A promotional movie for Higurashi When They Cry Mei has been released by Japan-based developer Smileaxe and publisher D-techno. The main website has also been updated and for this round we are introduced to the new characters and a bit of the story. Nothing about the gameplay has been revealed, but we expect that to be addressed sooner than later.

As we have previously reported, series creator Ryukishi07 will be involved in the project as the original plan coordinator, accompanied by script writer Kanou Kiichi, who had worked on the console versions of the Higurashi When They Cry games. The opening theme song will be composed by Shikura Chiyomaru, and sung by Ayane. Sakuraba Motoi is in charge of the game’s battle music.

The franchise has a number of spin offs by this time in its life, although an RPG is a rather interesting choice. At this point we aren’t provided any details on its mechanics, so we are going to have to wait for more information from the developer. From the teaser art, it does appear there will be a new cast, so we are likely to be getting a brand new story, which perhaps the original characters playing a supporting role. Pre-registration for Higurashi When They Cry Mei is still open at the moment