Extremely long title, I know. The original Japanese title is Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (that’s romanized, of course. I don’t know the actual kanji). The game translates “higurashi” to be some kind of cicada, but don’t quote me on that one.
Oh boy. So, Higurashi. What a game. Or, rather, visual novel. This one isn’t really the same kind of game as my previously reviewed games. For sake of argument, I’ll be referring to Higurashi and other releases as games, though they do not have the same interactive element as other VNs.
You don’t make any choices in this first chapter.
Higurashi When They Cry (link to Steam page) is a visual novel (VN) by 07th Expansion, an indie doujin developer headed by Ryukishi07, their scenario writer. Other works include Umineko When They Cry (better known to me as Umineko no Naku Koro ni), Higanbana no Saku Yoro ni, and Rose Gun Days.* (important note about the availability of these games at the bottom of the post.)
A few years ago, I played Umineko When They Cry and, despite it being grotesque and downright scary at times, I enjoyed it immensely (a few of the scenes I read still haunt me to this day). Since I haven’t played Higanbana or Rose Gun Days, I can’t comment on whether or not they are of the same sort of genre as Umineko and Higurashi. I can only assume they are, but feel free to correct me on that if you have played them! Umineko and Higurashi are classified on Wikipedia as “murder mysteries”, which they undoubtedly are, but they are steeped with grotesque descriptions as well as debatable supernatural characters (more on that later).
While they are VNs, due to their genre being what I’ll call “horror-mystery” (or vice versa, whatever) the mystery aspect presents puzzles to the player that exist outside of the user interface (UI) and the game as a whole. Basically, what I mean is that there isn’t gameplay in the traditional sense of the term–the player never makes choices that influence the plot of the game the same way other VNs do. Yet the player is engaged with the plot and thinking about the “facts” being presented to them as the story progresses.
The structure of these series is in a number of “question arcs” followed by “answer arcs”. Higurashi Ch. 1 Onikakushi is the first “question arc” in the series. There are four question arcs, four answer arcs (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai/Higurashi When They Cry Kai), and a variety of extra chapters from different versions of the game, a fan disc, the manga, as well as the anime (basically, there is a looot of material for the Higurashi universe, so there’s a lot to explore). The arcs are not directly related plot-wise, but they are connected by characters and setting. The answer arcs serve to provide some context as well as … answers.
But you’re probably wondering what the game is about.
In Higurashi, our protagonist is Keiichi Maebara, a teenage(?) boy who has recently moved to the extremely rural village of Hinamizawa. Despite feeling awkward as “the new kid”, four of the local girls became his friends and, due to the limited population, do practically everything with him. The village is so small that there are only 30 children at the school and thus only have one class in a rented room at a foresting facility. The girls range in age from slightly older than Keiichi to quite a bit younger.
The first girl you meet is Rena (pictured above), the closest neighbour Keiichi appears to have in the village. She’s a kind girl with an obsession for cute things (“sho kyute!~”) and a love of gourmet cooking. She and Keiichi walk to school together every morning (it’s adorable) and meet up with Mion, the class representative and their upperclassman. Keiichi’s other two friends are Satoko and Rika, two younger girls who are polar opposites in terms of maturity level.
The first “half” of the VN is very much a “slice of life” structure. For those unfamiliar with “slice of life”, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Good examples of the genre include Lucky Star and K-On! (though those can also be thought of as shoujo, kind of?) In any case, it’s all rather twee when you ignore Keiichi’s questionable thoughts as well as Mion’s downright perverted remarks. Those make for some … special moments.
The village of Hinamizawa is shrouded in supernatural mystery concerning the local “god” known as Oyashiro-sama. Around the time of the Watanagashi festival, the village has experienced serial murders and disappearances on the day of or after the festival. As Keiichi learns of these horrors, everything changes the day after the festival. That’s when the casual, happy tone of the VN changes and the psychological horror takes over.
It turns into a confusing series of events where Keiichi isn’t sure if his friends are trying to kill him or if they are being possessed by something sinister (perhaps even Oyashiro-sama himself). I won’t spoil the ending of the chapter, but the player is left with a lot of questions that won’t be answered until the first answer arc (which is going to be released quite a while from now, I’d imagine).
The game does not shy away from the macabre. That’s putting it lightly, actually. Considering the murder pictured in the screenshot I just gave as well as certain horrifying descriptions, the innocent first half is designed to provide such a shocking contrast to the “true nature” of the second half and subsequent arcs. In fact, what I didn’t mention is how the game itself actually starts. The very first scene provides nothing but grotesque sound effects of what the player later learns is an axe swinging down and chopping off someone’s limbs (it’s unclear who is involved on both ends of this situation). After such a morbid opening scene, Keiichi’s introduction seems rather refreshing. The deaths that follow, either in recollection or in the course of the story, are extremely memorable (as were the deaths in Umineko).
What sets horror VNs apart from other forms of horror (novels, shows, movies, games, etc.) is how developers can make the most out of the VN mechanics to heighten the suspense. Typically, a player clicks or scrolls through (or uses arrow keys) lines of text in a VN, but occasionally the game takes over and words appear out of the player’s control. This is usually used during tense scenes–particularly ones where Keiichi is discovering something unpleasant or a character is delivering a bone-chilling speech (accompanied by a creepy face, naturally).
Occasionally, Higurashi and Umineko are called ‘sound novels’ as they use a lot of sound effects as well as music to create an appropriate atmosphere. Occasionally there are flashes or shakes that actually shake the UI alongside a sound effect–usually when a character hits another character or something particularly shocking happens.
Now, for some important information. This VN originally came out in 2002. The version now available on Steam is a remastered version which updated things like the English translation as well as the character art. I didn’t take any screenshots of the old character art, which is actually available for the player to see in the settings. It’s nice that the original character art can be switched to, for players who would rather see the 2002 characters–despite the old art being rather subpar (I mean, the art gets the point across, it’s just not as polished as the remastered art).
Seeing as I didn’t play the original, I don’t know how different the English translation is compared to the 2002 translation. However, it should be noted that the developers are actually making updates to it and some errors that slipped through the cracks have been fixed since the game’s release on Steam.
The first chapter was only put up on Steam in mid-May, so it will likely be a while before the next arc/chapter is released (these things take time to put together, after all). So, despite my post-epilogue agony, I know it’s going to be way over a month before the next installment hits the Steam store.
Higurashi is currently only $6.49 CDN on the Steam store (link provided at the top of the post), so it’s actually a decent price (from my perspective). In the meantime, if you’re anxiously waiting for the next chapter to be released, you can read the manga or watch the anime (or the OVAs, etc.) Just be warned: Higurashi is not for the faint of heart. Despite loving them as much as I do, I remain on edge for hours after reading these VNs due to the graphic descriptions. The plus is that none of the gruesome content is ever shown on screen. All of the information is provided via textual description as well as sound effects. So, really, it’s only as scary as your imagination makes it. For me, that’s pretty darn scary.
*Important note: the other games by 07th Expansion were previously available on Manga Gamer (NSFW, just so you know), but the site’s license with the developer expired in April 2015 and they are currently working on renewing them. Currently, only the first chapter of Higurashi is available through Steam (to my knowledge). I’m looking to download Umineko again, so if I find that the other VNs have been made available once more, I’ll likely update this post with that information.
juliameadows 
2 thoughts on “Recently Played: Higurashi When They Cry – Ch. 1 Onikakushi”