Now.... what do I have to say about the tale of the Shinsengumi? Oh yeah, I know, it made me fucking experience shit-tons of emotions! I loved this game from beginning to end. The opening & opening theme were so beautiful. When you first watch it, it shows a lot of mystery, intrigue, and adventure. It's a very mysterious opening and I could watch it again and again and still be mesmerized by it. It's so beautiful.
The story is something I WILL NOT spoil for any soul. It's so impactful and teaches a lot of lessons. I'm still thinking about it now! The characters were all really diverse and cool. I really like the protagonist and the characters of Isami Kondou, Heisuke Toudou, Sanosuke Harada, Keisuke Sanan, Kyuju Amagiri, Chikage Kazama, Katsuhira Itou, & Sen. But I'd have to say that my favorite character was Heisuke Toudou. He reminded me a lot of myself. (I really loved his alternate costume)
Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi was my first ever experience with the visual novel genre and I enjoyed every minute of it. One thing I really liked about the game was the music. It really suited the atmosphere of the different events. As aforementioned, it made me feel so many emotions. I was crying, laughing, angry, happy, sad, I just felt so many different things playing this game. I loved the writing, the pacing, the music, the action, the tension, there was no bad or uninteresting moment for me in the game. Another thing I really liked about the game was that it taught me a lot of new vocabulary words. Every 2 minutes or so, I'd see a new word and have to Google it. I really like learning from games. The game also had philosophical themes in it that really hit me at certain points especially at the end of the game. Those aspects really engage me that much more because I have such a deep respect and love for philosophy.
There's only one thing I have a gripe about but it's very nitpicky, though. It's just that there are few times they'd say something in Japanese that wasn't in the text box. Like for example, the text box could say, "Yes, let's get going." While the character will say like, someone's name and something similar to that. Obviously it's translated differently (and very VERY well, by the way) and there are different ways of grammar for languages so things are said differently, but the text box shouldn't say "Thank you very much." And then you hear the character say "Arigato" and then "Shinsengumi" when that wasn't in the text box.
However, that does not deter from the game's story or quality at all. It just left me wondering a bit.
Moving on, I had thought since this was an otome game, it was about a female protagonist who's just surrounded by good-looking males and you have to romance them, which made me think it wouldn't have such a grand story. But I was actually wrong, it was more like you go through the story raising affinity and you'll get a trophy or something if you maximize it.
The game's protagonist has a name but you can name her. I named her Madison to reflect as a female version of myself. The protagonist is not silent, though. She is very much her own character, but she does not have any voice acting.
If you're interested in this game you can buy it on the PlayStation Store digitally, or purchase it physically from places like Amazon, GameStop, or videogamesplus.ca.
Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi is an otome visual novel for PlayStation 3 created by Otomate, Design Factory, & Idea Factory. (Hence why I bought it... Idea Factory is amazing.) It is entirely voiced in Japanese with English text. And in my opinion, this game is an in and out masterpiece! I don't give a shit if you disagree with me but aside from nitpicky shit like some minor DLC, maybe it would've been better on Vita, and the not-so occasional text box-to-voice difference, this game is flawless. Fucking flawless. I REALLY FUCKING WANT the Collector's Edition for this game now because surprisingly enough, this is literally one of the best games I've ever played.
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Undisputed Verdict: 10/10
Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!! ~Gothorita
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