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What is Hakuoki? Okay, back in 2008 Otomate released a visual novel called Hakuoki in Japan. It is an otome game where players follow a heroine who finds herself plopped into a harem of attractive men. Naturally, all of them are smitten with her. Players make decisions as they play, which puts them on the path to a romantic ending with one of the men.
Hakuoki found success for two reasons. One is because it appeals to Japanese history buffs. It is set during the Bakumatsu period, running from 1864-1869. The members of the Shinsengumi were a special force of warriors fighting in the name of the Tokugawa shogunate in Kyoto. Its leaders have been idealized and romanticized in popular culture, with idealized versions of them appearing as bachelors and NPCs in the visual novel. Specifically, Commander Isami Kondou, General Commander Keisuke Sanan, Vice Commander Toshizo Hijikata, Troop Captains Souji Okita, Hajime Saito, Heisuke Todo, Sanosuke Harada and Shinpachi Nagakura, and spy Yamazaki Susumu all appear in the game, with all but Kondou romanceable (so far).
The other is the supernatural element. Hakuoki capitalizes on the fad that involves vampiric creatures actually being lovable, rather than murderous monsters. Throughout the story, different bachelors may find themselves near death. (After all, many of the actual members of the Shinsengumi died for various reasons.) They then take the Ochimizu, the Water of Life, to become Rasetsu. This makes them bloodthirsty creatures who become wreckless warriors. Like vampires, they have a thirst for blood, can be halted by silver bullets and move under the cover of night. There is also a group of demons after the heroine, though you will need to play to find out why this otherworldly race is getting involved in human affairs.
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How many times has Hakuoki been released in English? Tons of times. Hakuoki is available on practically every platform. And in Japan, its reach goes even further, what with minigame collections and a spin-off series that takes the characters and places them in a modern high school setting. But for the purposes of this article, we are only focusing on the English releases of the main Hakuoki tale.
Since the game is almost identical on every platform and we'll be getting into what might make one more or less appealing to you in the next section, we are now only going to offer a list of systems on which it is immediately available in English.
