Back when I tracked down physical Vita copies of Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds and Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms, I wondered what the chances were that they’d come out on the Switch before I played them.
Turns out the chances were quite good!
Today, Eastasiasoft announced that they’ve partnered with Idea Factory to bring the Switch version that includes both Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms to the west as Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom.
Despite having those Vita copies already, I’d actually been hoping this would happen, because Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms are two halves of one game. Not just in a Great Ace Attorney / Trails in the Sky sense, either, but rather that Kyoto Winds contains the start of all the character routes and Edo Blossoms finishes them. The recommended way to play is to switch between the two games to play each character route all the way through before moving on to the next. Having them together in a single release sounds much more convenient.
Not only that, but Eastasiasoft also said this new release will have a revised localization based on feedback from fans. I’ve seen criticisms of the Kyoto Winds / Edo Blossoms translation, so that should be good.
Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom will be out in 2024. Physical editions will be available through Play-Asia, including a Limited Edition that includes the game, a manual, a soundtrack CD, an art book, a sticker sheet and a numbered certificate, as well as a collector’s box. Preorders for both the standard and limited editions will open this Thursday.
This is a great way to start 2024! And if Eastasiasoft is getting in on otome localizations, things could be better than ever for otome fans.
Are you planning to pick up Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom?
Today had the potential for some exciting video game announcements, so I was looking forward to it, starting with Level-5 Vision 2023 II early this morning.
It began with a message from Professor Layton’s Japanese voice actor, who revealed that when he was first given the part of Professor Layton, he drew inspiration from James Bond. Not what I expected, but that’s a fun detail.
The first game they showed was Megaton Musashi Wired, which will be out on April 25, 2024.
Getting an actual release date for one of the games relieved some of my worries, even though I’m not interested in that one specifically.
Next up was a new trailer for Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, which I’m really looking forward to! The new trailer highlights changes from the first game as well as a summer 2024 release window. While that’s further off than I’d like, at least it gives me a chance to get through the rush of early 2024 games first!
They spent a good deal of time looking at the next Inazuma Eleven game after that. I’ve never gotten into that series, but since this game has been delayed over and over again for over 7 years now, it’s nice to see it finally making progress. While it didn’t get a release date, there will be a closed beta test for the online features in March 2024.
Now, you know I only watched this live because I wanted Professor Layton news, so I was thrilled when they showed Professor Layton and the New World of Steam next.
The new trailer shows a small section of the game, including a 3D cutscene and some gameplay. Watching them tap around for hint coins and encounter a puzzle might not sound like a big deal, but seeing that good, familiar Professor Layton gameplay make me so happy. Hearing narration during the puzzle-solving was a bit odd, so I think that might have been purely for the trailer (unless that’s the way hints will be handled in this game). It also appeared like they were using the touchscreen, which is interesting.
Unfortunately, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam won’t be out until 2025. With the other games all delayed to 2024, I was expecting it, but it was still a little disappointing.
I had expected them to end with Professor Layton, but instead they went on to briefly discuss the success of the Yokai Watch mobile game, and then they continued with Decapolice.
I’ve been interested in Decapolice since I love mystery games and it seems to have JRPG elements as well, but I was surprised to hear them describe it as an open world game. The showcase also said the release date had been moved to “post-2024,” although a tweet later clarified that they meant 2024.
The showcase ended with the announcement that the next showcase, titled Level-5 Vision 2024: To the World’s Children, will be held in April 2024, teasing an announcement implied to be a new Yokai Watch game. So that’s certainly exciting!
While it was mainly a showcase full of delay news, I was still thrilled to get a longer look at the new Professor Layton game. And the day wasn’t over yet, because Idea Factory’s otome-themed “just chatting” stream was coming up next with the promise of an announcement.
Indeed, Idea Factory kicked things off with the announcement that Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling, is being localized! This is the fandisc of Cupid Parasite, which I loved.
I’ve been hoping the fandisc would get localized, so that was a great surprise! It will be out in 2024, and a Limited Edition will be available as well.
All in all, it was a great day for video game news for me. And while the Level-5 delays might be disappointing, I’ve got plenty of games in my backlog to occupy me in the meantime.
How do you feel about the new trailer for Professor Layton and the New World of Steam? What about Level-5’s other announcements? Are you excited for the Cupid Parasite fandisc?
We’ve got a few video game live streams lined up for this week, with the big ones being a Dragon’s Dogma II showcase tomorrow at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET, and of course Level-5’s showcase the following morning.
But the one that’s gone under the radar is that Idea Factory announced an otome-themed “just chatting” stream for November 29 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET.
Now, since it’s a chatting stream, we probably shouldn’t expect any new announcements. All the same, they did say we “won’t want to miss this one,” so who knows?
The last time IFI announced otome localizations, it was at Anime Expo, with the announcements of My Next Life As a Villainess and Sympathy Kiss. My Next Life As a Villainess is out tomorrow, and Sympathy Kiss is set for February 27, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they have another 2024 title coming. Given the timing, however, it’s even more likely that the stream will highlight My Next Life as a Villainess instead.
Either way, I’ll probably tune in just to see. Who knows, we could end up with a surprise announcement out of this after all.
Back when I tracked down physical Vita copies of Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds and Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms, I wondered what the chances were that they’d come out on the Switch before I played them.
