Publisher Entergram revealed that Saga Planets’ 2012 romance visual novel Hatsuyuki Sakura will be ported onto the Nintendo Switch on June 29, 2023 in Japan. The game will be available physically at various Japanese retailers and digitally on the Nintendo eShop.
Originally released as an 18+ visual novel on PC, the title has gotten the ages 15 and up treatment since and has been previously ported over to the PSVita and PS4 in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Unfortunately, a worldwide release for the title has not been announced as of this writing.
*Gameplay screenshots are captured from the PSvita release.
▍ Hatsuyuki Sakura Story
Hatsuyuki Sakura follows the story of third-year high school student Kawano Hatsuyuki, the local delinquent enrolled in Shirosaki Gakuen. Threatened recently that he would fail his year, he reluctantly shows up to the school to fulfill his graduation requirements.
On the first night, that snow fell in December, Hatsuyuki encounters a girl dressed beautifully in white on the ruined old side of town. Strangely, the girl explains that she is wandering the streets in search of her rabbit.
Several days later, the girl from that night, Tamaki Sakura, turns out to be the new transfer student in Hatsuyuki’s school.
▍ Deluxe versions, Merchandise, and More
Hatsuyuki Sakura is going at a retail price of JPY$5,920 for its standard version. A separate Limited edition of the game will also be available in stores and online storefronts that will include a special acrylic layer frame (comprised of three layers).
The game will be featuring store-exclusive merchandise when purchasing the game at various stores in Japan. Two locations in particular, Sofmap and WonderGOO feature B2-sized tapestries with newly drawn illustrations printed on them.
