Critic Reviews
Fans of the otome genre will find a lot to like within Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds. It offers a rich storyline as well as presenting likeable characters within its well-built world. With personalities based on real-life historical figures, the game offers a charming, albeit brief look at an interesting area of Japanese history, as well as the chance to romance some grade-A anime boys.
Being my first otome visual novel, Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds has made me a fan of the Hakuoki series. The game handles the large cast of characters wonderfully and allows the story of the Shinsengumi to shine through. For new visual novel fans this is the definitive way to start the Hakuoki series and date the guys that older fans had to wait years for.
If you've got money to spend, and don't mind waiting for any sort of conclusion, then Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is the best way to experience the first half of Idea Factory's visual novel. The new scenes help to flesh out the existing stories, and the additional characters help make a familiar story feel new again. It's a shame that all the hard work gets marred by splitting the story into two games, but it's still a very enjoyable read.
As a young girl named Chizuru, we try to conquer hearts of samurai from Shinsengumi in former Kyoto. The title is intended for the female part of gamers, but the atmosphere of the shogunate Japan should attract the fans of the visual novel genre regardless of gender.
Review in Polish | Read full review
For visual novel fans, or anyone who gets excited about Vita releases, Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is worth checking out. It's not perfect - the story is slow to start and the writing can be a bit cheesy at times. However, its visuals are beautiful, the story is fun, and the Japanese history lesson is a bonus.
The best otome game I've ever played has been made even better.
If a digital choose your own adventure book with epic audio and gorgeous art is your cup of tea, then this historical/supernatural drama will be right up your alley.
With 6 new character routes, there's certainly still a draw for players of previous titles.
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is an expanded release of the first half of a game that's already available on several platforms. With an unorthodox approach, it continues to be a great game, even if it loses the focus of its target audience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is a romp through time that both feels great and plays great, and at the end of the day, how many people can say that they've romanced someone who played a decisive part in Japanese history?
The story in Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds will grab you from start to finish as you make the most of the massive walls of text you will be reading. It is a visual novel, and that is expected of the genre, so no complaints there! Fans of the genre will be happy to hear that this release keeps the original Japanese voices for that authentic feel – although in my case I wouldn't have minded a dual audio track but can understand that would have been very expensive for the developer. The game's graphics are very crisp and clear and make everything pop easily, making it easy on the eye. If you're looking for an otome visual novel on PS Vita then Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is certainly a good option you should consider.
I've played a lot of visual novels in my time, and a lot of them are favourite games, but I've got to say, as a student of Japanese history, and a lover of good storytelling, Hakuoki is right up there with my favourite games ever made. Any game that, after finishing, I can put down and say to myself "if that story was presented to me as a novel I would have loved it just as much," is a good game, as far as I'm concerned.
For anyone who has been interested in trying out an otome visual novel this is a perfect entry into the genre. There are tons of playthroughs to see the whole story, a wide range of characters to romance, and truly compelling tales waiting in this superb story. It's also a must-buy for the hardcore fans out there. For those who have invested numerous hours to see every romance, with endings both good and bad, this is the perfect accompaniment. It's a fresh breath of life that manages to tell new tales and even give further insight into beloved characters.
While this is the definitive Hakuoki experience, it is also the most complicated one. Best to be something that you pick up if you really love the otome games. If you do, then there are no other games out on the vita at the moment that offer you this much. Both in the scale of the story and even more so in the choice of romance options.
If you’re hesitant to check this game out because it’s marketed to female gamers, I would encourage you to get over that stigma and give the game a shot regardless. There’s a well-crafted story hiding behind the marketing, and reading it from a woman’s point of view is a nice change of pace in the gaming sphere.
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is a historical fantasy visual novel set in the Bakumatsu period in Japan and puts you in the shows of Chizuru-san, a young woman determined to find her father in Kyoto. As part one in a two-part series that is the retelling of the original Hakuoki released in 2008, you will romance a number of handsome samurai (some are new to help justify the cost of Kyoto Winds) in search of details surrounding your father's whereabouts. Though it pushes over 80 hours of content with 30 unique endings, Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds feels more like a prolonged cash grab in a genre that is often taken advantage of.
Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is definitely a game I would tell my friends to buy. Especially my anime loving friends who appreciate the art of sexy anime men. I wish it would of had better love interactions towards the conclusion so the game didn’t feel so flat at the end. I am very interested for the future of Hakuoki to see what exactly is going to come next. Trust me, I’ll be anxiously waiting to play whatever is next! Your life with the Shinsengumi is short lived in this part of the visual novel with a lot of questions left unanswered and it keeps you wanting more. All in all this is still a fantastic game and one of my favorites.
If you thought Otome´s can´t be good visual novels, Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds will proof you wrong. It´s not only an amazing visual novel, that understood how to present the Edo era, both visually and story-wise, but also features the possiblity to fall in love with the main cast. My initial fear, that the addition of romance would make the whole setting appear harmless or cute, was quickly debunked, when I saw how brutal Hakuoki can be.
With its compelling cast and setting, I can see why Hakuoki got so popular, but by now there are better otome games out in English with more eye-catching art, less obtuse route requirements and heroines who aren’t quite as content to let everyone treat them like trash. Still, Kyoto Winds makes for a fun choose-your-own adventure tale; one playthrough is short, but there are a lot of different outcomes to explore.