Board 8 > Rate the VG Story Day 105: Higurashi When They Cry

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Todays game is Higurashi. How would you rate the story on a scale from 1-10?

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Previous Results:
Planescape: Torment - 9.83 (12 votes)
Omori - 9.67 (6 votes)
Outer Wilds - 9.6 (21 votes)
Nier Automata - 9.25 (31 votes)
The House in Fata Morgana - 9.22 (9 votes)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations - 9.18 (34 votes)
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - 9.1 (14 votes)
Red Dead Redemption 2 - 9 (8 votes)
Steins;Gate - 8.94 (9 votes)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - 8.91 (30 votes)
Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward - 8.89 (19 votes)
Grim Fandango - 8.88 (13 votes)
Return of the Obra Dinn - 8.85 (10 votes)
Silent Hill 4: The Room - 8.83 (6 votes)
Umineko When They Cry - 8.82 (11 votes)
Persona 3 - 8.82 (20 votes)
Xenogears - 8.71 (23 votes)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 8.67 (31 votes)
Metal Gear Solid - 8.67 (27 votes)
Final Fantasy Tactics - 8.65 (23 votes)
The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask - 8.56 (27 votes)
Disco Elysium - 8.56 (16 votes)
Undertale - 8.45 (42 votes)
Chrono Trigger - 8.41 (39 votes)
What Remains of Edith Finch - 8.41 (19 votes)
Yakuza: Like a Dragon - 8.4 (5 votes)
Mass Effect 2 - 8.38 (28 votes)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - 8.37 (15 votes)
Final Fantasy X - 8.35 (55 votes)
Final Fantasy VII - 8.28 (37 votes)
Final Fantasy VI - 8.19 (43 votes)
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective 8.17 (18 votes)
The Walking Dead Season 1 - 8.17 (21 votes)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - 8.15 (40 votes)
The Last of Us - 8.13 (35 votes)
Horizon: Zero Dawn - 8.06 (18 votes)
The Wolf Among Us - 8.04 (14 votes)
Xenoblade Chronicles - 7.94 (27 votes)
Spec Ops: The Line - 7.9 (17 votes)
Bloodborne - 7.88 (20 votes)
Life is Strange - 7.85 (31 votes)
Doki Doki Literature Club - 7.81 (25 votes)
Bioshock - 7.64 (23 votes)
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors - 7.7 (30 votes)
The Sexy Brutale - 7.7 (5 votes)
Celeste - 7.62 (25 votes)
Skies of Arcadia - 7.62 (13 votes)
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - 7.47 (29 votes)
The Last Story - 7.47 (6 votes)
Mortal Kombat (2011) - 7.46 (13 votes)
Tales of Symphonia - 7.36 (27 votes)
Mass Effect - 7.35 (28 votes)
Earthbound - 7.33 (19 votes)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 7.26 (29 votes)
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - 7.25 (12 votes)
Tales of the Abyss - 7.24 (28 votes)
Red Dead Redemption - 7.23 (11 votes)
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony - 7.17 (24 votes)
Mass Effect 3 - 7.16 (21 votes)
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - 7.11 (23 votes)
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - 7.1 (30 votes)
To the Moon - 7.07 (7 votes)
Super Paper Mario - 7.05 (22 votes)
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - 7 (5 votes)
Hollow Knight - 6.98 (21 votes)
INSIDE - 6.93 (15 votes)
Gone Home - 6.91 (17 votes)
Bioshock Infinite - 6.87 (19 votes)
Death Stranding - 6.73 (13 votes)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All - 6.67 (31 votes)
Firewatch - 6.65 (10 votes)
Dark Souls - 6.62 (20 votes)
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - 6.61 (28 votes)
Chrono Cross - 6.56 (17 votes)
Valkyria Chronicles - 6.5 (16 votes)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - 6.5 (13 votes)
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - 6.38 (12 votes)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 6.34 (35 votes)
Professor Layton and the Curious Village - 6.16 (14 votes)
DOOM (2016) - 6.15 (13 votes)
Tales of Vesperia - 6.13 (23 votes)
Star Fox 64 - 5.8 (25 votes)
Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception - 5.8 (24 votes)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - 5.72 (9 votes)
Final Fantasy IV - 5.78 (30 votes)
Metroid Prime - 5.67 (24 votes)
Kingdom Hearts - 5.59 (30 votes)
The Wonderful 101 - 5.5 (4 votes)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - 5.63 (13 votes)
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune - 5.26 (28 votes)
Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright - 4.83 (12 votes)
Final Fantasy XIII - 4.79 (29 votes)
Final Fantasy X-2 - 4.79 (19 votes)
Fallout 3 - 4.76 (17 votes)
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty - 4.72 (9 votes)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 4.64 (40 votes)
Fallout 4 - 4.43 (15 votes)
Final Fantasy - 4.24 (19 votes)
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops - 3.89 (9 votes)
Resident Evil 6 - 3.74 (17 votes)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance - 3.69 (13 votes)
Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest - 3.46 (15 votes)
Starcraft II (overall) - 3.4 (5 votes)
Fire Emblem Fates (overall) - 3.32 (11 votes)
Dissidia: Final Fantasy - 3.29 (12 votes)
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void - 2.83 (6 votes)
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) - 2.66 (16 votes)
Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm - 2.57 (7 votes)
Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation - 2.33 (9 votes)
Tales of Zestiria - 2.14 (7 votes)

You can still rate previous days games if you missed them, just write <game name><rating>. If you want to change your rating you can just specify that you are changing your rating. Nominations for future days are also welcome, nominate as many games as you like and I will get to all of them.

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I've only watched the anime, so I won't rate it, but the anime is great.

Nominate Clannad

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8.5/10

It's fantastic. Everything is woven together perfectly, the events are shocking and graphic with a true ear to the ground for what makes something scary, with well-done tonal shifts and it's just crazy enough that it keeps you guessing without becoming nonsense.

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I never finished all 8 chapters, but this would be an easy 10 based on the parts I did read.
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Never heard of it. What would you guys compare this game to?

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plasmabeam posted...

Never heard of it. What would you guys compare this game to?

Think of it as a survival horror VN

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Leonhart4 posted...

survival horror VN

Yeah this is perfect.

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10. The second half is the greatest stretch of VN out there.

plasmabeam posted...

Never heard of it. What would you guys compare this game to?

It's from the same author as Umineko, if you're familiar with that, but it's much more grounded. The premise is essentially that you're seeing a series of murders in a small town carried out multiple times in different ways and trying to solve the mysteries behind them. The series is very entertaining IMO, though it has a bit of a slow start.
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I don't like it as much as Umineko, but not enough to not still give it a 10. I played all the main chapters earlier this year, and even as a fan of the anime I was shocked by how much more meat it had its bones. I may be cheating by playing the updated art and voice acting mixed version...but fuck it, still a 10. Ryukishi07 is the real shit.

Ciconia Episode 2 PLEASE come out soon. At least I still haven't payed any of the Higurashi console arcs so I still have that to look forward to.

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I don't want to rate it because I'm also only an anime fan. I kinda didn't like the second half either, but when I played the first chapter of the VN it blew me away with how much more detail the story really had. I think I'd really enjoy it.

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"The gang investigates after Crystal Cove begins suffering from an infestation of cicadas that targets workers of the company Destroido, the company that makes Shaggy and Scooby's favorite snacks. The cicada creature, made into one cicada shape out of thousands of cicadas, threatens to destroy Mystery Incorporated on the day of Mayor Jones' Cicada Creature Festival if they do not stop investigating. At the end of the episode, Daphne goes on a date with Fred to the museum's trap exhibit.
Villain: Cicada Creature/Grandma Moonbeam
Note: This episode loosely parodies the popular Japanese horror visual novel and anime series Higurashi When They Cry (Japanese: , Hepburn: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, lit. "When the Cicadas Cry"), in which the titular cries of the summer cicadas belie ill omens of a series of unusual deaths and disappearences, most often starting on the day of the Watanagashi Festival (, Cotton Drifting Festival) which is centered around delivering thanks and praise to the Hinamizawa village's guardian deity "Oyashiro-sama", who is feared and respected alike for his powerful "Curse" capable of "demoning away" disrespectful villagers." - Wikipedia

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Survival horror is probably accurate though I'd personally describe it as closer to psychological thriller. (Note: This only applies to the VN and though I didn't watch it I would not be surprised if the anime goes a slightly different direction due to not being able to provide as much insight on the characters' thought processes)

To be honest though it probably has elements of a lot of things and it does all of them pretty well.
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I guess...maybe horror still works and what I'm really saying is just that it's much closer to something like The Shining (the movie) than it is to a slasher movie or something. I don't know.
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Yeah, I wasn't sure whether to call it survival horror or psychological thriller, but I think they're both applicable to an extent.

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10/10

previous days games:
The House in Fata Morgana - 8
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations - 9
Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward - 8.5
Umineko When They Cry - 8.5
Persona 3 - 7.5
Chrono Trigger - 7.5
Final Fantasy X - 6.5
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective - 9
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - 8
Doki Doki Literature Club - 4
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors - 7.5
Skies of Arcadia - 6.5
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - 8.5
Tales of Symphonia - 7
Tales of the Abyss - 7.5
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony - 7
Super Paper Mario - 7
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All - 7
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - 6.5
Kingdom Hearts - 3
Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright - 5
Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest - 1
Fire Emblem Fates (overall) - 3
Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation - 3
Tales of Zestiria - 4

Could not rate some since I've either forgotten them (FF, FFIV, FFTA, Brawl, SF64) or have only watched the anime (Steins;Gate)

Nominating Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

10/10

9

10/10

legit maybe my favorite story ever

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NFUN posted...

"The gang investigates after Crystal Cove begins suffering from an infestation of cicadas that targets workers of the company Destroido, the company that makes Shaggy and Scooby's favorite snacks. The cicada creature, made into one cicada shape out of thousands of cicadas, threatens to destroy Mystery Incorporated on the day of Mayor Jones' Cicada Creature Festival if they do not stop investigating. At the end of the episode, Daphne goes on a date with Fred to the museum's trap exhibit.
Villain: Cicada Creature/Grandma Moonbeam
Note: This episode loosely parodies the popular Japanese horror visual novel and anime series Higurashi When They Cry (Japanese: , Hepburn: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, lit. "When the Cicadas Cry"), in which the titular cries of the summer cicadas belie ill omens of a series of unusual deaths and disappearences, most often starting on the day of the Watanagashi Festival (, Cotton Drifting Festival) which is centered around delivering thanks and praise to the Hinamizawa village's guardian deity "Oyashiro-sama", who is feared and respected alike for his powerful "Curse" capable of "demoning away" disrespectful villagers." - Wikipedia

I had no idea about this episode. What I saw of that show (Mystery Incorporates for those interested) was great.

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Thanks to everyone who clued me in on what this game is.

Is this the version I want:

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/709/Higurashi_When_They_Cry_Hou/

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Yeah, the version on Steam is the best version.

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The version on Steam is the best legal version.

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Actually there is no VA work in the Steam version right?

I'll just be blatant about it: buy the Steam version to support the game then go through the proper modding process to get the VA work and, if desired, alternate sprites from the console releases.

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@UshiromiyaEva

Is the VA English or Japanese?

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Japanese.

The story absolutely does not NEED IT to be excellent...but it certainly adds a lot.


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Japanese voice acting in VNs eventually just becomes distracting for me because it's constant and I don't understand a word of it, so I usually just turn it off.

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Is this actually a game? If someone copied Moby Dick into dialogue boxes, would we nominate that?

sorry it's too late to have this utterly inane conversation for the millionth time we've already moved on to a new topic

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Its funny because this came up in Apple vs. Epic, a game is any media you interact with. The degree of the interaction isnt that important.

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Lightning Strikes posted...

Its funny because this came up in Apple vs. Epic, a game is any media you interact with. The degree of the interaction isnt that important.

Any media that you interact with? Like turning the page on a comic book?