New Japanese dating/otome game being translated into English

Birdgirl789 · Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 2:26 pm

Icewings wrote:THIS ART IS SO GORGEOUS AND THE GUYS ARE PRETTY.

When's it coming out? WANT.

That's exactly what I said when I found it a few years ago! The art is beautiful. I'm so happy its coming out soon!

Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 3:54 pm

@Lenny + Nina - No worries you guys. It's a pretty niche game here, stateside anyway, but if you know of anyone who might like the game, can you just let them know about it?

@Icewings - It comes out on Valentine's Day 2012. Pretty sure I said that in my first post.

Here's a little more info for the people who are interested:

This is the main character: http://moe.animecharactersdatabase.com/ ... kimura.png
Family name: Yukimura
First Name: Chizuru

She's female but dressed as a male, for plot purposes. So in essence, think of it like a bushido style "Ouran High school" only with less humor. The game/visual novel is a reverse harem.

Guys names will be written "western" style with their given name first, family name last.
Also included a link to a youtube video that so you can hear voice samples, but some may be taken from this game or other games in the same series, so you could be spoiling a scene or parts of the game for yourself. Watch at your own risk. They are, however, quite squee worthy.

Toshizo Hijikata
"Main Boy" (has the longest route, 'cannon/official guy') - serious, disciplined, mature but can be awkward. Pretty boy of the group (though they are all pretty, he actually gets lamp shaded by other characters for it). Often gets provoked to 'lower levels' by Souji. Comparable to Himuro-sensi from TMGS1 for that are familiar with the series. (while this fishie loves Himuro-sensi, she finds Hijikata to be extremely cliche and boring)
Picture links -

Spoiler:

Voice Sample -

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Souji Okita
Resident Troll...er rather trouble maker. Or maybe "joker" is a better term. He is actually a really fun/funny guy. He's supposed to be the charming/lady's man type although they don't really play this out much and instead focus a little more on his sarcastic wit. He does like to flirt (read: tease) the heroine a lot though, but his favorite target is Hijikata. He likes cats and has a love/hate thing going on with kids. He also really looks up to the leader of the shinsengumi. (Kondou-san)
Picture links -

Spoiler:

Voice Sample - (lol please don't mind the Kefka BGM playing, although I find it amusing)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sanosuke Harada
Gentleman/Older brother/"guy next door" type. This fishie's personal favorite. He is part of the baka trio with Heisuke and Shinpachi; also has a serious/hilarious bromance with Shinpachi. Overall he is a really nice guy and was only one of the two people (the other person being Heisuke) to treat the MC with kindness when she first meets the Shinsengumi. Sometimes acts before thinking but loyal to a fault and takes pride in being a man/personal moral code. Did I mention he is super sweet? Favorite past time is going out and boozing with Shinpachi. According to one of the fandiscs, Souji teases Shinpachi saying that girls are really attracted to strong men like Hijikata and Sanosuke because they are also "good looking from the neck up, as well as down."
Picture Links -

Spoiler:

Voice Sample -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hajime Saito
The stoic/detached/loner type. Does not suffer fools and is a man of few words. Left handed swordsman and also likes cats. Looks up to Hijikata quite a bit and can be some what naive when it comes to his hero worship of him. Believes that Hijikata's family made medicine (which he use to pedal for them before joining the Shinsengumi) is a cure-all panacea for everything. Literally. Including a severed arm (according to one of the Shinsengumi detective files anyway). Can also be as awkward as Hijikata but does try to joke around once in a blue moon (and fails). Very intelligent/crafty and takes the bushido code extremely seriously.
Picture Links -

Spoiler:

Voice Sample -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heisuke Toudou
Technically the "genki" or shouta type, only doesn't really look "shouta" (he just happens to be the youngest in the group and close to the MC's age) and he is really more mischievous than "genki". Part of the baka trio with Shinpachi and Sanosuke. He's also really friendly, and was one of the only two people (along wiht Sanosuke) to treat the MC with kindness when she first came to the Shinsengumi. This fishie was actually very surprised with Heisuke. Did not expect much from him but was really surprised with his route and enjoyed it. Heisuke also has decent popularity in Japan (at least with my circle pf friends lol). He has a sensitive/gentle side with the MC and though he gets teased a lot by Souji, Sano, and Shinpachi, he does take his pride in being male and helping/protecting the MC.
Picture links -

Spoiler:

Voice Sample -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kazama Chikage
The guy with the "special connection" to the MC but otherwise has nothing to do with the basic plot of the series. He is sort of like the bonus/secret character of the group. Sort of. He is not a member of the Shinsengumi. That's about all I can say without revealing some major spoilers. If you like Tsun Tsun relationships then he and the MC can have this with each other. He's apparently popular to cosplay since my google searches came up with a bunch of people/for sale costume items. x_x
Picture links -

Spoiler:

Voice Sample -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Those are the "capturable" bishonen for this game. Each one of them has a good ending and a bad ending making a total of 12 different endings. There are a bunch more characters that are significant to the plot but for now I just posted the guys you can get since I figured people would be interested in that.

Here's the first season anime opening -
...and he 2nd season -
...and the OAVs (these take place during season 1, and before season 2) -

The anime isn't licensed yet stateside so you can find fansubs of the anime on youtube. (however, I will not be linking you to those for obvious reasons.)

Finally, for those that like the art, there's a huge collection of it over at Zerochan.net (along with most other game/anime series). http://www.zerochan.net/Hakuouki+Shinsengumi+Kitan?p=1
This goes without saying, spoilers up your butt if you go there. There's official artwork, manga, fanart, game CGs, anime screen captures, basically anything your little heart can think of. Even yaoi/shonen ai art (though the series is strictly GxB) for those that are into that type of thing.

Phew, that's quite a long post. Hope it's helpful.

Nurse Fin · Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 4:41 pm

Hell yeah I'm gonna buy this, though mostly just to support the genre. For some reason even though I love historical stuff Hakuouki never really appealed to me that much (I'm a staunch Neo-Romance/Haruka fan, a really huge one lol. Though I also enjoy TMGS now and then). idk Otomate's games appeal to me less in general because in my experience, while the art is goooorgeous I wasn't as enthralled with the heroines or lengths of the stories... I know I can play through Will-o-Wisp in like 4-5 hours when I'm used to 20-30 hour games. Anyone know how Hakuouki compares?

Gonna try to convince others I know to buy it too. I mean... a real otome game coming out in English is a big deal.

Hisagiluv · Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 4:49 pm

I read you could change a part of the Protag's name, but I don't remember if it was Yukimura or Chizuru OTL I think it was Chizuru? Totally gonna change it to Hisa. Hmph.

I only have one other friend with a PSP, but I've been bugging her to get Fate/Extra when it comes out. lol I'll bug her even more with this. I already plan to buy this game twice (physical and digital).

Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 4:54 pm

The men are beautiful, damn.

I'm definitely going to buy it and support it, but I dunno if I'm going to like it. Regardless, I AM going to support the VN/Otome game franchise. I really do hope they localize Starry Sky. I was really looking forward to that one.

Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 5:03 pm

@Nurse Fin - Otomate or Idea Factory games are usually shorter since it's strict V/N without stat building or mini game elements.

Routes are actually longer or shorter depending on which boy you want, and of course, if you use the "skip" function on text you've already read. Safe to say though, that you can get through one route in a handful of hours; even less with the skip feature.

Have you ever played Yo-Jin-Bo? Length should be pretty similar to that. If you haven't played it, I really suggest it if you can find a legal copy. That was probably the REAL first V/N translated into english and it's historical. And hilarious. Sadly the company that brought it over went under due to piracy so I really want to try to promote this game as much as possible to show that there is at least a small niche market for otome games.

And yes, most otome game heroines leave a lot to be desired. Funny you should say HaruToki since the only cool heroine is Nozomi. Not gonna lie though, I'm a Masaomi fan myself. Great voice. Despite that, you know, they recycled Yorihisa's VO for practically all the Seiryu of Heaven. x_x

That and he is also Hijikata's voice. And Mihara in TMGS1.

Riri_chan · Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 5:19 pm

Definitely buying this. I mean, OTOME games coming out over here its a pretty big deal, so 1000% support! If this is successful they might even bring more otome games over~~

/trying to convince friends to get this

Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 5:26 pm

If it's possible, make sure to to pre-order. I completely understand if you can't but the reason I suggest this is because it shows that there is enough of a demand for the game before it actually comes out that they will see this type of game is wanted. For that have never pre-ordered before, don't worry, the website (like amazon) or store (like gamestop) won't charge you for the game until it either comes out and is shipped to you (in the case of online orders) or you pick it up (in the case of physical stores).

if you ever change you mind in the future either you can also cancel the pre-order and you won't be charged at all.

Nurse Fin · Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 6:34 pm

small smelt wrote:@Nurse Fin - Otomate or Idea Factory games are usually shorter since it's strict V/N without stat building or mini game elements.

And yes, most otome game heroines leave a lot to be desired. Funny you should say HaruToki since the only cool heroine is Nozomi. Not gonna lie though, I'm a Masaomi fan myself. Great voice. Despite that, you know, they recycled Yorihisa's VO for practically all the Seiryu of Heaven. x_x

That and he is also Hijikata's voice. And Mihara in TMGS1.

Yeah that's what I thought. It's a little disappointing because I like to draw out gameplay as much as I can, but that's not really possible with text-only VNs unless they really have long stories. Which most of them don't.
And I haven't played Yo-Jin-Bo though I know of it. All my games are on the PSP, though... PC games aren't really my thing. It makes me mad how rampant piracy is though because I'm the type that pre-orders the special editions and ends up buying all the random merchandise and anthologies that come out (I love my Haruka voice clock even though I'm afraid to use it. I'd be embarrassed to wake up to that every morning... lol)

And I liked Nozomi, Chihiro and Yuki, they're all really cool. Especially when I beef them up so they're stronger than the Hachiyou. I barely played any of the first game because it's out of print now, but from the manga Akane's okay (took a few volumes to warm up to her, in the beginning she's totally thrown around by the plot) and so is Karin, though her expressions make her look a little airheaded... but she isn't a damsel in distress at least. The gameplay in 1/2 is a day-by-day simulation instead of an RPG, and there's no "war time" going on in that particular era which I think makes a big difference. But she still does more than most otome game heroines who literally do nothing useful except maybe act as a plot device. (that's sad when the main character is nothing more than a plot device getting in trouble to propel the plot forward)

I'm currently playing 2 again, after not touching it for a while. I always forget which cheers are the best ones and I end up making the guys mad... "you can do it! Believe in the me who believes in you!" "SHUT. UP. *point decrease*" dangit.

As for me, I'm first a fan of Atsumori... and I also like Tooya, Nagi, Benkei, Miyako, Souji, Ouchi, Yasuaki, Shimon, (and their uh, expies in #2) etc etc... not in any specific order. There aren't really any characters I actively dislike, though I found a several of 3's routes not-as-engaging despite it probably being my favorite game (idk, 4 and 5 were pretty awesome...) >_>;; I guess I have too strong of a character bias because AtsuNozo is the cutest saddest thing, complete with baby birds and kitties.

And I found myself really liking all of 5's cast though, to the point it was hard to choose what route to play first, except maybe Shun because he's genuinely boring to me. idk, I'm never really into the "THIS IS DEFAULT OPTION A!" types so i never went for Seiryus first, and Shun is just... square. A little square is fine, but he's so square I can't imagine a working combo of him as the straight man and Yuki as the wise guy... so it comes off as boring. If you make Yuki say more interesting things during his events he just gets mad. blah. More of a Genbu and earthly Suzaku person here

(I know, I just totally derailed the topic... carry on, carry on...)

Post Posted: Oct 24, 2011 7:06 pm

@Nurse fin - no worries dear. I play Bioware games so I'm used to super beefy/aggressive heroines compared to cupcake style girls of most otome games.

I get what you mean by trying to make the most of the playthroughs though; honestly best way to do that is to 1)not skip and 2)don't do all the routes in one sitting lol. Both of which are kind of tempting to not do.

Though you can draw it out more by supplementing your needs with watching the anime, the OAVs, reading the manga, and watching CD drama videos on youtube.

Or fan art. /nods

I haven't kept up with Haruka series after #3 so you'll forgive me if I'm unfamiliar with some of it, won't you? As for Yoh-jin-bo, you'll like it. It was my first VN and I didn't know what to expect, but it does have comedy gold. That and the main boy is voiced by the same VA as Harima Kenji from School Rumble. I didn't know if I could take it seriously with that in mind but it was very well done. For the FFX one of the other two main characters is also voiced by the same VA that did Tidus in Japan. The art isn't as great as Hakuouki, but still decent. But yeah, finding legal copies are hard since the company went under a while ago. A while ago I heard that there was a place to buy digital downloads of the game legally but I have no idea where that's at.

Anyway, Aksys gave me the impression that should this game do well, they are making plans to localize a few other otome games, which is great. They'll probably stick to a few Otomate titles before branching out to third party software, but hopefully by that time some other companies may get enough juevos to try an otome game themselves.

Birdgirl789 · Post Posted: Nov 07, 2011 5:29 pm

The Official website is up!
http://www.hakuoki.com/

cinnamon_yuki · Post Posted: Nov 08, 2011 5:52 am

I'm very happy that they plan on releasing this. I better check if my PSP is still working. :D

MapleMoose · Post Posted: Nov 18, 2011 5:21 am

I'm going to preorder this, but what's the difference in versions? So far, the limited edition doesn't mention any extras. Is there any info on it?

Birdgirl789 · Post Posted: Nov 18, 2011 1:52 pm

MapleMoose wrote:I'm going to preorder this, but what's the difference in versions? So far, the limited edition doesn't mention any extras. Is there any info on it?

Right now, there's nothing saying what's going to be in the limited edition pack. There is a different cover art, through. They have made a poll asking what people would want to be in the limited edition, but haven't announced anything yet.
Here's the Limited Edition cover art.

Has anyone decided who they're going for yet? I'm between Okita, Sanosuke, and Saito!

MapleMoose · Post Posted: Nov 18, 2011 6:52 pm

I saw the limited cover picture. It's what convinced me to pre-order that version of the game.

As for picking one of the guys yet, I'm going to have to see how the game plays out.