Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds - PlayStation Vita

The Hakuoki series is new to me, I first heard the name of the series when the PSP game (Fleeting Blossom) went on sale in the PSN store. Upon looking up the game for more details I discovered this newly enhanced version of the game that boasted more content. Naturally I decided to hold out for this version of the game. Unfortunately nowhere on Amazon or the game’s own website does it state that this is “PART 1” of the original game. Even being brand new to the series it was painfully obvious that this game was missing something. As a result I got Fleeting Blossom so I could compare the games. This actually allowed me to appreciate what this game had to offer.The graphical cleanup and the overall improved performance of Kyoto Winds should be a given where it is not simply a port onto the Vita. Nevertheless these improvements are worth mentioning. Compared to Fleeting Blossom this game has cleaner graphics that are simply more appealing to the eye. The text is cleaner looking as well which makes it less painful to read. The highlighted encyclopedia entries in the text were switched from red to purple, a small change but positive nonetheless. Encyclopedia entries are also now a breeze to read if you wish to read them all as you only have to hit the directional pad to be instantly brought to the entry. Kyoto Winds overall runs significantly faster (Loads, Saves, and Opening of Menus).As advertised Kyoto Winds has tons of content. Most of the content, if not all, serves to flesh out characters more and makes the relationships more interesting. The added content for the Kazama route for example is executed so well that it is on the verge of being better in its incomplete form than in the original. The choices that you make in series seemed to always carry some meaning, but the new dialogue and scenes make your choices seem all the more important. The setup that Kyoto Winds provides gives a “Part 2” the potential to go so much further than the original game.One big fault that can be found in this game is the translation errors and typographical errors. Honestly you would be hard-pressed to find a visual novel that does not have this present at least once. With the amount of text that has to be translated it is understandable why this occurs in these games. Nonetheless, the mistakes in this game can be quite jarring. At this time I have not played a game with more occurrences of errors. These errors are honestly more frustrating than anything. They are easily overcome.At this point I do not think it is particularly news that Kyoto Wind’s biggest fault is that it is an incomplete game. This game stops right at the middle of story that Fleeting Blossom provided. I do not necessarily have a problem with this “Part 1,” “Part 2” game release plan. In my opinion this game honestly offers plenty of content that I could side with it being justified (obviously I would like one complete game though). The biggest issue with this release is that this game does not advertise itself as being a “Part 1” anywhere. There should being something in the game that signifies that there is a plan to provide more, even if it is something lazy like “To be continued” at the end of each route.Given that this game is incomplete I feel it is impossible for me to give it a perfect 5/5. Assuming that this game does get its “Part 2” and it is localized I want to give a score that is a little more lenient to the cliffhanger ending. Judging it as 50% of a total story I feel that this game/story is superb. It improves on the existing content and I have no reason to not believe that it will continue to turn out well based on what was presented.BreakdownPros- Graphical/Performance Improvements- Tons of Added ContentCons- Translations Errors, Typographical Errors- Misrepresentation of What Consumers Would Actually Receive (It is 50% of a Total Story)Who Should Get This Game?As someone who is new to this series, I advise against this being the first version you play. At this time in the US the original (Fleeting Blossom on PSP) is available in the PSN store to play on your Vita. If you enjoy that game then give this game a try. It provides tons of additional content that I think any fan would enjoy.Any fan of the Hakuoki series should give this game a try, provided that they are alright with having only 50% of the game in this time.

This is my first Otome Game for the Ps Vita. Ive heard a lot of good things from Hakuoki and when i got this it really didn't dissapoint! Theres just this one big thing (and some nitpicks) that i have a problems with this game but here's the run down:Pros:- your choices really do matter! Unlike some games that gives you choices but ultimately just guves you the illusion of choice, the choices you make here will span out through the game, and how itll progress. Even comforting a certain member with the choices of saying "its going to be ok" or "lets have faith" affects your relationship with that character!- the art style. This may be subjective to others, but the artstyle is really attractive! The texture, coloring, and its overall look seperates itself from other otome game's artstyle. Each character has their own unique look so they really stand out from each other!- the story. I love how hakuoki integrates the time period perfectly while giving it their own fantasy twists on it. Each route gives sides of a story that just opens more of the world the game presents to you! There are tons of lighthearted moments and a lot of drama and angst too!- the music. Theres that amazing opening that basically sums up the mood and feeling youll experience in the game and the ost is real good too! The game uses it well to fit the mood of each scene- the voice acting. Despite that theres no english dub (which im perfectly fine with) the voice acting was great!! Each actors really gave their character life through their tone of voice. Theres just so much personality in each character, which makes them all the more lovable and memorable- amazing replayability. To my knowledge, there only used to be 6 routes so seeing that it doubled is great! Almost anyone youll encounter is romancable and it just makes me so happy (just...m thinking of all the possibilities lmao)Theres more as you play along the game such as lovable characters, old and new!Cons:- this is only the first half of the whole game/story. When i finished the first route (hachiro iba's 💚) i was so shocked and perplexed that it was cut off! Depending on what route you are going for, there'll be 5-7 chapters. And i believe each of them will leave us hanging for the second game to come :'o it might be because i didnt read the full description or idea factory just didnt mention that theres 2 parts at all, but i thought i was getting the whole package! Hence the 4 stars.- volume. Even when i toggled the volume settings, the volume of some character voices drop down to the point where i really cant hear them! Some have context with it such as whispering, but theres some characters hear that just needs to amp up the volume (such as sanan's -- i know his voice is supposed to be calm and all but it wouldnt hurt to have his voice in the same volume as others)And thats all! I know that the story is divided into 2 parts and idea factory didnt really go out their way to say it, but its a good game nonetheless. Tons of content/replayability, amazing music and artsyle, and the characters makes this game worth getting.

At first I wasn't too sure if it would be worth it to buy yet another version of Hakuoki, let alone an extended version. But then I bought it and I'm so glad I did. It adds a few more routes and a deeper, within the scenes story for each character (especially your favorite characters from the original game) SUPPORT Hakuoki if you want more Otome games like this to be available on the systems in your home!

This is a really good game and introduces lots of new routes for characters that weren't available in previous games. This is still based on the previous Hakuoki games though so the base storyline is the same. It could be due to all the new routes but the story itself is also only the first half of the original story, however it doesn't cut off too abruptly so it's not that big of a deal to me. The new characters / routes and speaking animation do make this worthwhile if you've already played a previous version of the game.Also, even though it's rated M, there aren't any sex scenes. The main tone of the story is a wartime romance-type thing so the story can be pretty heavy so it's more of a visual novel with romance elements rather than a dating sim.

It is a good new edition of Hakuoki: the Demon of the Fleeting Blossom that was released in PSP, PS3 and some other platforms.It has a bunch of new routes previously unavailable (ie. Sanan, Yamazaki and Nagakura) and new romancable characters (Sakamoto, Iba and Souma)--the latter I think were added because too add to the voice cast popularity roster. I would say that Sakamoto and Iba are the best additions because it expands the perspective of the game by allowing one to romance people outside the Shinsengumi, thereby allowing an interesting contrast between certain characters (ie. Hijikata-Sakamoto).The disadvantage here is that this is only half of the story because the Japanese version, Hakuoki Shinkai, is also divided into two volumes: Kaze no Shou and Hana no Shou. This game is the first (Kaze no Shou). Because it cuts off the story halfway, I feel like it ends when it becomes more interesting. It's annoying too that IFI hasn't announced vol 2 yet, whereas in Japan, vol 2 was released soon after the first. For some people, it would be annoying to have no assurance of being able to finish the story.Still it is a decent upgrade. And of course, this is a game that is made for the PS Vita.

I keep buying all the Hakuouki games even though they are basically the same with a few new twists/visuals/effects or a few new characters every once in a while. However, I'm a huge fan of the series and I'll have to admit that the little "extras" make the game better and better every time. I'm only hoping Aksys Games release the spinoffs soon...

I enjoyed this game. Having played the older versions this update had enough new material to keep me interested and playing. The only reason I can't give it 5 stars is because Kyoto Winds is only half the story. It is unfortunate as it cuts off the story right at the point your chosen route has been determined and is kind of disapointing as it doesn't allow the story to really develop. There is much more story to unfold which I found disappointing, I honestly thought this was the full version. I recommend purchasing The game. The second half of the game has been released in Japan so hopefully we will see it here in North America soon, especially if they see there is demand for it. Vote with that pocketbook!