Higurashi When They Cry Download PC

Gameplay

The game is described as a "sound novel" by 07th Expansion. It is similar to a visual novel in that the gameplay requires relatively little player interaction as most of the game is composed of text dialogues and narration. The original release contained no voice acting for the characters. While a visual novel's basis would be the visual aspect as the name suggests, a sound novel's basis takes more care in producing an atmosphere via the music, sound effects, and the story itself.

The game utilizes intermissions where the player can obtain several Tips. These Tips allow the player to read various supplementary information that may or may not be useful in solving the mystery. For example, one of the Tips can be as simple as "this is a small village; children who go to this school are combined into one classroom regardless of what grade or year they are in." On the other hand, they can provide valuable hints, such as being able to read the excerpts of the newspaper articles regarding the murders that occurred in Hinamizawa. At the beginning of each of the story arcs, a cryptic poem by someone known as Frederica Bernkastel is read; these reveal some of what is going to happen in the following arc.

The PlayStation 2 port Matsuri differs from the original game series in that it includes full voice acting, redrawn CGs, and integration of the question arcs starring Keiichi into a single branching storyline. Matsuri includes the first seven PC arcs (Matsuribayashi-hen is excluded) and three original final arcs—Taraimawashi-hen, Tsukiotoshi-hen and Miotsukushi-hen. After the original seven arcs are cleared, the first two final arcs become available. Furthermore, when these two final arcs are cleared, the epilogue, Miotsukushi-hen, is unlocked. The DS ports that compose Kizuna include most of the CGs from Matsuri, as well as some new ones, a similar arc integration system to Matsuri, and partial voice acting for certain emphasized scenes.

Characters

There are seven main characters who appear in almost every scenario. The main protagonist is Keiichi Maebara, a young boy who has recently moved to Hinamizawa with his family and begun to adapt to life in the countryside. Keiichi has a natural charisma which allows him to make friends easily. Since the village is a small town of about two thousand people with only a single school, there are not many children around his own age; he easily meets the others his age and becomes friends with them.

One of these good friends is a seemingly ditsy and sweet girl named Rena Ryugu. She, like Keiichi, is new in Hinamizawa, having only returned from Ibaraki a year before the story begins. She has an obsession with things she considers to be cute—generally, others do not agree—and will often scavenge for such things at the local dump and bring them back home. Before she met Keiichi, Rena became friends with a tomboy Mion Sonozaki, the leader of the group and president of their club, who keeps secrets hidden from the others. Her twin sister, Shion, lives in Okinomiya. Although their personalities are different, she and Mion have switched places in the past, and the change is nearly indistinguishable.

There are other girls in the club younger than Keiichi, Rena and Mion. One is Satoko Hojo, a clever girl who is quite skilled at setting traps when playing games with her friends. She usually has an energetic and mischievous personality, but this hides a past full of trauma. Her older brother Satoshi becomes similar to Keiichi. Her friend, Rika Furude, is revered by the villagers as the heir of the local shrine and plays the role of a miko in the annual Watanagashi Festival. Despite her young age, she sometimes expresses a type of wisdom which would normally be beyond her years and is quite fond of sake. Rika is also the girl who becomes the central figure so that the village can avoid a tragic end. Hanyū, a goddess who appears late in the story but in fact has been with Rika for a very long time, though only Rika can see her.

Of the remaining cast, there are those such as Oishi Kuraudo, the soon to be retired police officer, who solves the mystery of the disappearances, freelance photographer Jirō Tomitake, and clinic nurse and mercenary leader Miyo Takano. Takano has a keen interest in the village's past and culture. She works with the head doctor and baseball coach, Kyosuke Irie, who takes care of Satoko.