Wrong Side of the Law

ぎゅっと握りしめたはずの手が

ほどけてしまうよくあることね

「最後の離島」(Garnet Crow)

 

You know how it often happens that

the hand you've been holding tightly suddenly lets go

"The Last Island" (Garnet Crow)

Perhaps I should write something about the Tantei Kibukawa Ryousuke Jikendan ("Detective Kibukawa Ryousuke's Case Stories") series again soon, as G-Mode has been releasing the ports of these feature phone games at an amazing pace, and there have been interesting entries since...

Much of Lisa Greene's childhood had spent on Renas, birth home of her mother and one of the islands of the British Dymel Isles located in the Atlantic Ocean. But a freak storm destroyed Renas 8 years ago, and afterwards, Lisa's mother had a divorce and moved to London with her daughter. But after the sudden death of her mother, Lisa is called back by her father living on Dymel. It's only upon her arrival upon the main island of Dymel that she learns that her father isn't just a businessman like she always thought: Hudley is the boss of Vessel, one of the four crime syndicates that control the Dymel Isles. Vessel, Cuttlass, Diadem and the Lobo Cartel all control different islands of the Dymel Isles, but they have an understanding to not stir up any trouble on the main island, where the headquarters of all four groups are located. Lisa also meets the three other mafia bosses, who all seem quite nice on a personal level, and it's also clear the organizations aren't intending to start a war any time soon. Lisa hopes to learn more of her father, but the day after her arrival, the body of her father is found washed up on the beach of the main island. The man drowned to death, but it's clear his death wasn't natural, as many clues indicate that Hudley had been met someone in secret last night and that he disappeared after that. Lisa however soon realizes the case won't be investigated thoroughly and upon the advice of Louis, the bodyguard assigned to her by her father, Lisa, as the only daughter of Hudley, decides to claim the position of the new boss of Vessel herself, reinvoking an old agreement between the four crime syndicates to ask for their assistance in the investigation. Ryan of Cutlass, Clyde of Diadem and Daryll of the Lobo Cartel agree and with their permission, Lisa starts digging into the death of her father, and slowly uncovers that there's something big hiding behind the murder in the 2021 videogame Shoujo Shuryou no Suiri Ryouiki - Ougonjima no Mitsuyaku ("The Deduction Territory of The Girl Boss - The Secret Promise of the Golden Island"), available on iOS/Android/Steam/Switch and PS4.

Last year, I reviewed Gothic Murder, a mystery adventure game created by Orange, a small developer that has worked on several of the more recent small entries in the Tantei Jinguuji Saburou series like Ghost of the Dusk, Prism of Eyes and New Order: Giwaku no Ace, but Gothic Murder was their first own original IP. It was not a groundbreaking product, but as a reasonably priced game, I enjoyed the short experience it offered, as well as the whole atmosphere of the game, with an amusing mystery story with even a few surprising twists, even if the whole thing could've been fleshed out a bit more. Shoujo Shuryou no Suiri Ryouiki is a game that follows the same format mostly: it's a short and simple mystery adventure, with lite otome (story-driven videogames targeted towards women that usually focus on a protagonist developing a romantic relationship with one of the eligible characters) elements: while Lisa is investigating the death on her father, you'll also interact with Louis and the bosses of the other crime syndicates for some (extremely) light romantic moments. The focus remains on the mystery plot however and the otome elements are mostly reflected in some minor alternative endings you can find. Gameplay-wise, Shoujo Shuryou no Suiri Ryouiki is exactly what you'd expect from a simple mystery adventure game and does exactly the same as Gothic Murder, offering a mix of traditional adventure games, with segments where you solve inventory puzzles and have to confront people with the correct evidence, and novel videogames, with the occasional story-changing choices that either proceed the story or lead to a Bad Ending. No surprises there, and it's not like the game ever does something original with this format, but it's functional. 

As a mystery story though, Shoujo Shuryou no Suiri Ryouiki brings more variety than Gothic Murder, which is apparent right after you complete the first chapter. Whereas in Gothic Murder, you were investigating a different planned murder in each chapter and tried to prevent the plot from being executed, this time, Lisa is confronted with different kind of mysteries each time. In one chapter, you're just trying to figure out who the traitor is within Vessel, while in another chapter Lisa gets involved in a shady deal that might lead to an all-out gang war. While you'll seldom be truly surprised by the truth, the way the stories are written make for competently plotted, engaging mysteries (Mitsue Kaneko is a pretty solid writer in that regard) and because this time, each chapter can offer a completely different kind of mystery, there are even some surprising moments where clues are offered in ways you wouldn't expect right way because previous chapters did the clewing in different manners. From a semi-impossible murder in the vaults of a bank to the disappearance of a stash of smuggled weapons and more, a lot is happening on the island while Lisa's investigating the death of her father, and it's pretty funny to play Lisa, as she's now the boss of a crime syndicate and a lot of the help she gets during her investigation, is actually quite illegal. Each chapter ends with a confrontation with "a culprit" where you have to corner them with evidence and each episode will bring you closer to the truth behind Lisa's father's death, but the individual chapters are always about a different core mystery not immediately connected to Hudley's death, and that really helps sell the setting and story of this game. It's almost a shame this game is ultimately conceived as a small-scale game, because the concept of a group of islands ruled by different crime syndicates could have been fleshed out even more, as some of the chapters in this game do show the potential this setting holds.It's a shame we don't see any of the other Dymel Isles, or more of the different syndicate members, as there's definitely ideas here that could have formed the basis for something more substantial.

While the game isn't lengthy by any means (you'll be through this well within 10 hours), there are surprisingly quite some tracks that are memorable. At first, I thought that this was once again a soundtrack by Hamada Seiichi (AKA Haseda "ACE" Daichi), the composer of the Tantei Jinguuji Saburou series who also did Gothic Murder, but it was someone else (SAKUMAMATATA) this time. I have to admit I was surprised by the quality of the character designs and the music in general, which was another reason why I thought it was a shame this wasn't planned to be a game of a slightly bigger scope. You do really notice that this game was designed also for a smartphone audience like Gothic Murder, trying to be fairly concise and ultimately offering the player a very streamlined experience (whenever the game shows the map to allow you to choose the next location to go to.... you're basically only allowed the select the intended location). Orange has worked on slightly bigger tales for Tantei Jinguuji Saburou, so I'd like them doing that with an original IP.

While Shoujo Shuryou no Suiri Ryouiki is far from a ground-breaking game, the short play-time and okay plotting make it a perfect palate cleanser between bigger games. Like Gothic Murder, it's a game that could easily have been worked out into something larger with more depth, but as it is now, it's an okay adventure game that provides just the amount of mystery amusement you'd expect from the price range. The plots are varied and while not difficult, competently written and I'm definitely interested in more games by Orange of this scale and quality.

And while I'm writing this anyway, I might as well briefly discuss MAKOTO WAKAIDO's Case Files 3 "Phantom's Foot" here too, right? The first MAKOTO WAKAIDO's Case Files was a free and short, but entertaining mystery adventure game released on iOS/Android, with a distinct retro, GameBoy-esque visual style. To my surprise, a second entry in the series was released only a few months later. So earlier this week, I just decided to check the page of the developer, and lo, a third entry had indeed been released two months ago! While these games are pretty short, it's still a pretty fast pace, but hey, I get to enjoy a short game, so I'm not complaining! MAKOTO WAKAIDO's Case Files 3 "Phantom's Foot" starts with our protagonist being summoned by a local police detective. Some time earlier, Wakaidou had managed to nab the boss of a human trafficking gang, but the man was released. But since his relesae, three of the top men in the organization have been killed and it's obvious something big is going on in the gang. Wakaidou is asked to assist in the case because of his knowledge on the gang and the boss, and is asked to come along to the crime scene of the fourth and latest victim. Wakaidou is investigating the crime scene in the harbor, when he spots a suspicious figure, whom he follows inside a warehouse, but he's knocked out. When he wakes up, he finds himself holding a bloody knife in his hands, standing next to a dead body. He can't quite recall what happened, but when the police find him next to the corpse, assuming he is the murderer, he panics and runs away. Now he has to find out what has happened and who the real killer is.

In terms of format, this game is exactly the same as the previous one, so you might as well read that review for the details. Once again, you'll just be interviewing people and collecting a specified number of clues in each chapter, and at the Inference sections at the end of each chapter you'll be asked a few questions to check whether you have been paying attention (and while the app is free, it still has that funny income model where you only forced to watch ads if you get the Inference questions wrong). This third entry still retains the odd and cumbersome mechanic of having to "set" a testimony or piece of evidence before you start a conversation with a witness to hear if they have anything to say about it, which can be a bit irritating. The second game did help streamline it a bit with a minor, but helpful QOL update, but this third entry follows the second game's format to the tee.

As a short mystery story about an hour long,  MAKOTO WAKAIDO's Case Files 3 "Phantom's Foot" is pretty entertaining though! We have a completely different type of story this time, with Wakaidou suffering from amnesia and on the run from the police while he's investigating the murders on the gang members. While I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed that this third entry is clearly smaller in scope than the second game (which had a lot more characters/locales), the mystery tale presented is done fairly well. I'd even say that this particular story works better in game format rather than as a prose story, with some neat visual concepts going on that wouldn't work as well in a novel. The twist about the murderer and how it was all done might not be very difficult to guess, but I can't really complain: MAKOTO WAKAIDO's Case Files 3 "Phantom's Foot" may be a game with a limited scope, but it tells a capably plotted mystery story within that scope, and also tells a story that benefits from it being a game. So definitely worth a try, though I'd advise you to first play the previous ones too.

Anyway, both Shoujo Shuryou no Suiri Ryouiki - Ougonjima no Mitsuyaku and MAKOTO WAKAIDO's Case Files 3 "Phantom's Foot" are relatively short games, but I enjoyed my brief time with them. Sometimes you just want to have something simple, but capably executed, and both these games provide just that. If you enjoyed Gothic Murder or the previous MAKOTO WAKAIDO's Case Files you already know what you can expect, but if not, I can say that while these games are not mind-blowing, they're still entertaining enough for a few hours, so perfect for between other bigger games.

Original Japanese title(s): 『少女首領の推理領域 -黄金島の密約-』, 『和階堂真の事件簿－影法師の足』