If all that sounds confusing in summary, it’s even more confusing in Umineko, the worst kind of murder mystery where “whodunit” is of almost tertiary concern. For now it’s a battle between Battler (the most obstinate of Kinzo’s grandchildren) and Beatrice herself over whether witches really do exist-or whether some other unknown, human entity-or, worse, a member of the family-is responsible for the murders. One by one, all the residents of the island are killed, until none are left, and then the infamous Ryukishi07 Groundhog Day effect kicks in and Umineko starts in earnest. …until inexplicable murders begin to happen, each following the pattern of the ten “twilights” of the epitaph, with letters strewn about claiming that the murderer is none other than Beatrice, witch of legend. Everyone scoffs at the existence of witches… Family legend has it that whoever solves the riddle encoded in the epitaph will obtain Kinzo’s inheritance, rumored to be ten tons of gold that Beatrice gifted Kinzo with. Beatrice, Kinzo’s alleged former lover and the “witch” who gave him the gold ingots necessary for Kinzo to rebuild the Ushiromiya family fortunes. The bickering quickly drives away their children-Jessica, George, Battler, and Maria respectively-who spend valuable cousin-bonding time playing on the beach and contemplating the mysterious portrait and epitaph dedicated to the Golden Witch Beatrice. Of course, since the Ushiromiya family is fabulously wealthy, this is no ordinary family gathering as the four adult siblings-Krauss, Eva, Rudolf, and Rosa-quickly get to bickering over who will walk away with the larger portion of their father Kinzo’s estate when he dies within six months.
Taking place on Rokkenjima Island, the site of the Ushiromiya family estates, during the annual family conference, eighteen people-servants and family members alike-are locked on the island for two days due to a typhoon. Umineko takes some of its initial narrative trappings almost direct from the setup of Agatha Christie’s classic novel of locked-island murder And Then There Were None. There are connections, of course, but I leave it to the player to discover them for themselves, as, indeed, the player will have to discover a great many things for themselves, most notably what, exactly, is going on. Indeed, most of the main cast of Uminekoare in no way related to the now-familiar denizens of Hinamizawa, and the narrative sequence of Umineko is easily enjoyable bereft of knowledge of Higurashi. When They Cry 3: Umineko no Naku Koro ni (“When the Seagulls Cry”) is not, in the strictest sense, a sequel to the events of the first two When They Cry/Higurashi game/anime series.
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