Higurashi: When They Cry - Chapter 1: Onikakushi-Hen
Oh boy, am I gonna love reviewing these. Let me first preface this review with two things:
1: I've never played a true Visual Novel before this
2: I will gladly be quoted when I say that the Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni series is my favorite set of anime of all time.
With that said, let's get right underway with the review.
Higurashi: When They Cry, is a series made by 07th Expansion and translated to English by MangaGamer. As I understand it, the Visual Novel was the first iteration of this tale, with every other iteration coming afterwards (though I'm not sure if the Drama CD was actually first or not. Can someone please correct me if I'm wrong?). The story follows a laid-back teen named Keiichi Maebara in a small village known as Hinamizawa (based on real-life village Shirakawa-go Village), all set in June of 1983. It starts off laid back and all happy, but eventually starts taking dark turns when some truths start trying to surface. Narrative wise, this is ABSOLUTELY the best way I've received the story. Unfortunately, I'm still not sure I'd wanna call this a game, as there is no player interaction whatsoever. It's more of a glorified book with music and a few sound effects here and there. Oh, and SLIGHTLY interactive visuals, but these are extremely minimalistic. But the lack of gameplay is definitely made up for by this gripping story. The story is told from a first-person perspective of Keiichi, which unfortunately DOES mean we don't get to actually SEE our protagonist in this chapter. The backgrounds are odd in that they're real pictures, probably taken at Shirakawa-go Village, but they've been edited in a way that makes them look like they were done by a concept artist. There's one or two where people's faces are in there that sort of breaks the cartoonish illusion, but for the most part, it's actually very scenic. The music, what little there is, is clever and perfectly timed. Granted, the loops aren't exactly the best, but I enjoyed each track happily. Now since this is only the first arc of the series (only 4 episodes long in the anime), this is by no means the FULL story. In fact, the bonus content even says that this story sort of acts as a prologue for what's to come. But don't let that fool you. The shortest time you'll spend on this VN if you're actually reading it is 8 hours. It's brimming with content, which is something I always appreciate in a story. The Steam edition offers a choice between the original character sprites drawn by the original creator, or new updated sprites that even surpass the anime's art style. If you ask me, the original sprites haven't exactly aged well, and these new ones are almost more alive and believable (it's mainly the hands). Overall, this first chapter of Higurashi: When They Cry gets an 8/10 from me. My only complaint is that it's basically a book with extra additives, but at least it rocks as its own thing. You can download a copy of Higurashi: When They Cry - Chapter 1: Onikakushi-Hen on Steam for $5.99 on PC, Mac, and Linux, or for $0.99 on the AppStore (bearing in mind that the iOS versions do not have the updated sprites, and may possibly not have the updated English translation either).

Higurashi: When They Cry - Chapter 1: Onikakushi-Hen Oh boy, am I gonna love reviewing these. Let me first preface this review with two things: 1: I've never played a true Visual Novel before this 2: I will gladly be quoted when I say that the Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni series is my favorite set of anime of all time. With that said, let's get right underway with the review. Higurashi: When They Cry, is a series made by 07th Expansion and translated to English by MangaGamer. As I understand it, the Visual Novel was the first iteration of this tale, with every other iteration coming afterwards (though I'm not sure if the Drama CD was actually first or not. Can someone please correct me if I'm wrong?). The story follows a laid-back teen named Keiichi Maebara in a small village known as Hinamizawa (based on real-life village Shirakawa-go Village), all set in June of 1983. It starts off laid back and all happy, but eventually starts taking dark turns when some truths start trying to surface. Narrative wise, this is ABSOLUTELY the best way I've received the story. Unfortunately, I'm still not sure I'd wanna call this a game, as there is no player interaction whatsoever. It's more of a glorified book with music and a few sound effects here and there. Oh, and SLIGHTLY interactive visuals, but these are extremely minimalistic. But the lack of gameplay is definitely made up for by this gripping story. The story is told from a first-person perspective of Keiichi, which unfortunately DOES mean we don't get to actually SEE our protagonist in this chapter. The backgrounds are odd in that they're real pictures, probably taken at Shirakawa-go Village, but they've been edited in a way that makes them look like they were done by a concept artist. There's one or two where people's faces are in there that sort of breaks the cartoonish illusion, but for the most part, it's actually very scenic. The music, what little there is, is clever and perfectly timed. Granted, the loops aren't exactly the best, but I enjoyed each track happily. Now since this is only the first arc of the series (only 4 episodes long in the anime), this is by no means the FULL story. In fact, the bonus content even says that this story sort of acts as a prologue for what's to come. But don't let that fool you. The shortest time you'll spend on this VN if you're actually reading it is 8 hours. It's brimming with content, which is something I always appreciate in a story. The Steam edition offers a choice between the original character sprites drawn by the original creator, or new updated sprites that even surpass the anime's art style. If you ask me, the original sprites haven't exactly aged well, and these new ones are almost more alive and believable (it's mainly the hands). Overall, this first chapter of Higurashi: When They Cry gets an 8/10 from me. My only complaint is that it's basically a book with extra additives, but at least it rocks as its own thing. You can download a copy of Higurashi: When They Cry - Chapter 1: Onikakushi-Hen on Steam for $5.99 on PC, Mac, and Linux, or for $0.99 on the AppStore (bearing in mind that the iOS versions do not have the updated sprites, and may possibly not have the updated English translation either).