Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei
Promotional poster of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei featuring (counter-clockwise): Rena Ryuuguu, Keiichi Maebara, Kazuho Kimiyoshi, Nao Houtani, Miyuki Akasaka
ひぐらしのなく頃に命
(When the Cicadas Cry Life)
AuthorRyukishi07 (original story)
Kiichi Kano (screenplay)
PublisherD-Techno
GenreDrama, Mystery, Psychological horror
PlatformiOS, Android
ReleasedSeptember 3, 2020

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei (ひぐらしのなく頃に 命, When the Cicadas Cry Life) is a mobile game developed by Smile Ax and published by D-Techno. The game's release coincided with the release of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou, sharing the same character design. The opening theme "frustration" was composed by Chiyomaru Shikura and performed by Ayane. The game was released in Japan on September 3, 2020.[1]

Synopsis

In 1993, ten years after the Great Hinamizawa Disaster in which about 1200 villagers lost their lives due to released volcanic poisonous gas, Kazuho Kimiyoshi, visits her now-abandoned hometown of Hinamizawa only to encounter dangerous monsters. As she is about to be killed, Kazuho is saved by the goddess Tamurahime no Mikoto. Tamurahime no Mikoto guides Kazuho to the Saiguden, causing her to travel back in time before the disaster.

Plot

On June 5, 1993, Kazuho Kimiyoshi visits the since-destroyed village of Hinamizawa and is chased by a mysterious monster. Just before she is killed, Kazuho is saved by a goddess named Tamurahime no Mikoto, who recognizes Kazuho as part of the Kimiyoshi family. The pair visit Hinamizawa together and Kazuho reveals that she received a message from her grandfather, Kiichirou Kimiyoshi, requesting that she come to the village. However, Kiichirou died during the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, leading Kazuho to question the truth of the message. The pair enter the Furude Shrine and Tamurahime no Mikoto explains that the monster she saw had come from a portal inside the Shrine. Kazuho enters the portal and the goddess seals it behind her, telling Kazuho to find the truth on the other side of the portal.

Kazuho emerges on the other side of the portal, which happens to be a version of Hinamizawa from 1983. She encounters Miyuki Akasaka as well as Rika Furude and Satoko Houjou. Later that day, Kazuho and Miyuki defeat a group of tsukuyami using powers bestowed upon them by the goddess. Kazuho subsequently joins the Hinamizawa school and meets Rena Ryuuguu and Mion Sonozaki. At lunchtime, Kazuho and Miyuki steal away to the back of the school and Miyuki reveals that she is also from 1993. She proves this with a notebook she has which lists the victims of the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, including Mion, Rena, Satoko, and Rika.

After some time, Kazuho meets Nao Houtani and learns that everyone in the 1983 version of Hinamizawa is under some sort of mind control that prevents them from realizing how strange it is that she, Miyuki, Nao, and the tsukuyami are present. A series of strange events occur wherein Kazuho attempts to learn the identity of a boy named "Keiichi" but is unable to get answers from anyone. Eventually, Kazuho realizes that the house she is living in once belonged to Keiichi's family. She later learns that the "Kazuho Kimiyoshi" of this world died five years prior during a murder-suicide. Nao reveals that she has an older half-sister that she has never met.

During the Watanagashi Festival, several villagers go crazy and begin killing each other. Kazuho, Miyuki, and Nao survive with the help of Shion Sonozaki and Keiichi, who had been working with Miyuki for some time. The group plan to escape by meeting up with Jirou Tomitake but find him dead near his van. They then escape to the Irie Clinic with the help of Tomitake's friend, Midori Kawata. Soon after, they are attacked by a crazed Mion who demands to know where they are from. Keiichi hugs Mion and Mion tells the group that she was being controlled by the tsukuyami.

After reconvening with Satoko, Kazuho reveals that she, Miyuki, and Nao are from 1993. The group heads to the dam construction site in search of a fragment that Tamurahime no Mikoto claims will allow them to return to the future. They are then attacked by Rena and Nao reveals that Rena is her aforementioned half-sister. After defeating Rena, the group realize that Rika is responsible for the infection of the tsukuyami. When the group confronts Rika, she claims that she induced the mass attacks because of her cyclical torment in Hinamizawa; even though she escaped in Matsuribayashi-hen, monsters appeared a few months afterwards and slaughtered the villagers. Discouraged from traveling to another fragment, Rika opted to destroy the village herself rather than continuing to live in it. She fuses with a tsukuyami version of Hanyuu and attacks.

Rika is defeated and vanishes. The real Hanyuu appears and claims that the Rika they fought was a false copy of her. Hanyuu gives Kazuho a magatama and tell them to use it to leave as the tsukuyami will devour the world. The characters from 1983 act as decoys for the incoming tsukuyami as Kazuho, Miyuki, and Nao escape to a portal in the Saiguden. Miyuki and Nao awaken in 1998, in an alternate version of Hinamizawa that had been flooded after the Dam War. Kazuho awakens in a different version of 1983 and finds a newspaper regarding the "final Watanagashi festival."

Characters

Gameplay

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei is a gacha game, wherein players spend in-game currency to roll for character units with various outfits and arrange them into a party. Battles are automatic, requiring players to have a strong enough party to defeat each enemy before time runs out. Over time, a gauge for each unit fills that can be used to unleash a special attack.

Development

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei was originally slated to be released in the summer of 2020 but was delayed. On August 21, 2020, a new key visual for Higurasi no Naku Koro ni Mei was revealed alongside a collaborative event between the 2020 anime adaptation of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and the mobile game SINoALICE.

References

  1. ↑ higurashi_mei (31 August 2020). "ひぐらしのなく頃に 命 サービス開始日決定！" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External Links

Retrieved from "https://wiki.whentheycry.org/wiki/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni_Mei?oldid=25369"