The arrival of a new product on the market. Kazutaka Kodaka It should always represent a small but important moment of joy for the medium. We have asked ourselves many times what differentiates the Eastern vision of video games from the Western one, what it means to develop video games on the Japanese island, in what direction this new era is pushing the few remaining Japanese authors. Kodaka, for his part, is a unique character in the expression of his art more than in his way of doing things, we already talked about it a few days ago.
Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE fits perfectly into their precise way of making investigative video games: the pace is relatively slow and punctuated by enough text, the characters are extravagant, the setting embraces a dark atmosphere that disorients with its curious mix of eccentricity and darkness. . If the reader knows the author, undoubtedly one of the most interesting and influential in the recent - and growing - niche of Japanese graphic novels, he will hardly be interested in knowing more because he will have already reserved it. This text is probably for those who have barely heard of the mad genius of Kodaka.
Follow us on ours Master Detective Archives Review: RAIN CODE.
Novels and mysteries
First Danganronpa, then World's End Club and a few other projects in between - for the RAIN CODE project, the developer Kyo games too In reality he is more of a Spike Chunsoft consultant and you can see from the technical and stylistic weight, which will surely have involved a notable staff. We are not surprised, therefore, that Kodaka once again chooses a Nintendo console to publish its product. There is little that can be done: this is also one of those programs that offer so much more in portability than a couch approach that it is almost redundant to underline it again. Enjoying a graphic adventure of this magnitude anywhere and without worries adds a considerable number of points in favor of the experience, also for its investigative essence Sometimes they escape, with more or less short sessions.
We are in Japan, in the role of a forgetful Yuma Kokohead: after waking up in a train station, the small, genuine, kind and affable protagonist soon becomes a Master Detective, a member of a kind of world-class elite investigation club. geniuses. Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE hits the ground running: the first tutorial case is just the appetizer of what awaits Yuma on his solitary adventure. Lonely? Not too much either: to accompany him he will have a goddess of death, Shinigami, who both in the form of a ghost and an attractive girl helps him by virtue of a secret pact sealed in Yuma's past.
The first case anticipates the quintessential Kodaka madness because the ingredients of the work are immediately revealed: murderers, powers, crime scenes, clues, assumptions, surreal elements that simply do not add up. Accepting the invitation to go to Kanai Ward, a metropolis almost out of time, Yuma finds himself in a difficult situation. plot bigger than him made of crimes, subterfuge, deductions and ruthless enemies with very few allies at his side. What happened in his past? Why did he make a pact with Shinigami? Who are the Master Detectives and who is Amaterasu, this megacorporation that brings good times and bad times to Kanai Ward?
It's up to you to discover it, we can only tell you that advancing the plot of RAIN CODE is extremely pleasant: Too Kyo and Spike Chunsoft sublimate their vision of graphic novels giving rise to an important and elegant evolution, a kind of evolution that unites with the burden of style and flair that Persona 5 brought to the traditional JRPG model. It has all the typical elements you can expect but they are better presented, the interface works, the overall aesthetic is captivating, there really is a great desire to express new creativity that shows a break with the past.
Alternative metropolis
Although Kanai Ward is the fulcrum of the experience, with its neighborhoods, its streets, the characters, the dialogues and the clues with which to enrich our inventory of consciousness, it is interesting to observe how theadjustment both almost more conceptual than physical. The dreamlike but dark air, the bright but exaggerated colors, an aura of general sadness and melancholy, the incessant rain, six different sectors, the resignation of its inhabitants: Kodaka does not betray its own style, delivering an atmosphere generally in line with the general style . author's design, but at the same time full of that typical essence of the Japanese video game, a constant hyperbole of elegant social pessimism in which it seems that you can't trust anyone. And then there is Yuma, in the middle of this vortex of corruption and brutal murders, shining with her youthful simplicity, a small glow of honesty and positive values that acts as a counterweight to it all.
You'll have to play several hours to understand what's going on, but from the way Kanada presents Amaterasu, her perverse relationship with Kanai Ward, the inability of the local government, the isolated essence of the metropolis, the generalized antics that you'll have to perceive . an intelligent criticism of society, its machinations, widespread corruption and cover-ups that the system absorbs with apparent simplicity. We will meet often in walk around the city, ask the inhabitants or any witnesses for information, collect clues and get help from other Master Detectives who, like Yuma, possess a unique and unique power: there are those who excel in disguise, in memory, in evoking spirits, in the use of animals, to go back in time.
The world of RAIN CODE incorporates many fantasy elements, some more typical, others less so, amplifying the spectrum of playful opportunities available to solve cases. It must be said that the flow of clues and deductions tries to accompany the player, clearly showing what needs to be done to complete the clues in a room. Furthermore, Kodaka also wanted to invent something else: as we move towards the truth, Shinigami will open the Labyrinth of mysteries, an alternate dimension that changes as the case progresses. Inside, the authorial genius of the Too Kyo team expresses its full potential: the labyrinth is a succession of choices, ideas, situations and deductions that make exploration a continuous renewal of the gameplay, combined with JRPG-style confrontations but addressed in a completely different way. There will be no shortage of tentative situations, but it is part of the typical equation of graphic adventures, both Japanese and Western.
Real deduction clashes
RAIN CODE offers a very particular system to advance through the labyrinth and reach the truth about the cases. Too Kyo and Spike Chunsoft have implemented a kind of real-time battle based on deductions, authentic phrases to dodge, jump, dodge and sometimes fight thanks to the keys to the case that we will have in our possession. Without the strangeness and question marks that may have arisen in your head, we are talking about a real JRPG mechanism with statistics and life points in which, however, the attacks of the antagonist of the case in question are phrases, assumptions, statements true. and others wrong. The objective will be to fight against contradictions, using everything we have in relation to the case and sometimes even the help of allies, to defeat the bad guy of the moment, often representations of the will of someone who will not allow him to reach the truth. The system works, there is a whole tree of features to unlock to increase views, reaction times and much more; The only note is that a model like this is much more exciting in the early stages than in the medium-long term, but it is probably a matter of taste.
Kodaka's desire to make the deductive element physical also appears clear within the exploration of the labyrinth itself when we have to make quick decisions (as in mining carts) or choose where to continue at a crossroads. In short, there is a lot of meat and style at the heart of the current RAIN CODE game system, capable of having a well-defined soul of its own, entertaining, keeping you hooked and force the player to think really to a solution to the case. Let's be clear, there are not only important cases: the underlying JRPG essence of RAIN CODE is also told through the typical deduction missions or moments of in-depth narrative analysis, which make the gameplay offering even more substantial. From a technical point of view, the sum of the parts helps to enjoy a truly exciting, particular artistic experience, very well presented and with great competence: it is not the polygons that win, but the creative talent, the use of the palette , combinations and sometimes even some beautiful pieces of technical skill that can be achieved with apparent ease using the Unreal Engine that powers the software.
It will take you several hours to fully enjoy Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE, but luckily the colorful cast of supporting characters designed by Rui Komatsuzaki and the sound accompaniment by Masafumi Takada, a leading figure in Japanese musical composition and long-time collaborator of the Kodaka team, will keep you entertained. will accompany the best.
Conclusions
digital delivery Nintendo eShop Price 59.90 € Holygamerz.com 8.5 Readers (18) 8.6 your voteKodaka manages once again to offer a complete, intriguing, interesting and profound product thanks to a series of absolutely non-trivial intuitions. The labyrinth of mysteries is a notable addition in terms of gameplay, in the same way that the combat system - although improvable - offers a certainly unique approach to the genre. The story, characters, and setting come together to please long-time fans of the prolific author; It is more difficult to recommend it to those who have never chewed it, but the truth is that if you are looking for a first experience with Kodaka, this is undoubtedly the most suitable product.
PRO
- Even after years, Kodaka's vision remains very authorial
- Exciting cast and narration.
- Product with body and length
AGAINST
- The combat feels a little tiring in the mid-term.
- The huge amount of text does not help newcomers.
