Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom

THE BUZZ: Aksys Games today released box art and new screenshots for their upcoming PSP release Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, along with announcing that the game is now up for pre-orders on Amazon.

Hakuoki—which will be released on February 14th, 2012—will come in two versions: a standard edition for $29.99, and a limited edition (contents yet to be announced) for $39.99. The game centers around the story of Chizuru, a young woman living during the Edo Period of Japan who is looking for her missing father. Her search takes her to Kyoto, where she meets up with the Shinsengumi—a legendary group of samurai who were sworn to defend the city and its inhabitants.

EGM’s TAKE: Hakuoki is from a genre popular in Japan known as “otome” games, a type of videogame created for a female audience (though players of all genders can of course enjoy its offerings). This is the first time a major publisher in North America has tried bringing an otome game to our shores, so I’m really hoping the chance Aksys has taken will be successful. I’m always in favor of consumers having a wider variety of choices to pick from, so the more different types of games we’re offered, the better.