Root Letter
| Root Letter | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Kadokawa Games |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Akari Uchida |
| Artist(s) | Mino Taro |
| Writer(s) | Dario Fuji |
| Composer(s) | Takashi Nitta |
| Platform(s) |
PlayStation 4 PlayStation Vita Microsoft Windows |
| Release |
PS4, PS Vita Microsoft Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure, visual novel |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Root Letter, stylized as √Letter,[1] is a 2016 visual novel adventure video game developed and published by Kadokawa Games for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Microsoft Windows. It is the first entry in the Kadokawa Game Mystery brand.
Gameplay
The game plays as an adventure visual novel.[2] In the game, the player must figure out what happened to the character of Aya, a girl who mysteriously vanished after receiving a particular letter.[3] The gameplay will be split into two distinct parts; the adventure part, where the player interrogates characters who knew Aya in order to find more information about her, and the simulation parts, where the player relives and plays through prior interactions with Aya.[3]
Story
Root Letter is set in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, where the protagonist arrives in search of Fumino Aya, a pen pal friend from high school who had disappeared for 15 years.[2] After he finds a letter dedicated to him from her that was never sent, he sets out to interrogate her classmates as he wonders if everything Aya had told him had been a lie.[4] The game contains multiple endings based on the player's choices throughout the game.[2]
Development and release
The game was announced in November 2015, both for the Japanese market and with a worldwide release planned for early 2016.[4] A Chinese release is planned as well.[5] Its announcement occurred at the same time and event as God Wars: Beyond Time.[6] The game was introduced as the first title in a new line of adventure video games by Kadokawa Games, the Kadokawa Game Mystery series.[1] Each entry in the series is planned to contain the same "fictional actresses" playing different roles across different titles.[7] Key staff from Konami's LovePlus series of dating sim games contributed to the game, including character designer Mino Taro, and producer Akari Uchida.[7]
Root Letter was released for the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Vita by Kadokawa Games on 16 June 2016 in Japan,[8] and by PQube on 28 October 2016 in Europe and 1 November 2016 in North America.[9] A Microsoft Windows version was released in Japan on 31 March 2017,[10] and internationally on 7 July 2017.[11]
Reception
| Reception | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
Root Letter received "favorable" reviews on the PlayStation Vita, and "mixed or average" reviews on the PlayStation 4, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[12][13]
Sales
During its opening week in Japan, 8,907 copies were sold, of which 4,855 were of the PlayStation Vita version, and 4,052 of the PlayStation 4 version. The two versions were, respectively, the eleventh and fourteenth best selling games of that week in Japan.[15] Despite the game not appearing on the weekly Media Create charts again in Japan, worldwide sales passed 200,000 copies sold by January 2017, making it a commercial success;[16] by July 2017, another 100,000 copies had been sold, bringing total worldwide sales to 300,000.[17] Geraint Evans, the head of marketing of PQube, called their Root Letter sales "phenomenal", with the vast majority sold on the PlayStation Vita.[18]
References
- 1 2 "Kadokawa Games Announces Mystery Adventure Game Root Letter For PS4 And Vita". Siliconera.
- 1 2 3 "Root Letter Debut Trailer - Visual Novel Mystery - Rice Digital". Rice Digital.
- 1 2 "Root Letter introduces actress AYA, game system". Gematsu.
- 1 2 "Kadokawa Games announces Root Letter for PS4, PS Vita". Gematsu.
- ↑ "Yuko Minaguchi, Kikuko Inoue Join Cast of Root Letter PS4/PS Vita Game". Anime News Network. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ↑ "Kadokawa anuncia God Wars e Root Letter para PS4 e Vita". Eurogamer.pt. 10 November 2015.
- 1 2 "Root Letter PS4/PS Vita Adventure Game's English-Subtitled Aya Video Streamed". Anime News Network. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ↑ "PQube to publish Root Letter in the west - Gematsu". Gematsu. 13 June 2016.
- ↑ http://gematsu.com/2016/10/root-letter-launches-november-1-north-america-october-28-europe
- ↑ http://www.siliconera.com/2017/03/31/root-letter-available-pc-japan-might-get-steam-release/
- ↑ http://gematsu.com/2017/07/root-letter-now-available-pc-via-steam
- 1 2 "Root Letter for PlayStation Vita Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- 1 2 "Root Letter for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ↑ Tolentino, Josh (23 November 2016). "Review: Root Letter". Destructoid. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (2016-06-22). "Media Create Sales: 6/13/16 – 6/19/16". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2016-06-22. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (2017-01-31). "Root Letter worldwide sales top 200,000". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
- ↑ https://www.famitsu.com/news/201707/13137647.html
- ↑ Stanton, Rich (2017-02-10). "Britsoft Focus: PQube". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on 2017-02-12. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- "Root Letter". The Visual Novel Database.