Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories |OT| The World You Know Is Gone

Sumio Mondo · Apr 7, 2020

Disaster Report

Disaster Report is a Japanese series originally developed by Kazuma Kujo and his team of former SNK developers who joined Irem to make new IP, Disaster Report being one of them. Disaster Report is an adventure game series played from a third person perspective that deals with escape scenarios during a time of crisis in a Japanese setting. It's a series that plays with the fantasy of "what would I do in this situation" and frequently pushes the player to make decisions and play very carefully as they make their plan to escape. The games are of a linear design but offer a lot of fun through their branching paths and subtle differences each playthrough based on what decisions you make and various endings on offer.

Disaster Report 1 and 2 were released as SOS: The Final Escape and Raw Danger respectively on the PS2 and Disaster Report 3 received an English fan translation as it was only released in Japan.

Disaster Report 4 was originally made for the PS3 but was cancelled after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan and has now been revived for PS4 by Granzella, formerly from Irem.

Thrust into a tragedy that touches countless lives, you must now make the decisions that will determine who lives and who dies in the chaos stemming from a natural disaster. What will you do in the aftermath of calamity?

When a massive earthquake strikes the city you're visiting, you find yourself at the epicenter of a chaotic and catastrophic crisis. It's up to you to rise above the calamity, gather your thoughts and your fellow survivors, and outlast the disaster. Aftershocks, fires, collapsing buildings and debris, and unstable ground are but a few of the threats you'll face in these nightmarish circumstances. What will you do when every passing second and every snap decision could spell the difference between life and death?

Your World in Chaos

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

- In a city on the brink of collapsing, you'll need to make split-second decisions that will impact your safety as well as that of others.

Everybody's Got a Story

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

- Meet your fellow survivors in a Japanese-inspired city devastated by a powerful earthquake, and see how the human spirit bends...and sometimes breaks.

Danger at Every Corner

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

- Navigate a multitude of crises—from collapsing buildings to raging fires—in a city aplomb with peril.

Details

PS4, Switch & PC.

Publisher: NIS America
Developer: Granzella
Release Date: April 7th 2020

Steam link:

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories on Steam

In the shadow of a massive earthquake, you must brave a destroyed city where your choices will determine who survives.

store.steampowered.com

Characters

The Main Character.

The default identity of the young person* who came to the city, the game's setting. They encountered the earthquake in a place unfamiliar to them, and now they wander around the city in order to survive. During their journey, they'll come across roads buried in rubble, experience aftershocks, encounter many disaster victims, and visit shelters, among other events. The protagonist can choose to be selfless and help others, or be selfish and hinder them instead.
Players can customize the protagonist's name, gender, and appearance at the start of the game. They can also change outfits acquired during gameplay.

The Distressed Teacher
Natsumi Higa

"What should I do...!? My students... Where did they go!?"

A new high school English teacher. Though teaching is her dream, she's been having a difficult time managing her problematic students. She enjoys sports and has a bright personality, but she struggles with the reality of being a teacher and feels incompetent at her job. She came to the city to locate and discipline her students, who skipped school and went missing after the earthquake hit.

The Job-Hunting Student
Shinji Taneda

"The earthquake happened today, of all days... I can't believe the job interview was postponed..."

A kind young man who cares about his mother, who scrounged up enough money for him to travel to the city to get a job. The earthquake occurred right before he was going to interview for a company located in the business district. The interview was postponed, and now he's at a loss on what to do in a city he's not familiar with.

The Talented Fashion Designer
Akemi Towada

"Hm? Oh, sorry! Thought you were one of my employees."

A designer with a fun personality and the owner of an up-and-coming apparel shop in the city. Growing up overseas, her talents as a fashion designer were discovered, and she started a shop with her brand. The shop had just opened when it was damaged by the earthquake, so now she and her employees are trying to clean up the mess.

The IT Company President
Shun Kirishima

"Hmph! A person who can't stand their ground... Pathetic."

A young man who founded the IT company Vestola and became its president. He's a good-looking man with a lot of confidence and a little too much pride. Vestola saw rapid growth and became a leading company in the city, but because of the earthquake, it's now in a massive financial crisis.

The Malicious Opportunist
Masayoshi Kumazawa

"Well, business is business!"

The manager of a convenience store. A burly man with a nasty attitude, he takes advantage of the disaster victims to make some money.

The Assertive Woman
Kanae Tomita

"Before I knew it, it was pitch-black. I screamed and screamed, but nobody came..."

A woman who lives in the city. She was on a subway heading to the ferry terminal when the earthquake hit. A little older than the protagonist, she's a straightforward individual who gets right to action.

The Injured Man
Tomoya Kazama

"I had no idea... He suddenly started attacking me. I don't know if I got lucky, but because of the earthquake, I was able to escape from him..."

A man wearing a black T-shirt who was being chased by a scary-looking man. He has a bruise on his face that appears to be from being punched. After meeting the protagonist, he asks for a favor.

System:

Dialogue choices at specific events. Be an arse, be friendly, be passive. Funny dialogue will ensue.

Demo:

Demo is out on both Switch and PS4.

Trailer/Gameplay:

NIS Trailer:

Demo Gameplay:

Just a little while ago, this was a place where we took our everyday lives for granted. Until yesterday, we had thought this would continue forever.

Official NISA Site:

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories - Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC - April 7, 2020

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is a 3D survival action-adventure game that pulls the player into a realistic depiction of a major disaster occurring in a modern Japanese city. The player is tasked with making choices that affect the outcome of their life and the lives of other survivors.

nisamerica.com

Reviews:
Metacritic: https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/disaster-report-4-summer-memories

Deleted member 39144 · Apr 7, 2020

My Switch copy arrived last week. It's incredibly rough around the edges (huge framerate issues, poor controls), but it's fantastic. Once you get over the old-skool design, there's a lot to love. I've put about 8 hours into it and think I'm approaching the end now.

It's probably my favourite game of the year. And I've played Animal Crossing and Doom: Eternal. It won't be for everyone, but if you can get past the poor optimisation and design, there's a lot to love here.

Christian · Apr 7, 2020

The reviews make it sound like

A disaster.

chrominance · Apr 7, 2020

Waiting to see what PC performance is like. Reports of the Switch and PS4 versions don't sound great, but many Japanese devs don't seem to do well with PC and if Granzella can't even get their console versions to perform decently...

Rotobit · Apr 7, 2020

I wrote up a review last week, I enjoyed it but it has a lot of issues. Runs like a slideshow on Switch sometimes, there ain't much in the way of things to do, and it's a tonal mess...

But it also nails the atmosphere surprisingly well and I had a blast playing it.

It falls firmly into that Deadly Premonition "so bad it's good" camp, IMO. Doesn't quite reach the same highs but it obviously has heart. I loved the music, too.

I have to ask though, was Natsumi Higa in a previous game? They sure wrote her like she was previously a protagonist or something.

rawhide · Apr 7, 2020

ZZT's a fun series and Granzella should be commended for finishing the game in spite of everything but this is probably the weakest entry in the series and I wish it was being reintroduced to the west with a better game.

Rotobit said:
I have to ask though, was Natsumi Higa in a previous game? They sure wrote her like she was previously a protagonist or something.

Yes, she shows up in all the games. She was named Kelly in the previous English releases.

blonded · Apr 7, 2020

rawhide said:
ZZT's a fun series and Granzella should be commended for finishing the game in spite of everything but this is probably the weakest entry in the series and I wish it was being reintroduced to the west with a better game.

Which game in the series would you say is the best?

rawhide · Apr 7, 2020

blonded said:
Which game in the series would you say is the best?

ZZT2/Raw Danger, easily.

UltimateTrainer · Apr 7, 2020

Rotobit said:
I have to ask though, was Natsumi Higa in a previous game? They sure wrote her like she was previously a protagonist or something.

She's actually been every Disaster Report game. Under the name Austin Kelly She could be a partner companion in the original Disaster Report and was a regular teacher in disasters in Raw Danger and 3.

Augemitbutter · Apr 7, 2020

don't know why but i suddenly want a disaster game made by the Yakuza team.

@TheFriendlyBro · Apr 7, 2020

I've played Disaster Report and Raw Danger about a million times. I can't wait to check this out.

matrix-cat · Apr 7, 2020

I played this back some time after the Japanese launch. I wouldn't really recommend it without massive caveats, but honestly I still enjoyed my time with it. It's basically an entire game made of, like, C-grade Yakuza substories, with some absolutely astounding jank and legitimately awful gameplay (the camera rotates so slowly and you can't change it!). It's veeeeery obvious that it was a PS3 game put into a time capsule. A lot of it is just plain bad with no real silver lining, but there's definitely something to enjoy in there all the same.

It's a shame that City Shrouded in Shadow is probably never going to make the jump to the West, because goddamn that game fucks.

Rotobit · Apr 7, 2020

rawhide said:
Yes, she shows up in all the games. She was named Kelly in the previous English releases.

UltimateTrainer said:
She's actually been every Disaster Report game. Under the name Austin Kelly She could be a partner companion in the original Disaster Report and was a regular teacher in disasters in Raw Danger and 3.

Ah good to know, thanks. Would be nice if they ported those over and re-localized them but I can't imagine DR4 will do well enough for that.

Bate · Apr 7, 2020

This is a hard sell for 60 bucks. Like the aforementioned Deadly Premonition this should have been in the (lower) mid-price range. I maybe would have spent 20 or 30 bucks out of curiosity but not full premium price.

shadowman16 · Apr 7, 2020

Augemitbutter said:
don't know why but i suddenly want a disaster game made by the Yakuza team.

Well, closest you got from them was a zombie outbreak themed game that destroyed most of Kamurocho pretty bad. And to tie that back into Disaster Report - I remember back in the day when Dead Souls and DR4 were both caught up in the real life Japanese Tsunami disaster, which was what cancelled DR4 on the PS3.

I can't help but wonder how much was changed systems wise between the original cancelation and official PS4 release - because initially hunger/thirst systems would have been more prominent but they barely feature at all in the PS4 version. The final version of 4 is ok, as mentioned above its my least favourite of the 3 main games I finished (never finished 3 because of the load times on the PSP) but what 4 lacks I feel is more set pieces later in the game - it starts out fairly promising but ends up more about the dialogue choices than survival in a disaster scenario - I feel 1 and 2 definitely handle the balance better.

atomsk · Apr 7, 2020

chrominance said:
Waiting to see what PC performance is like. Reports of the Switch and PS4 versions don't sound great, but many Japanese devs don't seem to do well with PC and if Granzella can't even get their console versions to perform decently...

PC was supposed to get a demo last week but it's still MIA.

I don't have much faith if NISA is porting it, especially after the Ys VIII disaster.

My PS4 copy shipped yesterday, I'm still pretty hype even if it's not as good as 1/2/3

Sumio Mondo · Apr 7, 2020

Personally going to have to wait until May to get it, just gotten RE3 Remake and FF7 Remake and with Trials of Mana around the corner, I'll just gift it to myself as a birthday present in May. Too many games, sadly.

cj_iwakura · Apr 7, 2020

Reviewers should bear in mind that terrible performance and bugs are a trademark feature of the series, and should score accordingly.

Like Drakengard, but with less dragons.

gnexus · Apr 7, 2020

I finally played the demo last night after downloading it a couple weeks ago. It's a bit.. rough, but in a charming way. It's definitely it's own unique thing, and it's going for a niche crowd. I remember really looking forward to this back in 2010/2011 and being bummed about it's cancellation. I'm a little amazed this came out finally.

However, it's unfortunate timing for release, being sandwiched between RE3, FF7R and the slightly older Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing... this is going to be a tough sale for 60 dollars in this economy.

Mesharey · Apr 7, 2020

Appreciated, thanks for the OT.

Really interested in the game since I liked the previous games, dunno when to get it though, $40 would be prefect price for it.

Dash Kappei · Apr 7, 2020

mrflibble said:
My Switch copy arrived last week. It's incredibly rough around the edges (huge framerate issues, poor controls), but it's fantastic. Once you get over the old-skool design, there's a lot to love. I've put about 8 hours into it and think I'm approaching the end now.

It's probably my favourite game of the year. And I've played Animal Crossing and Doom: Eternal. It won't be for everyone, but if you can get past the poor optimisation and design, there's a lot to love here.

I was so incredibly excited considering I had been waiting for ages, dead set on getting this day 1. Then I tried the demo (Switch).
I couldn't imagine enjoying ANY game in a state like that. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say the demo was unplayable. The game has been out in Japan for a long time and the western release hasn't been fixed even a tiny bit, so I don't expect any patches. I literally wonder how can Nintendo allow this trainwreck to be purchased for real money, full price at that, on the eShop.

More power to you and I'm really happy for you that you're able to enjoy it, but I think the op should add a big disclaimer on top warning potential buyers to absolutely try the demo before committing to a final purchase.

I'm so sad...

Dash Kappei · Apr 7, 2020

cj_iwakura said:
Reviewers should bear in mind that terrible performance and bugs are a trademark feature of the series, and should score accordingly.

Like Drakengard, but with less dragons.

Nah, it's never been this bad. Not even close.

Reviewers should tear this shit apart, condemning the lack of patches and releasing it in the exact same sorry state of the jpn version. Anyway, I've said what I had to say and I'll leave you guys to discussing the game, I'm not here to be a debbie downer just wanted to give a word of advice to potential buyers :)

SlasherMcGirk · Apr 7, 2020

Is this game full price?

cj_iwakura · Apr 7, 2020

Dash Kappei said:
Nah, it's never been this bad. Not even close.

Excellent.

denpanosekai · Apr 7, 2020

various reports of the game selling out, still available up here in Canader though at vgp.ca

krg · Apr 7, 2020

I'd STRONGLY suggest trying the demo first if you're mildly interested, it really runs like utter garbage.

I really hope it performs better on PC because it felt like it runs at 20 fps most of the time.

Arsene no Kiseki · Apr 7, 2020

atomsk said:
PC was supposed to get a demo last week but it's still MIA.

I don't have much faith if NISA is porting it, especially after the Ys VIII disaster.

My PS4 copy shipped yesterday, I'm still pretty hype even if it's not as good as 1/2/3

Not sure how we're still going on about Ys VIII when its since been fixed and Cold Steel 3's port was a significant improvement

dallow_bg · Apr 7, 2020

Sounds like I'd need to get the PC version to brute force playable performance.
Any impressions of that version?

Odesu · Apr 7, 2020

dallow_bg said:
Sounds like I'd need to get the PC version to brute force playable performance.
Any impressions of that version?

Even though the game is supposed to be out now it still says "Releases April 7" on the Steam Page with no way to even pre order. Starting to wonder if they just forgot they wanted to release a PC version? :D

BradenAndEggs · Apr 7, 2020

I loved Raw Danger on PS2. It always had the comfy vibes of a game that felt like "only I played." I'm looking forward to getting this on my Switch. I don't need the performance to be completely perfect. I'm not sure if Raw Danger was either.

Odesu · Apr 7, 2020

BradenAndEggs said:
I loved Raw Danger on PS2. It always had the comfy vibes of a game that felt like "only I played." I'm looking forward to getting this on my Switch. I don't need the performance to be completely perfect. I'm not sure if Raw Danger was either.

Really do try the Demo before you buy the game on Switch. It's bad enough on PS4 but on Switch? Deadly Premonition is the most refined gaming experience of all time compared to that.

dallow_bg · Apr 7, 2020

I like a little jank in my niche games but don't like nearly broken ones.

I see the PS4 version has VR content. I'm guessing the PC version likely won't?

RROCKMAN · Apr 7, 2020

I could use a janky game about now

How bad is it? Like if you press the right buttons you glitch through walls bad?

Distantmantra · Apr 7, 2020

matrix-cat said:
It's a shame that City Shrouded in Shadow is probably never going to make the jump to the West, because goddamn that game fucks.

Agreed. Glad I grabbed a used copy last time I was in Japan.

Mesharey · Apr 7, 2020

Free DLC for 2 weeks I think.

eXistor · Apr 7, 2020

Still wanna try this, but I think I'll wait for a sale.

Kakihara · Apr 7, 2020

Aaah, I could have gotten the game yesterday but it was sent to the wrong adress. Tomorrow evening hopefully i can play it.

cj_iwakura said:
Reviewers should bear in mind that terrible performance and bugs are a trademark feature of the series, and should score accordingly.

Like Drakengard, but with less dragons.

Could we threadmark that post? Then we can automatically skip the performance talk and just enjoy the awesome, aa gaming development goodnes in its finest.

Sumio Mondo · Apr 7, 2020

RROCKMAN said:
I could use a janky game about now

How bad is it? Like if you press the right buttons you glitch through walls bad?

Never experienced anything like that in the demo. It's more like when buildings fall the frame rate chugs along to almost single digits. Give the demo a try if you're curious.

RROCKMAN · Apr 7, 2020

Sumio Mondo said:
Never experienced anything like that in the demo. It's more like when buildings fall the frame rate chugs along to almost single digits. Give the demo a try if you're curious.

Duly noted! :)

Thera · Apr 7, 2020

cj_iwakura said:
Reviewers should bear in mind that terrible performance and bugs are a trademark feature of the series, and should score accordingly.

Ha ha ha.
The gaming community.
Ha ha ha.

atomsk · Apr 7, 2020

PC version is up on Steam/GOG

edit: demo is up on Steam

Kakihara · Apr 7, 2020

Mesharey said:
Free DLC for 2 weeks I think.

Uhhh... DLC epilogues? Not cool.

DefiedFaith · Apr 7, 2020

How bad is the performance on base PS4? The demo ran really poorly but I'm hoping it's better with the full releas.

mudai · Apr 7, 2020

Kakihara said:
Uhhh... DLC epilogues? Not cool.

Mind that those epilogue episodes got released in Japan many months after the game came out. It got developed after the game was shipped as far as I know.

mudai · Apr 7, 2020

Sorry for the double post and crossposting from the demo thread, but here are some of my impressions playing the Japanese PS4 release that came out in late 2018. I often talked about the game on this forum and I feel like I often said the same, haha. TL;DR: I like the game for being unique, but it's not as good as the first Disaster Report or Raw Danger. And depending on what you want the game to be, you might be disappointed by it.

I really like the game for being unique alone and I'm also a big Irem fan and couldn't be more happy that some of the old devs founded Granzella and are continuing to make games. City Shrouded in Shadow, despite all its flaws, is a fun experience and overall the better game in my opinion, despite following pretty much the same gameplay formula. Disaster Report 4 ain't bad either, at least for my personal taste (I really, really like kusoge and I rather play a janky but unique experience), but if you played Disaster Report 1 or Raw Danger, you might be disappointed going into this one. It dials a lot of the things back the old games did so well, be it the characters (the dialogue choices are still pretty good and funny most of the times) or the action sequences or set pieces. There's a meter you CAN manage, but don't have to. The devs actually confirmed that they want everyone to complete the game, so seeing the hunger meter (I think it was the hunger meter, it's been a while since I played the Japanese version) going down doesn't mean or do anything. This is mostly an adventure game. You walk around, you sometimes run away from hazards and sometimes press duck at the right moment to not fall down on your butt during the aftershocks losing HP. The other part of the gameplay is interacting with NPCs and experiencing all those little side stories. Some good, some bad. The game gives you a lot of freedom in your choices, but it's infuriating that there's one thing in particular where the text box implies something, but you cannot do anything against it, because it's behind a closed door (not sure if the localization will change that). No option to kick it in or anything. It's near the end of the game and it was such a baffling decision that even the customer reviews on Amazon Japan were criticizing it. Raw Danger is a lot more involving, for example when you have to manage your body's temperature and have to swap out wet clothes and everything. Disaster Report 4 can still be a haunting experience when seeing the destruction caused by nature (at least I saw some goosebumps) and it's quite the sight seeing giant structures collapsing. I'm more than happy that they got to finally complete it. But I hope they will revist the series one day and create something that is a bit more involving just like Raw Danger. I hope NISA got to localize the handbook by the Kobe Fire Department you can unlock in the game. It gives you tips how to react in an actual disaster and I think it's a great addition.

Oh and of course I will double dip. I want to support Granzella and also NISA's efforts of bringing this over. I actually didn't believe someone would localize it. I hope the PC version runs well, because the PS4 one sure has some framerate issues...

--

By the way, I just checked and the game is now out on Steam too. There's also a demo, which I will check out to see how well it performs before grabbing the full game.

Skulldead · Apr 7, 2020

RROCKMAN said:
I could use a janky game about now

How bad is it? Like if you press the right buttons you glitch through walls bad?

no everything just feel lifeless and way over the top for no reason, the demo was awful for so many reason.... This is not a good way to start a game, like at all...

WarpSpeedMolasses · Apr 7, 2020

Nice, glad we got an OT.

I asked these in another thread but didn't get info.

Any word on if the real life, informational disaster preparedness manual stuff made it into the final game and localization? Articles were saying the dev team collaborated with some local poilice and fire departments to put together that info...
Do I have to beat the game to access the VR content?

mudai · Apr 7, 2020

Rotobit said:
I have to ask though, was Natsumi Higa in a previous game? They sure wrote her like she was previously a protagonist or something.

Yes, she's in all three games.

Kakihara · Apr 7, 2020

mudai said:
Mind that those epilogue episodes got released in Japan many months after the game came out. It got developed after the game was shipped as far as I know.

Ah okay. Thanks for the info.

Arsene no Kiseki · Apr 7, 2020

Kakihara said:
Uhhh... DLC epilogues? Not cool.

Its included in the PC/Switch versions. Free for 2 weeks on PS4

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories |OT| The World You Know Is Gone

User requested account closure

Sky Van Gogh

Editor at Nintendo Wire

IGN - Video Producer and Editor

Editor at Nintendo Wire