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Higurashi: When They Cry Smartphone Game Launches on September 3

The official Twitter account for the Higurashi no Naku koro ni Mei smartphone game in the Higurashi: When They Cry franchise revealed on Monday that the game will launch for iOS and Android devices in Japan on Thursday.

The game will feature a completely new story, and Ryukishi07 is credited with cooperation on the original work.

Smileaxe is developing the game, and D-techno is credited with planning. Kiichi Kanou (ToHeart - Remember my memories) is writing the game's script. Motoi Sakuraba (Tales of Zestiria the X, Saiyuki) is composing the game's battle music.

The free-to-play role-playing game will include in-game items for purchase. A pre-registration campaign for the game launched on July 31, and all players will receive in-game rewards based on the number of players who pre-register.

The game's cast includes:

Mayu Sagara as Kazuho Kimiyoshiki

Miyuki Sawashiro as Miyuki Akasaka

Rie Takahashi as Nao Ōtoritani

The new Higurashi: When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) anime project will premiere on October 1. The anime was originally scheduled to premiere in July, but it was delayed due to the effects of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the production schedule. Funimation will stream the anime as it airs in Japan.

The new anime will have a manga adaptation by Tomato Akase that will launch in Kadokawa's Young Ace Up service on October 2.

The first Higurashi: When They Cry television anime series aired for 26 episodes in 2006, and the When They Cry II: Solutions (Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai) anime aired for 24 episodes in 2007. Geneon Entertainment Inc. released the first anime on DVD in 2007-2008. Funimation then released the anime on DVD in 2009 and 2010. Sentai Filmworks most recently released both anime on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in 2016.

07th Expansion launched the first chapter of the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni visual novel software in 2002 at Comiket. The story revolves around murders that coincide with an annual festival in a quiet rural village. Ryukishi07 and 07th Expansion released Higurashi: When They Cry Hou for PC in Japan in 2014 as a "thank you" to series fans (the kanji used for "Hou" is used in the word "hōnō," "dedication").

MangaGamer released the original visual novel in 2009, and has been releasing Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Hou as 14 individual chapters.

The software also inspired several video anime projects, two live-action films, and manga adaptations by several artists. The game most recently inspired a stage play that ran last July.

Sources: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Mei's Twitter account, 4Gamer (Saga-san)