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The series is focused on a group of young friends and the strange events that occur in the rural village of Hinamizawa, where they reside. The original eight PC releases were released in English by MangaGamer with the first four games on December 15, 2009, followed by the last four being released monthly starting with Meakashi-hen on February 28, 2010.
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In addition to the original series, new story arcs were created in manga form and in video games for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS in order to expand upon the story. A bonus fan disc called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei was released on December 31, 2006. While the first four games carried the overall title Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, the next four games were produced under the title Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. The first game in the series, Onikakushi-hen, was released on August 10, 2002, and the eighth and final game in the original PC series, Matsuribayashi-hen, was released on August 13, 2006. The games are built on the NScripter game engine and are playable on the Windows operating system. After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. When the Cicadas Cry), known simply as When They Cry for the North American release of the anime adaptation, is a Japanese murder mystery dōjin soft sound novel series produced by 07th Expansion. Higurashi When They Cry (ひぐらしのなく頃に Higurashi no Naku Koro ni?, lit.
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