Root Film

Last updated
Root Film
RF PS4 cover.jpg
Root Film game cover released in all regions
Developer(s) Kadokawa Games
Publisher(s)
  • JP: Kadokawa Games
  • WW: PQube
Writer(s) Hifumi Kono
Platform(s) Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
Release
  • JP: July 30, 2020
  • WW: March 19, 2021
Genre(s) Visual novel
Mode(s) Single-player

Root Film is an adventure visual novel video game by Kadokawa Games. The game is a spiritual successor to 2016's Root Letter visual novel and the second entry in the Kadokawa Mystery Games series. The game released on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan in July 2020, and on March 19, 2021 in North America and Europe.

Contents

Gameplay

The game plays as a murder mystery visual novel; much of the game is spent reading text to advance the story. [1] When the player is ready to accuse a suspect, a fighting video game-styled segment ensues. [2] Other segments include mini-games where inconsistencies must be fixed and stories put together into a narrative, similar to aspects of the Danganronpa and Ace Attorney series of games. [2]

Story

Similar to its predecessor, Root Letter the game's fictional story takes place in the real-life Shimane Prefecture in Japan. [3] [4] The story follows dual protagonists; Rintaro Yagumo, an aspiring but poor film director, and Riho, an up-and-coming actress who hasn't quite had her breakthrough yet. [5] [1] In the game, a TV series called "Shimane Mystery Drama Project" has been green lit, and both Rintaro and Riho are excited this could be their breakthrough roles. [4] [1] However, a real life murder mysteriously occurs on the set very early on in the process and puts things to a halt, and the two, along with various other crew involved try to find out what happened. [4]

Development

The game is generally considered a sequel [4] or successor [6] [7] to the Root Letter visual novel, grouped together by what is called the Kadokawa Games Mystery series moniker. [8] The two game's stories are unrelated and unconnected, but share thematic similarities, and many voice actors, to give a feeling of a running series. [9] [10] Sequel ideas for Root Letter were being considered as early as late 2016. [11] The game's existence as a formal project was known as early as October 2018, when it was announced under its tentative name Root Letter 2. [12] The game was formally revealed and announced under its official name, Root Film, a year later in October 2019. [1] [13]

The game was originally scheduled for release on April 23, 2020 in Japan, [5] but received a short delay to July 30, 2020. [4] The game was announced for an English localization in September 2020, with an intended Q1 2021 release date, [14] later solidified down to March 19, 2021. A limited edition version of the game was also announced for its Western release, which includes a 100 page art booklet packaged with the physical copy of the game. [14] [4]

Reception

Root Film received an 8/8/8/8 (32/40) rating from Japanese magazine Famitsu . [15] However, the game did not fare well on the Japanese video game charts; the PS4 version debuted at number 30 in the top 30 selling video games of the week, moving 1679 copies, and the Switch version charting somewhere under it. [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>Science Adventure</i> Video game series

Science Adventure is a multimedia series consisting of interconnected science fiction stories, created mainly by Mages, Nitroplus, and Chiyomaru Studio. The main entries mostly take the form of visual novel video games, but side entries span across several different mediums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike Chunsoft</span> Japanese video game development company

Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development and localization company specializing in role-playing video games, visual novels and adventure games. The company was founded in 1984 as Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and merged with Spike in 2012. It is owned by Dwango.

<i>Steins;Gate 0</i> Japanese visual novel game

Steins;Gate 0 is a visual novel video game developed by 5pb. It is part of the Science Adventure series, and is set in the period of the 2009 game Steins;Gate. It was released by 5pb. in Japan for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in December 2015, Microsoft Windows in August 2016, Xbox One in February 2017, and Nintendo Switch in March 2019.

<i>Root Letter</i> 2016 video game

Root Letter, stylized as √Letter, is a 2016 visual novel adventure video game developed and published by Kadokawa Games for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, Android, and iOS. It is the first entry in the Kadokawa Game Mystery brand, and was followed by Root Film in 2020.

In the video game industry during 2019, both Sony and Microsoft announced their intent to reveal their next-generation consoles in 2020, while Nintendo introduced a smaller Nintendo Switch Lite, and Google announced its streaming game platform Stadia. The controversy over loot boxes as a potential gambling route continued into 2019, with some governments like Belgium and the Netherlands banning games with them under their gambling laws, while the United Kingdom acknowledging their current laws prevent enforcing these as if they were games of chance. The first video cards to support real-time ray tracing were put onto the consumer market, including the first set of games that would take advantage of the new technology. The Epic Games Store continued its growth in challenging the largest digital PC game distribution service Steam, leading to concern and debate about Epic Games' methods to seek games for its service. Dota Auto Chess, a community-created mod for Dota 2, introduced a new subgenre of strategy games called auto battlers, which saw several games in the genre released throughout the year. Blizzard Entertainment faced criticism due to their involvement in the Blitzchung controversy, which began after they had banned a Hearthstone player for making comments during a tournament regarding the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.

<i>Steins;Gate Elite</i> Japanese visual novel game

Steins;Gate Elite is a science fiction visual novel and interactive movie video game, part of the Science Adventure series. It was developed by 5pb. for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows and iOS, and was released in September 2018 in Japan and in February 2019 internationally. It is an updated, fully animated remake of the 2009 game Steins;Gate, using footage from the anime adaptation of the original game along with newly produced animation by White Fox.

<i>Yo-kai Watch 4</i> 2019 role-playing video game

Yo-kai Watch 4 is an action role-playing video game developed and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo Switch. As indicated by the name, it is the fourth game of the main series of Yo-kai Watch video games; unlike the preceding Yo-kai Watch 3, 4 was initially released only as a single version in Japan in June 2019. An enhanced version titled Yo-kai Watch 4++ was released for the Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan in December 2019. Its full name is "Yo-kai Watch 4: We're Looking Up At The Same Sky", translated from "妖怪ウォッチ4: ぼくらは同じ空を見上げている".

In the video game industry, 2020 saw the launch of the next generation of video game consoles, with both Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment having released the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles, respectively, in November 2020. The industry was heavily affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which had begun in March and was characterized by COVID-19 lockdowns and remote work. While this caused numerous delays in software and hardware releases and the cancellation of live conferences and events in favor of virtual shows, it also created a boon for the industry as people turned to gaming as a means to pass the time. The industry also reacted to various political/cultural events.

<i>Spirit Hunter: Death Mark</i> 2017 video game

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark is a horror visual novel adventure game developed and published by Experience, and is the first entry in the Spirit Hunter series. It was originally released in June 2017 for PlayStation Vita in Japan, and was later ported to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. The game was published worldwide by Aksys Games in October 2018 for the same platforms except Xbox One, and was additionally released for Microsoft Windows in both English and Japanese in April 2019. It is followed by two sequels: 2018's Spirit Hunter: NG, and the upcoming Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II.

<i>Spirit Hunter: NG</i> 2018 video game

Spirit Hunter: NG, short for No Good, is a 2018 horror visual novel adventure game developed by Experience. It is the second entry in their Spirit Hunter series, following 2017's Spirit Hunter: Death Mark, and is planned to be followed by the in-development Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II. The game was originally released for the PlayStation Vita, and has since been ported to the PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch.

<i>Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II</i> 2022 adventure video game

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is a horror visual novel adventure game developed and published by Experience. It is the third entry in the Spirit Hunter series, following 2017's Spirit Hunter: Death Mark and 2018's Spirit Hunter: NG. The game was released for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on December 1, 2022 in Japan, and is planned to be released by Aksys Games for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Windows in February 15, 2024 worldwide.

<i>Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions</i> 2020 video game

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is an association football sports video game developed by Tamsoft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in August 2020. It is based on the 2018 anime series Captain Tsubasa.

<i>Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y – Waiwai Gakuen Seikatsu</i> 2020 role-playing video game

Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y – Waiwai Gakuen Seikatsu, also known as Y School Heroes: Bustlin' School Life, is a 2020 role-playing game developed and published by Level-5 for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. A spin-off installment in the Yo-kai Watch series, Yo-kai Watch Jam focuses on Jinpei Jiba, a student at the fictitious Y Academy, who investigates mysteries occurring in the academy and surrounding areas. He is also joined by his friends, who are among the playable characters.

<i>Samurai Warriors 5</i> 2021 video game

Samurai Warriors 5, known in Japan as Sengoku Musou 5 (戦国無双5), is a hack and slash game by Koei Tecmo, and a reboot of the Samurai Warriors series, part of the long-running Warriors series of hack and slash games published by Koei Tecmo. Announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation on February 17, 2021, the game was stated to be a "fresh re-imagining" of the franchise, featuring an all-new storyline, revamped character designs, and a new visual presentation. It was released in Japan in June 2021 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, with a worldwide release in July 2021 for those platforms and PC via Steam. A version for Amazon Luna was made available on June 30, 2022.

<i>Gensou SkyDrift</i> 2019 video game

Gensou SkyDrift is a racing Touhou Project fangame developed in 2019 by illuCalab for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch, by a development team who had previously worked on Mario Kart 8. In 2021, it was released for PlayStation 4.

<i>Death End Request</i> 2019 video game

Death End Request is a role-playing video game developed by Compile Heart and published by Idea Factory. It was released for the PlayStation 4 in Japan in April 2018 and worldwide in February 2019, for Windows in May 2019, and for Nintendo Switch in April 2021. A sequel, Death End Request 2, was released in the same regions and platforms across 2021 and 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Root Film announced for PS4, Switch". Gematsu. October 19, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Root Film Is A Murder-Mystery Visual Novel That's Like Ace Attorney, But You Get To Fight People". Nintendo Life. January 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Root Film - Announcement Trailer - IGN". 22 October 2019 – via www.ign.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "'Root Film' PS4/Switch Game's Trailer Reveals March 19 Release in the West". Anime News Network. 19 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Root Film launches April 23, 2020 in Japan". Gematsu. December 24, 2019.
  6. ↑ Simón, Jaime San (October 21, 2019). "Root Film es el sucesor de Root Letter". Eurogamer.es.
  7. ↑ Luster, Joseph (21 October 2019). "Root Letter Successor Root Film to Bring Its Mystery to the West". Crunchyroll.
  8. ↑ S, Matt (15 October 2020). "On following up the magnificent Root Letter".
  9. ↑ "Root Film details Shouko Manabe, Monami Haishima". Gematsu. October 28, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Root Film's Director Discusses Root Letter Connections and Improvements". July 25, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Creator of PS4 visual novel Root Letter talks its inspirations, potential sequels". PlayStation.Blog. November 7, 2016.
  12. ↑ "New Projects Root Letter: Last Answer And Root Letter 2 Announced". August 3, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Root Film, Mystery Adventure Following Root Letter, Announced for PS4, Switch". 20 October 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Root Film English Release Set for Q1 2021". September 4, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1651". Gematsu. July 21, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Famitsu Sales: 7/27/20 – 8/2/20 [Update]". Gematsu. August 6, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Root Film for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  18. ↑ "Root Film for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  19. ↑ "Root Film review | Aces high". Adventure Gamers . 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  20. ↑ "Root Film Review (Switch) | Aces high". Nintendo Life . 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  21. ↑ Hilhorst, Willem (30 August 2021). "Root Film (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "Mini Review: Root Film (PS4) - An Enjoyable, If Standard, Visual Novel | Aces high". Push Square . 30 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.