Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Majo to Suiri no Rinbukyoku

Overview

Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Majo to Suiri no Rinbukyoku ("When the Seagulls Cry: Rondo of a Witch and a Reasoning") is a PS3 port of a sound novel originally made by 07th Expansion. It features the first four episodes of the series with vastly improved sprite graphics compared to its PC counterpart and full voice acting by the cast of the anime. It was developed by Alchemist and was released in Japan on the 16th of December, 2010.

Episodes

Episode 1: Legend of the Golden Witch

Episode 2: Turn of the Golden Witch

Episode 3: Banquet of the Golden Witch

Episode 4: Alliance of the Golden Witch

Gameplay

Like other sound novels, Umineko no Naku Koro ni requires no player interaction to progress the story. Every episode is divided into several chapters and is told entirely through dialogue boxes that the player can advance through by pressing the circle button or have them progress automatically through the in-game narration by pressing the R1 button. After an episode is over, the player gains access to two short epilogues to that episode called "Tea Party" and "????" that lead into the episode that follows.

The game can be paused at any point to be saved or read through supplementary information in the "Tips Mode" that gives the player important information on the story and the characters. As character information, music and art is unlocked in the game, all of these become gradually accessible through the main menu's "Characters", "Music Box" and "Picture Box" selections.

Translation

Although there are no plans to localize the PS3 version of the game outside of Japan, a fan translation project has fully translated all eight episodes of the PC versions of of Umineko no Naku Koro ni. These translation patches are supported by the original writer of the series, Ryukishi07, and are free to download from the site witch-hunt.