![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Quasi-liveblog of Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds
Jun. 28th, 2018 04:16 pmI've been playing through the japanese dating sim Hakuoki after getting it in the recent steam sale and subjecting anyone who'll listen to my rollercoaster ride of reactions so thought I should start writing them down somewhere I don't have to worry about boring anyone.
It's 88% off until July 6 for anyone who's into a well made but very long historical samurai drama with supernatural elements, iddy plot twists, a wholesome crossdressing heroine who Just Wants To Help and all the pretty Japanese swordsmen wanting to protect her you could wish for.
I am not sure I'll actually finish it by July 6 which...gives you some idea of how damn long this thing is. So far the only warnings I'd give asides from Typical Dating Sim Gender Issues is some ableism and violence, and what I think may be some homophobic coding of a villain. Also the ratio of "Historical details about the political situation in late 1860s Kyoto" to "romance" ratio was...not what I was expecting.
The art and Japanese voice acting is top notch, both aesthetically and in a cute-boys-to-date way, though I do have to avoid thinking about how many of the "traditional Japanese ponytail plus anime style fluffy fringe" hairstyles would look like mullets in practice. The translation is pretty good too.
A note of warning: they were sneaky and divided the original Playstation game (Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom) into two PC games (Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds and Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms) but it's all one story, just buy the bundle. A positive change is that the PC version(s) has more love interests, even if their insertion into the plot is a little inelegant. Also apparently the heroine is less passive which...makes me glad I never played the Playstation version.
I've been largely unspoiled and mostly enjoying things as they come along, so if you're going to play it just do so. But if you'd rather live vicariously, read on :D
( Spoilers! And this game is so long even a summary is MANY WORDS )
It's 88% off until July 6 for anyone who's into a well made but very long historical samurai drama with supernatural elements, iddy plot twists, a wholesome crossdressing heroine who Just Wants To Help and all the pretty Japanese swordsmen wanting to protect her you could wish for.
I am not sure I'll actually finish it by July 6 which...gives you some idea of how damn long this thing is. So far the only warnings I'd give asides from Typical Dating Sim Gender Issues is some ableism and violence, and what I think may be some homophobic coding of a villain. Also the ratio of "Historical details about the political situation in late 1860s Kyoto" to "romance" ratio was...not what I was expecting.
The art and Japanese voice acting is top notch, both aesthetically and in a cute-boys-to-date way, though I do have to avoid thinking about how many of the "traditional Japanese ponytail plus anime style fluffy fringe" hairstyles would look like mullets in practice. The translation is pretty good too.
A note of warning: they were sneaky and divided the original Playstation game (Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom) into two PC games (Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds and Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms) but it's all one story, just buy the bundle. A positive change is that the PC version(s) has more love interests, even if their insertion into the plot is a little inelegant. Also apparently the heroine is less passive which...makes me glad I never played the Playstation version.
I've been largely unspoiled and mostly enjoying things as they come along, so if you're going to play it just do so. But if you'd rather live vicariously, read on :D
( Spoilers! And this game is so long even a summary is MANY WORDS )
