Review for Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms. Game for PC and PlayStation Vita, the video game was released on 13/03/2018
Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms is the direct sequel to Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds, released for PlayStation Vita and PC in May 2017. The two games are re-editions of the original, already available on various platforms (PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS), with the addition of additional content.
Most of you are very likely not familiar with the Hakuoki series. Although it is very prolific and appreciated in its country of origin, Japan, here in the West it has suffered the same fate as almost all the Visual Novels that have managed to leave the Japanese borders: it has sold very little. This is because, essentially, the Visual Novel genre has not yet made its way into the hearts of Western audiences: walls and walls of text to follow, choices to make that can lead you to a "bad ending" without you wanting to, accompanied by music and sound effects do not embody the idea of video games we have in the West. Also add that almost all Visual Novels don't have a translation and you have the perfect recipe for the niche title.
Due to this small problem, very often well-made titles go into the background, selling very little and only in the small circle of fans. Hakuoki is one such unfortunate case. A warning: being Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms a direct sequel to Kyoto Winds, there will be little plot spoilers in this review. Nothing too striking, but be warned.
Between history and fiction
Let's start with a premise: Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms is an Otome. For the unsuspecting blessed, an Otome generally impersonates a girl who can have romantic s with variegated and distinct hunks. Hakuoki, however, is not just that. The story is set in Japan in the mid-1800s under the Tokugawa shogunate, in the last years before the end of the feudal era, the re-establishment of the Emperor and the beginning, therefore, of the Meiji era. One of the special forces in the service of the Tokugawa Shogun is the Shinsengumi, a group of samurai experts in the art of the sword, who hide, however, a dark secret. A part of the soldiers made use of a particular medicine, called Water of Life, capable of enormously amplifying the physical abilities of an individual but which, in turn, deteriorates the mental health of the same to the point of driving him mad. In order to maintain psychic balance for longer, the Fury (as the transformed are called) must drink the blood of other human beings.
Our protagonist, Chizuru, daughter of the creator of the Water of life, is attacked in the first bars of Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds by two Fury. Saved by two members of the Shinsengumi, Chizuru becomes part of the samurai group and will follow the events until the tragic end. Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms is therefore capable of incredibly well mix historical and fictional elements, in a combination that will take us from intrigues and political conspiracies, to epic fights between "vampires", demons and human beings, to hot scenes between the protagonist and one of the twelve hunks that we will have available.
A sequel… too distant
We come to the main problems of Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms. One resides, sadly, not in the game itself, but in how it was marketed. Since the title is a direct sequel and a worthy conclusion to the events seen in Kyoto Winds, having it released separate from the prequel and, even, a year later, can cause a disorientation in the reader. The characters are many, just as the events narrated are intricate and complex, then picking up a twisted story after a year, during which obviously many events may have been forgotten, leads to not remembering either where it had come, nor the minutiae and details of the story. Fortunately, this problem is partly obvious from the in-game encyclopedia that will update as the characters name events or situations, but the sense of disorientation remains.
The second, crucial, problem is that the events narrated in Edo Blossoms are less interesting and compelling than those of the predecessor, probably because we all know how the civil war ended, history teaches us. The title is also much darker and gloomy, also due to the death of some characters in Kyoto Winds and many events towards the conclusion of the events.
Beautiful hunks come to me!
Alongside the progress of political events, Edo Blossoms tells us about the love adventures of our protagonist, Chizuru. At the beginning of the game we can choose which of the routes to follow: an interesting implication of the choice is that we will experience the story from completely different points of view, thus being able to experience its different facets.
The stories with the different suitors are all, more or less, interesting and are many more than the original titles. The main flaw of the Otome part is that the various routes run out quickly. In general, the game is actually very quick to complete and this reduces the interest in the various romances, which will find themselves forced into a tiny span of time.
They will therefore often be hasty stories due to the speed of events but still remain pleasant and, often, poignant. Some scenes are also amplified by an excellent artistic sector: the backdrops and the characters are of excellent workmanship and have a style that refers to that of the represented era. The clothes, in particular, are meticulously recreated, both for what concerns the oriental clothes and for the more western ones.
The music is captivating: frenetic rhythms alternate in the battles, with others sweeter in the love scenes, up to complete silence, interrupted only by the voice of the characters when the story requires it most.
In conclusion, Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms is a good Visual Novel, capable of carefully mixing historical and fictional elements, creating a good combination that will satisfy anyone who has read Kyoto Winds and is waiting for a conclusion. The rather fast pace of the story, the inadequate attention given to the various romances, the lack of a location and the temporal distance from the release of the predecessor, however, limit it to being what it is: a title suitable only for fans of the series.
► Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms is a Visual Novel game developed and published by Idea Factory for PC and PlayStation Vita, the video game was released on 13/03/2018
