Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds (Green-Eyed Edition) -- No Spoiler Review
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds (Green Eyes Edition Featuring: Hachiro Iba, Souji Okita, & Heisuke Toudou)
System: PC
Price: $9.99
Voice Acting: Yes (Japanese)
ESRB Rating: M (17+)
Overall Rating: Stole 8/10 ♥s
Pre-Game Perception: A story about a girl that goes looking for family and makes her own among samurai.
Morning-After Reflection: A story about how awesome the Shinsengumi men were from the eyes of a sheltered young woman.
Story: "In this historical fantasy visual novel, you play as the young Chizuru, determined to find her father amidst the drama of Kyoto in the Bakumatsu period. Romance the famous samurai of the Shinsengumi as you uncover their dark secrets and come face to face with the mysteries of your past. In this text adventure, choose from a variety of narrative choices and branching storylines that unlock 30 different endings.
This remastered telling of the beloved, visual novel Hakuoki series that was first developed and released in 2008 focuses on the story set in Kyoto, the first part in a two-part series.”
Interest Rating: 9/10. If you’ve spent any time around the otome-world, you know about Hakuoki. It’s a classic. It’s a must. It lives in infamy as the game that everyone has played but no one has finished (on PC at least, the original on PSP is shorter with fewer LIs). It’s also pretty cheap, and regularly on sale, so I snagged this baby and it’s counterpart (Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms) near the start of my otome journey.
MC: Ah, Chizuru Yukimura, the MC everyone loves to hate. Chizuru’s first name can be changed, and it doesn’t matter if you do or don’t, as no one voices it in this game, even if it is in the text. I’m not entirely sure why it works like this, because I know in the second game they voice her name. So pick whatever you want, and maybe change it back in the second game (Edo Blossoms) so you can hear some dudes whisper your name, or something. No one will notice that Yukimura suddenly goes by a different given name. Promise.
Anyways, Chizuru is largely a bystander in this game. See, there’s some history about Hakuoki, in that it wasn’t written as a romance game originally. It was some guy who loved the Shinsengumi and wanted to tell a story with them, then I guess someone gave him the idea of promoting it to women or something? I’m not sure, the point is, then came the romance. So Chizuru wasn’t intended to have a part in how cool the Shinsengumi were. And there are cries upon cries about how “useless” this girl is in the middle of all these historical men. Then there are responses like “It’s historically accurate.” While completely ignoring that this historical fiction doesn’t care about accuracy. At. All.
So, it is. Historically accurate, I suppose. I’m not really versed on the details of Japanese history beyond some history I’ve picked up over the years. But it also doesn’t matter if it is or not because when have people cared about fictional otoge sticking to real life accuracy? F*cking never. That’s when. And now that my b*tchfest about people b*tching about Chizuru has been aired, let me tell you about this girl that functions as an observer when dealing with the lives of the Shinsengumi men.
Chizuru is fifteen at the start of the game. She’s apparently young enough that when dressing as a boy, she is mistaken for a young teen-aged boy simply with a change of clothing. She’s average in looks in that she has brown eyes and dark/black hair. She doesn’t seem to have any skills, but later in some routes I guess she knows something about medicine since her father was a doctor. The reveal about her father comes early, but the fact that she knows anything about medicine doesn’t even come up in some cases. She can apparently do basic cleaning and make tea, and that’s about it. Largely, she’s aware of this. I like the fact that she doesn’t dwell on her short-comings, simply acknowledges them and moves along. There is some talk in some routes that she took sword lessons when she was younger, but again, this doesn’t come up in most routes and she never gets any better.
It’s a shame that so little thought was put into making Chizuru anything but the person who gets to see how awesome every LI is. She doesn’t grow as a person. She is practically the same character at the beginning of the story as she is at the end of this portion of the game (since there is a second game to finish the story that I’ll write a review on as well). She has no friends and the only family we know of is her father (which is part of the plot). She really doesn’t exist on her own, because a normal person isn’t this one-dimensional. So, yeah, Chizuru is a real drag to play if you want to be in the thick of all the awesomeness that went down in the history of Japan and the Shinsengumi. But for someone that gets to tell the story of these men, she’s not bad. She certainly doesn’t deserve the hate she gets simply because she was made that way. :Cue Jessica Rabbit saying she’s not a bad woman, she’s just drawn that way: Except Chizuru is the opposite of Jessica Rabbit in every way.
Likability Rating: Ka. There’s really not much to Chizuru, so there’s not much to like. She tends to rub people the wrong way because she’s paper-thin and gets as much thought as one would put into how a woman existed in Japan 150 years ago. However, I don’t find her off-putting. I just find her kind of along for the ride, and making little difference in the story as a whole by being present. At least she doesn’t fall into self-pity.
Plot: That one paragraph (in the story section) basically tells the entire story you’re going to find in Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds. Chizuru goes to Kyoto to find her father. She ends up crossing paths with the Shinsengumi, and just hangs out with them for like, four years. Then you play Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms. There’s a lot of fantasy put into this historical fiction, and all of that gets uncovered with little bits of history thrown in. Or a lot of bits. There’s a lot to this game. This section of dudes that I’m writing about today took me 50 hours to play. Yes, I know I’m slow, so you’re likely going to do half of that, but the point is that you’re getting 25 hours for literally three guys. And this is only the first half of the game. It’s a long game.
Not only is this game loooooooong, but it branches more than I think I’ve ever seen a game branch (save Changeling, but that is a complete game so I don’t think it counts when compared with only half of Hakuoki). Every choice brings you to a different branch of the game. They do loop back and reconnect, but the further in the game you get, the more paths there are to take. Some guys are doubled up in some paths (because when you have 12 LIs, you can’t really have 12 decisions, right?), but this is a very full and very thorough common route first half of the game. Not everyone exists in everyone’s route, because the story goes on, but no one really disappears if they were intended to be there to progress the plot. Eventually you end up on a guy’s route by the last chapter, and every last chapter is different depending on the dude.
Replayability Rating: ★★★★★ This is the most complicated VN I’ve ever played because there are so many branches and every choice is significant. Every route is different (when you get on a route). And if you take your time to go through the game (by spreading it out over months or years) then replaying the bulk of the common route is going to be necessary to remember the big plot points.
Love Interests: Today we’re tackling politely spending time with three green-eyed boys men from the Shinsengumi Bakumatsu period. Right, that didn’t go at all like I had planned.
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds has 12 love interests. For reasons I’m not going to get into, I’m setting my sights on these guys based on the color of their eyes, so there are three green-eyed guys in the game, and there will be three in this review. In the next ten years, I hope to finish this game, but I hear that people rarely complete the game in its entirety. I don’t know anyone who has finished it, but everyone I know has played it. Due to the extensive cast, the many branches, and the length of the game, get yourself a guide to get on the route of your choice. Or don’t do any of these dudes and do someone else.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was the best way to go about dating all of the dudes in Hakuoki, and it turns out that It. Doesn’t. Matter. It doesn’t matter. Go with whoever looks the best, or sounds most interesting, or go by god damned eye color. There is no order and no one is going to tell you who to do. Each LI has a Good End, a Bad End, and an Unrequited Love End. Obviously you want the good end before you head to the next game, but (if using a guide to get the other endings) it takes little to no time to collect the two less sought after endings, and there’s no real reason not to do them.
So I’m going to tell you about only three men in this review because they’re the only ones that I’ve done. I have plans for the rest, and already planned out my order and review groups. Today we’ll meet Iba, Okita, and Heisuke (who gets to go by his first name instead of last because you’re given that permission early on). These are the green-eyed hotties that will eventually get to hand-holding, because, remember, this is 1860’s Japan, and lingering glances are scandalous enough. So get doe-eyed, and get ready to plan a tea date for sometime in the future, because that’s the best you can really hope for in this part of the game.
Let’s start off with the literal first man of the Shinsengumi that you meet in the prologue of the game, Souji Okita. If your blood wasn’t pumping already due to the events that led to your meeting, Okita will certainly get it going in short order. He doesn’t exactly give you the doki doki with sweet words and courtesy, unless you count the sadistic smile that accompanies promises of murdering you if you get out of line courtesy and sweet words. Who knows?! Maybe you like a guy that isn’t afraid to tell you your life is in his hands. That guy is Okita. I found his route humorous and fun. There’s more to this man than death threats promises. He has a severe case of “Notice me, Senpai!” but you’re not the one whose attention he’s aiming for. Okita is actually a fan favorite, but he wasn’t mine. Shocking, I know. I can hear it now, “But you said he threatens you with death often!” Yes, yes I did. And yes, yes he does. He’s just not that into Chizuru for this portion of the game, and because of that I had a hard time developing an attachment to him as anything other than a route I found myself laughing out loud at due to his bluntness and the twisted way he thinks. He’s not bad, he’s just not my type. I don’t do the “Notice me, Senpai!” when dating boys, there are plenty of others that will give me all the attention in their world.
I guess that puts Heisuke Toudou next in line, since you get to meet him with the other Shinsengumi captains. Heisuke is one of the youngest men you’ll meet in Hakuoki, clocking in at 18 years old (to Chizuru’s 15). Not long after you meet him, he asks you to not be so formal and just call him Heisuke, since, ya’ know, you’re about the same age and all. And really because I think he likes Chizuru from early on. Since I haven’t played even half of the game yet, I can’t say that this is the best romance in Kyoto Winds, but I get a strong feeling that this is the best romance I’m getting out of Kyoto Winds. Heisuke is cute, and I think being close in age helps with that. He’s more open about his feelings, and it was a sweet route to be on, watching this teen-ager walking the line between boy and man, despite society calling him a man at that age back then. We know this is the 21st century that we live in, and 18 is barely a man, so, sorry Heisuke, you’re still a boy even with all your efforts to be the manliest of men. Keep that sweet innocence you have, you killing machine, you.
Lastly, we have Hachiro Iba, who isn’t even part of the Shinsengumi. That’s one of the reasons I put him last in this line-up. You won’t even get to meet him unless you make the proper choices to get on the path that branches to his meeting. Eventually he shows up later in the game, but you can’t romance him at that point. They give you one chance. Don’t blow it. Iba is a respectable samurai through and through. His family runs a well-known dojo in Edo, and apparently he’s heir to it, but he joined up with the Shogunate to be a Hatamoto (which is a high-ranking samurai in service of the Tokugawa shogunate). Point is, he’s all gentlemanly and well-to-do and never crosses an improper line with Chizuru. It’s so very chaste. There isn’t a lewd bone in this honorable samurai’s body, and I really was hoping I’d get some sort of lewd bone from him. :eyebrow waggle: Don’t make me spell it out for you, you know what I’m talking about. It was an alright route, overall. Since Iba is not part of the Shinsengumi, you don’t get to see him 24/7, so it felt like a romance never really developed to me. But I wasn’t opposed to spending the little time I did get with Iba progressing the story in hopes that we’d be inseparable in the coming second part to the game.
Boy Crazy Rating: 86%. These boys weren’t bad. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy my time with them, but when it comes down to husbando material, I guess I just need more lusty or romantic interactions before I consider them mine or even the MC’s.
Romance: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is soooooo little romance in this game, it’s almost laughable. Hakuoki used to be a long game with only six love interests. It was remade with six additional love interests added. Perhaps the game was too large to handle like that, or perhaps they were aiming to include fragile straight men in the target audience who wanted to no-homo some Shinsengumi, but for some reason they broke the game into two. Not all straight men are fragile when it comes to sexuality, I was just implying that there’s so little romance that fragile straight men can play this portion of the game because there is little to no questioning if they like the D since compliments are even rare from the male LIs in Kyoto Winds. Jesus… You’re not gay unless you’re gay, guys. And you’re not bi or pan or attracted to men unless you’re bi or pan or attracted to men. Play as a woman and romance some boys and still be down for dicking the girl of your dreams irl. You can have it both ways.
:sigh: It seems I’m full of ranting in this review. I hope it doesn’t put anyone off from checking out my other, more humorous and less whiny write-ups.
Kyoto Winds is basically the extraordinarily long common route for the dating portion held in Edo Blossoms. You do get a chapter dedicated to the guy you won the most favor with, but that’s like the very start of your possible relationship after knowing most of these guys for four years. The very light romantic undertones, with plot-heavy, action-based drama is sure to appeal to even the most close-minded gamer that isn’t automatically put off with the #romance tag on the genre.
Heart Palpitation Rating: F. Kyoto Winds doesn’t even try to disguise that it wasn’t created with romance in mind. The way it leaves some endings with Chizuru not even certain if she cares about the man she’s going to choose in the next game proves that they were serious in keeping this part of Haukoki all about swordsmanship, and I don’t mean that in a sexy way.
Spice: This section is going to be fast and painful. Let’s try to make it like ripping off a band-aid so it only hurts for a moment and we can move on to what Hakuoki is really about, angst. There is NO spice in this game. Not anything at all. Not even seasoned with pepper. You’re getting water. White rice. Bleached and super processed Wonder f*cking Bread. The blandest of the bland. Don’t expect even a kiss. That M-rating is all about the violence.
Cold Shower Rating: Fail. You’ll forget this is a romance game as you spend hours hanging out with the boys, except you don’t even get the benefit of platonic questionable homo-errotic affection because they all know you’re a girl and treat you with respectable distance. Wrap up in a blanket and drink some cocoa, this game is a blizzard in the middle of winter.
Angst: It’s debatable whether Hakuoki takes the angst title, or if Nightshade has claimed it. They could fight it out, but I’m sure that’ll just leave both of them dead and then we’d still be left wondering which one hurts us more. Seeing as how I’ve finished Nightshade, though, and I haven’t finished Hakuoki, my vote is for Hakuoki because I’ve seen things… The real angst in Hakuoki lies in Edo Blossoms, but Kyoto Winds is plenty angsty in its own respects.
You’ve got your descriptive violence. You’ve got your bloody sprites and CGs. You’ve got some juicy sound effects that I don’t think I need to describe for you to understand that it can be unnerving at times. You’ve got plenty of combat centered around this game. You have some morally objectionable choices dealing with mature content (no non-con, remember, this game has a no-contact rule). And that’s just the story, not even touching on the tragedy that is most of the backstory of the Shinsengumi men. Hakuoki is a drama-fest where they have cooked up the entire story with a secret ingredient, and it doesn’t take much taste-testing to realize the secret ingredient is angst. Personally, I dig it. Yeah, yeah, yeah; death, violence, and tragedy are my bread and butter of story preferences. Nothing wrong with liking to hurt a little a lot. Apparently, my fetish is being a masochist for 2d men. #Sorry/not sorry.
Drama Llama Rating: 9/10. What did you expect from historical fiction about the Bakumatsu period? Surely you didn’t think this was a happy game. The drama llama knew all along. It brought us to the edge of our mental fortitude, and then convinced us to cross that line by playing the second part of Hakuoki. There is no hope. There was only death and despair awaiting us.
Voice Acting: The cast of Hakuoki is much too large for me to identify everyone whom I thought did a superb job in relaying their intentions and emotions through their tone of voice. Hakuoki is said to have some amazing voice acting, and I don’t disagree, I also don’t agree that it is the best I’ve ever heard-- but it is good! Don’t get me wrong, it is good. There is a group of guys that play off each other wonderfully. There is a very specific commander that can show his displeasure or annoyance in the way he grumbles and barks. And there is a bad/good guy that is the reason I fell in love with their seiyuu’s voice, because he plays his part perfectly in that smug, haughty way he speaks. I take back the “no spice” rating, Tsuda Kenjiro makes me weak everytime he speaks. I’m never going to get over his cadence and command, and the breathy way he says things that causes them to drip with sex appeal.
….
….
Give me a moment…
….
The voice acting is good. I’ve heard some of these seiyuus in other games, and I enjoy the way they sound here. I don’t think anyone fails at presenting the character they were trying to portray. Props to all the boys and girls that made Hakuoki the wonderful masterpiece it has become.
Expression Rating: Shu. There’s no denying that Hakuoki has a cast of talented men and women driving the game. There really are too many to name (even though I named one), and I haven’t yet been blown away with the feeling expressed, but I’ve been impressed and it has surpassed my expectations.
Art: Apparently, all I really need to appreciate art is some texture. It should have been an easy indicator that I’d like a style if I had considered the art I so adored growing up. Unfortunately, it just came to me right this moment that if a game gives me texture along with other things I like, I’m about 2000% more likely to think it’s gorgeous. Hakuoki is beautifully drawn and colored. It has a watercolor feel to a lot of the designs; the way extras are put into the background and the way shadows pool in blotches like more pigment settling there from soaking into the grains of the paper give the game a classic, rich feeling. Everything looks like it would feel if I were able to touch the actual product and not a computer screen. This is likely my neurodivergent brain telling me that this must mean the art is better because it offers another form of stimulus besides what we can appreciate with our eyes. But I digress.
Hakuoki has gorgeous sprites, where every character is unique and easily distinguishable from every other character introduced. All of the main cast has at least one costume change, but most keep the same primary attire throughout the entirety of the game. Sometimes this is a bit silly since it covers years of time passing. There are several poses and several facial expressions. This shit is perfection. There’s also the added benefit of blinking and mouth movements when speaking, though I’m not a fan of the mouth flap. I can live without it. Also, every once in a while the background will have moving effects, like snow falling. So, that’s pretty cool too. The only thing I would have wanted was more outfits, but that’s wishful thinking and not a reflection on how top notch the art is in this game.
Still Picture Rating: ★★★★★ Many perfection. Such detail. Very texture.
CGs: Usually the art for the game gives you an idea of what the CGs are going to contain, since the artist gets to spend more time customizing the scene and movement of the event it shows. This is the case with Hakuoki. There is already a lot of movement in the sprites themselves, so getting to actually show a still of the current actions really makes something special. It’s not my absolute favorite art and CG in a game, but it’s so good that I can’t even say anything about it. Proportions are consistent, there are no wonky sizing issues. Everyone looks the same from sprite to CG and back again, which only adds to the appeal of this game. It’s gorgeous. It’s beautiful. It’s moving and I really enjoy looking at these pictures. The gallery is easy to navigate and find; though there are some button issues dealing with the UI but that doesn’t reflect on the art at all.
Look at this Photograph Rating: 99%. Great art! Just wonderful! Perfect moments chosen in time to live in my headspace forever. This VN is the golden standard for many people, and the art and CGs are no exception.
UI/Mechanics: Okay, so, Hakuoki is a remake of the PlayStation game of the same name. It went through a few ports before coming to the PC, and that’s very clear when you log into the game. Yeah, the main menu is easy to navigate, despite having their own names for things for flavor reasons - a feature I honestly like. The problem is that I guess they expect you to use an X-box controller? They have buttons like A, B, X, and Y listed out and flashing in some cases so you know how to navigate the game. But I use a keyboard and mouse. I mean, I have a controller, but I’m not breaking it out to read my VN. So, the button map is a bit wonky.
Once you keybind what you want and learn how to navigate the game without using a controller, it’s very streamlined, imo. There are no special mechanics, it’s a basic “make decisions to progress” visual novel. The UI menu has many options, such as turning specific character voices on and off (there are nearly 30 characters in there). The gallery is broken down by dude, so you can easily find what you’re looking for. There’s a chapter list as well, so you can repeat a portion of the game that you’ve unlocked. It’s really a very decent system, if not for the weird controller controls it expects you to use.
I also wanted to mention again that the sprites blink and mouth flap when talking. That sometimes the background has movement (very slight). And also that it really does have the most branching story I’ve ever played. What I haven’t said that also gives it bonus points is that there are 50 save slots, and while they just give a date and time on the save list, when you mouse over them they show what chapter and what is on the screen at the time of the save as well. When earning affection with a guy, there is a very noticeable affection catch. There are affection … “meters” as well. It’s weirdly styled in that it says things like “blooming” and “closed” and then goes on to giving a percentage later on in the game, like they just had a lot of different ideas that they stuck together, but it works. I can’t think of anything Hakuoki is missing besides the ability to have the MC on screen, and a “return to previous choice” or “advance to next choice” button. Both were likely made to save time and money, because, remember, this game is literally $10. That’s ridiculous!
What’s this button do? Rating: A+. It has everything and more. My personal preferences are not fully met, but when it comes down to options for a VN, I can’t say they forgot anything that most people would want. Wonderful layout.
Errors: Were you waiting to see if this is where the downfall of Hakuoki was? I guess you’ll be waiting some more, because there are so few errors I don’t even register them as errors. No, that’s not right. I do notice them, and here’s a screenshot to show you! But they’re very few and far between. Typically it results in a word missing here or there, or the drop off of a quotation mark, but you can usually tell when someone is talking. When there is a mistake like the one below, it’s pretty noticeable. But for as many hours as I’ve put into this game, it has a fairly good quality control.
I have a personal issue with some of the translations, in that they tried to make the language too modern or Americanized in some cases. There is cursing, and though I’m not opposed to cursing, sometimes it’s a bit much. The picture below is NSFW due to language, so try not to pull it up while a co-worker can see you. See, it’s not bad, it’s just a type of language I wouldn’t expect to be put into the game. I don’t want them to be obscure references either, I just don’t think something of that sort really fits in the dialogue. Again, this is my issue and my preference, and in the end the translation doesn’t appear to be horribly misleading or anything. I just know a little of the language, and I notice that what is translated in English is not always close to what is said in Japanese. The right thoughts aren’t always expressed in a manner I appreciate.
Here there be Bugs Rating: Pass. You’ve got the normal infestation for a translated game, though much fewer than expected for a game of this size. Enjoy your comfy coding and don’t worry about the creepy crawlies that you’ll come across from time to time.
Background Music: The BGM is pretty okay for Hakuoki. Some scores are good, some are okay, and sometimes the game decides to cut the music for seemingly no reason at all. But, it is what it is, and there’s not even a grading scale for the BGM in my reviews so what does it really matter? I did get the OST because it came with the Treasure Box or whatever bundle I got, but I don’t actually listen to any of it. A lot of it is just the same as what was put into the game, no lead-ins or outros to make it a smooth transition, just starting and stopping of music that lasts for roughly a minute before the next track starts, and they don’t transition nicely at all. I’d say skip it if you’re not looking for a looping track, but it comes with most bundles, so get it if you must have the bundle.
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