Operation Backlog Completion 2025

Higurashi When They Cry Chapter 3: The Mysteries Deepen

 Reviews, Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 172023
 

Look at that, I actually continued Higurashi without letting another year pass me by again.

So far, each chapter of Higurashi has felt quite different. The first episode was a slow build-up to intense paranoia. The second episode played out like a mystery, with surprises waiting just when it seemed everything was resolved.

That brings us to Higurashi When They Cry – Ch. 3 Tatarigoroshi.

Like the previous episodes, the third entry begins with a slice-of-life section in which everything seems lighthearted and fun. This time, those fun days are cut short by sadness, with an unhappy section of the story that retains the slow pace but sees the main character falling into despair as he’s unable to do anything to help a suffering friend.

The tone felt much more somber than the previous two episodes, and then it took a darker turn in a much different way.

And from there, things start getting strange – adding even more mysteries on top of those from the first two episodes. As I played, I started to develop theories about what was actually going on, only for later developments to throw those theories into confusion again. The ending, especially, left me with more questions than ever.

That’s about all I can say without spoilers.

Click for Higurashi Chapter 3 spoilers
Right now my two major theories that I keep being torn between are “Keiichi is an unreliable narrator with false memories” and “there are parallel timelines and Keiichi jumps between them sometimes,” but neither of those has an explanation for the creepy footstep.

The story Keiichi’s friends tell about him being with them at the festival seem to overlap with what happened in one of the previous chapters, which is why I started to wonder if they could all be running parallel to one another. And the previous chapter, like this one, had people being alive when they were supposed to already be dead; it can’t be all just delusion.

It feels like each chapter carefully builds up to a plausible rational explanation for the curse, only to pull the rug out from under you with an inexplicable incident.

Then there are characters like Ooshi and Takano, who seem to be more sinister in each new episode.

This wasn’t my favorite chapter, because of how long it took for things to really start happening, but the questions raised once they did were worth it.

Higurashi When They Cry – Ch. 3 Tatarigoroshi was sad, disturbing, and confusing all at once, and I’m really curious to see how this will all be wrapped up. Maybe for this October, we’ll actually get through the whole series to see how it plays out!

New Shantae Game Announced at LRG3

 Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with:
Jul 142023
 

While not held during June like the rest of the “Not-E3” events this year, Limited Run Games held its 2023 “LRG3” showcase on Wednesday.

I expected some announcements of previously digital-only games I’d want to pick up physical copies for, and maybe some old classics being resurrected again.

We certainly got that, and even the Clock Tower rumors came to fruition, with an enhanced port of the original SNES game announced with a translation for the first time.

But what I never saw coming was a new Shantae game.

Shantae Advance was originally planned as Shantae 2 for the Game Boy Advance, but the lack of sales for the first game meant the game’s ambition couldn’t be realized, and it was cancelled. Now it’s back – and they aren’t just releasing the incomplete pieces, but finishing the game to release Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution as a new full entry in the Shantae series.

Not only that, but it’s being completed and released as an actual GBA game.

So far it’s unclear if Risky Revolution will be released on modern platforms or if it will be a GBA exclusive. When asked on Twitter, WayForward said they don’t have anything to announce at this time about it coming out on other platforms.

While it seems like a strange decision to release a GBA exclusive in the year 2024, it does contribute to the sense of this old cancelled game being released as it was originally conceived. Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution preorders will open in September, with the game itself being due out in early 2024.

Yo-kai Watch News Teased On Its 10th Anniversary

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 122023
 

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Yo-kai Watch, and Level-5 opened up an anniversary website to celebrate.

There isn’t much of note for those of us outside of Japan, especially since the Switch games were never localized (not even the port of the first game).

What’s much more interesting is a tweet from Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino, in which he talks about the anniversary.

If Google’s translation is accurate, his tweet says the “next work” is progressing even though it isn’t ready to be announced yet. This follows a tease back in February, in which he similarly commented on “the next amazing thing” in the works for Yo-kai Watch.

It’s been a long time since we’ve had any reason to discuss Yo-kai Watch.

For a while, the series seemed like it was poised to become the next big thing. It was huge in Japan and had begun to gain ground in the west. Yo-kai Watch, three different versions of Yo-kai Watch 2 (following the Pokémon model), the first Yo-kai Watch Blasters spin-off (also with two versions), and Yo-kai Watch 3 were all localized.

Then Yo-kai Watch localizations ground to a halt.

We never got Yo-kai Watch 4 or any other spin-offs, despite persistent hope for 4. Back in 2021, the trademark of “Y School Heroes” made fans hopeful that the spin-off Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y was set to be localized, but nothing came of that.

(Then again, in that same blog post where I discussed that trademark, I mentioned that nothing had come of the Baten Kaitos trademark, and the Baten Kaitos remaster was finally announced this year.)

Now we have another chance. With Level-5 already having announced Decapolice, Fantasy Life i, Megaton Musashi: Wired, and Professor Layton and the New World of Steam this year, with a new commitment to worldwide releases, I’m hopeful that the next time a Yo-kai Watch game is announced, we’ll finally get it again in the west.

Back in March when the 3DS eShop was being shut down, I played through the start of Yo-kai Watch 3 to get far enough to download the free DLC before the eShop closed. It was fun, and it made me sad that we never got more Yo-kai Watch. While I still need to play 2 and 3, here’s hoping there is a new Yo-kai Watch game in our future!

 Older Entries  Newer Entries