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== Story ==
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place during June 1983 in a fictional rural village called {{nihongo|Hinamizawa|雛見沢}} which is based on the village of [[Wikipedia:Shirakawa, Gifu (village)|Shirakawa, Gifu]], and 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 tranquility 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 evening 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 becomes 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.
== Reception ==
Over 100,000 copies of the original games were sold in Japan by 2006,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eg.nttpub.co.jp/news/20061130_07.html|title=Article about Higurashi no Naku Koro ni from eg|accessdate=2006-12-27|language=Japanese}}</ref> a feat not attained by a [[Wikipedia:dōjin game|dōjin game]] since [[Wikipedia:Type-Moon|Type-Moon]]'s ''[[Wikipedia:Tsukihime|Tsukihime]]''. Many fans attribute the game's success to the suspense and horror the novel portrays, with no definite answer provided. Fan-based community boards emerged where fans began discussing their own theories. The popularity of the games grew exponentially as many took interest in their well-outlined script and story, which eventually led the game to be showcased in large gaming magazines with positive reviews. With the announcement of the live-action film adaptation of ''Onikakushi-hen'' came the news that over 500,000 copies of the games have been sold.<ref name="film"/> The enhanced PlayStation 2 port, ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri'', has sold over 140,000 copies to date,<ref name="alchemist-net.co.jp"/> and has received a total review score of 31/40 (out of the four individual review scores of 9, 8, 8, and 6) from the Japanese gaming magazine ''[[Wikipedia:Famitsu|Famitsu]]''.<ref name="Fam">{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/gaming/kotaku-magu/kotaku-magu-this-weeks-famitsu-scores-237248.php|title=Famitsu scores for the PS2 version|publisher=Kotaku|date=2007-02-16|accessdate=2008-04-24}}</ref> The game was voted the tenth most interesting [[Wikipedia:bishōjo game|bishōjo game]] by readers of ''[[Wikipedia:Dengeki G's Magazine|Dengeki G's Magazine]]'' in an August 2007 survey.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://gs.dengekinet.com/ranking/index.html | title = 読者が選ぶ MY BEST ギャルゲーランキング | trans_title = Readers Choose My Best Galge Rankings | accessdate =February 15, 2013 | publisher=[[ASCII Media Works]]| work= [[Dengeki G's Magazine]] | language = Japanese | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071011213916/http://gs.dengekinet.com/ranking/index.html|archivedate = October 11, 2007}}</ref>
The English-language Steam versions of the first two episodes, released in 2015, sold 57,000 copies as of December 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://steamspy.com/app/310360|title=Higurashi When They Cry - Ch.1 Onikakushi|publisher=SteamSpy|accessdate=November 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://steamspy.com/app/410890|title=Higurashi When They Cry - Ch.2 Watanagashi|publisher=SteamSpy|accessdate=December 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>http://steamspy.com/app/410890</ref> This adds up to total sales of over 557,000 copies worldwide as of October 30, 2015. It received a positive reception from English-language critics. ''[[Wikipedia:Hardcore Gamer|Hardcore Gamer]]'' stated that the "writing is incredibly eerie, and amazingly effective"<ref name="hg1"/> and concluded that "few video games make it anywhere near the skillful story weaving present within the Higurashi series."<ref name="hg2"/> APGNation stated the "Excellent writing and music make for an evocative reading experience."<ref name="apgnation"/>
[[Category:Visual novels]]
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