s new in this version of Hakuouki, I offer a glowering review: [quote]Because of space limitations, this review was continued from the Kyoto Winds page. See the first part [url=https://steamproxy.com/profiles/76561197995408661/recommended/589530/]here[/url]. [/quote] [h1]Game Content Differences[/h1] Includes: ⠀⠀ ✿ Demon of the Fleeting Blossoms, Part I ⠀⠀ ✿ Demon of the Fleeting Blossoms, Part II ⠀⠀ ✿ Stories of the Shinsengumi: bonus scenes ⠀⠀ ✿ New scenes, routes, music, and CGs Does Not Include: ⠀⠀ ✿ Zuisouroku (Shimabara, snow, festive night) ⠀⠀ ✿ Adventures of the Shinsengumi (cat scenes) ⠀⠀ ✿ Stories of the Shinsegumi: letters ⠀⠀ ✿ Hakuouki Memories: Short Stories ⠀⠀ ✿ Memories of Love ⠀⠀ ✿ Various hilarious CD dramas ⠀⠀ ✿ Reimeiroku (with Ibuki) ⠀⠀ ✿ Urakata Hakuōki (different cast) ⠀⠀ ✿ Yuugiroku (chibi mini games) ⠀⠀ ✿ Sweet School Life (high school version) ⠀⠀ ✿ Bakumatsu Musouroku (3D hack&slash) [h1]Artwork[/h1] The new artwork doesn’t have quite the same, natural aesthetic as the old, but it does look like quite a bit more effort was put into it, and not just on the costumes. They do all have new recolors and fancier clothes; Shinpachi looks less like a clown. And there are -lots- of new backgrounds and CGs, all of which are lovely. Most impressive to me were the new character models though. Their eyes express their feelings and personality superbly well: suspicion, disappointment, expectation. They can seriously read your soul. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] It’s a port, so expect bugs and unnecessary demands on your CPU. Fullscreen didn’t work for me. It warped the image so badly that I had to play windowed. Running Borderless Gaming (from Steam) was the only workaround, but then I had to fight wonky Steam overlays and a fussy Application Frame Host. Big mess. Many lag. There is now more and better sounding music. New animations (blood spatter, mist, snow, character overlays) and sounds (crows, cicadas, dogs, etc) add to the atmosphere while flash-bang sword animations detract because you are too blinded to read half the combat text. The characters still blink, but they don’t breathe or look particularly animated as they did in the PS3 version. Don’t be fooled by the cringe-worthy old-man puns in the achievements; it’s still a classy game--just not committed enough to find an experienced translator, it would seem. [h1]English Translation[/h1] Which brings me to the really, really terrible translation. It’s grammatically accurate (mostly), but someone had the bright idea that peppering random slang into the text makes it seem more relatable or something, but then used that slang completely out of context and at all the wrong moments without understanding the nuances, culture, social appropriateness, and feelings associated with it. It feels like someone played Russian Roulettes with a thesaurus from the 60s, and lost. This was by far the most disheartening aspect of the entire game because it is pervasive. It just makes me sad because I love this game and how it so reverently yet entertainingly deals with a very sad and serious period in time, so I am embarrassed by such an unprofessional translation waffling between purple prose and Scooby-Dooh vernacular, knowing people won’t be able to see past it to the much better writing in the original Japanese. The respectfully literal translation of the original content was perfectly fine. I can see that they made an effort to brighten this version by using action, romance, and slang specialists, but the Frankenstein script that came out of it is nauseating. Blue Language Alert: in Japanese the language is probably at a PG rating (officially CERO C ≈ ESRB T). In English, the game is rated MA for language. Why?? In the new scenes, even sweet, innocent little Chizuru cusses…all the time. Kazama is no longer the suave anti-hero he was; now he just sounds like a schoolboy hooligan with a potty mouth. It’s profanity to the point of distraction, a symptom again of an over-confident translator thinking that Japanese tough-guy language is the equivalent of English ⁴chan vulgarity. This game is for ‘maidens,’ not truckers. The inappropriate and out-of-character word choices (e.g. Okita) actually make me like the characters less. A simple native check is all it would take to fix this. I’m sorry to be so critical, but this is a novel: the words are important. [h1]Rating[/h1] Speaking of language, I would have previously put this game at a PG13 for swearing (I’m looking at you, Hijikata), mild innuendo, and, well, blood-fetishes. But it’s gone way beyond that into MA territory this version by including Hijikata’s metaphors in Technicolor, strongly suggestive vocabulary, and a raρe scene—or I assume that’s what it was; but, once again, it might have just been the really awful translation. [h1]New Routes[/h1] Whereas before I would have said that every route was fantastic and worth playing through, I can’t say the same for the new content. They spared no expense on the voice actors for the new routes; the three new heroes all being from the top five list in Japan. However, the routes, in general, are considerably shorter and by far more poorly written: too preachy, absolutely too tell-and-not-show info-dumpy, rushed, and lacking the character depth and sincerity of the originals. While they do add a deeper look into the mythology of the furies, they’ve lost the theme and quality of meaning the old routes had, and are now merely lazy recaps of better writing. They consistently have terrible wording and, to put it simply, are just plain boring. But some routes are better written than others (Sakamoto, Sannan). I admit that it was hard to feel attached to any of the new characters; the brief but imposing appearances of the original crew just made me want to go back to them—every time. Yukimura is quite a bit more spunky throughout. I suppose the devs were listening to everyone’s complaints about her passivity since the new characters frequently tell us how clever, strong, and capable she is (unconvincingly). But she has changed a great deal in one thing: her thirst for romance in Edo Blossoms is by far more erotic (though that’s a strong word here) than I remember the previous routes being, losing the endearing innocence of the older stories. If you haven’t played since PS2, then you’ll be very happy with the new scenes first released in the Vita version. They blend in perfectly, expanding the story and quietly leading into the romance later with the characters we know and love. You’ll know you’ve hit the new content for this version when the mic can no longer handle Nagakura’s manliness, and the translation suddenly sounds as awkward as a stoned baby-boomer trying to fit in with high schoolers. Then Yukimura will proceed to explain the personalities of our heroes to us because the writers thought that would be easier than actually writing story. There really is nothing original or interesting about the new content except all the editing errors: sentences cut off and missing, often conflicting. Real sloppy copy. In addition, the sudden interjection of ‘nibbling’ in every single romantic scene as they swap out writers for added lustiness is indescribably annoying and disruptive. With such an old and successful franchise, it truly surprises me how unprofessional this new content is. [quote]For more specific details, you can find my review of the individual routes [url=https://steamproxy.com/app/589530/discussions/0/1742220359690125284/]here[/url].[/quote] [h1]So Is It Worth It[/h1] If you’ve taken the time to read this absurdly long review, then yes, for you, it’s worth it to get this game—one more time—with all its added flaws, for no reason more than that there’s more Shiranui. [h1] ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀╔⠀⠀⠀ ╗ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ 誠 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀╚⠀⠀⠀ ╝[/h1]