Review of Umineko no Naku Koro ni

Subject	Umineko no Naku Koro ni Umineko When They Cry: The Symphony of Catbox and Dreams
By	Helpfulness: 2 Vote: 7okimbluecat on 2022-07-07
Review	My final score is a combined score for episodes 1-8. I think the insanity that this game delivers really pays off (for the most part), but you should also erase any prior conceived notions you had about Umineko being a murder mystery before reading. When I first started reading I knew nothing about Umineko, and I found myself losing interest. Once I put myself in the mindset that this is a fantasy novel I started to enjoy it a lot more. The voice acting and music are the two major saving graces for this VN, otherwise I think a lot of the charm is lost. The characters are pretty good, I like seeing all of the different sides of them, bad and good. Story is pretty "alright," I think Ryukishi07 latched onto one theme too hard and became overly preachy in the end though. I'm gonna miss Erika.
	2 points

#1 by plisken 2022-07-08 at 06:32	< report >He swerved waaaaaaaaaaay too hard into meta-fiction by the end. Honestly Umineko was a waste of 100 hours, and it pissed me off. I've said this elsewhere, but I really don't get why this is so loved. I'd rate it a 4 at best.Last modified on 2022-07-08 at 06:33
#2 by dostedt⭐ 2022-07-08 at 07:03	< report >#1 Chiru made Umineko swerve off a cliff and erupt into a fiery wreck. I agree with you on that. I walked away from Umineko with a dissatisfied feeling and that I wasted my time as well. However, I would argue that the first few chapters were really well done. Frankly, if the beginning episodes were of the same "quality" as the last ones, people would not praise this as much.Last modified on 2022-07-08 at 07:03
#3 by okimbluecat 2022-07-08 at 14:20	< report >@plisken I don't think Umineko was a total waste of time, it was mostly the last two episodes that were pretty bad imo. For me, the VA work and music carried this game pretty hard too, so that's partially why I decided to still score it higher than a 5. Another reason I gave it a semi-high score is because I liked the absurd characters, even if the story was wack, the characters were very entertaining to me.Last modified on 2022-07-08 at 14:22
#4 by plisken 2022-07-09 at 18:23	< report >#3 The thing is that every story must have an end, and the story is only worth telling and reading if they stick the landing. Umineko did not. Yes, there were moments of brilliance, especially in the first half, but they were completely ruined by the last two chapters, as you pointed out. Other examples of good stories ruined by terrible endings would be Game of Thrones, and Ozark. Brilliant storytelling for a time, absolute dumpster fire endings.Last modified on 2022-07-09 at 18:56