Last September we saw a lot of games pass through the Steam Greenlight service, one of which was a re-release of the visual novel Higurashi: When They Cry. Since we haven’t heard anything about the game since, I decided to reach out to publisher Manga Gamer and ask if they were planning to make any changes to the series that originally started in 2002.
In case you’re unfamiliar with Higurashi, it’s a popular visual novel that was adopted into an equally popular manga, anime and drama CD. It takes place in the fictional town of Hinamizawa and puts players in the role of Keiichi, who moved to the town shortly before the start of the story. He quickly learns that the peaceful village hides a dark past and that each year, on the night of the local festival, one person dies and another disappears.
Manga Gamer responded to my inquiry and explained the game would receive new translations, as well as a new business model; “We are thinking about improving the translation quality of Higurashi: When They Cry for the Steam Release,” the publisher explained, “Since its translation was done in our early days, we feel that it doesn’t match up to today’s quality, and believe it’ll be important since many new people will be experiencing the game for the first time on Steam.” It was also likely that the game would be broken up in chapters and sold separately for a lower price.
I also specifically asked if they were planning to redo the character art, but sadly, that’s not the case; due to licensing problems and nostalgia, Manga Gamer sees no reason to change them, which may be an issue for some people. That aside, it’s still an interesting project and worth looking forward to if you’re into stuff like the Corpse Party franchise and other gory visual novels.
