428: Shibuya Scramble Reviews

Better than AAA choice matter games

[h2]Yakuza 4 and 5 if they had logical plot twists and cohesive plots[/h2] [h1]9.5/10[/h1] 428: Shibuya Scramble is a visual novel that features a story with strong writing that is constantly alternating between quirky Japanese humor and serious thriller, leaning more toward the latter in the second half. The story unfolds through the interconnected stories of multiple main characters, and resembling the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, the city itself becomes a central character, deeply woven into the narrative. [b]It´s a character driven-story with a large memorable cast of characters that are both quirky and complex[/b], every one plays an important role in the larger story, and every one gets a really satisfactory conclusion for their own stories, even the ones you wouldn’t expect to. [b]It’s not a story where the plot twist comes out of nowhere[/b], the player/reader is able to form their own theories and slowly unravel the mysteries ahead of the characters thanks to the game's smart use of interconnected stories. It also [b]features a lot of optional content in the form of bad endings[/b], and they aren’t your typical cheap bad endings, they are actually pretty creative and actually fascinating in writing. [b]Gameplay-wise[/b], it’s pretty simple and intuitive. It definitely requires more thinking than your average visual novel, but it’s not obtuse for the most part. I only got stuck 2 times, and as the game progresses, you get better at avoiding bad endings — which was a shame, because I was actually enjoying them. [b]As for the negatives?[/b] It’s definitely missing a key QoL feature: the ability to skip previously read text when changing story paths. That aside, it’s a pretty up to date visual novel. It’s probably a game that you aren’t going to enjoy if you just want to go straight to the point, but if you are willing to enjoy the small detours, then 428: Shibuya Scramble will be an incredible +30-hours-long ride.

Excellent visual novel, much better than expected.

unique experience and it's really wonderful

Never felt so much emotions from a funny visual novel with real life actors. Truly a wide ride while you follow these likable characters thought their own shenanigans while they deal with the worst day of their life in Shibuya. Also, I really want a MEAN CLEAN T-Shirt.

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 319: ⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (3/10) I love Spike Chunsoft. Usually, everything they touch turns to gold. In [i]428: Shibuya Scramble[/i], the premise sounded cool: multiple protagonists, intertwining timelines, real photos instead of traditional anime art. It had the potential to be something unique and memorable. But after only one hour, that excitement turned into frustration. Between the painfully slow pacing, outdated design, and shocking lack of basic features like text skipping, I just couldn’t stay immersed. For a visual novel this expensive, I expected much more polish—and a lot less repetition. There are countless modern visual novels, narrative adventure games, and interactive fiction titles that deliver more content, more polish, and better quality-of-life features, for a fraction of the price. 🐈[b] Pros:[/b] [*] The story concept is cool. Juggling multiple protagonists in real-time, each in their own timeline, is ambitious and sometimes rewarding. [*] Some bad ends are genuinely hilarious or weird in a good way. [*] The localization is solid, and some characters are memorable. [/list] [b] 🐈‍⬛ Cons:[/b] [list] [*] Let’s get the obvious out of the way. $50 for a buggy, dated port of a PSP-era visual novel from 2008 is absurd. No visual novel—especially not one that looks and plays like this—should cost that much. If you're charging premium prices in 2025, the product should at least meet basic modern standards of accessibility and quality-of-life. [*]No text skip, no fast-forward, no read text indicator. This is a [i]visual novel.[/i] That means the core gameplay loop is reading. So why on earth would you lock players into reading the same text over and over again at a snail’s pace? You’re expected to replay scenes multiple times as part of the game’s structure, yet there's no option to skip past familiar text. This isn’t a new feature: VNs have had it for over two decades. The absence here is baffling and absolutely kills the pacing. [*] Replaying scenes is mandatory—and painful. The entire game is built around you jumping between characters’ timelines to “sync” events correctly, meaning you’ll hit dozens of bad ends just to figure out the right combination of choices. That could be fun if you had tools to navigate quickly and experiment. Instead, it feels like brute-forcing a lock while being forced to reread every error message you’ve already seen. [*] An illusion of choice. While the structure presents itself like a web of branching decisions, there’s really only one path forward. Most choices either funnel back into the main plot or give you a comically abrupt Bad End. The “branching story” is more smoke and mirrors than actual interactivity. [*] The writing is bloated and repetitive. Some scenes are genuinely entertaining, especially when the humor or suspense lands. But far too often, you’ll find yourself rereading the same flashbacks, conversations, or exposition multiple times. Scenes over-explain things, characters repeat themselves, and the pacing drags. With better editing, this game could have been half as long and twice as engaging. [*] Visually clunky and technically dated. The live-action stills are a stylistic choice that some people love, but they’re not quite enough to carry the game visually. The UI feels like a relic, and the port has performance issues and bugs that have never been fully addressed. You can feel the age of this release and not in a charming, retro way. [/list]

非常出色的网状叙事，几个主角各自有各自的故事历程和心理变迁，相互影响彼此的结局走向。放在今天来看，不少jump和反转已经被各种悬疑电影书籍不断运用了，许多岔路口在做出选择时都能会心一笑，大概猜出各个选项会影响到哪条支线。主线的展开是十分丰富的，多结局的设定也足够鼓励玩家去不断尝试不同的分路，但是病毒和中东组织的加入多少叫人觉得和前期涩谷众生相的关联割裂。游戏的背景音乐活跃但是不吵闹，配合影视化的画面很让人身临其境，如同亲临一部日剧。不少情节融入了日式幽默，在游戏的前中期经常让人笑出声来。游戏的全收集还是很累人的，建议跟着网上的攻略进行收集，自己探索常常会多次引入同一个BE，重复多次同样的剧情让人烦恼。通关之后的补充故事线对于人物的塑造进行了更丰富的完善，同时也是对整个故事的一次侧面补充，这个设计还是很有新意的。这款游戏也从一个剖面展示了日本上个世代的街头与社会文化，推荐悬疑爱好者和文字冒险爱好者加入这段涩谷一日游大冒险。

This VN is ambitious in its gimmick of switching between character timelines but I found it confusing already, it's also pretty wordy, over-explains stuff, and has some pointless parts that have nothing to do with the plot. I agree with stuff said in other 'not recommended' reviews. Worth a try though if you can get the game on a cheap sale.

[h2]A visual novel experience that made me more open to the entire genre.[/h2] 428 Shibuya Scramble tells it's story with many, twists, turns, and consequences. It centres itself around a kidnapping case at the beginning, but things are never really that simple. You're kept in suspense over at least [i]something[/i] whenever you encounter a Keep Out tape, or the end of an hour block. This game manages to draw out intrigue, humour, tension and tragedy in relatively equal parts. I'd say go for it! It's a big substantial read that I would say is very much worth your time!