The Forest of Drizzling Rain
■ABOUT THIS GAME
First released on “Freem!” October 11, 2013, the exploration horror game The Forest of Drizzling Rain is now coming to Steam with a full remake!
Playing as Shiori Kanzaki, you will get to enjoy her visit to Azakawa Village, right up until you are plunged into a world of fear.
Every aspect of the game, from the story to the visuals, has been updated in this compete remake of the original from nine years ago.
1) More endings to choose from, including bad endings with story lines at every turn, even from very beginning of the game. There are additional late game ending routes and even a special scenario for players who conquer all of the endings.
2) A second chapter has been added in the middle during which you can freely walk around the map of beautiful Azakawa Village. Chat with some of the more colorful villagers, or spend your time fishing in one of the minigames while enjoying this new scenario.
Who knows, maybe Shiori’s accomplishments during the day will have an effect on her nighttime conversations with Suga.
3) Meet new characters with new story lines. There are many completely new additions to the story that never appeared in the manga or novels!
4) Enjoy the same polished finish and delicate attention to detail found in later titles such as Angels of Death, with newly rewritten conversations and events, and a complete remake of the map.
5) the Taking Spirit is a shocking new scenario which paints a deeper picture of the sad truth that has haunted Azakawa Village for the past several hundred years.
And that’s not all. This full remake definitely has plenty to offer.
Even veterans of the original freeware version are likely to find themselves repeatedly diving in to enjoy the refreshing new gameplay.
One unassuming female college student, one tiny village, and one long night filled with incomprehensible fear.
Why don’t you try exploring Azakawa Village, and perhaps you can expose the hidden truth while you’re at it.
■STORY
All alone following the death of her parents, Shiori Kanzaki happens to run across an old photograph in their bedroom. In that photograph, which bears the unfamiliar inscription “Azakawa Village,” is a young Shiori with her parents, along with another man old enough to be her grandfather.
Shiori goes looking for that village and pays a visit to the local museum, where she meets Kotaro Suga. Suga, the museum curator, strongly urges her to leave the village immediately.
When Shiori continues exploring Azakawa Village, a secret truth gradually comes to light. What will her reaction be once all is fully revealed?
■PROFILE
Makoto Sanada
Makoto Sanada is a Japanese video game designer. His debut title, The Forest of Drizzling Rain, drew lots of attention when it was first made available on the Internet in October of 2013. And it continued to grow in popularity as translations appeared from volunteers in countries all around the world. His next game, Angels of Death, released in installments by Game Magazine (formerly NicoNico Game Magazine) starting in August of 2015 and continuing until the following February, saw an anime adaptation and went on to become a big hit. Together, both titles have garnered a wide fan base of all ages with their various multimedia releases including novelizations and comic adaptations.
Crossing the boundaries between entertainment and literature with their sensitive character portrayals and bold plot lines, Makoto’s stories have become hugely popular among fans both young and old.
Game Discussion
Steam User 9
Just like with Ib, Misao, The Strange Men series, Mad Father, and The Witch's House. It's nice to see another RPG horror game to be added in Steam.
The Forest of Drizzling Rain starts with a girl called Shiori Kanzaki who recently lost her parents in an accident. All alone with little to no memories of her childhood and no other family members, Shiori decides to visit Azakawa Village, her family's hometown in hopes to learn more about her parents.
The game initially was released almost 10 years ago and was free. The original itself was already a great game but this remake really is a great remake on many accounts. The graphics are very much improved compared to the first game, not to mention they have decided to extend the story to include the village as part of the story, along with also modifying the plot as well. Overall this made a much nicer and more emotional game compared to the original one.
Horror-wise, it has moments of an unsettling and creepy atmosphere, there are also chase scenes that deviate from 'easy' to needing good reflexes (that last one made me frustrated as hell until I remembered the 'pattern' and how similar it was to the first one).
Story-wise, it was emotional, it was nice seeing how the mystery gradually unwind, it was interesting to see the emotional turmoil of Shiori and how she slowly comes to terms with her flaw and gets better. For me, she was the character I was interested in and wanted to see grow most in the game. Her relationship with the cast as well is another highlight. There are many tense moments in the game as well that we see that adds to the overall plot.
The endings themselves can vary to bittersweet, painful, and horrific depending on what you, which of course makes the Good ending even greater to see.
One Con I have has little to do with the game itself but more to do with the localization. There's a puzzle in the middle of the game that wasn't edited for non-Japanese readers. It's in kanji and if you can't read kanji then it's almost impossible to solve it without using the guides in the Steam community for this game. Not really a good thing.
Overall I do recommend this game. it's a great read.
Steam User 10
10/10 because Suga's in it
Steam User 6
i freaking love straight people
Steam User 4
Chapters 1-2 were pretty chill. So chill that I wondered how this game fell under the RPG horror game genre. But, then I made it to chapter 3, and I understood. The horror. The sorrow.
Steam User 3
This game is just so beautiful. The story and the music really saddened me.
Steam User 2
1. koutarou literally exists
2. the soundtrack is peak
3. this game will you make every single emotion ever
4. after seeing shiori and koutarou interact, you'll covet the care and compassion that they have for each other
5. FISHING MINIGAME, BRO
need i say more
Steam User 1
i really loved this one a lot, easily one of my favorites i played this year. i think it's also best to go in entirely spoiler free, though i will say it's one with multiple endings and aiming for the best one is very much worth it. there's also one puzzle near the end that seems untranslated, so a guide might be necessary at least for that.
so without really detailing anything specific, this is one of the most visually stunning and complete feeling rpg-maker horror games i've played, and one of the best stories i've played in recent times, and if that's right up your alley i really really recommend this one. and while horror is a subjective thing, none of the scares felt cheap or overwhelming, but tense and effective. the story pulled a lot of heartstrings and the cast is really strong. everything i could ever ask for in a game like this.