When The Sweetfish Cry
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Now that I think about it, this new series could probably be the one to answer some lingering questions about Lambda and the other voyagers that Ryukishi’s been teasing for a while. I doubt they’ll be literally in the game but perhaps a new voyager(-esque) character can give some lore or backstory details.
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I have an odd feeling right now that it may turn out into some sort of bizarre David Lynch like thing.
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Higurashi was already very Twin Peaks. Although, think of the possibilities…
When Henry’s Baby Cries
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‘When The Nightingales Cry’ would be a good title, tbqh.
I wonder what the premise will be, since he already did Twin Peaks with jrpg (Higurashi), Agatha Christie with metaphysics (Umineko), a PSA about demonic bullying (Higanbana), mafia wars and why Japan isn’t that great (Rose Guns Days), and literally Alice in Wonderland.
Oh and he also worked on Kamaitachi no Yoru so I guess the snow setting is ruled out…
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I am thinking more like When the Dogs Cry or When the Cats Cry because I think that would be a good twist on the when they cry series by putting it in a big city like Tokyo or something for the whole series and not some small little place that is cut off from the World.
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That’s actually an interesting point.
Tho it’s not like he didn’t deal with large cities in some other stories heh…
But it’s true that “the games of reasoning” have always been in relatively closed environments in comparison.
What I’m actually really wondering if he’ll keep up a like “many possibilities” uses of arcs or if it will be a straight up story this time around.
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I just thought of something really cool, what about a murder mystery that draws inspiration from the themes of Frankenstein?
When the readers cry.
8 arcs of Ryu venting at his fanbase.
Consider me intrigued about the big changes.
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I was on /jp/ the other day, and I saw a post discussing how both Higurashi and Umineko had different themes and what they thought the new WtC would focus on.
So what fresh themes do you think the new WtC game should focus on? I know one of the anons said morality would be cool.
Yeah, but one of the surprising things about When They Cry and it’s presence as a popular horror series has always been it’s moralistic nature. Unlikely a lot of horror franchise, the When They Cry series is all about expressing a positive message and moral through its horrific and tragic stories. While there’s always been a moral grey, heck the theme of Higurashi was forgiveness, it’s always been utilized to express a singular message. Eva and Natsuhi, for example, can’t see eye to eye because they refuse to understand one another. The reason for their complicated background was to establish that they both have valid reason and motives behind their behavior, even if their behavior is nasty and shortsighted.
I can’t really see Ryukishi taking “morality” as a theme, when he usually uses the morality of his characters to express his themes.
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In commemoration of Higurashi’s 15th Anniversary this month, an interview with Ryukishi07 has been published on Dengeki Online. The interview goes into heaps of detail, with Ryukishi giving his thoughts on all the milestones Higurashi has achieved in it’s 15 year lifespan, starting from his initial draft of the Hinamizawa Bus Stop stageplay, going all the way through to the international Steam Release and recent TV drama. It’s quite an interesting read, but it’s way too lengthy for us to translate all of it, so if you can’t read Japanese we recommend chucking it through Google Translate and skimming through at your own leisure.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://rokkenjima.org/higurashi-15th-anniversary-interview-ryukishi07-wtc5-update/
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Some people might like Ryukishi’s art, but most prefer the ‘adaptation art’ done by third parties or if someone else working on the project is handling the characters. I know he’s gotten significantly better over the years, however the quality of art produced almost definitely wouldn’t be accepted by another professional studio. If he just learned to work on hands, I’d say his art is passable in a highly stylized sort of way. That isn’t to insult anyone that like or prefers his style has bad tastes; if you fall into that category than good for you and I have nothing against you.
More than anything, I hope he really decides against those gaudy eyebleeding photos with those awful filters. Yes there are a lot of VNs that use photos from real life, but most of the time the filters they use are more subtle, or perhaps just a base or reference to draw from.
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I think Ryukishi’s art style is quite interesting for one’s first WTC game. It gives the VN its own identity. But after the first game you read with Ryukishi’s style, it then starts to wear down. I played Umineko in full with original sprites and CGs and no voice acting, and I don’t regret that decision. Some have done the same with Higurashi, for which I’ve been rocking PS3 assets and voices since Chapter 1 (those hands are a bit much).
But for any new game going onward, I have a feeling that that style won’t work. It’s been a long time since Chiru completed, and I think it’s time for Ryukishi to admit that to most (though I love filtered photo backgrounds), it’s time to update the art style of his games.
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I hope someone actually translates it 
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Mangagamer will likely do so
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Seeing how Mangagamer didn’t translate Trianthology and luckily random translators decided to translate Higanbana, something tells me it’s going to be a while until someone translates it.
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Maybe we should translate it ourselves 
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That would be nice! \o/
Our own little Rokkenjima translation group.
If I somehow managed to enjoy the umineko pachinko sprites I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to deal with ryukishi’s art style.