PQube, the Western publisher for Japanese games like Steins;Gate and Gal☆Gun: Double Peace, announced it will publish Kadokawa Games’ visual novel Root Letter (stylized as √Letter) for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2016.
Root Letter is the first in the new “Kadokawa Game Mystery” series of visual novels featuring “exceptionally high production values” and has racked up over 50,000 pre-orders in Japan and other Asian territories.
Character designs in Root Letter are produced by Mino Taro, who left Konami last March and is most famous for being the character designer of Love Plus. Meanwhile, Dario Fuji is responsible for the game’s scenario and composer Takashi Nitta behind the music.
Here’s the official story setup from the press release:
Set in Shimane prefecture – a place rich in history, culture and natural beauty – √Letter revolves around the mystery of Fumino Aya, your old high school pen friend who went missing 15 years ago.
On receiving her final letter 15 years late, in which she confesses to a murder, it’s up to you, the player, to unravel the mystery of what happened to her.
Reminiscing through previous letters from Fumino Aya, you must piece together the truth, alongside the testimonies from seven witnesses who knew her. Did she really murder someone, was she telling the truth in her letters – was she even real?
Travel from location to location in Shimane prefecture and interrogate people from her past – only by examining her letters can you unravel the mystery.
Launching later this Thursday, June 16 in Japan, Root Letter looks like an intriguing murder mystery visual novel I’m looking forward to solving. It’s awesome to see more visual novels make their way to the English-speaking world thanks to companies like PQube.
Check out the Root Letter developer diary and more English-subtitled trailers below and let us know what you think in the comments!
"Creator’s Voice" developer diary:
English-subtitled trailers: