I was browsing at my local GameStop and picked this up because I liked the art style and thought I would give this a chance. I expected a smash-and-bash set to historical Japan but oooooh was I in for something different. Also, I was highly impressed by GameStop's customer service. The clerk upgraded my copy of Hakuouki to the collector's edition free of charge, and I walked out with a sweet and beautifully printed artbook and the game's OST.

After the first "chapter" was completed, I grew concerned that I still hadn't fought any bosses or killed anything. So I went online and researched, turns out this game is a bishounen dating sym! I felt a little tricked because the cover made no indication of it, and I was baffled that a small company like Aksys Games would take the risk releasing something like this in the US, but I am glad they did. I absolutely LOVE this series and have since watched all things related to Hakuouki and want more. The story was excellent and gripping and each character's personality was developed with incredible depth.

Hakuouki is very different from the typical games I play: Final Fantasies, Parasite Eve, Odin Sphere, Muramasa, etc. I just couldn't put it down. After I completed the story on the first play-through in what I dub "honest mode," I went back and filled in all of the other blanks for the other character's stories. In some stories the romances were very heavily a part of the plots, and in others it took a backseat. The writers did a great job providing variety and text options to give the player options. Though this game is targeted towards women, the storyline is so good that I could picture a guy enjoying it. In fact, my boyfriend got sucked in watching me play through it and we ended up watching the anime together.