Friday, November 09, 2012

You don't say: Another PSP-based Hakuoki game is coming to North America

Unfortunately, it sounds like this Hakuoki title, unlike the one released earlier this year, isn't very good. (That's what a good percentage of the folks posting comments here are saying, at least.)

Still, I'm curious about it. Despite the fact that its gameplay sounds Dynasty Warriors-esque. (I'm not a big fan of hack-and-slash games. Shocking, I know.) Oh, and despite the fact that it doesn't seem to include any scenes in which Isami Kondou makes out with Shinpachi Nagakura.



I've yet to add it to my lengthy "to buy" list, though, because the folks at Aksys Games have done little more than announce their intent to bring it to North America and share its localized name (Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi) so far.

More information on this PSP release is sure to appear on its official website sooner rather than later, though, so if you're like me and you're at all interested in it, you'd do well to pay it a visit every now and then.

See also: 'A somewhat gay review of Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (PSP)'

16 comments:

Melody (Lizzi) said...

I really looove Dynasty Warriors!!! °o°
But the other one... "Samurai Warriors" wasnot so good.
I really like hack and slash games.
That's why this game looks so promising to me.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ah, yes, I seem to remember you saying you like the Dynasty Warrior series, Melody. Maybe I should give them another try. I doubt I'll have much of a change of heart, though -- the style of game just doesn't appeal to me much.

Anyway, do you have a PSP? I can't remember. If so, sounds like you'll be getting this game should it be released in your region?

It's hard to believe games are still being released for the PSP in the US. I mean, the system has been dead in this country nearly from day one. Kind of gives you hope for other seemingly dead systems, like the Vita...

warp said...

Actually releasing download-only PSP games makes perfect sense to me, because they can be made to work on the Vita as well. Since they use the same online store, they are on equal footing with the Vita games. And they're cheaper to make than Vita games. And there's tons of old stuff that never made it out of Japan that just has to be localized. They control better on the Vita (because it doesn't have that godawful nub). And there's not a lot of Vita games to compete with either. Plus it's still possible to make a really nice-looking PSP game that holds up with contemporary titles -- I still think Gugnir's one of the prettiest SRPG's I've ever seen. I could go on and on, but you probably get my point.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ha! Yes, I get your point, warp :) I do hope that if companies continue to do this (bring PSP games to PSN) they continue to make them playable on both the PSP and the Vita, though. My fear is that at some point they'll make them Vita-only. Considering I'm not likely to get a Vita for some time (if ever), I'd want them to be playable on my good ol' PSP.

Melody (Lizzi) said...

I think I would give it a try.

Bryan you have to see these Alpaca Earmuffs:

http://www.storenvy.com/products/427499-arpakasso-alpacasso-alpaca-earmuffs

I remembered how happy you are about the Alpacas in Animal Crossing 3D and had to show you these :D

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ha! Those are adorable, Melody. Thanks for sharing. Are you going to buy a pair for yourself? I'll bet they'd be a good conversation-starter :)

Melody (Lizzi) said...

Maybe but there are only white ones left and I would looove to get a brown pair :)
Do you know those dust-plugs for mobile-phones? There are soo many of them and they're all so cute.
Especially these:

http://www.storenvy.com/products/455043-arpakasso-alpacasso-alpaca-phone-plug-stud-accessory-12kinds

Alpacas again! xD
I already got one with a flower and one with a ribbon (my phone looks cute with these xD)

Bryan Ochalla said...

You've got alpacas on the brain, I think! Not that I mind, of course -- I like them, too. Reeeaaaaalllly can't wait for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, with its pink and blue alpaca characters, to be released here...

BTW, I thought maybe you'd get a pair of those pink alpaca earmuffs :)

Unknown said...

I have mixed feelings about this, and I'll tell you why, Bryan! I'm so glad that Aksys felt that Hakuoki did well enough to continue with the brand, but I think their choice in game is very odd. It would've been nice if we could've seen a different otome game rather than a mediocre Warriors game (not that I dislike Warriors games in general, but this one doesn't look very good). Again, I can understand if they feel like they have enough fans of Hakuoki who like it for its story and not necessarily the otome aspects to justify this localization, but it seems like a step to the side rather than forward, in my opinion.

I'm sure I'll give it a go, but my initial excitement at them releasing another Hakuoki title is little more than a passing interest at this point. We need more different otome games, if you ask me!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Oh, I agree with you, Anne! And, honestly, I have more than mixed feelings about this whole thing -- I'm pretty disappointed that they decided to go with this game rather than one of the other Hakuoki otome games.

It's especially strange that they chose this one considering the word of mouth on it. Maybe they were hoping no one in the English-speaking world had played the Japanese version and, thus, we wouldn't know how bad it is until we played it?

apricotsushi said...

Perhaps Aksys has some kind of contract where they're obligated to bring over so many Hakuoki titles? I get that they might think that some people who wouldn't have liked a visual novel would like the action aspect of this one, but considering it's a subpar Warriors game (and those only have a small following to begin with), I don't know how much leverage that's going to give this title. It'll be really sad if they give up on the series due to this one getting poor sales...

warp said...

So just to be clear, this doesn't have any dating sim elements at all, right? In other words, the reason why everybody's so upset is they took out the only part people care about?

thegaygamer.com said...

As far as I know, warp, this doesn't feature any of the dating elements of the other PSP release. So, yes, that's part of why most people are upset. The other reason, though, is that the hack-and-slash action in this game just isn't supposed to be very good. From what I've read, of course -- I definitely haven't yet played it for myself.

thegaygamer.com said...

Huh. You may be right, Anne! It certainly is a bit of a head-scratcher as to why they decided to bring it over. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it was, in part, because the folks at Aksys thought this might go over better with NA PSP owners than the previous effort. I'm not sure that's going to be proven true in the end, but I guess we'll see! Regardless, I'm with you in hoping they don't give up on the series should this one tank...

apricotsushi said...

From what I understand, since you're playing through the game as each of the male characters, there aren't dating sim elements where you choose from different options to get a certain ending, just that you'll see each character's story as a result of playing through as them. Many fans will tell you that they're plenty happy to see the men in action, though ;) On the other hand, I know a lot of otome game fans that don't really consider themselves gamers, so they could potentially be put off by the action elements.

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, thanks for helping out, Anne! Really, it'll be interesting to see how this game does after it's released here.