Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Matsuri Ps2

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HigurashiWhen They Cry (ひぐらしのなく頃に Higurashi no Naku Koro ni?, lit. When the Cicadas Cry), known simply as When They Cry for the North American release of the anime adaptation, is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft sound novel series produced by 07th Expansion. The games are built on the NScripter game engine and are playable on Microsoft Windows PCs. The first game in the series, Onikakushi-hen, was released on August 10, 2002, and the eighth and final game in the original PC series, Matsuribayashi-hen, was released on August 13, 2006. While the first four games carried the overall title Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, the next four games were produced under the title Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. A bonus fan disc called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei was released on December 31, 2006. In addition to the original series, new story arcs were created in manga form and in video games for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS in order to expand upon the story. The original eight PC releases were released in English by MangaGamer with the first four games on December 15, 2009, followed by the last four being released monthly starting with Meakashi-hen on February 28, 2010. The series is focused on a group of young friends and the strange events that occur in the rural village Hinamizawa where they reside.

Two sets of drama CDs were produced, one by Wayuta and the other by Frontier Works. Novelizations of the game series were released by Kodansha Box between August 2007 and March 2009. A manga series adapted from the games began with eight different manga artists working separately on one to three of the multiple story arcs, and is published by Square Enix and Kadokawa Shoten. The manga was licensed for release in English in North America by Yen Press under the title Higurashi When They Cry and the first volume was released in November 2008. Following the manga's release in Japan, two TV anime series were produced by Studio Deen in 2006 and 2007; a third anime adaptation was released as an original video animation series in 2009. The first anime series was licensed by Geneon Entertainment in English, but the license expired in 2011. A live action film adaptation of the series, directed by Ataru Oikawa, premiered in Japanese theaters in May 2008, with a sequel released in May 2009.

Higurashi is a murder mystery game described as a "sound novel" by 07th Expansion. A sound novel 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. 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.

Main article: List of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni charactersIn Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, 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 Hinamizawa 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.

There are other girls in the club younger than Keiichi, Rena and Mion. One is Satoko Houjou, 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. Satoko also had an older brother named Satoshi. 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 Hinamizawa can avoid a tragic end. Helping her is Hanyū who appears late in the story but in fact has been with Rika for a very long time, though only Rika could see her.

Of the remaining cast, there are those such as Kuraudo Ooishi, a veteran police officer who is dead set on solving the mystery of the yearly murders that occur in Hinamizawa before his retirement. A freelance photographer named Jirou Tomitake comes to Hinamizawa occasionally; he seems to be friends with Miyo Takano, a female nurse at the local village clinic who has a keen interest in Hinamizawa's past and culture. She works with Kyousuke Irie, the head doctor of the clinic and "coach" to the village children. Irie feels a strong connection to Satoko and cares for her deeply. During the Tatarigoroshi-hen arc, Irie expresses the desire to either adopt her, or to wait until she is of age and marry her.

[1][2]Shirakawa, Gifu, the village used as the basis for Hinamizawa.===Story overview===Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place during June 1983, at a fictional rural village called Hinamizawa (雛見沢?) (based on the village of Shirakawa, Gifu, a World Heritage Site),[1][2] which has a population of approximately 2,000. The main character, Keiichi Maebara, moves to Hinamizawa and befriends his new classmates Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Houjou. Keiichi joins their after-school club activities, which consist mostly of card and board games (and punishment games for the loser, usually him). Hinamizawa appears to be a normal, peaceful, rural village to Keiichi. However, the tranquillity abruptly ends after the annual Watanagashi Festival, a celebration to commemorate and give thanks to the local god, Oyashiro. Keiichi learns that every year for the past four years, one person has been murdered and another has gone missing on the day of the Watanagashi Festival. Keiichi himself soon becomes drawn into the strange events surrounding the Watanagashi Festival and Oyashiro. In each story arc, he or one of his friends become paranoid, and a crime is committed. Usually, the crime involves the murder of one of their own friends. While it seems impossible to tell their delusions apart from the mystery of Hinamizawa, slowly the truth is revealed.

In the Higurashi games, there are several story arcs, the original eight of which are referred to as either question arcs or answer arcs. The answer arcs generally recapitulate the events of the corresponding question arc, but from a different perspective, using the change of protagonist to solve various mysteries and come to a different conclusion. Each of the eight original games for the PC represented separate arcs of the overall storyline. Apart from the main question/answer relationship, the stories of the arcs are not directly connected, although a multitude of parallels exist which allow the observant reader to gain extra insight into the mystery.

The Higurashi When They Cry (ひぐらしのなく頃に Higurashi no Naku Koro ni?) games form what are referred to as the question arcs. These first four games of the series were meant to give the player a sense of the world where the story takes place and introduce the mysterious circumstances surrounding the village of Hinamizawa. Since there are no concrete answers given to the questions that the story presents in these arcs, the question arcs allow the player to form his or her own opinions about the events taking place in Hinamizawa. Each question arc game contains all of the previous question arcs.

The Higurashi When They Cry Kai (ひぐらしのなく頃に解 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai?, "When Cicadas Cry Solutions") games form what are known as the answer arcs. The last four games released in the series, were, in contrast to the question arcs, meant to answer all of the questions presented in the first half of the series. These arcs can be considered the "solutions" of the previous arcs. Each answer arc game contains all of the previous answer arcs.

Three extra chapters were included in a fan disc named Higurashi When They Cry Rei (ひぐらしのなく頃に礼 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei?, When Cicadas Cry Gratitudes), two of which were newly created. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei was released on December 31, 2006.

The Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series is the first visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion. The game director and scenario writer for the series is Ryukishi07, who also drew all of the character illustrations. Background images were taken from photographs taken by Ryukishi07, his younger brother Yatazakura, and Kameya Mannendō. Programming was worked on by Yatazakura who worked on the main structure, 4U who worked on the intermission and Tips, and BT who worked on the mini games. The games were designed using the game engine NScripter. The music of Higurashi was provided by various music artists including both professionals and dōjin artists, including Dai, the composer of most of the music found in the answer arcs.

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