428: Shibuya Scramble

There's 2-3 minor references to Twin Peaks so that should be a good enough selling point already.

The game is more of a cop drama mystery thriller but basically is every genre of storytelling besides maybe straight up horror. Some scenes get super goofy and some get incredibly dark. The story's pacing is pretty good, owing a lot to the game mechanics and usually deals with characters learning information we know in clever ways but can sometimes drag when you're doing segments on 2-3 people learning the same thing.

This is a very different vibe from usual visual novels and has enough gimmicks that calling it a visual novel feels a bit reductive. It's also a great chance to soak in those mid 2000s Japan vibes (so many women in low-rise jeans and dudes with hair too long in the back). So it's definitely worth a try, especially when it's on sale.

For those who are wondering, the thing I'm not sure is a Twin Peaks reference is the head of a US agency being named Gordon, given the other 2 obvious references, I'd count it but we never learn his last name.

It's like a visual novel, the only down side for me, if had voice acting, as i don't like reading so much.....

A fantastic Visual Novel which you as the reader follow multiple characters' timeline and route (akin to 13 Sentinels) and witness how each of them intertwine with each other in the most uncanny manner. The story also served as the base of the anime Canaan afaik.

This is despite having a couple of drawbacks for me, including the severe lack of fast-forward / skip read lines features, especially when this game encourages you to experiment which requires a lot of back-tracking and having to trudge through old lines can make it really really tedious.

Not having the option to speed up the text speed can be a drag as well.

个人心里的多线叙事之神。

神作

a must-play for all

I picked this up originally bc it was by Spike Chunsoft and it also has Kousei Amano in it and boy oh boy that was the best decision of my life in a long time. Do yourself a favor and buy this game if you love mysteries. Please.

While I've heard many good things about the game, and have no doubt they are true, this port has no text speed options and the glacial pace at which it scrolls makes me want to eat a chocolate gun.

Fun if you're into this sort of thing, though it dragged on a bit too long for my taste. Ultimately though, this game is a love letter to its city (and Aya Kamiki) and it's a sometimes bittersweet reminder as to what adventure VNs (and long form game narratives in general) can look like when produced by people who take pride in themselves, their country, their city, and their way of life, unfettered by the ironic cynicism and self-congratulatory moralizing that substitute for good storytelling in your average Western adventure game/VN in 2025.

Also, this game was originally released in 2008 and localized in 2018 for reasons that escape me, but if you went through your peak weeaboo phase in the 2000s like I did there is a lot of nostalgia to be had in the phones/tech, style, sound, tropes and ads etc, so it's worth a play especially if it's on sale, which it often is.

minorikawa my beloved

Easily one of the greatest visual novels ever made. It's as close to perfect as anything else I've played. The writing seamlessly shifts between being hilarious, thrilling, heartrending, and back to being hilarious. You will laugh, a lot, and then at some point the game will trick you into really caring about the characters.

Gameplay-wise, there are some cool ideas that were very new in 2008; the gameplay is less unique now but it holds up well. The use of photo and video is still very unique, and it works well. The acting and directing is excellent.

You owe it to yourself to play this.

Scrambling in Shibuya

In short

The game

Overview of the Story and Gameplay

The Tech

Miscellaneous

My Opinions

All the fun of B-movie thriller, with healthy doses of humor and wit scattered between cheesy emotional scenes. That, on its own, wouldn't sell this experience, but what makes this phenomenal is how it tells a somewhat non-linear highly intertwined story that wouldn't really be plausible in any other medium. Combined with the absolutely jaw-dropping plot twists at every turn, this game is sure to keep you entertained throughout, whether it's hysterical edge-of-your-seat screeching or hearty laughs.

There are only two significant issues: the inability to fast-forward through the story (even the fastest autoplay is pretty slow) and that sometimes you can get a bit stuck not knowing which timeline choices would progress the story. Paying attention to the details and hints is crucial to keep the game flowing. When you're stuck, looking up a walkthrough can even be a bit difficult because the plot flags are fiddly and interdependent sometimes.

Incredibly engaging story with likable characters. It even felt good to get the bad endings because they were entertaining and gave you hints toward what decisions to make. I got pretty emotional at the end of the story. Looking forward to playing it again to get all the scenarios and endings!

The Canaan bonus story you unlock after the end of the game is is by far the best part of it. It's written by Nasu, the author of Fate, and it really shows.

The main game itself is good, but not great. The live-action element, having real people instead of anime characters, is probably the most interesting thing about it. I admire the difficulty of tying together so many paths into a coherent story, but especially with all the false paths, it can be tricky to follow and navigate. It's also showing its age by missing out on a few QoL features, like free skipping, and the console UI.

Never read FMV Visual novel before, surprisingly good.

I was hoping it was voice acted tho

S+ story with lovable characters. I cant shake the feeling that i know the names of some characters from elsewhere.....

Great story. At first the 'keep out' gameplay mechanic seemed unnecessary, but after a few hours I realized that it's to make sure you advance each character's story at the same pace.

One of the best vn I've ever played, really engaging through and through

428: Shibuya Scramble is an incredible visual novel from start to finish. Everything from the characters to the ending system is unique. The mystery is very well written; the writers took Chekhov's gun to heart. Opening hours had a ton of laugh-out-loud moments, and as I got further into the story, I got way more invested in the character's struggles than I ever imagined. It is a bit pricey, so I would wait for a sale. I highly recommend this game, even to people who are not fond of visual novels; it's that well done.

It's kinda perfect....

As an excellent story teller,428 seized my mind for nearly 20 hours.
Although it's an "old" game which was published in 2008,it's narrative mode which allows us to read 5 characters' story is so charming!
NEVER GET TIRED OF THE STORY!

Absolutely lovely, one of the best games i ever played story-wise, period.

Kind of a pain in the ass to play through without a guide though, and even after finishing the story with a walkthrough - you'd have to do so much to unlock all the content and all that there is to the story(🤘 dumbass ADHD gang rise up 🤘). Luckily, the bonus stories (that are locked behind achieving all the bad endings) can be found on youtube. Imma be honest, I didn't bother, I just watched the stories there.

Also, I wasn't sure i'd like this sorta thing, cuz look, - they're not 2d!

But wow, this truly was a blast.
I was already familiar with a bunch of Spike Chunsoft games, but now i fully trust them to be able to pull off any sort of thing and make it enjoyable and authentic. I fell in love with so many characters and felt genuine involvement throughout the game. Not to mention the tensity and suspense keeping me on the hook for the entire journey. Nah, the games this company makes are timeless classics. The more i play, the more i realise just how ahead of time those mfs were, and they still, to this day, manage to cook up things like AI the somnium files? These guys are in the GOAT conversation for sure, for me personally, at least.

Minorikawa best man. Still can't fully recommend it tho.

That said I can understand why this game has a cult following being kinda like a "24", Japan Edition. It has a unique style in the VN space as instead of drawn characters, real actors are used.
The parallel story lines are a cool idea, but also with the constant jumping around it gets kinda hard to follow. The non-sense some characters get up and ranty side notes are charming but do not really help. The fact that there is no fast forward for sections you already read does not make it easier either, tho at least the bookmarks are generously set and the timeline updates whenever the actions actually had an impact.

If you consider buying it, maybe watch the first 1-2 hour slots on youtube so you know what you are getting yourself into.

Tensions boil over as a sinister scheme develops in downtown Tokyo, every decision carries it own weighty consequence. I’d like to continue the detective’s hard-boiled storyline of trailing a kidnapping suspect and the scientist’s technology-tinged storyline concerning the search for his missing daughter, but I can’t advance the plot until I figure out how to get this girl out of her mascot costume. You see, she is dressed as a cartoon cat, the costume's zipper is stuck and no one can figure out how to release it.

Welcome, folks, to the zaniness that is 428: Shibuya Scramble.

At the time of its original release on the Nintendo Wii in 2008, 428: Shibuya Scramble (hence 428) was one of only nine games that earned Famitsu’s hallowed (and since controversially tainted) 40/40 rating. After playing it's easy to see why. Story-wise, it's a serious crime drama interspersed with loads of wacky Japanese humor. Game-wise, it's a visual novel that proudly wears its eccentricities on its sleeve. The quirky vibe is reminiscent of another personal fave, Deadly Premonition, only more focused and self-aware, and with zero clumsy controls. The visual novel genre may be a non-starter for those who demand actual gameplay in their video games, but if you're up to the task, then 428 is not to be missed.

Spoiler-free plot summary: 428 unravels the story of several protagonists within the course of a single day as a kidnap/ransom situation is unfolding. It’s your responsibility to follow through with their actions and reactions via text-based decisions, charting a course that will eventually further the plot. Some paths end in the same result no matter which option you select, other decisions have dire consequences, while others prompt you to "jump" into a different character’s storyline and take actions that will alter the course of history. It’s a unique form of intertwining narrative that I can't say I've seen before.

If you appreciated the Twin Peaks-inspired delirium of Deadly Premonition (there are references to both here), you’re going to find a lot to love. You’ll meet characters that you will never ever forget, like the persistent detective who hands out bananas at the most inopportune of times, or the impassioned snake oil salesman with the hyperactive personality who spends half of his time shouting, the other half crying. Instead of shoehorning the story into a remote area of the Pacific Northwest that they are only vaguely familiar with (although you could argue that decision made Deadly Premonition even weirder), Spike Chunsoft set their focus directly on the center of one of Tokyo's more familiar and populated areas. This choice of locale lends the serious part of the story more credibility, and the humor is intentional instead of unfortunate.

The game's first chapter kicks off with a frantic tempo, leading you down the path of a tense hostage situation. But just when I started thinking that the game would end up being a one-dimensional detective puzzler, the plot developed in ways that I never saw coming. Story lines converge in unexpected and satisfying ways, revealing the characters as more than simple chess pieces in an elaborate criminal plot. Like reading a fantastic novel, I found myself anxious to turn the page and uncover what was going to happen next.

It's amazing how quickly technology advances and everyday routines become ancient history. 428 was originally released in 2008, which means flip phones, Tamagotchi jokes, and plenty of Ace Attorney-style FINGER POINTING~!! And then there's Achi, who looks like he's on his way home from a Pearl Jam concert. Years later, the 428 experience is a stroll down memory lane for those of us who grew up with VHS rentals and portable CD players. This is not a bad thing, just an observation. As an older gamer, it's interesting to see cultural touchstones pass from zeitgeist into nostalgia. Fortunately the game itself isn't entirely retro; the visuals have been brought into the modern era and the HD upgrade looks just fine.

Special mention has to go to the English localization team, who have done a great job of translating this text-heavy gaming experience. Amazingly, it never feels as though you've lost a reference or missed a joke. The story is told almost exclusively through text and photos and without voice-overs, so a shoddy translation would have made the difference between a great game and an awkward one. The audio design is equally superb. The soundtrack is perfectly tailored to the various story currents, and there are plenty of vintage beeps and ringtones. Just be sure to keep the volume down unless you want everyone in the house thinking you've reactivated your Motorola RAZR.

I'm dumbfounded how 428: Shibuya Scramble spent a year in my backlog without me even touching it, but I'm glad I finally took the leap. This game accomplishes a difficult task; it makes the Japanese visual novel palatable—even compelling—for Western gamers. The genre has always enjoyed a large following in its native homeland, but to see it make its way Stateside in relatively unfiltered form is rather astonishing. Instead of paving over the cracks and taking itself too seriously, 428 boldly embraces its '90s FMV (anyone remember Night Trap?) and live-action gaming roots to deliver an unforgettable experience. If you’ve ever been okay with sitting in front of your TV or PC and flexing your gumshoe skills by delving into hours of text, I cannot recommend this game enough. - BW

NOTE: This review was originally based on the PS4 version of the game.

Takes a while to get going, but once most of the comedic stuff is out of the way it's a damn good thriller.
The controls are quite clunky and slow - even when you know what to do, going back and changing choices is quite a slow process.

Great concept, fantastic execution. Story is bizarre yet mostly consistent. Actors are great. Love oozes from every pore of this, or something. Play it or read it or whatever. There are a couple plot issues, but I can't mention them without spoiling.

428: Shibuya Scramble is a nice visual novel experience. It's wild, but not insane like other Spike Chunsoft titles (like Danganronpa and AI:The Somnium Files). Let's explore the ups and downs of the game (+, +/-, -, ?):

+ The story is fun and well-written. I was really into the mystery and it kept me hooked until the end*. I like how it's quite goofy at first, but evolves into a serious story.
+ Twin Peaks definitely influenced the makers. Like, Kajiwara's whole character (the bananas still keep me awake at night) and a certain character name...
+ These characters are great! At first, some of them feel really boring (especially Achi and Kenji), but as the story progresses, you end up (kinda) liking them all. Tama ended up being my favorite, but Minorikawa's insanity was priceless too.
+ The OST is fantastic. I need to give it a good listen to later. Wish there was a track name display like in Danganronpa.
+ I like how the pictures are imperfect. It really adds realism to the story. The same goes for the handful of FMVs you get to witness.
+ For a seemingly simple effort, 428 is super well-done as a whole, especially when considering the game originally came out in 2008!
+/-* The ending was...fine. I feel like there should've been more. It kinda ends too fast.
+/- The blue words sometimes provide good information, but usually, they are pretty much nothing.
+/- The gameplay is simple and I know it's a VN, but it doesn't really feel like a game when the only thing you do is make choices...
- ...and JUMP. I hate jumping from timeline to timeline. I'm pretty sure the idea was to make the gameplay more complex, but this addition makes the game feel even more limited.
- No fast-forward. If you make a wrong choice, you must watch all the dialogue again. Pain!
- It's possible to see events that shouldn't be possible, confusing the player.
- There are bugs every now and then. I tried to go for the True Ending , but it wouldn't trigger. I did everything in my power, but I'm forever locked out until I replay the game. Thank god we have YouTube.
- I find myself thinking that this should just be a film instead of a game. You could do so much more with what you have here.
? There's a really, really great bit of extra that most players probably don't see with Suzune . If you don't know what I'm referring to, find it online.
? Where did Yanagishita suddenly vanish? And Chririko?
? This game cries for sequel. Please, give me one or two more...

428: Shibuya Scramble is an interesting experience. It allows the player to experience a great story with minimal interaction. But, it's not always fun to play the game. This game is probably the only game I think would be better as a film. Still, if you like good VNs, get this game! And maybe something to drink too while you're playing! 8/10.

74

Wonderfully unique visual novel.

This game surprised me. It sat on my wishlist for a while, then I grabbed it and it sat on my backlog for a while, and even for the first hour or so, I was not particularly engrossed by the game or the characters. Once things started moving though, I found myself getting really drawn into the story and characters. It has a lot of twists and turns, some obvious, some not so much, but by the end I really enjoyed the story, I thought it was, despite the setting, an actually pretty wholesome message and I got emotional at times near the end, especially for Osawa and Mino's stories. The parallel stories and influences on each other was a really interesting twist on the visual novel format, and this might be one of the best VN's I've played in the last few years.

If I have any gripe, it's that you can't change the text speed, and especially when replaying sections you've seen before, there needs to be a way to dramatically increase the text scrolling speed to avoid some tedium.

Great game.
Both writing, and the presentation excels, even if it looks a bit jarring at first. The game also balances serious and comedic tones very well, similarly to the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series.
Only gripe with it is the bad ending hunting (optional) at the end, and no settings for text-speed.

I'm not a massive Visual Novel fan but I do love Ace Attorney and Danganrompa. Shibuya Scramble has less interaction than both of those games. My biggest issues with this game is that I just find it boring. The story has too much pointless fluff in it and the humour doesn't do it for me. The entire gameplay revolves around you reading a bunch of characters stories and occasionally making a decision for them. If you make the wrong decision, you won't be able to proceed with the game so you just go back and choose a different decision. If you like visual novels and like Japanese humour you'll probably love this but if you're expecting there to be gameplay on the level of a Danganrompa or an Ace Attorney then don't bother. You're not really thinking about how to solve a case you're just deciding what a bunch of characters should do occasionally and these decisions are boring "should this character get into a taxi?". While the game has some charming characters (Nasubi) a lot of them look like they were hired from Craigslist. The costume design is for the most part awful too, looking extremely cheap and just out of place. Ultimately, I would not personally recommend this game.

incredible experience but kinda stinks itself in the last act, get it if its like 30 bucks or something

*POINTS FINGER AGGRESSIVELY* You're doing yourself a disservice not picking this up! Hilarious! Intriguing! Unexpected! The wildest ride of your life doesn't even begin to describe it! So please, VN fan or not, pick this up before 8pm tonight.

When mind wiping technology exists, I'd use it to wipe my mind of my play throughs of this masterpiece and re-experience it for the first time all over and over again.