A short section at the start of each chapter to introduce new characters and plot points would have been fine but information and thought processes from earlier chapters are repeated so often that the gap between “Holy crap, what’s going on?!” sections is simply too big to keep you interested and wanting more. The problem for me begins with the chapter format in which Higurashi is presented. For a number of scenes the writing, despite Mangagamer’s best efforts, is pretty decent.
There were times I felt worried and apprehensive, times I felt thrilled and triumphant, and times I felt downright freaked out. Or maybe…just maybe…it was the ominous presence he can’t quite see out of the corner of his eye, the extra footstep he hears every time he stops, and the looks of his classmates that aren’t quite sane… Or perhaps it was Hinamizawa’s dark past of human sacrifice.
#Umineko when they cry free visual novel series#
The series of deaths occurring each year might have tipped him off. While he quickly makes new friends and finds himself part of a tight-knit and exciting afterschool club, he soon begins to suspect that there’s something not quite right about his new home. Maebara Keiichi has just moved to Hinamizawa, a village of about 2000 that’s a far cry from the big city he’s used too.
Though it may not be as bad as some other, newer visual novels, I can’t quite find it in myself to recommend it. For me, however, Higurashi is made up of some very good ideas, some very good scenes and, unfortunately, a large number of tedious connecting pieces that drag the whole experience down. Let me start off by saying that Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is generally viewed in a very positive way, and I can see why so many people have enjoyed it. Version Played – PS2 Sprites & BGM Patch, Original Mangagamer Translation