| Umineko no Naku Koro ni | |
The cover of Alliance of the Golden Witch, the first complete release of an Umineko game, which consists of the four games of When They Cry 3. |
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| うみねこのなく頃に | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama, Fantasy, Metafiction, Mystery, Psychological thriller |
| Game | |
| Developer | 07th Expansion |
| Publisher | 07th Expansion (PC) Taito (mobile phone) Alchemist (PS3, PSP) |
| Genre | Dōjin soft, Visual novel |
| Rating |
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| Platform | PC, Mobile phone, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable |
| Released | PC Legend - August 17, 2007 Turn - December 31, 2007 Banquet - August 16, 2008 Alliance - December 29, 2008 End - August 15, 2009 Dawn - December 30, 2009 Requiem - August 14, 2010 Twilight - December 31, 2010 Tsubasa - December 31, 2010 Hane - December 31, 2011 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Ryukishi07 |
| Illustrated by | Kei Natsumi, Jirō Suzuki, Sōichirō, Taka Aki, Hinase Momoyama, Eita Mizuno |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Gangan Powered, GFantasy, Gangan Joker, Gangan Online, Monthly Shōnen Gangan |
| Original run | January 2008 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 24 |
| Manga | |
| Umineko Biyori: Rokkenjima e Yōkoso!! | |
| Written by | 07th Expansion |
| Illustrated by | Makoto Fugetsu |
| Published by | Ichijinsha |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Manga Palette Lite |
| Original run | March 1, 2008 – March 2, 2009 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Manga | |
| Umineko Dōri no Peru-san | |
| Written by | 07th Expansion |
| Illustrated by | Satoshi Shinkyo |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Comp Ace |
| Original run | November 2008 – May 2009 |
| Manga | |
| Umineko no Naku Koro ni EpisodeX Rokkenjima of Higurashi crying | |
| Written by | 07th Expansion |
| Illustrated by | Yuki Hiiro |
| Published by | ASCII Media Works |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Dengeki G's Festival! Comic |
| Original run | January 26, 2009 – February 23, 2011 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Novel | |
| Written by | Ryukishi07 |
| Published by | Kodansha Box |
| Original run | July 1, 2009 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 8 |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Chiaki Kon |
| Studio | Studio Deen |
| Network | UHF Stations |
| Original run | July 2, 2009 – December 24, 2009 |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Other | |
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Ōgon Musōkyoku (fighting game) |
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Umineko no Naku Koro ni (うみねこのなく頃に, lit. When the Seagulls Cry) is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion. The first game in the series, Legend of the Golden Witch, was first released at Comiket 72 on August 17, 2007 playable on the PC; the game sold out in thirty minutes.[1] The story focuses on a group of eighteen people on a secluded island for a period of two days, and the mysterious murders that befall most of the people. The goal of the game is to discern whether the murderer is human or of some other supernatural source. Umineko is the third title in the When They Cry series, preceded by Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, and followed by Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru.
Square Enix, Ichijinsha, Kadokawa Shoten, and ASCII Media Works all published various manga adaptations of the series. It was also turned into a 26-episode anime by Studio Deen, which aired in Japan between July and December 2009. A series of novels written by Ryukishi07 are published by Kodansha Box. A fighting game based on the franchise named Ōgon Musōkyoku was released by 07th Expansion on December 31, 2010. The word umineko is the name of a kind of seagull known as a Black-tailed Gull.[2] Naku means "to cry" or "to make a sound" (鳴く), referring only to sounds made by non-humans when written with that kanji; no kanji is provided in the series logo however. According to the original creator, Ryukishi07, the red Na (な) in the logo is an official part of the title.[3]
Contents |
Umineko no Naku Koro ni is a murder mystery game described as a "sound novel" by 07th Expansion. A sound novel is similar to a visual novel, though the gameplay requires no player interaction as the game is composed entirely of text dialogues. While a visual novel's basis would be the visual aspect, as the name suggests, a sound novel's basis takes more care in producing an atmosphere via the music, sound effects, and the story itself. As such, the original Umineko games have a simple-looking art style, which stays consistent over the course of the series' releases. The original releases contain no voice acting for the characters.
While during gameplay, the Tips Mode can be viewed via the game's internal menu, which also includes save and load functions. These tips allow the player to read various supplementary information on the characters and story that may or may not be useful in solving the mystery. These are updated according to the progression of the story, so it is recommended to view the tips every once in a while. The ultimate goals of the gameplay involve reaching the truth behind the multi-cased mystery, determining where the gold is hidden, figuring out a solution in which ultimately everyone survives, and to solve the whole case by determining who the true murderer is in each chapter and whether it is due to supernatural events or human actions. An in-game feature from Turn of the Golden Witch onward known as "red truth" states something to be true in red text, offering clues to the reader to both create theories as well as to break them. In contrast is "blue truth" from Alliance of the Golden Witch onward, which is used to bring up theories on what is truly going on while abiding by the red truth, and has the possibility to become true if not countered by red truth. There is also "golden truth" introduced in End of the Golden Witch which can only be used by the Game Master and, depending on how it used, can be either inferior or superior to the red truth. Finally there is the "purple truth" introduced in Twilight of the Golden Witch, which is used by the suspects of the mystery scenario and is equal in value to the red truth, except that only the culprit may use it to lie.
When an episode is completed for the first time, an additional short epilogue called "Tea Party" becomes available to play, offering crucial plot points that advance the overall progression of the story. When that scenario is completed, a second epilogue called "????" also becomes available to advance the story. After all the scenarios in a given game copy have been completed, a Music Box section becomes available on the title menu, enabling the player to listen to any of the music used throughout the game.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni takes place primarily in the year 1986, during the time frame of October 4 and October 5 on a small, secluded island named Rokkenjima (六軒島) 10 km around owned and lived on by Kinzo, the head of the wealthy Ushiromiya family.[4] Kinzo is near death, and eight of his family members arrive on the island for the annual family conference, where the adults plan to discuss how Kinzo's assets will be divided once he is dead. Also on the island are three family members who live there, five of Kinzo's servants, and his personal physician. After the eight family members arrive, a typhoon traps them on the island, and shortly after, strange things start to happen and people start dying.
The main character of the story is Battler Ushiromiya, son of Kinzo's second son Rudolf. Battler has not been to the annual Ushiromiya conference in six years due to living with his maternal grandparents ever since his mother Asumu died, and even took his mother's maiden name instead of Ushiromiya. When his grandparents died, he went back to living with his father, his second wife Kyrie, and their daughter Ange, his half-sister. Once on the island, Battler once again becomes acquainted with the legend of the golden witch Beatrice who supposedly lives in the naturally dense forest on Rokkenjima. A portrait of her lies in the entrance hall of the Ushiromiya family mansion, and a puzzling epitaph is written below the portrait. Rumor has it on the island that Beatrice gave ten tons of gold to Kinzo in the past to restart the Ushiromiya family after being crippled in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. It is said that whoever solves the riddle of the witch's epitaph will receive the gold and be the next successor to the Ushiromiya family.
Once the typhoon hits, a ghastly game begins, starting with the murder of six people on the island. If the witch's epitaph cannot be solved, people will continue to die in mysterious deaths, following the outline given by the epitaph itself, until the witch Beatrice ultimately revives. After this comes to pass, Battler is the only one left alive who does not believe in witches or magic, and as such the door to the "golden land" (as stipulated on the epitaph) cannot be opened. Beatrice takes Battler and herself to a parallel dimension, Purgatorio, which is able to oversee events on Rokkenjima. From this point on, Battler and Beatrice are locked in a game of twisted logic where Battler must attempt to explain all of the mysterious events on Rokkenjima from the standpoint that they are caused by a human, and Beatrice attempts to explain everything with witches and magic. 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. If Beatrice can get Battler to ultimately surrender and accept witches and magic, Beatrice wins.
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.
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.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Tsubasa (うみねこのなく頃に翼, lit. When the Seagulls Cry Wings) is a fan disc compilation of additional tips written by Ryukishi07 outside of the games, released on December 31, 2010 alongside Twilight of the Golden Witch. Several of the stories are humorous in tone, but the more serious ones may be considered canon.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Hane (うみねこのなく頃に羽, lit. When the Seagulls Cry Feathers) is a second fan disc compilation of additional tips written by Ryukishi07, released on December 31, 2011 alongside Ōgon Musōkyoku Cross.
These tips are not collected in Tsubasa, but were nonetheless written by Ryukishi07.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni is the second visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion, the first being Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The scenario writer for the series is Ryukishi07, who also drew all of the character illustrations. Game direction was handled by Ryukishi07's younger brother Yatazakura, and the overall management of the series was handled by BT until his death in July 2009.[5] Image and text processing was headed by Jika, who took over BT's position of overall management. Background images and photography were provided by Yatazakura, Zekozakura, Mali., and All Season Kisetsu no Irodori. The games were designed using the game engine NScripter. The music of Umineko was provided by various music artists including both professionals and dōjin artists, and Dai, the composer of most of the music found in the answer arcs of Higurashi, also had a hand in the project as the music director.
The first game of the Umineko no Naku Koro ni visual novel series, entitled Legend of the Golden Witch, was first released on August 17, 2007 at Comiket 72.[6] The second game Turn of the Golden Witch was released on December 31, 2007 at Comiket 73, and the third game Banquet of the Golden Witch was released on August 16, 2008 at Comiket 74. The fourth game Alliance of the Golden Witch was released on December 29, 2008 at Comiket 75.[6] The first game in the Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru series, entitled End of the Golden Witch, was first released on August 15, 2009 at Comiket 76. The sixth game Dawn of the Golden Witch was released on December 30, 2009 at Comiket 77. The seventh game Requiem of the Golden Witch was released at Comiket 78 on August 14, 2010. The eighth game Twilight of the Golden Witch was released at Comiket 79 on December 31, 2010. A fan disc titled Umineko no Naku Koro ni Tsubasa was released the same day as Twilight. A second fan disc titled Umineko no Naku Koro ni Hane was released at Comiket 81 on December 31, 2011.
Taito released a version of Legend of the Golden Witch playable on certain mobile phones on March 31, 2009.[7] The game is playable on FOMA 900 and i703 phones, using BREW as a runtime environment.[8]
A remake for the PlayStation 3, subtitled Majo to Suiri no Rondo (魔女と推理の輪舞曲, lit. The Rondo of the Witch and Deduction), was released by Alchemist on December 16, 2010.[9] The release covers the original four games, and its features include a full HD rendition, all of the original soundtracks from the PC games, and full voice acting. Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru was similarly remade for the PlayStation 3, subtitled Shinjitsu to Gensō no Nocturne (真実と幻想の夜想曲 Shinjitsu to Gensō no Nokutān, lit. The Nocturne of the Truth and Illusions)[10] and released by Alchemist on December 15, 2011.[11] Both remakes will be ported to the PlayStation Portable under the title Umineko no Naku Koro ni Portable (うみねこのなく頃にPortable), each to be released as two separate games: Rondo was split into Portable 1 (which will cover Legend and Turn) and Portable 2 (which will cover Banquet and Alliance), released on October 20 and November 17, 2011, respectively; and Nocturne will be split into Portable 3 (which will cover End and Dawn), and Portable 4 (which will cover Requiem and Twilight), though release dates for both games are yet to be determined.[10][12]
A dōjin 2D fighting game produced by 07th Expansion titled Ōgon Musōkyoku (黄金夢想曲, lit. Golden Fantasia) was released on December 31, 2010 at Comiket 79.[13] An append disc, titled Ōgon Musōkyoku Cross (黄金夢想曲†CROSS, lit. Golden Fantasia Cross), was released at Comiket 81 in December 2011.[14] In addition, an Xbox 360 port of the original game developed by Alchemist was released on October 6, 2011 under the title Ōgon Musōkyoku X (黄金夢想曲X, lit. Golden Fantasia X).[15]
A manga version of Legend of the Golden Witch drawn by Kei Natsumi began serializtion in the January 2008 issue of Square Enix's Gangan Powered, which was later transferred to the debut May 2009 issue of Gangan Joker after Gangan Powered was discontinued, and continued until the September 2009 issue. An adaptation of Turn of the Golden Witch drawn by Jirō Suzuki began serialization in the August 2008 issue of Square Enix's GFantasy. The manga adaptation of Banquet of the Golden Witch began serialization in the October 2009 issue of Gangan Joker and is illustrated by Kei Natsumi. Sōichirō draws the adaptation of Alliance of the Golden Witch, which began serialization in Square Enix's Internet-based magazine Gangan Online on October 1, 2009. The first bound volume for Legend of the Golden Witch was released in Japan on June 21, 2008 under Square Enix's Gangan Comics imprint. A four-panel comic strip entitled Umineko Biyori: Rokkenjima e Yōkoso!! (うみねこびより。～六軒島へようこそ!!～) and illustrated by Makoto Fugetsu was serialized in Ichijinsha's Manga Palette Lite magazine between March 1, 2008 and March 2, 2009. A single bound volume for Umineko Biyori was released on June 22, 2009.
Another manga, Umineko Dōri no Peru-san (うみねこ通りのペルさん), is illustrated by Satoshi Shinkyo and was serialized between the November 2008[16] and May 2009 issues of Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine. A cross-over manga drawn by Yuki Hiiro and featuring characters from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni titled Umineko no Naku Koro ni EpisodeX Rokkenjima of Higurashi crying was serialized in ASCII Media Works's Dengeki G's Festival! Comic magazine between January 26, 2009[17] and February 23, 2011. Two volumes of EpisodeX were released, the first on February 26, 2010 and the second on April 27, 2011 under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint.
Frontier Works began to produce a set of drama CDs for Umineko starting with the first volume Ōgon no Kakeratachi (黄金のカケラたち, lit. Golden Fragments) released on June 24, 2009.[18][19] The second volume, Ōgon Chō no Miru Yume wa (黄金蝶の見る夢は, lit. The Dream Seen by the Golden Butterfly) followed on July 23, 2009.[19][20] The voice cast is the same as the anime.[19]
Kodansha Box began releasing novelizations of the visual novel arcs in two volume sets, beginning with Legend of the Golden Witch released on July 1, 2009 for volume one and August 4, 2009 for volume two. The two volumes of Turn of the Golden Witch were released in November and December 2009.[21] The novels are written by Ryukishi07. Novelizations of the other arcs will also be produced.
A 26-episode anime adaptation based on the visual novel series aired in Japan between July 2 and December 24, 2009 on Chiba TV, and aired on additional stations at later times.[22] The anime is produced by the animation studio Studio Deen and directed by Chiaki Kon.[23] The opening theme of the anime is "Katayoku no Tori" (片翼の鳥, lit. "One-Winged Bird") by Akiko Shikata, and the ending theme is "La Divina Tragedia: Makyoku" (la divina tragedia～魔曲～, lit. "The Divine Tragedy: Diabolic Song") by Jimang from Sound Horizon. The singles for both songs were released on August 19 and September 16, 2009, respectively.[24]
An Internet radio show titled Umineko no Naku Koro ni Episode R: Radio of the Golden Witch aired ten episodes between August 26, 2009 and January 13, 2010. Produced by Animate TV, the show was hosted by Sayaka Ohara (the voice of Beatrice in the anime adaptation) and featured numerous guests who were also voice actors from the anime such as Daisuke Ono (Battler) and Marina Inoue (Jessica). A special episode was later aired on April 28, 2010 featuring Rina Satō (Ange) and Ryukishi07 as guests. Two CD compilation volumes containing two CDs each were released on December 23, 2009 and January 27, 2010 compiling the ten main episodes.
The visual novels have three opening theme songs. The four games of Umineko no Naku Koro ni use the opening theme "Umineko no Naku Koro ni" (うみねこのなく頃に, "When the Seagulls Cry"), composed and performed by Akiko Shikata, which was released at Comiket 74 on August 15, 2008, and for public release on August 29, 2008 by Frontier Works.[24] The first two games of Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru (End and Dawn) use the opening theme "Occultics no Majo" (オカルティクスの魔女 Okarutikusu no Majo, "Occultics Witch") sung by Ayumu from Zwei. The single for "Occultics no Majo" was released on November 26, 2009 by Geneon. The last two Chiru games (Requiem and Twilight) use the opening theme "Kiri no Pithos" (霧のピトス Kiri no Pitosu, "The Pithos in the Fog") sung by Nei Kino.
At the end of each game, there are two ending themes: one played after the completion of the main game when the cast of characters is shown and another played after finishing the "????" epilogue when the staff credits are shown. In Legend of the Golden Witch, "Bring the Fate" composed by Hironori Dori is the first ending theme and "Rōgoku Strip" (牢獄STRIP Prison Strip) composed by -45 is used for the staff credits. Turn uses "Kuro no Liliana" (黒のリリアナ Black Liliana) composed by Uni Akiyama for the first ending theme and "Senritsu (Shirabe)" (旋律（シラベ） Melody (Shirabe)) sung by Kazumi Kimura for the staff credits. The first ending theme of Banquet is "Dread of the Grave (Rhythm ver.)" composed by SB Yune and the staff credits theme is "Active Pain" performed by Zakuro Motoki. The first ending theme for Alliance is "Discode" sung by Kanae Sakura and "Rōgoku Strip" is again used for the staff credits. End's first ending theme is "Kodoku na Shinkaigyo" (孤独な深海魚 A Lonely Deep-Sea Fish) composed by -45 and the staff credits theme is "Tsubasa (Hope)" (翼～hope～, "Wings (Hope)") performed by Rekka Katakiri. Dawn uses "Birth of New Witch" sung by Zakuro Motoki as the first ending theme and "Usan no Kaori" (ウサンノカオリ) sung by Nei Kino for the staff credits. The first ending theme for Requiem is "The Executioner" composed by zts and the staff credits theme "Namae no Nai Uta" (なまえのないうた, Nameless Song) is sung by Kanae Sakura.
An original soundtrack for Legend of the Golden Witch entitled Essence was released on August 26, 2009.[25]
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