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Miotsukushi FAQ

Why are there three different Miotsukushi arcs?

There are two completely different arcs, and one of those arcs has two different versions of it.

Miotsukushi was an original arc created for the PS2 release of Higurashi that serves as an alternate ending for the entire series. When the game was ported to the Nintendo DS some small but significant changes were made to the story, and a full-arc length segment was inserted into the middle to serve as the conclusion for the new console arc stories. When it was later ported to the PS3 the segment in the middle was pulled out and placed in a separate arc called Miotsukushi Ura, and the rest was called Omote. So Miotsukushi Omote is the same arc as Mio PS2, but with those additional changes made in the DS version.

Some of those story changes are controversial, which is why the mod allows you to play the PS2 or PS3 version.

What order do I read these arcs in?

The PS3 version allows you to read Omote and Ura in either order. Reading Ura first might make for a slightly better experience, but the difference is minor so the choice is up to you. If you actually want to be consistent with the DS version, read Omote until the end of day 10, then read Ura, then the rest of Omote.

If you're not interested in the side stories with the new characters, you can simply read Mio PS2 or Omote without reading Ura.

What are the differences between Miotsukushi PS2 and Omote

Note: The list below contains spoilers. Don't read on unless you're cool with that.

This list only includes the noteworthy differences. There are also some minor tweaks to wording throughout the arc

  • PS3 version redubs some of Rika's lines to make her use her deep voice significantly less often
  • PS3 version redubs some of Satoko's lines to make her speak in gozaimasu form slightly less often
  • The voice periodically talking to people throughout the arc is Hanyuu on PS2 and Rika on PS3. The redacted text is displayed differently, too.
  • When everyone is joking about Keiichi and Mion's baby, on PS3 Rena chimes in saying that sounds weird.
  • Keiichi gets a cider for himself and a grape juice for Rika, but on PS3 Rika asks to have the cider instead.
  • Shion tells Kasai to eat his parfait, because he might die before he has another opportunity. This was cut on PS3.
  • After the meeting with Rena, Keiichi hears Hanyuu apologizing on PS2, but on PS3 he has a vision of Onikakushi
  • Text about the medication Rena was taking is slightly tweaked on PS3 to mesh with the console arcs
  • On PS2 Rena has a short flashback to the dream she had near the end of Tsukiotoshi
  • The Keiichi/Mion card game duel has different dialog. On PS2 he draws the joker, but on PS3 he draws the ace of spades. This was changed because the club plays Old Bachelor, which doesn't use jokers.
  • On day 15, the scene is completely different when Ooishi and Akasaka first meet at the police station. On PS2 this scene matches a scene from Matsuribayashi, but on PS3 Akasaka brings Miyuki and Yukie along.
  • The nameless forensics guy, Ootaka, and Skylark 13 all have different voice actors on PS2.
  • On day 17 at the clinic, Akasaka tells a different story about why he's there. On PS2 there's an extra scene from Matsuribayashi where a case he's working has ties to the Irie Clinic. On PS3 there's a longer flashback to Himatsubushi about how Rika's predictions saved his wife.
  • On day 18 the festival plays out differently. On PS2 Natsumi plays games with everyone. On PS3 Akasaka shows up with his family, so Natsumi leaves early and Miyuki plays with everyone
  • The scene with Tomitake running from the Mountain Dogs is moved to later in the chapter on PS3, but the content is largely the same
  • On PS2, Keiichi and Rika find Hanyuu down by the river, and this leads into the Kotohogushi flashback. On PS3 Rika freaks out after noticing something in her reflection, and this ends with Rika falling into the swamp.
  • Day 19 in class Keiichi thinks back on last night. On PS2 he remembers bringing Hanyuu back to Rika's house, but on PS3 he remembers being surprised to find Rika at her house.
  • When Akasaka is talking about Takano's autopsy report, on PS2 he got the info from neighboring prefectural police, but on PS3 he got it from Tomoe.
  • Irie's gunshot wound was bad enough to required stitches on PS2, but they made it less severe on PS3.
  • On day 21, on PS3 Ooishi decides to help out after hearing about what Tomoe did in Miotsukushi Ura. On PS2 he decides after smoking a whole pack of cigarettes
  • After the meeting with Kumagai and forensics dude, on PS2 Ooishi has a scene at the graveyard with Akane. This is the same scene from Matsuribayashi, except Kasai is there instead of Shion. The scene was completely removed on PS3
  • The situation report between Okonogi and Takano is different because on PS3 they think Rika fell into the swamp, but that didn't happen on PS2
  • On day 22, during Ooishi's confrontation at the police station, on PS2 Akane shows up to help like she does in Matsuribayashi, but on PS3 it's a different scene where Tomoe is the one to help
  • The conversation between Akasaka and Ooishi talks about Nomura on PS2, but was changed to reflect the end of Ura on PS3
  • On day 24, on PS3 Takano gives a slightly longer speech in front of the shrine acknowledging that she's being used
  • When time is frozen, on PS2 Hanyuu appears to encourage Keiichi, but on PS3 Rika does this
  • On day 25, on PS2 Keiichi dodges bullets until one bounces and hits a Mountain Dog's tear gas grenade. On PS3 her gun misfires so he attacks her, and Satoko takes advantage of the opening to steal and use a flash grenade
  • On PS2 Hanyuu appears before Takano to taunt her, but on PS3 it's red eyed Rika
  • While fleeing, on PS2 Rika wishes Hanyuu were here, but on PS3 she wants to find the real Rika and apologize to her
  • Okonogi's offhanded reference to Vietnam is censored on PS3
  • Skylark 13 has no sprites on PS2 and his voice actor is different. The barrel effect is only on PS3
  • The PS3 version added a lot of new music so the mod music matches the PS3 version, expect for two specific places. During the mountain siege, the vocal version of Complex Image plays on PS2, while the instrumental version plays on PS3. During the final battle the vocal version of Escape plays on PS2, while instrumental Tada Nagaruru Mama ni plays on PS3
  • The spooky voice on the radio is Rika(Hanyuu) on PS3 but just plain Hanyuu on PS2
  • On PS2 Hanyuu appears before Rika to explain where she's been the whole time, but on PS3 Rika Hanyuu heads to the saiguden to find actual Rika and get her body back, and learn what actually happened at the swamp
  • On PS2 Rika mentions she once hated Takano enough to want to kill her. She is less murdery on PS3
  • Dialog between Rika and Hanyuu is different in the final battle. On PS2 Rika notices Hanyuu is struggling to keep up, but on PS3 Rika is more focused on pushing herself
  • Dialog with Hanyuu at the end is altered to accomodate the earlier changes in the arc involving Hanyuu
  • The credits are different. On PS2 the credits are twice as long and show significantly more CGs, while on PS3 it only shows the sketch style pictures