Hakuoki
A visual novel series set in the Shinsengumi era.
Hakuoki is a Japanese otome video game series by Idea Factory, first released for the PlayStation 2 on September 18, 2008. It has been adapted into multiple anime television series by Studio Deen, as well as films, OVAs, and manga. The series has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks and later streamed by Crunchyroll.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Otome, historical fantasy
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The player takes the role of a female character who can choose from a variety of male characters as her love interest. Most of the game's duration is spent reading text representing dialogue, narration, or the protagonist's inner thoughts. Players are given choices at variable intervals that are crucial to the story; gameplay pauses until a choice is made. There are six main plot lines, one for each hero. An affection meter is raised by giving answers that please the chosen hero, and the ending depends on the affection achieved. Basic functions include a CG Gallery, Music List, Scene Recollection, and skip options. After completing a route, the Record of Service allows players to select a chapter to start from and adjust the bachelor's affection level to access different endings. An encyclopedia explains historical terminology and timeline. In the updated remakes Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms, six more routes are added. Edo Blossoms also includes a corruption meter that tracks the bachelor's corruption rate after becoming a Fury; keeping it low is crucial to avoid bad ends.
Characters
Chizuru Yukimura is the main female protagonist who comes to Kyoto from Edo in search of her missing father, Kodo Yukimura, a practitioner of Western medicine. Under orders from the Shogunate, her father develops the Elixir of life, which increases healing, speed, and strength but can turn the drinker into a mindless Fury. At the story's beginning, disguised as a boy, she is chased by two men who are attacked and killed by Furies. She witnesses Saito and Okito kill the Furies and is taken to the Shinsengumi headquarters by Hijikata, where she stays because they too seek her father. Chizuru is descended from a powerful Demon clan from eastern Japan and has an estranged twin brother, Kaoru. She is the sole survivor of the clan by the story's end. Chikage Kazama seeks to marry her to preserve the demon race. She wields a kodachi called Shotsuren, a mate to Kaoru's katana Daitsuren. Toshizo Hijikata is the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, called Demon Vice-Commander, and is feared and respected. He brings Chizuru to headquarters and cares for her safety. He drinks the Water of Life and becomes a Fury to defeat Kazama. Kazama gives him the demon name Hakuoki. In the anime and manga, he is Chizuru's love interest. Souji Okita is also a character.
Media
Idea Factory developed the Hakuoki series of otome visual novels for a wide range of platforms, including PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. In North America, Aksys Games published two of these titles on PlayStation Portable. For PAL regions, Rising Star Games worked with Idea Factory to release two games, starting with a port of Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom that included extra story content. Later, Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds and Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms arrived as ports featuring additional routes and story material. Key releases in the series include Hakuoki: Shinsengumi Kitan on PlayStation 2 in 2008, Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom on PlayStation Portable in 2012, and Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom on PlayStation 4 in 2017 and Nintendo Switch in 2018. The mobile version, Hakuoki: Shinkai, launched for iOS and Android in 2018.
Reception
Hakuoki received positive reviews. Metacritic gave the PSP version a score of 79 based on 4 critic reviews, indicating generally favorable reception. The game was praised for its storytelling, character designs and development, and CG art, but received mixed reviews about the music and Kazama's route being too short. The updated remakes Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms also received positive reviews. Kyoto Winds scored 83 from 8 critic reviews, praised for solid characters and storytelling. Edo Blossoms scored 75 from 9 critic reviews, praised for new characters offering fresh perspective, but felt the story's finale was less interesting than its beginning. The decision to split the remake into two games received mixed reviews. Hardcore Gamer praised the storytelling for its political and fantasy aspects in a historical setting, finding the characters relatable, and praised the inclusion of additional events and terminology highlights for easy glossary lookup, though criticized the lack of interactive elements. Theron Martin from Anime News Network gave the first season a positive review, praising the integration of fantasy into history, male character designs, and music using heavy, dark tones. He criticized the plotlines about Chizuru looking for her father and the motivations of the devils, as well as Chizuru's role as a typical reverse harem damsel-in-distress.
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