Ryu 15 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) http://i.imgur.com/oZzc0R5.jpg Welcome to Ryu's review of the Visual Novel Umineko no Naku Koro ni + Chiru --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few things to know before reading: This is a spoiler-free review so reading without worries. This review was made with all the patches available for the game like PS3 art patch (replaces old sprites with new ones) and Voice patch. This is a review made based on my opinion so feel free to disagree with me if you don't like some part of the review. If you're new to VNs then I recommed you read Higurashi no Naku Koro ni first made by the same company than Umineko because Umineko contain some spoilers for Higurashi (This is by no means a prequel, just the same universe). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well first of all, what is Umineko no Naku Koro Ni about? Umineko no Naku Koro ni takes place in the year 1986 during the time frame of October 4 and October 5 on a secluded island named Rokkenjima (六軒島). The head of a wealthy family named Kinzō Ushiromiya, who lives on and owns Rokkenjima, is near death, and eleven of his family members arrive on the island to discuss how Kinzō's assets will be divided once he is dead. Also on the island are five of Kinzō's servants, and his personal physician. After the eleven family members arrive, a typhoon traps them on the island and shortly after people start to get mysteriously murdered. The game is made in 8 separate episodes and all of them together contain a wooping +100 hours of reading (can be more or can be less depending on your reading speed), I can't make a review of each and every episode without spoiling so I'll skip that. Bear in mind that the description only covers the first episode, wich is your typical murder/mystery VN but then, on episode 2 things start to get reaaaaaally fun and you won't be able to stop reading, I won't say anymore since you'll have to play to find out (trust me, you won't regret it). In case you still want to know what happens on each arc I'll put it in this spoiler box [spoiler=Each of Umineko episodes summarized] Umineko no Naku Koro ni The Umineko no Naku Koro ni (うみねこのなく頃に?, lit. When the Seagulls Cry) games are the first four games in the series which are meant to give the player a sense of the world where the story takes place and introduce the mysterious circumstances surrounding Rokkenjima and the legend of the Golden Witch. Each arc in this series contains all the previous arcs. Episode 1: Legend of the Golden Witch This chapter introduces the player to the main setting of Umineko no Naku Koro ni as the Ushiromiya family gather on the island of Rokkenjima for their annual family conference. The player is familiarized with the island's 18 residents (consisting of the Ushiromiya family and servants) as well as the legend of the Golden Witch, Beatrice, who is implied to exist on the island as a 19th resident and murder the other residents in mysterious ways. The story is narrated mainly by Battler and presents the series' first "bad end", with all the residents either killed or labeled as "missing". Episode 2: Turn of the Golden Witch Following the events of the first chapter, this chapter features the first battle between Battler and Beatrice as they oversee the events on Rokkenjima from the "meta-world". The family conference occurs as usual, only this time Beatrice exists on the island as its 19th resident, introducing multiple magical elements to the story. Other major themes involve the relationships between George and Shannon, Jessica and Kanon, and Maria and Rosa. This chapter is told from the perspective of multiple characters, including an omniscient narrator. Episode 3: Banquet of the Golden Witch Unlike the first two chapters, this chapter features the residents attempting to solve the riddle of Beatrice's epitaph rather than determine the true identity of the murderer. Eva succeeds in this task, but is shown to continue carrying out the murders as the new "Beatrice". Meanwhile, in the meta-world, Beatrice is assisted by her demon servants, while Battler finds a mysterious new ally of his own. This chapter sheds more light on Eva and Beatrice's pasts, and is the first to feature one of the island's residents surviving the murders. Episode 4: Alliance of the Golden Witch This chapter features Battler's sister Ange and her life twelve years after the murders on Rokkenjima. The story constantly shifts focus between 1986 (the time of the murders) and 1998 (Ange's time period), shedding more background information on the characters and light on the methods behind the murders. This chapter heavily implies the existence of magic and puts all of the theories Battler formulates against Beatrice thus far to the test. Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru The Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru (うみねこのなく頃に散?, lit. When the Seagulls Cry Breakdown) games tell the second half of the story and start to delve into the core of the mystery. These games are not simply solutions to the first four arcs, but also continue the story, shifting it into new terrain. However, as the core of the series is approached, several clues to the first four arcs are revealed along the way. Each arc in this series contains all of the previous Chiru arcs. Episode 5: End of the Golden Witch A new perspective on the mystery of the Golden Witch is presented in this chapter, with the witches Bernkastel and Lambdadelta playing a more prominent role. The main characters of this story are Kinzo, Natsuhi, and a new character, Erika, who approaches the murders from a "mystery" perspective, unlike Battler who had taken an "anti-fantasy" stance. This time the game is suspended before its conclusion, so the fate of most people on the island is unknown. Episode 6: Dawn of the Golden Witch Following the events of the previous game with the introduction of a new Game Master, this chapter does not delve into the solution of Beatrice's game so much as it displays the Game Master's understanding of it, though it does provide important clues linked to the main suspects. George, Jessica, Shannon, and Kanon play a prominent role in the story, as does a childlike reborn Beatrice who struggles to regain her former personality for Battler's sake. Again, the game is suspended before its conclusion. Episode 7: Requiem of the Golden Witch This chapter presents an alternate reality where Battler does not come to Rokkenjima, the Golden Witch does not exist, and the mystery child from nineteen years ago becomes the heir of the Ushiromiya family. This story is told through the perspective of two new characters: Willard H. Wright, who uncovers several truths behind the legend of the Golden Witch including Beatrice's true identity; and Lion Ushiromiya, whose existence holds the source of everything presented thus far. While no deaths occur in the game itself, the Tea Party features a scenario showing how the murders may have played out from a non-magical standpoint. Episode 8: Twilight of the Golden Witch In an attempt to uncover the heart of the mystery, this chapter features a scenario where Ange is present with her family at the 1986 conference. Unlike the previous chapters, this game has features that require direct interaction from the player, including quizzes that unlock extra scenes as rewards, a board that presents some possible culprit(s) and the choice between interpreting the events of the series as magic or a trick, leading to two different endings. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now, to more specific parts of the game: Art: Without the PS3 patch - 3/10 (And that's being generous), With the PS3 patch - 9/10 Some people say the art doesn't really matter, but to me if you're going to spend a fucking +100 hours reading a Visual Novel, the art better be at least comfortable to look at, this is what I'm talking about. [spoiler=Beatoriche faces before and after PS3 patch]http://i.imgur.com/measgxi.jpg Being a mystery novel with a serious atmosphere and plot, don't go expecting big eyed-moe art like: http://i.imgur.com/fRxuuVV.jpg From episode 1-4 the game uses NVL style (text is shown over the background with no dialog box, the same as Fate/Stay Night), but from EP 5-8 they switched to normal dialog box on the bottom, I personally don't mind both styles, it's a matter of tastes, some people might like it, some people not. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music: 11/10 The music is godlike, it has an incredible array of OSTs wich fit like a glove into every single situation of the game, it contains many of the best soundtracks I've ever heard, hell I even download them and put then on my phone to listen to them on my way to work. Definetly the strongest point of the game only second to the story. There are sad ones, happy ones, scary ones and so one, I kneel to the composers of such majestic pieces of work. I won't say they are perfect since nothing is perfect but pretty damn close if you ask me. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Characters: 9/10 The game has an staggering amount of characters, I mean that seriously, each one with their own personality, background and story, as you progress through the episodes you'll be meeting more and more and more characters, you'll love some, you'll hate some, but you'll remember every one of them. The characters are so interesting and have strong, well-explored backgrounds that the reader gets immersed into wanting to know the outcome of the situations presented. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plot/Story: 8/10 The base of the plot is quite simple. The Ushiromiya family, which consists of 18 people, is invited for its annual family conference on the secluded island of Rokkenjima. After the family gathers, they are trapped on the island due to a raging typhoon. Shortly afterwards, people start to get mysteriously murdered. So, the novel a simple murder mystery through four separate episodes. On surface, it seems simple, but what makes Umineko challenging is how hard are the mysteries to resolve. Events will be questioned as they'll be happening, and then making you swallow even more absurd stuff moments after. You'll find that trying to figure out the crime is quite addictive. This endless cycle is what keeps the game chugging along exceptionally well for the first 4 episodes. When you reach Umineko Chiru (EP 5-8), the novel shifts to an entire different angle (not giving awayd etails since it will be spoiler). Episode 5 looks at the story in a completely different direction, and explores concepts from the actual mystery genre itself, often citing Knox’s Rules. Instead of telling you who the “culprit” is, the game will give you hints and will make the reader try to solve it himself. One of the recurring motifs is use of the locked room mystery, and several logical arguments are presented to explain the mysteries including the devil's proof, the raven paradox, and Schrödinger's cat. You may be thinking: And you gave it a 8/10? What the fuck is wrong with you? The game has some flaws, the biggest of them all is some awful pacing at several spots. It over-explains every little thing, which gets old when you want to just go from one awesome event to the next. The most egregious violation of this is in episodic exposition. When you go from one EP to the next, the intros are waaaaay too long to get to the point. This is further seen on EP4 and EP7 with a hell of a lot of infodump, you'll see. Besides that, I'll still recommend Umineko to anyone who loves mystery games and stuff. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final Words: DESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDESDES ❮Die the death❯!! ❮Sentence to death❯!! ❮Great equalizer is the death❯ Final Score: 9/10 Edited November 7, 2013 by Ryu Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kn1000a 99 Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 timeless classic, and imo no other murder mysteries will exceed umineko Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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