I don't have much to say that's new about this game or the original, this is a remake that lives up to the original- and even surpasses it. Something I was hopeful for yet didn't quite expect with how most remakes turn out.

The team that made this clearly holds love for the original and took tons of care to preserve its essence in as many ways possible. While it does miss some of the ludo-narrative poignance of the original and certain charms or scenes the original had, it makes up for it fully in reimagining Persona 3 in such a fresh, vivid and more satisfying manner by delving deeper into characters they couldn't do the same for in the original.

My few gripes are with the audiovisual aspects, I like the OST a lot but it's certainly not as iconic as the original which is fine but in certain songs it's a little too off. And for the visuals, on most fronts this is one of the prettiest games I've ever played yet the lighting can be completely out of sync in certain areas. Besides the things I've mentioned, this game is essentially perfect.

Now for a little personal footnote, this game came into my life when I started questioning the meaning of life and why I was alive at a very tender time of my pre-teen years, still unaware of how to deal with a loss. Back then, this game was a guiding light to me, it helped me sit with my fear of death despite how much it posessed me. Death is something I fear even to this day, this moment. But unlike 10 years ago, this time I know the meaning of my life is mine and the people I surround myself by to find. It's alright if I can't find it as long as I'm alive, my life already means something to the people that love me.

And that's fine enough, no matter when or how I pass. This realization only came to me then due to this game and today it comes back into my life in a further fully realized manner to pat me on my back and remind me of the same, to keep walking on and adore the burning glimmer and brilliance in life even if it means enduring all the suffering I have to face or that it'll all come to an end.

And as the game says, "Nothing's a waste...my life will have meaning."

A worthy successor to the original, perhaps treading its own path.

It reimagines and realizes FF7's world in such an immersive way holding up modern standards that I found myself more interested than ever in the narrative and characters. By the end of the trilogy as a collective narrative this could top the original FF7 for me. I'm incredibly excited for rebirth.

Gameplay while great does a feel a bit awkward at times, music is on point and the visuals are breathtaking.

VNs simply don't get better

If I had to describe what Umineko means to me concisely, it's the story that conveyed to me no matter how hard being happy or finding happiness is, it should always begin with acknowledging the things and people that surround you who could make you happy. From where you can actually feel hopeful about trying to look for happiness.

I've come across many stories that want the world and the people in it to be better people but none that do it as sincerely as Umineko. And in turn it truly does inspire me to try to be better, it all begins with the perspective...without love it cannot be seen I suppose.

Reading this as a lost, depressed and helpless teen made me appreciate how it tackles the struggles of transitioning from a teen to adult that much more. It is certainly my favourite coming of age story in that aspect.

You'd think a story that wants to be so personal would have a laid back narrative but nope, Umineko is as meticulous and full of effort in laying out its story as a story could aspire to be.

It's hard to call Umineko anything other than a masterpiece. It's also hard to talk about at length without going into spoilers, so I'll be keeping it brief.
I'm not really the biggest visual novel guy; I usually prefer mechanically complex games over story-driven stuff. I went into Umineko expecting to drop it fairly quickly, but after about a hundred or so hours, I found myself sitting in front of my monitor crying my eyes out as the credits rolled.
Excellent mystery, great cast of characters, very detailed examination of love (of all kinds), quite possibly my new favorite soundtrack of all time, and one of the best endings I have ever had the pleasure of seeing in a game.
Zenith of the medium. Peak fiction. Well, not really, but you get the point.
Umineko has tons of layers, yet it never becomes a confusing mess. It's all surprisingly easy to follow. While at times the pacing (especially during the first half) can be a bit, erm, not very good? It's still a thrilling ride from beginning to end. If I had any other gripes with the game it would probably be that some characters are pretty useless in the grand scheme of things, but it doesn't really subtract much from the experience.
Also, when I said Umineko might have my new favorite soundtrack, I really meant that. The other two that kind of come close are NieR and VA-11 Hall-A, but Umineko's OST is almost on an entirely different level. The sound design is fantastic all around. From the sound of stakes piercing bodies, to the iconic ahaha.wav, it's all great. Tracks like "Golden Nocturne", "Golden Sneer", "Goldenslaughterer", "Dread of the Grave", "Happy Maria!", "Thanks for Being Born", "Miragecoordinator", "Dreamenddischarger", "Discode", "7 weights", "Ricordando il passato", and many more are so good I have to question whether these composers are humans or real life witches. Seriously, the sound design adds so much to the experience that some scenes wouldn't work as well without sound. Umineko is described as a sound novel for a reason. This is now a review of Umineko's soundtrack. The atmosphere some of these tracks are able to invoke is absolutely stunning, and I wish I could list examples but, yeah, spoiler-free review. Even the action scenes become more exciting than some boss fights in a lot of action games I've played.
If you've never read Umineko, go do it now, I highly recommend it. If you've never even heard of Umineko before, go into it blind. I did so and had one hell of a time. You're probably wondering what the best version is, since there's a few out there. I would personally recommend the PS3 remake which got an unofficial PC port. You can find that on https://nyaa.si/. If you would like to support 07th Expansion feel free to get the Steam release, which has the original meme artwork from Ryukishi himself, and the ugly pachinko art. I've heard there's a patch that adds the PS3 art as well, but I don't really know. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, the artwork (at least in the PS3 remake) is excellent for the most part.
Anyways, yeah, Umineko no Naku Koro ni rocks, it's by far the best game I've played all year, I love it to pieces.

Without love, it cannot be seen. Never forget that.