Release Date: May 18, 2023 (North America)
Developers:  Otomate
Publishers:  Aksys Games
Platforms:  Nintendo Switch
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

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SYNOPSIS
(From Aksys Game’s Official Website)

The first year of the Kyoho era. The land is ruled by the eighth shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa. Repeated incidents caused by monsters in the town of Edo upset and frighten the people so the Tokugawa shogunate establishes the “Oniwaban” to maintain public order and secure the town. Seasons pass—to year 11 of the Kyoho era.

A girl in a village far from Edo has the power to see “ black threads” before every catastrophe, which causes the panicked villagers to drive her away into the snowy mountains. One day, a young man from the “Oniwaban” appears before her. This is a story in which a girl encounters “non-humans,” and learns about love.

ART AND MUSIC

Director: Honami Igarashi

Artist/Illustrator: Team.Nagaoka (Lead), Yuuya (Chibi)

Scenario Writers: Maro Sasaki (Main), Yoshini Yuki, Saya Ougi, Hatoko Mizooti

OST: aya (Composer), manami (Artist)

BGM: Powerless, yasushi, Ayato Shinozaki, TOKYO LOGIC Ltd.

I was really impressed by the stunning artwork in Winter’s Wish. Throughout my playthrough, I found myself mesmerized while staring agape at the CGs that adorned the game. The head illustrator of the game, Nagaoka (ナガオカ), is the same artist behind the Otome Games “Kaminaru Kimi to” (KamiKimi or Becoming a God With You) and Clock Zero. While Yuuya (artist for Cafe Enchante, Cupid Parasite) did Winter’s Wish’s Chibi illustrations.

The game’s soundtrack was a personal favorite of mine. The background music was so good and it complemented the game’s setting and timeline perfectly. I also found myself repeatedly playing Winter’s Wish OP song “Yure Yurare” multiple times a day (lol)😅 I’m getting obsessed! The song is so beautiful that it has earned a place on my list of favorite otome game OP songs of all time. Heh. Be sure to grab a copy of the game with its soundtrack bundle at Aksys’ official store while supplies last!

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★Voice Acting

Maeno Tomoaki as “Kunitaka Tojo” – Lupin (Code Realize), Riku (Lover Pretend), Yamanbagiri (Touken Ranbu), Red (TaiAli), Camus (Utapri), Radius (Period Cube), Keisuke Sanjo (CollarxMalice)

Takuya Satou as “Genjuro Kuga” – Mitsutada Shokudaikiri (Touken Ranbu), Kazu (Variable Barricade), Masamune (Norn9), Kirei Rin (Jakou no Lyla), Tasuko Takato (A3!)

Seichiro Yamashita as “Yoichi” – Yagen (Touken Ranbu), Ryuki (Juuzaengi), Rokuro Yoshioka (Sympathy Kiss), Jeremiah Jenkins (Money Parasite), Hugo (Virche Evermore: Error Salvation)

Daisuke Namikawa as “Kinji” – Takeru Sasazuka (CollarxMalice), Hugh (Psychedelica AH), Oodenta (Touken Ranbu), Vishnal (Rune Factory 4), Yuichi Lomura (Hiiro no Kakera), Chigasaki (Charade Maniacs), Yu (Persona 4), Kagero (Scarlet Nexus)

Yusuke Kobayashi as “Tomonari Takamura” – Hira (Dairoku), Byleth (FE Engage, 3H), Shinano Toushiro (Touken Ranbu), Suwon (Yona of the Dawn), Yuli Norbert (MidCin), Manai Tomoki (Sweet Clown)

Soma Saito as “Ohtaro” – Mineo (CollarxMalice), Tsurumaru/Namazuo (Touken Ranbu), Shungen (Birushana), Levi (Psychedelica AH), Yves (Virche Evermore), Yumeno Gentaro (Hypnosis Mic), Kikunosuke (Tengoku Struggle), Kyoya Akase (Charade Maniacs), Takuma (Kitty Love)

Komada Wataru as “Kiyohiko Yabuta” – Iruma Jyuto (Hypnosis Mic), Nagusa (Olympia Soiree), Masaki (Paradigm Paradox), Narrator (Bustafellows), Fennel (Nekopara Catboys Paradise)

Wataru Hatano as “Kawamura Kyoshirou“ – Wizard (TaiAli), Gekkamaru (Nightshade), Adonis Otogari (Ensemble Stars), Lindo (Dance with Devils), Noah (Cafe Enchante)

Hino Satoshi as “Mistushige Miyaji” – Toma (AMNESIA), Lavan (Psychedelica AH), Noiz (DRAMAtical Murder), Orochi (Dairoku), Guy (A3!), Karakurenai (Hana Awase), Kyojuro (Demon Slayer), Takuto Maruki (P5)

Kenta Miyake as “Yoshimune Tokugawa” – Mitsukake (Fushigi Yuugi Suzaku Ibun), Osamu Oishi/Mama (AI Somnium Files), Roche (FF7R), Bowser (Super Mario Bros the Movie)

Toki Shunichi as “Hibie, Hibina” – Leo Cavagnis (Piofiore), Dahut (Virche Evermore), Yakumo (Dairoku), Atlas (Ikerev), Yuki Rurikawa (A3!)

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❄️~MAIN CHARACTERS AND ROUTES~❄️

Winter’s Wish offers three common routes: the Castle Town, where you’ll pair up Genjuro and Yoichi; the Entertainment District, where you’ll be joined by Kinji and Ohtaro; and the Samurai Town, featuring the LIs Tomonari and Kunitaka. As the player, you’ll need to choose which district to pair the heroine with. Each common route comprises two chapters (Chapter 2 and Chapter 3). After that, the story will branch off and progress into individual routes based on which love interest you have the most affection points with.

Although there are no locked routes in Winter’s Wish, certain conditions must be met to unlock specific endings for a few characters. Kunitaka, Genjuro, Yoichi, and Kinji’s routes are all playable from the start and are not restricted. However, to unlock Tomonari’s “Affection” and “Sorrow” endings (which are essentially his ‘Good’ and ‘Sad/Despair’ ends), you must first complete the routes of the four starter LIs. Additionally, Ohtaro’s “Affection” and “Sorrow” endings can only be unlocked after completing Tomonari’s route.

**Also, if you try to play Tomonari or Ohtaro’s route from the start without meeting the prerequisites, you will get one of their short bad ends.

There are no recommended route orders from the devs for this game besides the two restricted routes. However, if you want to play the game with the best story progression in mind (from least spoilers to greatest), my soft recommended route order is Kunitaka → Genjuro → Yoichi → Kinji → Tomonari → Ohtaro.

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Walkthroughs:

• Kunitaka Tojo
• Genjuro Kuga
• Yoichi
• Kinji
• Tomonari Takamura
• Ohtaro

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KUNITAKA TOJO

• almost the sister zone route
• pretend this route never happened

Kunitaka is one of the ” Oniwaban” Vessels stationed in Samurai Town. Along with Tomonari, he was tasked with the mission of escorting Suzuno from the countryside where she resides and taking her to Edo. He’s good with kids and is very compassionate towards others. He proudly refers to himself as Tomonari’s “senpai” although, Tomonari is not particularly interested in such formalities. Kunitaka also struggles to earn affection from the game’s resident pet sparrow ‘Komame’ who appears to not like him for some reason.

I loved Kunitaka as a character and I enjoyed Maeno’s voice acting and his character design (dat open arm sleeve tho 👀🔥). I also liked that Kunitaka possesses a natural affinity for children and that he acts as a ‘big brother’ towards Tomonari. Unfortunately, his route was a letdown for me. Not only could I not vibe with his romance with Suzuno at first, but his events also seemed to have many “handed out” scenes. Perhaps it was because I played his route in the middle of my playthrough, so naturally, the other better routes I had completed before him made it apparent how his story was comparatively bland.😥 I also found the treatment of Kunitaka here (in his own route, of all things), to be somewhat unfair, as his story seemed to be working against his favor. Do the writers have a bias against him or something? 🤔

Regarding his romance, I felt like some of their romantic antics were a bit enforced. Suzuno had to trip and fall multiple times for Kunitaka to catch her, giving them their “moment” which made me cringe a few times ngl (laughs).🤣 However, I do believe that their relationship improved during the latter part of his route.

GENJURO KUGA

• kuudere
• literally a touken danshi

Genjuro is one of the “Oniwaban” members that patrols over the Castle Town district. He’s a vessel that specializes in combat. He works as a watchman who’s responsible for patrolling and protecting the town of Edo, or at least that’s what his cover job is. Despite his calm demeanor, he is a diligent worker and takes his job seriously.

I actually started with Genjuro’s route as it had been a while since I last played a love interest voiced by SatoTaku. 🤭 This route was action-packed, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And as a lover of all-things-kuudere, I could not be any happier with Genjuro’s stoic demeanor and his as-a-matter-of-factly way of speaking. He was such a pleasant character, that I couldn’t help but be smitten by him right off the bat. His story, I admit, had moments where the plot seemed to drag a bit, but all of his conflicts were resolved satisfyingly, so I can forgive its minor snags.

His relationship with Suzuno was very wholesome. Since neither of them had any prior experiences in romance, their interactions were an awkward mess, but I found it adorable and endearing, regardless.🥺 There were several scenes that made me giggle from ear to ear because of how cute and wholesome they were together.

YOICHI

• always hungry 😂
• legs for days
• best boi!

Just like Genjuro, Yoichi is a member of the “Oniwaban” tasked with patrolling the Castle Town area. He serves as the head clerk at Yanagi Brewery, which is renowned for having one of the best sake in Edo. Sharp-tongued and direct, Yoichi can sometimes come across as harsh when conversing with the heroine. He tends to prefer taking the “easy way” in doing things and can be a bit of a lazy person. However, despite this, he takes his Oniwaban missions very seriously. Lastly, he loves to eat… like, A LOT!

I never really expected anything from this route, nor from Yoichi as a love interest. But, funnily enough, I seem to have blitzed through this one at lightning speed (laughs).😂 I really liked how this route started and how it employed a popular trope that happens to be one of my favorites in otome games.🥰 It was enjoyable to see the heroine vibe with Yoichi, albeit awkwardly in the beginning, and I appreciated how good their chemistry was from the jump. Yoichi’s personality was also rather surprisingly appealing. He had already stood out to me in other routes, but he truly took the reins in his own story.

In terms of romance, I believe this route had the most enjoyable scenes that utilized the shoujo tropes we all love, and did so at the perfect timing. The gradual development of Suzuno and Yoichi’s relationship was quite flattering, and the way they communicated their feelings with each other was just…*chef kiss*. I adored his Good Ending and was profusely lamenting his “Sorrow” ending. That last scene broke me!!😥💔 Additionally, all the CGs in this route were beautiful. I had to stare at them for a good minute or two before moving on with my life.

KINJI

• vain
• kabuki superman

Kinji is one of the Oniwaban members you can pair up with in the Entertainment District. He works as a kabuki actor, specifically an onnagata, and is widely recognized for his remarkable acting skills and strikingly beautiful face. His cover job as a famous kabuki performer enables him to gather intelligence for the Oniwaban in the Entertainment District. He possesses an unusual superhuman strength and is one of the oldest vessels who joined the Oniwaban stationed in Edo.

If there’s a route in this game that I have no doubt most folks will enjoy, it’d be Kinji’s route. I believe this route had the most otome-esque elements out of the six LIs and strikes a perfect balance between plot and romance. Furthermore, I want to gush how much I enjoyed the Entertainment District’s common route. Among the three common stories, this one had the most hilarious interactions with both the main and side characters, who were all incredibly likable (Yabuta can have it! Okay!).😤💓 As for Kinji’s story, it was admittedly a little predictable, but in the best way possible. For instance, I found myself gleefully exclaiming “I knew it!” at various points in the story. 😆 (laughs)

Kinji and Suzuno’s romance was also one for the taking. They had some really cute interactions together, and I love seeing Suzuno being all head-over-heels down bad for Kinji. Honestly though, who could blame her...?🤭 Their confession scene was really moving too! 🥺 Plus points for the sprite variation of Suzuno and Kinji in this route. Seeing the heroine in an elaborate kimono, with a different hairstyle and Kinji in his onnagata sprite was such a nice bonus. Lastly, I’ve got to say that Kinji’s BEST ending made me feel warm and fuzzy. You know, that feeling where you just couldn’t help but smile like a total goof? Yep, it was that kind of ‘happy ending’.

TOMONARI TAKAMURA

• Tsurumaru lite
• 🥺 = 😊 = 😏 = 😳 = 🥵

Tomonari, a recent addition to the “Oniwaban,” who only joined just a year ago, was the first character Suzuno encountered in the game. Though possessing a gentle personality, he displays a curt attitude and tends to keep his distance from others. Despite this, those around him, as well as himself, find it peculiar that he has developed an unusual special bond with the protagonist, Suzuno.

As the game’s poster boy, Tomonari’s route showcased a lot of ‘truth revelations’. Although these were more focused on Suzuno’s backstory than the overarching plot. I think it’s worth noting that this route also started off slow albeit, still enjoyable, as it depicts several scenes with the heroine closely bonding with Tomonari, and also, spending time with Miharu and Kiyoshiro, 😆(who I thought were a hoot together). It wasn’t until the end of chapter 5 that his route began to pick up the pace and sent me into an emotional frenzy.😭 A few plot points in this route made me tear up, ngl. 

Admittedly, the numerous revelations one after another caused a slight pacing issue, but the quality of the story, not to mention Tomonari and Suzuno’s character depth, more than made up for it, and I found myself glued to my Switch screen throughout.

His romance with Suzuno was also one of my favorites in the game. I love overprotective LIs, and when combined with Tomonari’s gentle demeanor, it made all of his scenes with the heroine worthwhile. Tomonari also did a few ‘unexpected’ things😳 that hit the right spot for me, and his bad endings were quite the spicy feast. Though, I must admit – this is an acquired taste, and not for everyone. Ha! 💦🔥 (cackles)

OHTARO

• not a genki
• “truth” route?🤔

Ohtaro is a vessel and a member of the Oniwaban, assigned to patrol the Entertainment District with Kinji. His cover job is working as a street barker. Among the LIs, he has the most sociable personality, and his friendliness makes him look approachable to anyone. Ohtaro has shown great fondness for Suzuno from the moment they met, and during the common route, he expressed a desire to get to know her better.

I was surprised to learn that Ohtaro’s main endings were initially locked. Luckily, a friend had warned me beforehand that his route was restricted and meant to serve as the game’s finale; otherwise, I would’ve been pulling hairs trying to unlock his good ending. 😂 I found Ohtaro to be a curious character, and if you pay close attention to him in the common routes and other character routes, you’ll obviously notice that something feels off about him. Though, with most of the routes focusing solely on the individual LIs and their stories, it’s easy to overlook or brush this off. I couldn’t really expound more on Ohtaro’s route without treading into spoilers. His story was a little all over the place (imo) but I did enjoy how it all unfolded in the end, despite some plot holes and pacing issues.

His romance with Suzuno was really cute, though! It did get a bit weird in the middle because of all the info dumps among other things that occur during this route. However, I thought their dynamic towards the end was quite nice and Ohtaro surprisingly becoming a shy tsun tsun, tickled me pink! I swear, I’m so easy to please, especially when it comes to a Soma Saito character! 😅

SUZUNO
(Main Heroine)

• polite
• has a talent to distinguish edible plants 🤣 (and she’s very proud of this)

Suzuno, the only living descendant of the Hakuseki Clan, lives alone in the snowy mountains, shunned by the villagers who believe her unique ability to see ’emotional threads’ that are invisible to others is a bad omen.

To me, Suzuno was a delightful protagonist. She has her own personality and is definitely not a cardboard cut-out of a heroine. Because she lived alone for most of her life, she can come across as a sheltered country bumpkin at times, but I find her naivete and occasional clumsiness to be part of her charm.

One thing I noticed during my entire gameplay was that Suzuno’s proactiveness differs greatly in each common route. She seemed to shine more prominently during the Castle Town routes, mainly because Yoichi taught her how to fight. As a result, she gets to battle mobs on her own and alongside her love interests, as well as perform the “snow sacrament” to purify the “blightfalls”, which are the so-called monsters in the game. In the Entertainment District routes, particularly Kinji’s story, although she wasn’t a ‘fighting heroine’, she went on an undercover mission here, and I really enjoyed her encounters with the side characters during her espionage. In the Samurai Town routes, however, I found that she was less proactive and had less agency, possibly due to the overprotectiveness of the LIs she was paired up with. That being said, it’s not fair to say that she was completely useless in these events, as she still did her due diligence in gathering information during her missions and was able to assist her team to the best of her abilities.

One gripe that I have with the writing in some routes was that Suzuno’s unique abilities, particularly her power to use the ‘snow sacrament’, were not fully utilized except in the Castle Town events and possibly in Kinji’s route, albeit only at the last minute.

Suzuno goes through a lot of character development, especially in Tomonari’s route, where she confronts her insecurities and discovers her self-worth. Also, I find it funny how she can be unintentionally bold or forward towards her love interest.🤣 She’s a great heroine all around! Very polite, sweet and I just want to adopt and protect her as my daughter!🥺

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SYSTEM AND LOCALIZATION

Winter’s Wish’s overall system interface and design were visually stunning! I thought the winter aesthetic was really pretty. What surprised me was how the main menu changed automatically from the Snow theme to the Spring theme (replacing the falling snow with sakura petals in the background). Moreover, the LI sprites in the main menu also switched from their ordinary sprites to their blushing sprites, which imo complemented the spring theme. You can change this anytime in the “Settings” section after completing the game.

Another thing that I loved was the ability to change the Main Menu’s background music. I stumbled upon this feature while fooling around with the settings’ controls, and it caught me off guard as I didn’t know this feature existed.😆 In addition, I also appreciated the subtle animations we get throughout the game. For example, during fight scenes or when a blightfall suddenly appears in the story, tiny black threads would spawn on the screen, adding an element of surprise to the scenarios. Subtle effects were also incorporated into the CGs and sprites, making them look animated and more refined than their still counterparts. These little add-ons made my gaming experience all the more enthralling. Lastly, this game features a “skip to the next choice” button, making routes easier to complete.

As for its localization, I was very happy to see that there were barely any typos or errors in the game. Although I have to say, given that it’s a period piece, it could use a more subdued approach when using modern colloquialisms or slang words in the translations. This only stood out to me during the heroine’s inner monologues, where Suzuno kept using phrases like “oh man” or “mann…” which felt out of place in the historical context (imo).😆 It’s no biggie though! To be honest, this is pretty much just a personal preference, as well as me being nitpicky with my historical games (laughs). 🤣

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TRAILER

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OVERALL THOUGHTS

Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo took me roughly 60 hours (give or take) to complete its entirety. While the game’s length falls within the average range for an otome title, I personally found it to be longer than most due to the three common routes you’ll have to go through every time you pick a jurisdiction to pair the heroine with. These common routes weren’t short either.

I thought the Castle Town Routes were very action-packed, and I quite enjoyed that aspect. Although, I must admit, my personal favorite among the common routes is the Entertainment District, mainly because of the hilarious back-and-forth banter between Kinji, Ohtaro, and Yabuta.

Story-wise, I love the game’s setting and lore. The concept of humans coexisting with vessels and formfolks was also something that drew me into the story. It reminded me slightly of the Touken danshis in Touken Ranbu (it didn’t help that all the LIs were Touken Ranbu seiyuus either).😆 I’m also genuinely a sucker for historical fantasy otome games so it was easy for me to like and vibe with the game’s setting from the get-go.

Most of the routes follow a similar story flow, save for the two restricted routes of Tomonari and Ohtaro. Overall, I thought the plot was well-conceived, particularly in terms of establishing the characters and setting in line with the time period. Keep in mind that the game is set in the early Edo period or the “peak” Tokugawa period, which is basically before the Bakumatsu era (so we’re talking pre-hakuoki in terms of otome game lingo lol). I also appreciated the mention of the different types of katanas in the game. (Look, by no means am I a rekijo, but catching these little, seemingly irrelevant minor details makes me happy haha)😂  

I think it’s the plot machinations where the game considerably struggled. Although the routes themselves were enjoyable, some conflicts in certain stories were resolved illogically, leaving me questioning why these issues were easily addressed in one route but not in another. The writing is definitely flawed in this regard, and there were likely inconsistencies in tying up loose ends across different routes. With that said, if you are going into this game expecting a “kamige”, you’re going to be pretty disappointed. However, if you can forgive these minor flaws, I’m pretty sure you’ll love and appreciate the coziness that this title offers. I personally loved this game to heart and I would play it again just for the characters alone!🥺

Speaking of characters, they really took the spotlight in this game. Not only were the main protagonist and LIs likeable, I was also very fond of the side characters. A lot of them were definitely showstoppers and it doesn’t help that most of the Oniwaban in Edo are hot dilfs running the show! (God help me, I need my asthma pump!)🥵 Another thing I loved was the strong familial relationship between the heroine and her big sister Miharu. Plus, it was great to see that many of the prominent side characters have their own unique sprites throughout the game.

When it comes to the love interests, they were all such gentlemen who took great care of the heroine. My favorite was definitely Yoichi – everything about his route just hit all my soft spots. Plus, I’m a huge fan of his VA. My second favorite was Tomonari. This boy is just so soft and gentle, and his overprotectiveness toward Suzuno reminded me of Iba’s overprotectiveness toward Chizuru (and I was down bad for Iba in Hakuoki lol)😩. Anyway, my character and route ranking are as follows:

Character Ranking: Yoichi > Tomonari > Genjuro = Kinji > Ohtaro > Kunitaka
Route Ranking: Tomonari > Kinji > Yoichi > Genjuro > Ohtaro > Kunitaka

Out of all the routes, Kunitaka’s was the only one that left me feeling unsatisfied with his good ending. The way the Oniwaban treated him in his story really left a bad taste in my mouth, which was a shame because Kunitaka was such a good character per se. His route though, didn’t do him justice.😔 My favorite side characters were probably Kiyohiko Yabuta and Lord Yoshimune. Yabuta was another case of me getting highly disappointed  that Komada Wataru is yet again casted as another side character and not an LI.😤 …and well, I love Yoshimune Tokugawa for very obvious reasons! Heh!😏🥵 I mean…just look at this big piece of hunk!

As for the romance, I personally find Winter’s Wish to be quite romantic, with most of the routes striking a good balance between plot and romantic development. Also, It’s important to keep in mind that “Romance is ALWAYS subjective,” and what may be romantic to me might not be the same for everyone. That being said, if your definition of romance is skinship, lots of kissing and love-making then you’re not going to get that here. However, if you appreciate subtleties and scenes that focus on the development of the heroine and LIs’ feelings for each other, leading to a heartfelt confession, then you will find plenty of that in this game.

Do I recommend this game? YES.
In conclusion, Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo is a game that I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who shares the same interest as I do. Despite its flaws, the game delivers a satisfying storytelling experience that should satiate your romance fix, especially if historical fantasy otome games are your cup of tea. While the game has its imperfections, its well-written and endearing characters more than make up for any shortcomings. I really loved this title and I would like to encourage everyone to give this one a shot!

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