07th Expansion revealed the opening animation sequence ofCiconia When They Cry, the next installment in theWhen They Cryseries. Like with every visual novel, every doujin game, and every low budget Japanese game ever, it’s made up of no real animation besides sliding portraits of the various characters. However, the song sung byMaria Sawadaand overall rhythm makes it unbelievably cool if you’re used to such opening animation sequences.
When They Cryauthor Ryukishi 07th already confirmedCiconiais completely different than his works so far. UnlikeHigurashiandUmineko, the previous installments of theWhen They CrySeries,Ciconiamost notably has a much bigger focus on sci-fi rather than horror. It doesn’t take place in a confined space, and it doesn’t take place in the eighties either.Ciconiais set in a post World War 3 universe, whose nuclear winter was avoided thanks to a new technology called the Gauntlet, which allows its wielder to fly like a fighter jet, deploy a battleship’s firing power, and repel attacks like a tank.
The protagonists ofCiconiaare a group of Gauntlet Knights trying to prevent World War 4, a hard task when they’re treated like pawns in the international games played by those pulling the strings. The story depicts whether these characters will end up killing each other or not and if they can prevent the tragedy of war despite being mere pawns.
Despite its differences,Ciconiawill definitely be linked toHigurashiandUmineko, as the opening sequence reveals lookalike characters to Miyo Takano, Jiro Tomitake, and Tetsuro Okonogi fromHigurashi. It is far from the first time Ryukishi 07th reuses certain characters fromHigurashiin other works, and if you know the story elements introduced inUmineko, it’s definitely not the last time either. Even works unlinked storywise to theWhen They Cryseries, such asRose Guns Days, also include lookalike characters as Ryukishi 07th once explained he likes to reuse characters without story reasons, as if they’re actors playing a role.
It’s also worth notingCiconia’s opening animation was revealed by 07th Expansion right when Japanese clocks hit July 15th midnight. July 15th is the birthday ofUmineko’s protagonist Battler Ushiromiya, so fans like myself are expecting him to be making an appearance too.
Ciconia When They Cry, orCiconia ga Naku Koro ni,to cite its Japanese name, was fully revealed inNovember 2018 with a first trailer.Ciconiawas supposed to release next Comiket, C96, in August, but was delayed to late September. When announcing the delay,Ryukishi 07th shared new comments aboutCiconiaon Twitterand explained that 07th Expansion needs a bit more time to complete the game.
Ciconia When They Crywill release on PC in Japan this September and will simultaneously receive an English release by MangaGamer.Ciconia’s English localization is handled by The Witch Hunt, the same group which translated theUminekogames in the past.
