Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Matsuri is a remake of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni on PlayStation 2 by Alchemist, released on February 22, 2007. It features voice acting, new character art by rato, and new backgrounds by Media.Vision. Matsuri includes the first seven arcs of the original series and 3 new arcs including an alternative ending to the main story, Miotsukushi.
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[Review for the Miotsukushi PS2 arc specifically]
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A very enjoyable alternate/add-on as an ending to the series. As a whole, it may not measure up to Matsuribayashi, but it does provide many bits and pieces that I adore, such as much-appriciated focus on certain characters and a just as if not more fitting conflict to end things off.
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A very enjoyable alternate/add-on as an ending to the series. As a whole, it may not measure up to Matsuribayashi, but it does provide many bits and pieces that I adore, such as much-appriciated focus on certain characters and a just as if not more fitting conflict to end things off.
This review contains spoilers
This review is specifically for the Miotsukushi PS2 chapter.
After not liking Matsuribayashi at all, I came to Miotsukushi hoping for something a little more cohesive with the other chapters, and the arc, well, it definitely is that. But it also doesn't quite stick the landing, I think because it's so afraid to diverge...
It does nice things! It sets up Keiichi and Mion very aggressively in a way no chapter does; it feels grounded and it's paced well. It juggles perspectives but without telling us what a character is feeling.
But it borrows so many scenes from Matsuribayashi that it felt like the "how we got here" is the main thing that diverged, and the "how we got here" felt a little unbelievable. While the other chapters treat timelines as probabilistic outcomes, Miotsukushi refers to them as previous experiences. Everyone remembers everything. And in the process of recovering those outcomes within themselves, they grow as people.
The writing is very not Ryukishi, which is somewhat refreshing after dozens of hours with his style. This author, Kiichi Kanou, is pretty good at each character's voice and understands their motivation well; he has a weird predilection for referencing other media, especially very old media that I am not sure the cast would be familiar with at their age. Shakespeare, for example...
The problem with separate authors is that they are often afraid to break canon and go their own way. This route diverges, but only slightly; it is far more self-referential than anything Ryukishi has written, referring to past arcs a lot ... and the message it's trying to tell is only slightly different and gets there in a more grounded way.
And then the scene where Satoko fights an entire paramilitary outfit with just traps happens again! And it feels like, man, we were so close to something grounded ... but then again this route also contributes both Keiichi and Rika dodging entire magazines of bullets through sheer willpower.
I think overall Miotsukushi PS2 is a better ending, but only slightly. It gives us closure for each character in a really nice way; it sets up a couple that no other route has the balls to; it's sort of a golden route where everyone grows up instead of collapsing under their own faults ... but that's the thing, right?
Who really likes a golden route?
After not liking Matsuribayashi at all, I came to Miotsukushi hoping for something a little more cohesive with the other chapters, and the arc, well, it definitely is that. But it also doesn't quite stick the landing, I think because it's so afraid to diverge...
It does nice things! It sets up Keiichi and Mion very aggressively in a way no chapter does; it feels grounded and it's paced well. It juggles perspectives but without telling us what a character is feeling.
But it borrows so many scenes from Matsuribayashi that it felt like the "how we got here" is the main thing that diverged, and the "how we got here" felt a little unbelievable. While the other chapters treat timelines as probabilistic outcomes, Miotsukushi refers to them as previous experiences. Everyone remembers everything. And in the process of recovering those outcomes within themselves, they grow as people.
The writing is very not Ryukishi, which is somewhat refreshing after dozens of hours with his style. This author, Kiichi Kanou, is pretty good at each character's voice and understands their motivation well; he has a weird predilection for referencing other media, especially very old media that I am not sure the cast would be familiar with at their age. Shakespeare, for example...
The problem with separate authors is that they are often afraid to break canon and go their own way. This route diverges, but only slightly; it is far more self-referential than anything Ryukishi has written, referring to past arcs a lot ... and the message it's trying to tell is only slightly different and gets there in a more grounded way.
And then the scene where Satoko fights an entire paramilitary outfit with just traps happens again! And it feels like, man, we were so close to something grounded ... but then again this route also contributes both Keiichi and Rika dodging entire magazines of bullets through sheer willpower.
I think overall Miotsukushi PS2 is a better ending, but only slightly. It gives us closure for each character in a really nice way; it sets up a couple that no other route has the balls to; it's sort of a golden route where everyone grows up instead of collapsing under their own faults ... but that's the thing, right?
Who really likes a golden route?
(reading console arcs with 07th mod)
taraimawashi
thoughts: kind of awful but at least it was short (i read the first subchapter of this in june and read through the rest today for the lols)
i think this arc's quality makes sense given the decisions the player needs to make to lock into it, the all-cast review really highlights this lol. i guess the arc was good then??? idk
taraimawashi
thoughts: kind of awful but at least it was short (i read the first subchapter of this in june and read through the rest today for the lols)
i think this arc's quality makes sense given the decisions the player needs to make to lock into it, the all-cast review really highlights this lol. i guess the arc was good then??? idk
This review is only of the Miotsukushi arc. What a beautiful alternate ending to an already great story. If you want to see an alternate ending, separate from the continuities of Matsuribayashi and Gou/Sotsu, I wholeheartedly recommend playing Miotsukushi.