First Silver Case, now 428. Next…Great Ace Attorney?
Only 24 games have ever received a perfect 40/40 from Famitsu magazine, which is the sum of four different reviewers’ scores from 1-10. 428: Shibuya Scramble is one of them. Until now, most thought it would never leave Japan. However, Spike Chunsoft announced at GDC 2017 that it is localizing the highly rated game for a 2018 western release on PC and PS4. It originally released on December 4, 2008 for the Nintendo Wii with later ports to PlayStation 3, PSP, and mobile (all Japan-only).
428 is a mystery themed visual novel that uses live action stills of real actors and locations around Shibuya, Tokyo. The plot summary describes a kidnapping that “brings together a hot-blooded detective, hard-hitting journalist, former gang leader, the head researcher of a big pharma manufacturer and a part-timer stuck in cat costume for a series of events each more unexpected and outrageous than the last. Can they—or the city itself—make it through the day?”
Like with many narrative games, it advertises choice consequence and multiple endings—over 50. “An innocent choice by one character can have disastrous consequences for another. Sometimes the wrong decision can lead to the right outcome, or at least an amusing game over.” This game was so well-received it got both an anime and manga based off its concept, titled Canaan. Even if I’m not a die-hard visual novel fan, one as highly rated as these deserves at least a look.
Legendary Visual Novel 428: Shibuya Scramble Announced for PS4 and PC by Spike Chunsoft [DualShockers]
