Higurashi" and "Umineko" new works are announced - and the long-awaited new work by Higami Toru and his team is "Sandbox of Tragedy"! Report on Ryuunishi 07 Project Presentation

On Thursday, March 22, 2018, the Ryuun Knight 07 project presentation was held, where new titles of popular games such as "Higurashi When They Cry" and "Umineko no Naku Koro ni" were announced as well as completely new titles.

Ryuunishi 07 is a creator known as a scenario writer and director of popular games such as "Higurashi When They Cry" and "Umineko no Naku Koro ni". Higurashi When They Cry" was originally released as a doujinshi game, but its fascination with solving puzzles and its bizarre scenario spread by word-of-mouth, and it has become a huge hit that has been ported to consumer game consoles, adapted into a comic book, anime, live-action film, and stage play. The game is a hit.

At this presentation, Ryuunishi 07's new project was revealed.

The presentation was moderated by voice actor Miharu Shioji, who invited Mr. Ryuukishi 07, voice actress Fuka Haruna, who says she is a big fan of his works, and actors Kyo Namekawa (Shinkyodan Yumei Classics) and Suzu Maihara (Shinkyodan Yumei Classics) who appeared in a related work, the play "Hinamizawa Stop". The presentation proceeded with these five members.

We started with information on "Higurashi When They Cry Ingaku" for Nintendo Switch.

In addition to the 19 scenarios that have been released so far on various hardware, this title includes three new scenarios: "Higurashi Outbreak," based on a spin-out novel, its sequel "Higurashi Outbreak: Kamikaze Arc," and "Higurashi When They Cry" original "Hinamizawa Stop" new scenarios. The total of 22 scenarios will be the largest volume ever recorded in the series.

Ms. Maihara, who herself appeared in the play, commented, "If you know the play, you will be thrilled when you play the game based on it.

It was also announced that "Tomozo," who was in charge of drawing the comic book version of "Higurashi When They Cry," will be in charge of character design for "Hinamizawa Station," and that the completely new OP theme "We Already Know," with lyrics and music by Chiyomaru Shikura and vocals by Yumi Matsuzawa, will be included. Yumi Matsuzawa's vocals.

According to Ms. Shikura's comment, this song, like the previous songs, was created by reading and interpreting the text she received. Matsuzawa also said that the song is "rock in sadness," and that it is a new frontier for him. It is an ambitious work for both creators.

Also announced was the "Dramatic Mystery Solving Game x Higurashi When They Cry: Hinamizawa Escape Scheme. This is a collaborative project with "Yodaka no Record," organizers of "Real Dasshutsu Game" and "Real Riddle Solving Game," where the objective is for players to escape Hinamizawa. The event will be held at Dramatic Room in Nishi-Shinjuku from Sunday, April 22 to Tuesday, June 19.

Here, Haruna-san, a "Higurashi" fan, tried out the trial problem. Ryuunishi 07, who was watching from the side, seemed to know the answer immediately, but Haruna could not answer the question and the time limit ended. We hope that the contestants will be more flexible in their thinking when they participate in the actual event.

Next up was information on a new title for Ryuunishi 07's other masterpiece, "Umineko no Naku Koro ni". This is an all-in-one package that combines "Umineko no Naku Koro ni" and "Umineko no Naku Koro ni Scatter: Truth and Illusion no Yosokyoku" already released on PlayStation3. This is a project that has just started, so expect more information to come.

The third announcement was information on the latest work by Ryuunishi 07.

In addition to the title "Sandbox of Tragedy," it was announced that the project will be planned and scenario written by Ryuunishi 07 and character design by Higami Minoru, known for his work on "AIR" and "CLANNAD". About this work, Ryuukishi said, "The project started with the idea of doing something together with me and Higami-sensei. I wanted to make the heroine that Higami-sensei draws do something like this. I want to enjoy seeing what kind of chemical reactions will occur when I put Higami-sensei's characters, who have a very fragile image, into the "Sandbox of Tragedy,"" she commented happily with a smug smile.

He also commented, "I want them to enjoy their first impressions. The visuals and other aspects of the title are still unknown, but it is scheduled to be released in 2019, so we can expect to see it in the not-too-distant future. We have high expectations for this one as well.

The presentation was very satisfying for both fans of existing titles and fans of Ryuunishi 07 who are looking forward to the new title.