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Sexy warrior dating sim Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi coming to North America
Aksys revealed plans to localize Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi a choose-your-own-adventure-style visual novel for the PlayStation 3 and follow-up to last year's PSP release Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. The Hakuoki series is part of the otome (female market-targeted) visual novel subgenre, offering a harem of cuddly warriors for players to woo in a 19th-century Japanese setting. While Aksys released the Dynasty Warriors-like spinoff Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi for the PSP earlier this year, the upcoming Stories of the Shinsengumi sticks closer to the series' roots, featuring text-based gameplay that focuses entirely on dialogue choices and branching narrative. Aksys recently announced that it will also bring the Nintendo 3DS series sequel Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi stateside. A release date for Stories of the Shinsengumi has not been announced.
Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi coming to the 3DS in America
Aksys Games has announced a North American release of Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi on the Nintendo 3DS. The game is based on Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, which made it to the PSP last February.The female-focused "otome" romance game comes to Nintendo's handheld with new story content and some 3DS-specific features, like 3D graphics and the ability to take your potentially creepster picture with the story's main characters.No release date has been announced yet, but those interested can stay tuned to the official site for more.
Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi drops Feb. 19
Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi, the hack-and-slash PSP action game based on Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (itself a PSP otome visual novel about getting hunky samurai to fall in love with you), will be available on February 19 in North America, Aksys has announced. Folks that pre-order the game through Amazon will receive a bandanna featuring the game's eight playable samurai.Not so concerned with the heart's capacity to love as much as with its ability to be stabbed by swords, Warriors of the Shinsengumi follows young maiden Chizuru and her accompanying Shinsengumi on their quest to find her father. Players will be able to play through two versions of the game, one that follows Demon of the Fleeting Blossom's storyline and a second, alternate version.%Gallery-169695%
Aksys Games on localizing the hot samurai of Hakuoki
During this month's Anime Expo, Aksys Games revealed plans to localize Idea Factory's Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, a romance-centric visual novel for PSP, and one of the few games in that genre (called "otome" games, for a Japanese term for "maiden") ever to be officially localized for the West. Following the bizarre announcement, I asked Aksys for more information on this relatively unfamiliar genre and this game in particular. So what exactly is an "otome" game? " In a loose sense," Aksys Games' lead editor Ben Bateman told Joystiq, "'otome' games are games targeted at girls, and are usually something in the vein of a visual novel. They usually focus on meeting, attracting, and developing a relationship with, one of a selection of several hot mans [sic]."
Aksys bringing 'otome' genre stateside with Hakuoki: Demon Of The Fleeting Blossom
Since this is the internet, most of you are probably aware that Japan produces a lot of games for genres that don't necessarily exist in other parts of the world. These games can get a little ridiculous at times, sure, but Aksys believes that the "otome" sub-genre of JRPGs is worth bringing to the western hemisphere. Idea Factory's historical RPG Hakuoki: Demon Of The Fleeting Blossom will be North America's first widely available "otome." The game follows the story of Chizuru Yukimura, who encounters the Shinsengumi samurai clan while traveling through Edo-period Japan on a quest to find her missing father. As luck would have it, the Shinsengumi are also searching for her father, and together they to travel to the city of Hakuoki, which contains "supernatural secrets." (Read: ghosts or something.) So, sounds like a JRPG, right? Why does this game land in the otome sub-genre, while others don't? Put simply, the "otome" (or "maiden") game is a romance novel for you PSP. In order to be considered an otome, a game must A) have a female protagonist, and B) also make obtaining the affections of a love interest as important as other main story goals. Unlike male-targeted dating sims, otome games contain little to no sexuality, as they are generally intended for female gamers in the pre-teen/tween/teenage demographic. Aksys plans on bringing big-haired samurai lovin' to any PSP owner interested in that sort of thing sometime during the first quarter of 2012. Who knows, maybe this will finally pave the way for that When Harry Met Sally game we've always wanted from Telltale.
