Root Letter
| Root Letter | |
|---|---|
 Japanese cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Kadokawa Games |
| Publisher(s) |
‹See Tfd›
‹See Tfd› |
| Artist(s) | Mino Taro |
| Writer(s) | Dario Fuji |
| Composer(s) | Takashi Nitta |
| Platform(s) |
PlayStation 4 PlayStation Vita |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Visual novel, adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Root Letter (stylized √Letter[1]) is a visual novel adventure video game that is developed and published by Kadokawa Games as the first title in their Kadokawa Game Mystery brand. It was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita video game consoles in Japan in June 2016 and on October 2016 in Europe, and is planned to be released later in 2016 in North America.
Gameplay
The game plays as a visual novel adventure game.[2] In the game, the player must figure out what happened to the character of Aya, a girl who mysteriously vanished after receiving a particular letter.[3] The gameplay will be split into two distinct parts; the adventure part, where the player interrogates characters who knew Aya in order to find more information about her, and the simulation parts, where the player relives and plays through prior interactions with Aya.[3]
Story
Root Letter is set in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, where the protagonist arrives in search of Fumino Aya, a pen pal friend from high school who had disappeared for 15 years.[2] After he finds a letter dedicated to him from her that was never sent, he sets out to interrogate her classmates as he wonders if everything Aya had told him had been a lie.[4] The game contains multiple endings based on the player's choices throughout the game.[2]
Development and release
The game was first announced in November 2015, with a worldwide release sometime in the first half 2016.[4] A Chinese release is planned as well.[5] Its announcement occurred at the same time and event as God Wars: Beyond Time.[6] The game was introduced as the first title in a new line of adventure video games by Kadokawa Games, the Kadokawa Game Mystery series.[1] Each entry in the series are planned to contain the same "fictional actresses" playing different roles across different titles.[7] Key staff from Konami's LovePlus series of dating sim games will contribute to the game, including character designs from Mino Taro, and producer Akari Uchida.[7]
Root Letter was released for the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Vita by Kadokawa Games on June 16, 2016 in Japan, and is planned to be released by PQube in 2016 in North America and Europe.[8]
Reception
During its opening week in Japan, 8,907 copies were sold, of which 4,855 were of the PlayStation Vita version, and 4,052 of the PlayStation 4 version. The two versions were, respectively, the eleventh and fourteenth best selling games of that week in Japan.[9]
References
- 1 2 "Kadokawa Games Announces Mystery Adventure Game Root Letter For PS4 And Vita". Siliconera.
- 1 2 3 "Root Letter Debut Trailer - Visual Novel Mystery - Rice Digital". Rice Digital.
- 1 2 "Root Letter introduces actress AYA, game system". Gematsu.
- 1 2 "Kadokawa Games announces Root Letter for PS4, PS Vita". Gematsu.
- ↑ "Yuko Minaguchi, Kikuko Inoue Join Cast of Root Letter PS4/PS Vita Game". Anime News Network. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ↑ "Kadokawa anuncia God Wars e Root Letter para PS4 e Vita". Eurogamer.pt. 10 November 2015.
- 1 2 "Root Letter PS4/PS Vita Adventure Game's English-Subtitled Aya Video Streamed". Anime News Network. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ↑ "PQube to publish Root Letter in the west - Gematsu". Gematsu. 13 June 2016.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (2016-06-22). "Media Create Sales: 6/13/16 – 6/19/16". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2016-06-22. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- "Root Letter". The Visual Novel Database.