Kirigiri Sou

Kirigiri Souis avisual novelgame developed bySpike ChunsoftforMicrosoft Windows. The game is the second spin-off of theDanganronpaseries of visual novel games followingDanganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, set between the events of theDanganronpa Kirigirilight novelseries andDanganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, while also serving as acrossoversequel to the 1992ChunsoftgameOtogirisō. The game was released in Japan onWindowsandOS Xon November 25, 2016, bundled with the thirdBlu-raybox setofanimeseriesDanganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School. It was well-received by critics, who enjoyed its visuals and storyline.
Kirigiri Souis avisual novelin which the player controls Kouhei Matsudaira andKyoko Kirigirifrom theadventure gamesOtogirisōandDanganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, where the player aims to investigate a seemingly abandoned mansion in the woods;unlike the original game, which uses 2D cutouts for characters,Kirigiri Sousolely uses background slides accompanied by character sound files.The player character is provided choices as to potential decisions they can make, which appear as arrows; if the player makes enough decisions along different arrows, they can change the main storyline of the game, leading to completely different narratives and endings.The game takes around two to three hours to play through along every route,with a total of eight possible endings along three main narratives.
Kyoko Kirigiri(霧切 響子,Kirigiri Kyoko)– The Ultimate Detective of Hope's Peak Academy, who investigates a series of disappearances at a mysteriousmansionafter being hired to do so.
Kouhei Matsudaira(松平公平,Matsudaira Kouhei)– Theplayer characterand "NormalFreshman", who assists Kyoko in her investigations after almost hitting her with his car.
Kyoka Kirigiri(霧切 キョウカ,Kirigiri Kyoka)– A mysterioushybriddoppelgängerof Kyoko, made from herDNAand spliced with aunicellular organismwhose DNA was half-animal and half-plant. In the non-canonExtraterrestrials vs. Earth Plants Against Invaders Defense Forcechapter, Kyoka is analiencommander; in theshared dreamscape-setExtra Scenariochapter, Kyoka is depicted as the twin sister of Kyoko, who has becomeaddicted today tradingvirtual currencyover the internet.
Santa Shikiba(しきば さんた,Shikiba Santa)– The UltimateBotanistof Hope's Peak Academy, who is implied to have created Kyoka in the canon route. In the non-canonExtraterrestrials vs. Earth Plants Against Invaders Defense Forcechapter, he takes on a more prominent role in the fight against the Rhinogradentia, developing a romantic relationship with Kyoka; in the shared dreamscape-setExtra Scenariochapter, he briefly appears as the owner of the mansion, providing MatsudairaCPRwhile he dreams of kissing Kyoko, briefly awakening him from his coma.
Rhinogradentia(鼻行類,Gradentia Rhino)– Thehybridplant "siblings" of Kyoka created by Santa, depicted in the non-canonExtraterrestrials vs. Earth Plants Against Invaders Defense Forcechapter as analienforce of plant hybrids known as the "Super Galaxy Level Invaders", with their role in the canonThe Plant Girlnarrative being replaced with a series of unnamed plant-human hybrids whom Kyoka lures humans to so that they may kill and eat them for sustenance, keeping them alive. In the shared dreamscape-setExtra Scenariochapter, Matsudaira sees a single Rhinogradentia alongside Hiro Hagakure while passing by afireplace.
Yasuhiro"Hiro"Hagakure(葉隠 康比呂,Hagakure Yasuhiro)– The Ultimate Clairvoyant of Hope's Peak Academy, whom Matsudaira briefly encounters by a fireplace in a shared dreamscape in theExtra Scenariochapter.
Kirigiri Souhas three main narratives based on the decisions of theplayer character; thecanonnarrative chapter,The Plant Girl, depicts normalfreshmanKouhei Matsudaira assisting Ultimate DetectiveKyoko Kirigiriafter she is contacted to investigate her apparentdoppelgängerat a mysterious mansion. The non-canon narrative chaptersExtraterrestrials vs. Earth Plants Against Invaders Defense ForceandExtra Scenarioare respectively depicted in the canon narrative as dreams being had by Kouhei Matsudaira after almost crashing his car during the beginning and ending scenes ofThe Plant GirlandExtra Scenario, with the scenes ofExtra Scenariodepicting Matsudaira as awake being set an unspecified amount of time after the events ofThe Plant Girl.
Kirigiri Souwas announced and shown in the October 2016 issue ofFamitsubySpike Chunsoft, as a "sound"visual novelfor personal computer systemsWindowsandOS X.The game was developedDanganronpa Kirigiriauthor Takekuni Kitayama on request ofSpike Chunsoft,and was their first video game project. According to Kitayama, he was inspired to create the game byChunsoft's previous titleOtogirisō, ultimately acquiring permission to have the game serve as acrossoversequel to the title in addition to featuringDanganronpaelements and previously unused characters, writing the game's scenario in the style of aChoose Your Own Adventuregamebook.
The game was released onMicrosoft WindowsandOS Xon November 25, 2016, in Japan and China; it was made available bundled with the thirdBlu-raybox setofanimeseriesDanganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, with no individual release announced for players who do not purchase the anime.
FamitsuandYahoo! Japanwas positive towards the game, describing it as a "legendary sound novel" and hoped that it would lead to more full-scale horror suspenseDanganronpagames in future.Daily Headlinespraised the game's narrative and gameplay differences compared to the "high-speed reasoning" of the mainDanganronpaseries, also comparing it toOtogirisō.IGN Chinamarked the series amongst their "Top 100" visual novels of 2016.Natalie,Dengeki Onlineand Aki Otsuki at4Gamer.netrecommended the game, describing it as horrifying.