Idea Factory and its otome factory, Otomate, is at its best when working with stories based in history. Hakuouki, for example. Or the first Birushana, which was set in the Heian period of Japanese history and let you hang out with Benkei and other famous boys (made pretty) while the Genpei War raged around Japan.
I believe this to be true because the historical context adds layers to the traditional romance plots of otome. Presenting real figures of the time, however romanticised, is also a good incentive to go learn something about the real personas, and I’m always a fan of games that can inspire people to learn something. While I was already well-read regarding Benkei’s exploits before playing Birushana, Hakuouki did get me reading up about the Shinsengumi, so I know first-hand that Otomate can be inspiring on that level.
All of this is background to say that I enjoyed Birushana: Winds of Fate, but nowhere near as much as the base game, and that’s for one simple reason: Birushana is a fan disc, which in VN parlance means “an expansion pack to give you more content with your favourite characters.” Or to put that another way, it’s largely fan service, and pushes so much of the historical context to the side to double down on the relationship plot.
Specifically, the main chunk of Birushana: Winds of Fate lets you pick your favourite boy from the base game (it better be Benkei, if you care about having good taste), and see what comes next after their story from the first game wraps up. This “sequel” assumes that you have seen the best (romance) ending, and each of the chapters in Winds of Fate starts with it being very clear that the protagonist and her chosen boy are very much in love. From there you get a fun and light-hearted story of love and passion with the most thinly veiled sex scenes this side of Harlequin romance books (remember those).
There’s nothing wrong with this, and the heat is most definitely there. I wish I could write thirsty with this combination of class and spice, but alas I am not an otome writer. For fans of the original Birushana game, and fans of otome romance in general, these chapters hit all the boxes with laser precision. But, again, with the caveat that the historical setting really does take a back seat.
The other part of Birushana: Winds of Fate is also something common to fan discs: New routes with characters that played minor roles and now get a chance to shine (and, well, get down with the protagonist). Winds of Fate gives you four new boys here, each with two endings (a tragic one and a good one). These chapters do have a bit more of the historical context to them, because the writers need to place previously minor characters from the base game in the setting, better explain who they are, and give the protagonist an excuse to interact with them. With that being said, the game is also clearly not as interested in the worldbuilding and moves towards the conclusions (and romance) at a snappier rate this time.
What helps is the protagonist herself is one of Otome’s stronger ones, and she’s a good blend of horny for the boys while also being a competent character in her own right. The fan disc is less serious in tone as the base game, and in addition to the romance, there’s richer humour and character quirks that’ll get you smiling. All of this is backed by Otomate’s typically stunning art, and in this regard, Winds of Fate is every bit the equal to its predecessor, and really beautifully sets the tone for the historical period, with gorgeous costumes and backgrounds for each location.
I will flag that while I’ve mentioned “fan service” a lot here, as an otome game, the fan service doesn’t work in quite the same way it does in visual novels geared towards the male audience. Much like the Harlequin romance novels, the fan service is steamy without being the same kind of explicit that we’d see in male-oriented erotica, and heavily focused on describing sensation rather than visual depiction or the clinical blow-by-blow of the action. This won’t be surprising to anyone who is aware that sex written for women is fundamentally different to sex written for a male audience, and I’m not saying one is superior to the other, just flagging it as a difference to the one or two people on the planet that might pick this up and not be aware of how otome VNs work.
Of course, there’s absolutely no point in playing this if you haven’t played the original, so like all reviews of a fan disc, this one is largely pointless (although if you haven’t played Birushana yet, you should absolutely do that and then consider diving into this one as well). If you really enjoyed Birushana, you’ll love the playfulness and additional story arcs of Winds of Fate. None of these stories are essential unless you did love the original, but I’ll never be one for criticising a developer for giving the fans their fanservice.
