Higurashi Daybreak

Higurashi Daybreak

Box art
Developer(s) Twilight Frontier
Cavia (PSP)
Publisher(s) Twilight Frontier
Alchemist (PSP)
Platform(s) Windows 2000, XP
PlayStation Portable
Release August 13, 2006
April 22, 2007 (expansion)
November 27, 2008 (PSP)
November 26, 2009 (PSP Mega Edition)
Genre(s) Third-person shooter
Mode(s) 1-4 players

Higurashi Daybreak (ひぐらしデイブレイク, Higurashi Deibureiku) is a Japanese dōjin third person shooter developed by Twilight Frontier, first released on August 13, 2006 and is based on the popular visual novel Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. The game is Twilight Frontier's first attempt in making a 3D game. 07th Expansion, the creators of the original franchise, assisted in making the game — most notably, Ryukishi07, the writer of the original game, provided the script for Higurashi Daybreak. Also, this game uses the same voice cast as the drama CD of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

In the title, the "Bu" is made red (), a practice similar to the original material. In Japan, the game is also called Hidebu, by taking the initials of the game (which, coincidentally, is homonymous to a well-known phrase in Fist of the North Star, where the nonsensical phrase is uttered by a fat grunt before he explodes).

Hirukowashi-hen of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei, released on December 31, 2006, is a novelization of this game. Also, a related short story, "Higurashi Outbreak", was included in the original soundtrack of the game, which was released on April 22, 2007 along with the expansion Higurashi Daybreak Kai (ひぐらしデイブレイク改).

In April 2008, Alchemist announced that they would be porting Higurashi Daybreak to the PlayStation Portable, and released the port on November 27, 2008.[1]

Gameplay

In-game screenshot.

The game is a 2 vs. 2 versus third person shooter based on the system of the Mobile Suit Gundam VS Series. Each of the four players can be played by humans (either together locally or through netplay) or controlled by the computer. Each character has a choice of two to three different weapons, with vastly different properties. Actions such as dashing, guarding, jumping, or flying through the air are restricted by a "stamina" gauge — once that gauge is depleted, none of the said actions can be carried out, though the gauge refills itself when it is not in use. Also, a "charge" and "main" gauge determine what kind of projectile the player fires, and how many he or she can fire. And finally, there is also a "limit gauge" that can be charged in one of two ways: when the player is damaged, or when the player deals damage. Once the gauge is full, the player can go into Hypermode and receive some stat bonuses for a limited period of time. The game ends when a team's balloon reaches a preset limit (default at 100%); the percentage increases when a team member's HP bar gets depleted.

In the story mode, there are initially three storylines to go through, while more can be unlocked after the initial three has been played through. The teams are preset in the story mode, they are:

Although the teams are preset in the story mode, a team can consist of any two characters in other matches.

Plot

In a peaceful day like any other, a small box was dropped on Rika Furude's head when she was sweeping in the Furude Shrine. In it was a pair of magatama, one red and one white.

The magatama are actually the sacred treasure of the Furude Shrine. With its magical powers, the holder of the red magatama would unconditionally fall in love with the holder of the white one. Upon testing its effects on the school faculty, the club members of a Hinamizawa school decided that they should duel each other to see which pair gets to keep the magatama. In the beginning it was only an afterschool club activity, but their game eventually engulfed all of Hinamizawa.

Characters

The character settings are based on the original visual novels.

Character selection screen in the expansion
Keiichi Maebara (前原 圭一, Maebara Keiichi)
Voiced by: Sōichirō Hoshi
Rena Ryūgū (竜宮 レナ, Ryūgū Rena)
Voiced by: Mai Nakahara
Mion Sonozaki (園崎 魅音, Sonozaki Mion)
Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino
Shion Sonozaki (園崎 詩音, Sonozaki Shion)
Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino
Rika Furude (古手 梨花, Furude Rika)
Voiced by: Yukari Tamura
Satoko Hōjō (北条 沙都子, Hōjō Satoko)
Voiced by: Mika Kanai
Jirō Tomitake (富竹 ジロウ, Tomitake Jirō)
Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa
Miyo Takano (鷹野 三四, Takano Miyo)
Voiced by: Miki Ito
Kuraudo Ōishi (大石 蔵人, Ōishi Kuraudo)
Voiced by: Chafurin
Mamoru Akasaka (赤坂 衛, Akasaka Mamoru)
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu, Daisuke Ono (PSP version)
Kyōsuke Irie (入江 京介, Irie Kyōsuke)
Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki
Rumiko Chie (知恵 留美子, Chie Rumiko)
Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa
Akane Sonozaki (園崎 茜, Sonozaki Akane)
Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue
Tatsuyoshi Kasai (葛西 辰由, Kasai Tatsuyoshi)
Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki
Hanyū (羽入)
Voiced by: Yui Horie
Natsumi Kimiyoshi (公由 夏美, Kimiyoshi Natsumi)

Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi

Expansion

Cover to Higurashi Daybreak Kai

The expansion, Higurashi Daybreak Kai (ひぐらしデイブレイク改) was announced and was released on April 22, 2007, in the convention Sunshine Creation 37. Aside from adding new characters and new teams, new features include a third new weapon for the original characters, new costumes, a new stage, a third mode to increase the limit gauge, and a functionality enabling observers in a netplay match. Minor balance adjustments were also implemented.

The "Kai" (, revision) in the expansion's title is a homonym to the "Kai" (, solutions) in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, which is the title of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni during its answer chapters (and also the title of the second season of the Higurashi anime).

Higurashi Daybreak Portable

The PSP port was developed by Cavia, with the assistance from the original makers, Twilight Frontier and 07th Expansion. The port boasts revamped character graphics to match Alchemist's previous Higurashi ports, new storylines for Hanyū and Natsumi, new costumes and weapons, a new opening animation with a theme song, as well as a "shop" feature.

An enhanced version, Higurashi Daybreak Portable Mega Edition, was released on November 26, 2009. This new version features three new characters—Satoshi, Miyoko, and Okonogi—alongside new stages and several changes.[2]

References

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