Machi (video game)
Encyclopedia
Machi (translated from Japanese
as "city or "town" or "street") is a visual novel
adventure game
developed and published by Chunsoft
and released exclusively in Japan
for the Sega Saturn
in 1998
and then for the Sony PlayStation
in 1999
. This game was remade for the PlayStation Portable
as Machi: Unmei no Kousaten (Town: Intersection of Fate) and was released on July 30, 2006.
Focusing mostly on storytelling, the game is described by its creators as a "sound novel" that focuses on eight protagonists and their adventures and conflicts in the major metropolitan area of Shibuya
. Depending on what decisions the player makes during the course of the game, several different endings
, both good and bad, can be reached.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
as "city or "town" or "street") is a visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
developed and published by Chunsoft
Chunsoft
is a Japanese video game developer specializing in console RPGs and visual novels. It was founded by Koichi Nakamura, a video game designer from Enix...
and released exclusively in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
in 1998
1998 in video gaming
-Events:*Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards...
and then for the Sony PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
in 1999
1999 in video gaming
-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...
. This game was remade for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
as Machi: Unmei no Kousaten (Town: Intersection of Fate) and was released on July 30, 2006.
Focusing mostly on storytelling, the game is described by its creators as a "sound novel" that focuses on eight protagonists and their adventures and conflicts in the major metropolitan area of Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
. Depending on what decisions the player makes during the course of the game, several different endings
Multiple endings
Multiple endings refer to a case in entertainment where the story could end in different ways, described as an alternate ending.-Literature:...
, both good and bad, can be reached.
Characters
- Keima Amemiya: a policeman
- Jintarō Umabe: an actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
- Masami Ushio: a gang memberYakuza, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
- Yoshiko Hosoi: the female protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
- Masashi Shinoda: a studentStudentA student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
- Ryūji Takamine: a deserterDesertionIn military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
- Fumiyasu Ichikawa: an authorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
- Yōhei Tobisawa: a high-schoolHigh schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
boy - Atsushi Takamine: a BusinessmanBusinesspersonA businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...
- Norio Aoi: a high-school boy
- Isamu Sagiyama: an Assistant DirectorAssistant directorThe role of an Assistant director include tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of health and safety of the crew...
- Patrick Dandy: a Marriage Swindler
- Shōjirō Kaiduka: a PoliticianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
Reception and legacy
- In a March 2006 article of FamitsuFamitsuis a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
magazine, one of the largest videogame publications in Japan, Machi ranked 5th in a top 100 reader poll of their favorite games of all time.
- The Japanese drama Tōmei Shōjo Air was originally slated to be a storyline for this game or a sequel, but delays in production caused them to turn it into a television miniseries instead.
- The video game 428: Fūsasareta Shibuya de by Chunsoft is set in the same location and has many references to Machi.