PixlBit

I’ve never been so deceived by a game before, as I was with Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. It’s my own fault really, since I requested the title for review without knowing anything about it. Which is why, two hours in, I was confused as to why I was stuck reading a gratuitous amount of text. Impatient, I scoured the menus for anything that would clue me into the “gameplay” I was awaiting. Rather than control options I found nothing but text speed, romance animation, and other odd selections. Bewildered, I pressed on hoping for something to happen; finally it did. Suddenly, reading didn’t bother me as much, I didn’t care about controlling a character, and my impatient anticipation for gameplay dissipated. All that mattered was the winding storyline, the fascinating characters, and making choices to define my own in-game destiny.

As an avid anime fan, I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of Otomes before completing Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. For those of you like me, Otomes are video games targeted at the female audience, usually having a strong focus on building romantic relationships. As much as I hate stereotypes, I suppose that explains why I was so drawn to Hakuoki, and why I have a nagging desire to replay the quest over and over just to experience each of the different endings. However, while intended for a specific audience, I find it very hard to believe that only females will be able to enjoy what Hakuoki has to offer.

The title is set during a politically turbulent time in Feudal Japan. Amongst the commotion, our protagonist, a young girl named Chizuru Yukimura, leaves her home town and travels to Kyoto in search of her missing father. Once in Kyoto - a city notorious for being dangerous - she is attacked by two assailants, who ironically end up the victims at the hands of several seemingly otherworldly men. As they turn their sights to Chizuru, captains of the Shinsengumi dispatch of the manic individuals and take her back to their compound. Following extensive discussions regarding Chizuru’s fate, she is ultimately spared her life after revealing herself as the daughter of Kodo Yukimura; a man the Shinsengumi have been searching for as well.

While the group seems to be comprised of strong men with unrivaled sword skills on the surface, they carry a dark secret that Chizuru’s father is directly linked to. For sparing her life, the Shinsengumi ask for Chizuru’s help in searching for and identifying her father as they make their rounds protecting the people of Kyoto.

As the story progresses through Chizuru’s eyes, it twists and turns in accordance with specific choices made by players when prompted. Although the end result of making all of these selections will send Chizuru into the arms of a particular love interest, none of that seemed clear from the content of the questions. They don’t concern romance, dating, or sexuality in any manner. Rather, they ask if she wants to defend her comrades, whether she should scream for help, who she should rescue, and which battle she’d prefer to go to. It is even possible to get a game over if an option is selected that leads Chizuru and her comrades to their death.

The conflicts that arise, both political and personal, are depicted quite bluntly, with little attempt to downplay any of the graphic details. With a setting that takes the men into battle often, violence, illness, death, and the loss of comrades in terrible and/or saddening ways are common. The storyline itself is incredibly deep; with so many fantastic main characters to keep track of - all with a subplot of their own - my brain was constantly yearning for the answers to dozens of burning questions. The unique characteristics of each male comrade create variety within every situation, helping to keep things interesting. While incredible character depth is enough to create an immersive experience, the superb voice acting breathes even more life into these memorable characters.

Although Hakuoki features no cutscenes and is depicted solely through character portraits against a handful of backgrounds, it’s nearly effortless to “see” the story. Anyone who has watched a significant amount of anime knows that the majority share similar traits;  there are times of exaggerated silliness, long verbal altercations and/or tense silence before enemies face off, and lengthy intense battles. Hakuoki is no different. Without sacrificing quality due to its lack of animations, it embraces its limitations and delivers a powerful tale using its humble set of tools.

The phenomenal actors convey every emotion to excruciating detail, leaving it nearly impossible to avoid empathizing with a given character. I laughed, I worried, I cried, and felt joy, all because of the unbelievable acting. I’m thankful the developers decided to keep the voice acting in Japanese when localizing the title. In my experience, dubs never succeed in conveying the same emotion and passion as the original language.

Energy and fervor aren’t the only elements threatened by translations; it’s also easy to lose precious contextual elements. Although nothing about Hakuoki seems inherently romantic on the surface, love plays an integral part. Without an authentic cultural portrayal, the build-up, conflicts, and final resolutions with each possible love interest wouldn’t have felt as graceful. There’s no instant gratification in any of the possible love storylines and no sexual overtones - just a slowly paced relationship nurtured over time that progresses in a much gentler and beautiful manner than is typically seen in Western romances.

Whether male or female, if you make it through Hakuoki and enjoy what you have seen, you’ll undoubtedly desire to experience it again. After all, that’s the only way to experience all of the story arcs and each romantic conclusion. Hakuoki makes this unbelievably easy thanks to two well thought out design decisions. First, players can skip through any text they’ve already read at lightning speed. However, if they encounter brand new text on a different path, the game will not allow players to speed through. Even better, the game keeps track of which choices you’ve already made, highlighting them in red on recurrent playthroughs, so no matter what, players will never miss anything they haven’t seen before.

As enamored as I may be with my playthrough of Hakuoki, I would be dishonest if I said there weren’t a few things that bothered me. My biggest complaint nearly persisted to the end of my first playthrough; I’m referring to the way people address one another in Japanese culture depending on age and status. With so many characters to keep track of, it was often very confusing – especially early on - to follow the story when some characters refer to others using their first name, and some by their last. Because some initial decisions asked me to choose between specific characters for different reasons, I found myself helplessly thinking, “who’s who!?”

For individuals that are dependent on graphical aids to help visualize storyline, the lack of variety in the backgrounds may be a bit off-putting as well. As it stands, there are only a handful of images used in each location to convey the setting, with the occasional storyline-specific piece of art thrown in. The only positive aspect that comes from having a limited number of backgrounds is that the true art stands in stark contrast to the rest, allowing it to highlight and emphasize a personal moment within the game.

The limited number of choices players actually get to make is my final complaint, but one that I’m a bit torn about. On one hand, it is definitely a bit grating initially to just sit back and become familiar enough with the characters and story just by reading. Had I been given the opportunity to interact with the story a bit more, my moment of immersion probably would have come sooner. On the other hand, I really do understand why developers decided against this design choice. For the sake of replaying the game, loading the title with a bunch of mundane questions would have made recurrent playthroughs harder, and made the attempt at getting a specific ending more time consuming.

For most Western gamers, Hakuoki will be unlike anything they have ever seen before. But for those that have been waiting for the first true Otome to make its way overseas, they’ll undoubtedly be more than satisfied. It’s been quite some time now since I played something that I have never seen or experienced before, and it was incredibly refreshing to be part of a story in a way I was never able to before. I think it goes without saying that this title will have extremely limited appeal, but gender has absolutely nothing to do with it. While it’s a no-brainer to recommend Hakuoki to those who love anime and story-driven experiences, anyone with an open mind has just as much potential to fall in love with this beautiful, powerful game.