First things first. Let’s get my bias out of the way. I spent a semester at a university in Tokyo and I adore the Shibuya area. I could spend all day at music stores there. I’ve been to the underground bars and to the 10th floor karaoke rooms, to the Hachiko statue and to the Sega GiGo arcade (RIP).
So when a game opens with a flyover video of Shibuya, it really hits me in the feels.
The opening chapter was a bit tedious as I came to grips with the jump mechanic and frequent dead ends, but in the second hour the game added three more protagonists to the mix and the entire experience came alive. Seemingly inconsequential choices began impacting other characters’ timelines, and the bad endings that seemed like annoying roadblocks in the first chapter became more and more entertaining.
The story and characters mostly follow the old tropes, and towards the end there are plenty of those character-building flashbacks that are all too common in manga and anime. But the characters are fun, the pacing never falters, and there are just enough twists to keep the proceedings engaging. Most of them I saw coming but the biggest one was a total surprise.
What really elevates 428 above similar VNs, though, is the decision to use real actors. It keeps the story grounded and prevents the game from drifting into the metaphysical and fan-servicey holes that occasionally derail other Spike Chunsoft VNs.
Unfortunately, there is still a handful of cringe here. For example, an important aspect of the story focuses on a character’s trip to the “Middle East” (which country?) where he/she meets a girl named Canaan. What a name, eh? (And as I writing this review, I’m realizing that another character is probably named after a Toyota minivan. Wow.) Although I’m kind of inured to the fact that Japanese media usually represents foreign people and countries in oddball, half-baked ways, I still wish they could do better.
But honestly, that’s my only real complaint. Yeah, the interface is dated. There aren’t enough female protagonists. The most interesting main character (Minorikawa!) has the weakest connection to the underlying story. I could go on, I’m sure. But when it comes down to it all the little imperfections are kind of perfect.
All that is to say I agree with Famitsu on this one. 40/40.
So when a game opens with a flyover video of Shibuya, it really hits me in the feels.
The opening chapter was a bit tedious as I came to grips with the jump mechanic and frequent dead ends, but in the second hour the game added three more protagonists to the mix and the entire experience came alive. Seemingly inconsequential choices began impacting other characters’ timelines, and the bad endings that seemed like annoying roadblocks in the first chapter became more and more entertaining.
The story and characters mostly follow the old tropes, and towards the end there are plenty of those character-building flashbacks that are all too common in manga and anime. But the characters are fun, the pacing never falters, and there are just enough twists to keep the proceedings engaging. Most of them I saw coming but the biggest one was a total surprise.
What really elevates 428 above similar VNs, though, is the decision to use real actors. It keeps the story grounded and prevents the game from drifting into the metaphysical and fan-servicey holes that occasionally derail other Spike Chunsoft VNs.
Unfortunately, there is still a handful of cringe here. For example, an important aspect of the story focuses on a character’s trip to the “Middle East” (which country?) where he/she meets a girl named Canaan. What a name, eh? (And as I writing this review, I’m realizing that another character is probably named after a Toyota minivan. Wow.) Although I’m kind of inured to the fact that Japanese media usually represents foreign people and countries in oddball, half-baked ways, I still wish they could do better.
But honestly, that’s my only real complaint. Yeah, the interface is dated. There aren’t enough female protagonists. The most interesting main character (Minorikawa!) has the weakest connection to the underlying story. I could go on, I’m sure. But when it comes down to it all the little imperfections are kind of perfect.
All that is to say I agree with Famitsu on this one. 40/40.
an unforgiving masterpiece of making you lose time. you can't speed-up text in a decent way? who's the evil mastermind who design the 100% run requisites?
that's about it. best visual novel ever made
Tama is cute.
that's about it. best visual novel ever made
Tama is cute.
It is an obvious game about connections, with the stories of the various protagonists being interwoven through diverse means. These connections are also a victory of good faith against evil. While the evil plan in the shadows is responsible for causing havoc always one step ahead of all of Shibuya, the player's power to guide everyone into the best course always prevails.
It is not even a subtle push on the characters as they step into dilemmas, it is a force so powerful that it is capable of making arbitrary decisions that can save the day. This is why the game allows itself to indulge constantly in its comedic tone. Including the bad endings. It is not afraid to paint a catastrophe as a mere joke because it knows the situation can be saved, they are a mere pastime of a daydream, or perhaps a nightmare, that could but never will be.
These connections are also implicit in the plot itself. As the climax is reached, all interpersonal conflicts are eventually ironed out to form a cohesive whole. The game, in the midst of these impossible to avoid threads that take place in Shibuya, allows itself to include a plot with a character isolated, both from the physical outside and from his family, and help him reconnect with his loved ones and the world through gestures as simple as an anonymous message on an online pop singer fan forum or a bodyguard (a buffoon in actual fact) put on assignment who nevertheless genuinely cares about his objective, his friend, beyond duty.
It is strange, but each session felt thoroughly pleasant, watching faces intermingle between stories and laughing, somewhat cruelly but harmlessly at heart, at the crossovers as they did not even suspect the weight that their encounters carried. On occasion, the protagonists are ignorant of why or how a decision or a connection would end one way or the other. Using the shield of humor, what really hides behind is a faith in that the schemes of evil cannot overcome an unexplainable and unstoppable goodness.
It is not even a subtle push on the characters as they step into dilemmas, it is a force so powerful that it is capable of making arbitrary decisions that can save the day. This is why the game allows itself to indulge constantly in its comedic tone. Including the bad endings. It is not afraid to paint a catastrophe as a mere joke because it knows the situation can be saved, they are a mere pastime of a daydream, or perhaps a nightmare, that could but never will be.
These connections are also implicit in the plot itself. As the climax is reached, all interpersonal conflicts are eventually ironed out to form a cohesive whole. The game, in the midst of these impossible to avoid threads that take place in Shibuya, allows itself to include a plot with a character isolated, both from the physical outside and from his family, and help him reconnect with his loved ones and the world through gestures as simple as an anonymous message on an online pop singer fan forum or a bodyguard (a buffoon in actual fact) put on assignment who nevertheless genuinely cares about his objective, his friend, beyond duty.
It is strange, but each session felt thoroughly pleasant, watching faces intermingle between stories and laughing, somewhat cruelly but harmlessly at heart, at the crossovers as they did not even suspect the weight that their encounters carried. On occasion, the protagonists are ignorant of why or how a decision or a connection would end one way or the other. Using the shield of humor, what really hides behind is a faith in that the schemes of evil cannot overcome an unexplainable and unstoppable goodness.
A visual novel that tackles a mystery around a kidnapping through the (mis)adventures of several fancy characters. The choices you make on one of the routes impact the others, and the way these interactions affect the outcome of each individual's story is basically the core of the game. The game reminded me a lot of 13 Sentinels, and while the story is somewhat simpler and there are less characters in 428, the way their fates intertwine is certainly a lot more elaborate. There are over 80 outcomes that you might encounter, though most of them are just comical, and it's really fascinating when you try to prevent a certain situation of happening.
The game doesn't have an anime artstyle, instead it's live action with a mostly Japanese cast. I wouldn't say I'm used to that kind of games that emit jDrama vibes, but I didn't mind it at all and even if some of the actors seemed a bit off, others felt perfect on their role. This stylistic choice made it pretty unique in my eyes, over other games of the genre, and it managed to sell the absurdness of some scenes really well.
As far as the story goes, while I feel I wasn't really engrossed with some of the characters at the start, by the end of the story I think I was attached with everyone. Some of the routes start a bit slow, with seemingly irrelevant plot threads, but as you progress through them and the stories start to converge, things become a lot spicier. There are several big twists in it, some are kind of easy to guess, others felt a lot more shocking, the story is certainly very enjoyable though, full of funny or cool moments. Worth mentioning that a lot of side characters are also very amusing, even if they play a small role in the bigger picture. Osawa's route was probably my favorite, and a certain detective contributed to that.
Overall, even if some elements like the live action aren't everyone's cup of tea, I'd still recommend this game in a heartbeat, especially to fans of stuff like the Nonary Games or 13 Sentinels. The mystery and the characters are more than enough to engross you to this story about Shibuya completely.
The game doesn't have an anime artstyle, instead it's live action with a mostly Japanese cast. I wouldn't say I'm used to that kind of games that emit jDrama vibes, but I didn't mind it at all and even if some of the actors seemed a bit off, others felt perfect on their role. This stylistic choice made it pretty unique in my eyes, over other games of the genre, and it managed to sell the absurdness of some scenes really well.
As far as the story goes, while I feel I wasn't really engrossed with some of the characters at the start, by the end of the story I think I was attached with everyone. Some of the routes start a bit slow, with seemingly irrelevant plot threads, but as you progress through them and the stories start to converge, things become a lot spicier. There are several big twists in it, some are kind of easy to guess, others felt a lot more shocking, the story is certainly very enjoyable though, full of funny or cool moments. Worth mentioning that a lot of side characters are also very amusing, even if they play a small role in the bigger picture. Osawa's route was probably my favorite, and a certain detective contributed to that.
Overall, even if some elements like the live action aren't everyone's cup of tea, I'd still recommend this game in a heartbeat, especially to fans of stuff like the Nonary Games or 13 Sentinels. The mystery and the characters are more than enough to engross you to this story about Shibuya completely.
the visual novel genre has peaked twice:
first in 2008 with the release of 428 Shibuya Scramble on the Wii
it peaked again whatever year the english version came out
first in 2008 with the release of 428 Shibuya Scramble on the Wii
it peaked again whatever year the english version came out
Simply the best visual novel I've ever played, hands down. Unique due to the live action CGs alone, but due to the characters, settings and "jump" mechanic.
The many characters you jump between during the course of the game all have their own arcs and nuances, providing interesting insight to the events that intertwine them all. One character might do something that affects another, so your choices actually do matter. It's the domino effect, but implemented really well.
The CGs are the best part of this game. Very rarely do you see a visual novel or game shot completely in live action, and 428 does it well.
I can't exaclty formulate my thoughts into words yet I still love this game so much. Fanastic plot, characters, music, settings, twists, and much much more.
The many characters you jump between during the course of the game all have their own arcs and nuances, providing interesting insight to the events that intertwine them all. One character might do something that affects another, so your choices actually do matter. It's the domino effect, but implemented really well.
The CGs are the best part of this game. Very rarely do you see a visual novel or game shot completely in live action, and 428 does it well.
I can't exaclty formulate my thoughts into words yet I still love this game so much. Fanastic plot, characters, music, settings, twists, and much much more.
Its genius. Unbridled chaotic energy, and totally unpredictable. You wont be able to put it down.
sekai wa sore demo
Amazing game with an awesome plot,outstanding characters and a charming writing that got a 10/10 localization.You will learn so much about Shibuya's culture and its people. This is also probably one of the few VNs with a postgame: it's almost as long as the main campaign,and can be annoying sometimes like collecting every bad ending in the game for an extra scenario,but all of these extras are so good that it's worth the hassle imo.
10/10 Kajiwara in the bathroom has been my wallpaper for almost 3 years now.
10/10 Kajiwara in the bathroom has been my wallpaper for almost 3 years now.
big game for people that like pointing
immensely enjoyable - a fantastic, charismatic and memorable cast of characters, a spiderweb of a story unraveling to reveal a truly engaging mystery, live-action backgrounds radiating charm and passion, alongside a visual style that will stick with me for years to come.
it’s best if you go in blind, please play it
it’s best if you go in blind, please play it
This review contains spoilers
Man, I really, really wanted to like this game, given its reputation in the genre, but I came away disappointed. Blame heightened expectations, perhaps, but when you're playing a game that infamously received a perfect score, the imperfections stand out: the drawn-out endgame and associated difficulty spike, the numerous fat jokes, the stereotypes about Southwest Asia, losing your only main route girl at 5 p.m...
I can still see why it had such a profound influence on VNs. The gameplay loop is fun and innovative, hopping between narratives to facilitate serendipitous coincidences and chance encounters that lead to a good outcome. There are a couple of great twists and brilliant brick jokes. But I just didn't like the story once it turned serious. Minorikawa's route was easily my favourite (Run Lola Run for writers) and it's the one with the least connection to the overarching plot.
I can still see why it had such a profound influence on VNs. The gameplay loop is fun and innovative, hopping between narratives to facilitate serendipitous coincidences and chance encounters that lead to a good outcome. There are a couple of great twists and brilliant brick jokes. But I just didn't like the story once it turned serious. Minorikawa's route was easily my favourite (Run Lola Run for writers) and it's the one with the least connection to the overarching plot.
This is legit one of the best visual novels I've ever played. It's story is so well written and each character is developed and memorable in so many ways. What a ride this game is.
Bu oyunu oynayıp da katlanabildiğim tek kişi yok oynamayın bence gayrimeşru içerikler vardır kesin
CERTIFIED KINO
Pure, unfiltered, unadulterated fun. Full motion video games and Visual Novels have fused together to unleash their full potential. Absolute clusterfuck of a story coupled with unrivaled cheese and unforgettable characters, everyone really looked like they were having the time of their lives behind the scenes.
It loses a few points for how cryptic and tedious it might be to progress the story if you get one of the very funny bad endings and don't know which character caused it and the whole thing about the true ending having you spare a bioterrorist because killing people is wrong somewhat irks me but aside from that, it's a must read for sure.
I wish this was more talked about in the VN circle but VN nerds are too busy praising anime tits mcgee spouting high-school tier philosophy lessons while getting fucked by dogs or something.
Achi Endo is the most based character in all of fiction. Don't forget to recycle.
It loses a few points for how cryptic and tedious it might be to progress the story if you get one of the very funny bad endings and don't know which character caused it and the whole thing about the true ending having you spare a bioterrorist because killing people is wrong somewhat irks me but aside from that, it's a must read for sure.
I wish this was more talked about in the VN circle but VN nerds are too busy praising anime tits mcgee spouting high-school tier philosophy lessons while getting fucked by dogs or something.
Achi Endo is the most based character in all of fiction. Don't forget to recycle.
Una obra rebosante de pasión con una de las historias más sinceras y llenas de humanidad jamás contadas en el medio.
428: Shibuya Scramble es una novela visual con una estructura de múltiples perspectivas que te atrapa desde el primer minuto gracias a la absurdez de su comedia y el carisma de sus personajes, quienes se ven envuelto en distintos dramas relacionados a un secuestro, un terrorista internacional y un virus mortal, y por si estos no fueran suficientes problemas, cada protagonista tendrá que resolver sus propios dilemas personales, desde las complicaciones de un periodista tratando de ayudar a su antiguo jefe de las garras de prestamistas por medio de escribir una revista entera en un solo día, o la paranoia que siente un científico al ir descubriendo la extraña conspiración que atenta contra él, su familia y su trabajo… y si la suma de estos conflictos suena un tanto caótico, es por que lo es, y ese es el encanto de la escritura en Shibuya Scramble: ES UNA MALDITA LOCURA DE INICIO A FIN. Dotado de un veloz y muy atrapante ritmo, la obra es capaz interesarte por múltiples medios al estar atrapada en un ciclo constante de conflicto, comedia, drama, acción, introspección, misterios, revelaciones, etc.
Todos estos eventos hilarantes, emocionantes y tristes que veras a través de tu visita por Shibuya rebosan de humanidad, una humanidad reflejada en sus excelentemente construidos personajes, y el tema central de la obra que comenta sobre nuestra conexión con la gente -sobre este sentimiento de pertenencia y afecto humano que encontramos en las comunidades de nuestro día a día-, reflejado en el altruismo de un individuo por cuidar de alguien en peligro, la motivación de un oficial de la justicia por defender a los más débiles, la empatía de un trabajador con sus colegas del oficio, el deseo de un padre por conectar con su familia, o la simpatía de una persona por sí misma y por alguien en peor posición que ella. Y esto no queda en sus protagonistas, quienes no son los únicos en estar tremendamente caracterizados y desarrollados, si no que los secundarios (e incluso los que aparecen por una sola escena), siempre tendrán algo relevante que contar sobre ellos mismos, algunos hasta resultando ser más interesantes que los protagónicos. Este tratamiento resulta coherente con su temática, al ser esta una obra sobre personas y su capacidad de conectar con otros, era lógico que incluso los personajes más pequeños tengan deseos, ambiciones, y un pasado que los defina como humanos.
Y por si esto fuera poco, la temática también se ve reflejada en sus elementos jugables, que trata la estructura de rutas y múltiples perspectivas como si fuera un gigante rompecabezas a resolver (reflejando la curiosidad e intriga que sienten los personajes), limitando tu progreso con bloqueos en la ruta que te forzaran a buscar soluciones y aperturas en los otros personajes quienes a su vez afectan a las demás tramas, siendo así armónicos con el tema de conexión entre individuos. Esto termina por crear un juego más que complejo sobre estar consiente de cada pequeña decisión que tomamos, llevando las consecuencias del efecto mariposa a su límite interactivo y logrando un total entendimiento sobre las mecánicas jugables de una novela visual, teniendo siempre en cuenta la relación entre entidades más relevante en el medio: la que existe entre estas personas ficticias y el jugador, o mejor dicho, entre los personajes y el destino.
Shibuya Scramble es una obra universal: puedes resonar con sus personajes y temas facilmente gracias a su excelente escritura, su atrapante trama y ritmo la hacen llevadera de inicio a fin, su manejo de tonos y estructura crean situaciones que apelan a distintas personas, sus visuales live-action y genial banda sonora lo abren a todo el público, y sus elementos interactivos lo vuelven un rompecabezas desafiante para aquel que busque lo lúdico. Este es un trabajo que puede ser apreciado por todo tipo de gente, en cualquier parte del mundo, y en cualquier tiempo futuro, llevando el mensaje del juego incluso fuera de su ficción, puesto que más allá de este Japón virtual, y al igual que sus personajes, podemos conectar con otras personas a través de nuestra experiencia y diálogo sobre esta singular obra, todo gracias a esta coincidencia que nos llevó a las calles de Shibuya.
428: Shibuya Scramble es una novela visual con una estructura de múltiples perspectivas que te atrapa desde el primer minuto gracias a la absurdez de su comedia y el carisma de sus personajes, quienes se ven envuelto en distintos dramas relacionados a un secuestro, un terrorista internacional y un virus mortal, y por si estos no fueran suficientes problemas, cada protagonista tendrá que resolver sus propios dilemas personales, desde las complicaciones de un periodista tratando de ayudar a su antiguo jefe de las garras de prestamistas por medio de escribir una revista entera en un solo día, o la paranoia que siente un científico al ir descubriendo la extraña conspiración que atenta contra él, su familia y su trabajo… y si la suma de estos conflictos suena un tanto caótico, es por que lo es, y ese es el encanto de la escritura en Shibuya Scramble: ES UNA MALDITA LOCURA DE INICIO A FIN. Dotado de un veloz y muy atrapante ritmo, la obra es capaz interesarte por múltiples medios al estar atrapada en un ciclo constante de conflicto, comedia, drama, acción, introspección, misterios, revelaciones, etc.
Todos estos eventos hilarantes, emocionantes y tristes que veras a través de tu visita por Shibuya rebosan de humanidad, una humanidad reflejada en sus excelentemente construidos personajes, y el tema central de la obra que comenta sobre nuestra conexión con la gente -sobre este sentimiento de pertenencia y afecto humano que encontramos en las comunidades de nuestro día a día-, reflejado en el altruismo de un individuo por cuidar de alguien en peligro, la motivación de un oficial de la justicia por defender a los más débiles, la empatía de un trabajador con sus colegas del oficio, el deseo de un padre por conectar con su familia, o la simpatía de una persona por sí misma y por alguien en peor posición que ella. Y esto no queda en sus protagonistas, quienes no son los únicos en estar tremendamente caracterizados y desarrollados, si no que los secundarios (e incluso los que aparecen por una sola escena), siempre tendrán algo relevante que contar sobre ellos mismos, algunos hasta resultando ser más interesantes que los protagónicos. Este tratamiento resulta coherente con su temática, al ser esta una obra sobre personas y su capacidad de conectar con otros, era lógico que incluso los personajes más pequeños tengan deseos, ambiciones, y un pasado que los defina como humanos.
Y por si esto fuera poco, la temática también se ve reflejada en sus elementos jugables, que trata la estructura de rutas y múltiples perspectivas como si fuera un gigante rompecabezas a resolver (reflejando la curiosidad e intriga que sienten los personajes), limitando tu progreso con bloqueos en la ruta que te forzaran a buscar soluciones y aperturas en los otros personajes quienes a su vez afectan a las demás tramas, siendo así armónicos con el tema de conexión entre individuos. Esto termina por crear un juego más que complejo sobre estar consiente de cada pequeña decisión que tomamos, llevando las consecuencias del efecto mariposa a su límite interactivo y logrando un total entendimiento sobre las mecánicas jugables de una novela visual, teniendo siempre en cuenta la relación entre entidades más relevante en el medio: la que existe entre estas personas ficticias y el jugador, o mejor dicho, entre los personajes y el destino.
Shibuya Scramble es una obra universal: puedes resonar con sus personajes y temas facilmente gracias a su excelente escritura, su atrapante trama y ritmo la hacen llevadera de inicio a fin, su manejo de tonos y estructura crean situaciones que apelan a distintas personas, sus visuales live-action y genial banda sonora lo abren a todo el público, y sus elementos interactivos lo vuelven un rompecabezas desafiante para aquel que busque lo lúdico. Este es un trabajo que puede ser apreciado por todo tipo de gente, en cualquier parte del mundo, y en cualquier tiempo futuro, llevando el mensaje del juego incluso fuera de su ficción, puesto que más allá de este Japón virtual, y al igual que sus personajes, podemos conectar con otras personas a través de nuestra experiencia y diálogo sobre esta singular obra, todo gracias a esta coincidencia que nos llevó a las calles de Shibuya.
i was actually in shibuya when this happened
Ok this game is bonkers in the best way. It's a choose your own adventure game in which you can reselect scenes for characters and make different choices to change the paths of other characters. It can be a little trial and error but I absolutely love the idea and how it plays.
The characters are all interesting and very different and it all comes together surprisingly well in the end though I found it a little abrupt.
What really stands out though it that the entire game is made from photographs of real Japanese actors. It almost felt like I was choosing the path of a tv show in a way.
I really enjoyed this a lot and I didn't have high expectations. It's quite long too, took me over 30 hours to see through to the end and has some secret extra stories, one of which is really heart wrenching (I thought the other was terrible) as well as an anime spin off film (which was also terrible). So not perfect but they are optional extras.
All in all this is one of the best visual novels i've played and I highly recommend it.
+ Love the choose your own adventure timeline gameplay.
+ Great characters.
+ The real life photo aspect is wonderful.
- Some of the extras aren't great.
- The ending felt like there should have been a bit more.
The characters are all interesting and very different and it all comes together surprisingly well in the end though I found it a little abrupt.
What really stands out though it that the entire game is made from photographs of real Japanese actors. It almost felt like I was choosing the path of a tv show in a way.
I really enjoyed this a lot and I didn't have high expectations. It's quite long too, took me over 30 hours to see through to the end and has some secret extra stories, one of which is really heart wrenching (I thought the other was terrible) as well as an anime spin off film (which was also terrible). So not perfect but they are optional extras.
All in all this is one of the best visual novels i've played and I highly recommend it.
+ Love the choose your own adventure timeline gameplay.
+ Great characters.
+ The real life photo aspect is wonderful.
- Some of the extras aren't great.
- The ending felt like there should have been a bit more.
A wonderful combination of heartfelt warmth and rolling tension amid a dark mystery, this game manages to constantly one-up itself with every move. My only complaints are that the bad endings are mostly bland and the trial-and-error nature of the game makes things way more tedious than they probably need to be. This is a game I can't really talk about much to those who don't know about it since so much of the fun is discovering the mystery, so just go play this already.
Side Note: The bonus anime preview included after the game ends made me die laughing because the TYPE-MOON art style clashes with the photorealism of literally everything else so hard. If only it were, y'know, actually good to circumvent that problem.
Side Note: The bonus anime preview included after the game ends made me die laughing because the TYPE-MOON art style clashes with the photorealism of literally everything else so hard. If only it were, y'know, actually good to circumvent that problem.
Top tier as far as PURE visual novels go (as in, no adventure elements). It's held back by its final section forcibly letting your hand go so hard that the hand you were holding went up through the stratosphere. Still great though.
As much as I love visual novels like Sakura no Toki, I would never recommend them to someone unfamiliar with the genre, or even someone who has played vn-adjacent titles such as planescape torment, 13 sentinels, library of ruina, kentucky route zero, or disco elysium. Many visual novels nowadays try to exclusively appeal to heavy visual novel readers, using tropes and references that people in the community can understand and enjoy, but often causes people outside the community to be alienated by.
Not 428. In fact, it's probably the single most mainstream-accessible visual novel I've ever seen, even more than visual novels that have actually found mainstream success such as ace attorney or DDLC. And unlike those two, it never sacrifices its writing quality or charm to do so.
Koichiro Ito could write Her Story, but Sam Barlow could never write 428: Shibuya Scramble.
Not 428. In fact, it's probably the single most mainstream-accessible visual novel I've ever seen, even more than visual novels that have actually found mainstream success such as ace attorney or DDLC. And unlike those two, it never sacrifices its writing quality or charm to do so.
Koichiro Ito could write Her Story, but Sam Barlow could never write 428: Shibuya Scramble.
Mechanically frustrating and the plot spins around at the end but it’s so damn charming for most of it.
Edit: Revisiting my thoughts years later: I'm spoiled by a skip feature in vns. I get anxious waiting around when I have other things to finish. I have so much stuff to do! I need to skim sometimes.
But the character work is just incredible. You have your sharp rookie detective, who fits out a general charming archetype. You have your overeager young punk who gets in way over his head. You have the cynical, deeply broken scientist struggling between his morals, his love for his family, and his own detached nature. You have perky amnesia girl getting through her day job.
But the true highlight is Minoru Minorikawa, the arrogant journalist. Minoru buys into his own hype. He's the greatest writer the world has known. He doesn't waste his time on pointless stories. But, he'll also write anything on anyone and anywhere. That's where the nuance appears. Minoru will write about every topic. He doesn't waste his time on pointless stories. Thus, every person he interviews or topic he covers is something he considers the most important subject ever crafted. Minoru believes in himself so much, he believes in everyone. He's the most interesting man ever conceived. Utter delight of a bastard man and the 25 hour runtime is worth it just for him.
Edit: Revisiting my thoughts years later: I'm spoiled by a skip feature in vns. I get anxious waiting around when I have other things to finish. I have so much stuff to do! I need to skim sometimes.
But the character work is just incredible. You have your sharp rookie detective, who fits out a general charming archetype. You have your overeager young punk who gets in way over his head. You have the cynical, deeply broken scientist struggling between his morals, his love for his family, and his own detached nature. You have perky amnesia girl getting through her day job.
But the true highlight is Minoru Minorikawa, the arrogant journalist. Minoru buys into his own hype. He's the greatest writer the world has known. He doesn't waste his time on pointless stories. But, he'll also write anything on anyone and anywhere. That's where the nuance appears. Minoru will write about every topic. He doesn't waste his time on pointless stories. Thus, every person he interviews or topic he covers is something he considers the most important subject ever crafted. Minoru believes in himself so much, he believes in everyone. He's the most interesting man ever conceived. Utter delight of a bastard man and the 25 hour runtime is worth it just for him.
Awesome game. Jack, Tateno and Kano are sigmas, Minoru and Kenji were kino, and the rest of the cast is extremely enjoyable. The way everything in the game is used and comes together, from sol to plot, is so amazingly well done and there's almost nothing to nitpick about the game. Absolutely recommend this as a must read vn.
Awful gameplay though so use these walkthroughs for the love of god https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/206712-428-shibuya-scramble/faqs/78896/introduction https://knoef.info/trophy-guides/ps4-guides/428-shibuya-scramble-trophy-guide/ and the speed patch as well https://pastebin.com/uiScdsNy. Though note the speed patch crashes in the Canaan scenario so swap it back out with the original exe during that part.
Awful gameplay though so use these walkthroughs for the love of god https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps4/206712-428-shibuya-scramble/faqs/78896/introduction https://knoef.info/trophy-guides/ps4-guides/428-shibuya-scramble-trophy-guide/ and the speed patch as well https://pastebin.com/uiScdsNy. Though note the speed patch crashes in the Canaan scenario so swap it back out with the original exe during that part.
I very much enjoyed this Sound Novel. It's kind of a fun shlocky action flick plot, but it's elevated by the real photography, the soundtrack, and the gameplay system of routes that interlock through your choices. It also, strangely for a visual novel, has quite the extensive postgame, which I experienced all of, and that adds quite a lot of breadth to the experience. There are some interface issues though, like a slow text speed, bad skipping capability, and no mouse support.
Only played it for a few hours so far and I have to admit, it's very charming! Stylistically, it reminds me of the sort of Japanese comedy drama similar to Kamen Rider Kabuto. (One of the few Japanese live action shows I've seen)
So much better than it has any right to be. I still listen to the credits song years after finishing it.
sekai wa sore demoooooo
Review on Reddit with Images
IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE
-Visual Novel
-Live Action based
-Mystery, comedy and some romance
-No Voice Dialogue
-Multiple Endings, One True End
-INTRODUCTION-
Originally released for the Wii back in 2008 by Chunsoft (later merged to become Spike Chunsoft), 428: Shibuya Scramble (SS) remarkably received a perfect score by one of Japan's largest video game magazine, Famitsu. It was an achievement that was attained by only eight other games at that time. What really set it apart from many Visual Novels is the usage of live action shots to tell the story as opposed to 2D anime portraits. Even for Visual Novel players, they probably won't even realize it's a Visual Novel by looking at a random screenshot of the game.
Based on what I've found on the game's background, the developers had real life actors essentially act out the story scenarios within Shibuya and thousands of pictures were taken during that time. These shots were then incorporated into the game. While other Visual Novels may have existed that used a similar style, this game stands out among the ones released for consoles for the West.
STORY
The story starts out with the kidnapping of a college girl and the police are already called in to assist in a money exchange for the kidnapped girl. From there, the story grows into something much bigger that would involve the entire city of Shibuya. Without going into heavy spoilers, the main story plays out like a crime/mystery Japanese drama. The entire game also takes place for less than a day (roughly 10 hours altogether), but there is a lot of story content packed into the small timeframe. The mystery is engaging as players piece together the information they get as they progress further into the story.
What SS does well in the story is that all of its plot lines (despite appearing unrelated) come together at the end and fit comfortably with the story's big picture. Other than the mystery aspect, the story is full of emotional and comedic scenes to strike a good balance throughout and prevent it from being a 20 hour plus serious and depressing story.
Even if the story is well done overall, it still isn't perfect. For a mystery based story, many of the story developments are rather predictable. This is partly due to how the story reveals some obvious clues throughout. Intentional or not, it can hurt the mystery experience, but fortunately, not much in my opinion. Also, the story is kind of slow at the start despite the significant kidnapping event. The story doesn't really pick up until 1-2 chapters later if not already invested at the beginning.
CHARACTERS
The game consists of 5 main protagonists (only two available in the prologue). Each of them are completely different from another which makes each character storyline a very different experience. There's a young detective playing a large role in arresting the criminals and saving the kidnapped girl, a jobless young man and former "gang" leader who winds up escorting the kidnapped girl's sister, a veteran journalist helping out his old friend settle a debt by writing various articles, a girl in a cat costume trying to earn money to buy a necklace, and finally there's a scientist specializing in viruses. All of these characters have a good deal of depth and receive substantial character development. They are all quite likable and sympathetic.
Other than the main characters, there's a large number of secondary characters in the game as well. Even for the really minor ones, they are written in a way that they stand out and are not easily forgettable. Usually full of exaggerated quirks.
SOUND/MUSIC
I am not a huge fan of the individual tracks in the game, but what the tracks do well is that they fit in each of their specific scenes very well which further bolster story scenes and events. This also applies to the sound effects in the game. Character specific tracks also do a good job in representing the characters and making them more memorable.
GAMEPLAY
As briefly touched on already, there are five main protagonist so the gameplay revolves around their stories. At any point in the story, players can freely switch to any other character story in the timeline. This is important when avoiding or getting Bad Ends (there are more than 50 of them in the game). The main goal of the game is to guide the main characters to their final destination at the end of the game. To do that, players must pick the correct story decisions throughout each character's story. The decision not only impacts the character's own story, but it also impacts the other character's as well. As such, it is quite easy for characters to reach a Bad End or simply an end to their story. Players need to constantly switch story lines and make sure that they avoid such endings. It can be difficult without a guide, but there are hints given at each of the Bad Ends.
I personally used a guide throughout the game and while it is possible to beat it without a guide, I recommend using one for a more efficient use of time. It can be difficult to figure out what triggers a Bad End and what decisions need to be made to avoid them. With 5 concurrent storylines, key decisions can be influenced by multiple characters and multiple decisions which altogether, can be a pain to deal with.
You can switch timelines at any time and go to specific events. The timeline reflects new changes such as new paths or ends.
FINAL REMARKS
The game has decent length. It's not too short, but not too long either. It takes a little over 20 hours to complete the main story and get all of the Bad Endings using a guide. Without one, I expect it can take up to 30 hours or more. There are some additional side stories to unlock after beating the game, but they are not particularly long.
Despite the interesting use of live action shots, the game is not voiced at all (except for the unlockable anime special). The overall result isn't too bad, but I personally felt that voiceovers would enhance a number of scenes.
The game's Visual Novel mechanics is good such as having the ability to switch to previously viewed scenes on the fly, but there are some mechanics that hinder the experience. The first is the rather slow text. Many Visual Novels give the option to increase the text speed as they appear, but SS does not have such an option. The default text speed actually ranges from slow to just decent at times. As someone who naturally reads fast, it can be annoying to wait for the dialogue and text to play out.
In addition to that, there's no "skip text already read" option. There are times when you're forced to view the same scene more than once, especially to trigger multiple Bad Ends, and a combination of the slow text speed and no option to skip the text, it makes it more frustrating than it needs to be.
One note about the Bad Ends is that despite the large amount of them, there's quite a number of them that are just basically small variations of the same scene or just told from another perspective. These are not fun to watch.
The game does have an anime tie-in called Canaan. It's actually a sequel to the game and should be avoided before playing the game because it does spoil parts of the game.
Overall, Shibuya Scramble is a unique Visual Novel experience that is recommended for Visual Novel fans and even those that are interested in venturing into the genre. It is a great experience overall and really stands out among the many Visual Novel titles out there.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE
-Visual Novel
-Live Action based
-Mystery, comedy and some romance
-No Voice Dialogue
-Multiple Endings, One True End
-INTRODUCTION-
Originally released for the Wii back in 2008 by Chunsoft (later merged to become Spike Chunsoft), 428: Shibuya Scramble (SS) remarkably received a perfect score by one of Japan's largest video game magazine, Famitsu. It was an achievement that was attained by only eight other games at that time. What really set it apart from many Visual Novels is the usage of live action shots to tell the story as opposed to 2D anime portraits. Even for Visual Novel players, they probably won't even realize it's a Visual Novel by looking at a random screenshot of the game.
Based on what I've found on the game's background, the developers had real life actors essentially act out the story scenarios within Shibuya and thousands of pictures were taken during that time. These shots were then incorporated into the game. While other Visual Novels may have existed that used a similar style, this game stands out among the ones released for consoles for the West.
STORY
The story starts out with the kidnapping of a college girl and the police are already called in to assist in a money exchange for the kidnapped girl. From there, the story grows into something much bigger that would involve the entire city of Shibuya. Without going into heavy spoilers, the main story plays out like a crime/mystery Japanese drama. The entire game also takes place for less than a day (roughly 10 hours altogether), but there is a lot of story content packed into the small timeframe. The mystery is engaging as players piece together the information they get as they progress further into the story.
What SS does well in the story is that all of its plot lines (despite appearing unrelated) come together at the end and fit comfortably with the story's big picture. Other than the mystery aspect, the story is full of emotional and comedic scenes to strike a good balance throughout and prevent it from being a 20 hour plus serious and depressing story.
Even if the story is well done overall, it still isn't perfect. For a mystery based story, many of the story developments are rather predictable. This is partly due to how the story reveals some obvious clues throughout. Intentional or not, it can hurt the mystery experience, but fortunately, not much in my opinion. Also, the story is kind of slow at the start despite the significant kidnapping event. The story doesn't really pick up until 1-2 chapters later if not already invested at the beginning.
CHARACTERS
The game consists of 5 main protagonists (only two available in the prologue). Each of them are completely different from another which makes each character storyline a very different experience. There's a young detective playing a large role in arresting the criminals and saving the kidnapped girl, a jobless young man and former "gang" leader who winds up escorting the kidnapped girl's sister, a veteran journalist helping out his old friend settle a debt by writing various articles, a girl in a cat costume trying to earn money to buy a necklace, and finally there's a scientist specializing in viruses. All of these characters have a good deal of depth and receive substantial character development. They are all quite likable and sympathetic.
Other than the main characters, there's a large number of secondary characters in the game as well. Even for the really minor ones, they are written in a way that they stand out and are not easily forgettable. Usually full of exaggerated quirks.
SOUND/MUSIC
I am not a huge fan of the individual tracks in the game, but what the tracks do well is that they fit in each of their specific scenes very well which further bolster story scenes and events. This also applies to the sound effects in the game. Character specific tracks also do a good job in representing the characters and making them more memorable.
GAMEPLAY
As briefly touched on already, there are five main protagonist so the gameplay revolves around their stories. At any point in the story, players can freely switch to any other character story in the timeline. This is important when avoiding or getting Bad Ends (there are more than 50 of them in the game). The main goal of the game is to guide the main characters to their final destination at the end of the game. To do that, players must pick the correct story decisions throughout each character's story. The decision not only impacts the character's own story, but it also impacts the other character's as well. As such, it is quite easy for characters to reach a Bad End or simply an end to their story. Players need to constantly switch story lines and make sure that they avoid such endings. It can be difficult without a guide, but there are hints given at each of the Bad Ends.
I personally used a guide throughout the game and while it is possible to beat it without a guide, I recommend using one for a more efficient use of time. It can be difficult to figure out what triggers a Bad End and what decisions need to be made to avoid them. With 5 concurrent storylines, key decisions can be influenced by multiple characters and multiple decisions which altogether, can be a pain to deal with.
You can switch timelines at any time and go to specific events. The timeline reflects new changes such as new paths or ends.
FINAL REMARKS
The game has decent length. It's not too short, but not too long either. It takes a little over 20 hours to complete the main story and get all of the Bad Endings using a guide. Without one, I expect it can take up to 30 hours or more. There are some additional side stories to unlock after beating the game, but they are not particularly long.
Despite the interesting use of live action shots, the game is not voiced at all (except for the unlockable anime special). The overall result isn't too bad, but I personally felt that voiceovers would enhance a number of scenes.
The game's Visual Novel mechanics is good such as having the ability to switch to previously viewed scenes on the fly, but there are some mechanics that hinder the experience. The first is the rather slow text. Many Visual Novels give the option to increase the text speed as they appear, but SS does not have such an option. The default text speed actually ranges from slow to just decent at times. As someone who naturally reads fast, it can be annoying to wait for the dialogue and text to play out.
In addition to that, there's no "skip text already read" option. There are times when you're forced to view the same scene more than once, especially to trigger multiple Bad Ends, and a combination of the slow text speed and no option to skip the text, it makes it more frustrating than it needs to be.
One note about the Bad Ends is that despite the large amount of them, there's quite a number of them that are just basically small variations of the same scene or just told from another perspective. These are not fun to watch.
The game does have an anime tie-in called Canaan. It's actually a sequel to the game and should be avoided before playing the game because it does spoil parts of the game.
Overall, Shibuya Scramble is a unique Visual Novel experience that is recommended for Visual Novel fans and even those that are interested in venturing into the genre. It is a great experience overall and really stands out among the many Visual Novel titles out there.
Genuinely took some kind of possession of me for the past week until I beat it, could not stop thinking about it even while doing literally anything else.
It doesn't even feel particularly like this has been my "gateway drug" to visual novels or anything since I have gone through a couple other acclaimed ones, something about this one just really struck a chord somewhere.
I think a lot of it really just comes down to how well it maintains its tone, every protagonist ostensibly gets their own genre determined by their situation until they all merge in one way or another, it's a very Yakuza/Like a Dragon balance of themes and tones though mostly carried by the crime drama nature of the main mystery.
And again like Yakuza it's not satisfied letting minor characters go without getting some proper development, joke characters and villains do get legit really moving moments and it all drives home how much this game truly does believe in humanity despite their irrevocably chaotic nature.
Most of the issues really just come to the fundamental problems that come with the multiple potential timelines, it was never really a problem for me until the last chapter when it stops giving you hints and my reason getting stuck was just that one of the characters just assumed the wrong thing about someone's intentions lol. It felt pretty silly and didn't make a lot of sense but with a game that's scattered with this many potential bad endings, it kind of comes with the territory.
Feels unfortunate this seems to be one of a very scant few live-action VNs, playing this on a daily basis really did feel like I was just tuning into another episode of a really good J-drama book, thing. Maybe I do really 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 like VNs more than I thought...
It doesn't even feel particularly like this has been my "gateway drug" to visual novels or anything since I have gone through a couple other acclaimed ones, something about this one just really struck a chord somewhere.
I think a lot of it really just comes down to how well it maintains its tone, every protagonist ostensibly gets their own genre determined by their situation until they all merge in one way or another, it's a very Yakuza/Like a Dragon balance of themes and tones though mostly carried by the crime drama nature of the main mystery.
And again like Yakuza it's not satisfied letting minor characters go without getting some proper development, joke characters and villains do get legit really moving moments and it all drives home how much this game truly does believe in humanity despite their irrevocably chaotic nature.
Most of the issues really just come to the fundamental problems that come with the multiple potential timelines, it was never really a problem for me until the last chapter when it stops giving you hints and my reason getting stuck was just that one of the characters just assumed the wrong thing about someone's intentions lol. It felt pretty silly and didn't make a lot of sense but with a game that's scattered with this many potential bad endings, it kind of comes with the territory.
Feels unfortunate this seems to be one of a very scant few live-action VNs, playing this on a daily basis really did feel like I was just tuning into another episode of a really good J-drama book, thing. Maybe I do really 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 like VNs more than I thought...