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, known simply as ''When They Cry'' for the North American release of the anime adaptation, is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft sound novel series produced by 07th Expansion. The games are built on the NScripter game engine and are playable on the Windows operating system. The first game in the series, ''Onikakushi-hen'', was released on August 10, 2002, and the eighth and final game in the original PC series, ''Matsuribayashi-hen'', was released on August 13, 2006. While the first four games carried the overall title ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni'', the next four games were produced under the title ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai''. A bonus fan disc called ''Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei'' was released on December 31, 2006. In addition to the original series, new story arcs were created in manga form and in video games for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS in order to expand upon the story. The original eight PC releases were released in English by MangaGamer in 2009 and 2010. The series is focused on a group of young friends and the strange events that occur in the rural village of Hinamizawa, where they reside. Two sets of drama CDs were produced, one by Wayuta and the other by Frontier Works. Novelizations of the game series were released by Kodansha Box between August 2007 and March 2009. A manga series adapted from the games began with eight different manga artists working separately on one to three of the multiple story arcs and is published by Square Enix and Kadokawa Shoten. The manga was licensed for release in English in North America by Yen Press under the title ''Higurashi When They Cry'' and the first volume was released in November 2008. Following the manga's release in Japan, two TV anime series were produced by Studio Deen in 2006 and 2007; a third anime adaptation was released as an original video animation (OVA) series in 2009. The first anime series was licensed by Geneon Entertainment in English, but the license expired in 2011. Sentai Filmworks has since licensed both anime seasons and the ''Rei'' OVAs. A live action film adaptation of the series, directed by Ataru Oikawa, premiered in Japanese theaters in May 2008, with a sequel released in May 2009. ==Gameplay== ''Higurashi'' is a murder mystery game described as a "sound novel" by 07th Expansion. A sound novel is similar to a visual novel in that the gameplay requires relatively little player interaction as most of the game is composed of text dialogues. The original release contained no voice acting for the characters. 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. The game utilizes intermissions where the player can obtain several Tips. These Tips allow the player to read various supplementary information that may or may not be useful in solving the mystery. For example, one of the Tips can be as simple as "this is a small village; children who go to this school are combined into one classroom regardless of what grade or year they are in." On the other hand, they can provide valuable hints, such as being able to read the excerpts of the newspaper articles regarding the murders that occurred in Hinamizawa. At the beginning of each of the story arcs, a cryptic poem by someone known as Frederica Bernkastel is read; these reveal some of what is going to happen in the following arc. The PlayStation 2 port ''Matsuri'' differs from the original game series in that it includes full voice acting, redrawn CGs, and integration of the question arcs starring Keiichi into a single branching storyline. ''Matsuri'' includes the first seven PC arcs (''Matsuribayashi-hen'' is excluded) and three original final arcs—''Taraimawashi-hen'', ''Tsukiotoshi-hen'' and ''Miotsukushi-hen''. After the original seven arcs are cleared, the first two final arcs become available. Furthermore, when these two final arcs are cleared, the epilogue, ''Miotsukushi-hen'', is unlocked. The DS ports that compose ''Kizuna'' include most of the CGs from Matsuri, as well as some new ones, a similar arc integration system to ''Matsuri'', and partial voice acting for certain emphasized scenes. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Higurashi When They Cry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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