Birushana: Winds of Fate is a strong visual novel follow-up to an excellent otome. Its strength lies in letting returning players see what happened after the credits rolled in the first title through five epilogue stories. Players can also experience the main story again from four wholly different, yet fully fleshed out, new character arcs. All are immensely enjoyable in their own ways. Shanao is a nuanced main character with a captivating personal quest, and her tale features many interesting and memorable characters. Revisiting them is wonderful, making Birushana: Winds of Fate a follow-up with quite the strong wind behind its sails. It’s a must-buy for established fans, and even newcomers might find charm in the new story routes.

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.

As with Homura: The Crimson Warriors, the game features a glossary of specific terms. This is a lifesaver for gamers who aren’t familiar with the Heian period. It does not, however, feature maps. This makes the sense of location rather vague at times. If you enjoy titles like Hakuoki or Homura: The Crimson Warriors, you’ll probably enjoy the Birushana games. And if you played the first Birushana but wanted more romance, Birushana: Winds of Fate fills that gap.