The Adventure of the Secret Partner

Sparking!!

"CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA" (影山ヒロノブ）

 

Sparking!!

"CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA" (Kageyama Hironobu)

I do love my Detective Pikachu tote bag and mug I got with the game... I wish more mystery media had merchandise...

Two years ago, Tim Goodman moved to Ryme City in search of his father Harry, a private detective who went missing. Tim teamed up with his father's partner Pikachu, who turns out to be able to talk, though Tim is the only person who can understand him. The coffee-addicted Pikachu suffers from memory loss and can't quite remember how Harry disappeared, or explain why he can talk with Tim, but the two work together to find Harry and in their search for leads, they manage to protect the city from a nefarious plot involving "R", a drug that could make Pokémon go wild. Two years later, Tim and Pikachu still haven't managed to find Harry, but the city has finally recovered from the major incident: Tim and Pikachu are to be awarded for their efforts by the city, which is also launching a new campaign to promote itself as a city where humans and Pokémon live together. The ceremony however is disturbed by a Corviknight, a gigantic black raven-like Pokémon , swooping in on the podium. Is someone using R again to control Pokémon? As Tim and Pikachu investigate the case, they slowly learn this all is tied to Harry's disappearance, and with the first real lead in two years, they are determined to learn about Harry's fate in the Nintendo Switch game Kaette Kita Meitantei Pikachu (2023) or Detective Pikachu Returns.

When I first wrote about Detective Pikachu in 2016, I honestly didn't expect it would take so many years for us to finally get the whole story. It was in 2016 when the Japan-exclusive, download-only Meitantei Pikachu ~ Shin Combi Tanjou ("Detective Pikachu ~ Birth of a New Duo") was released on the Nintendo 3DS, which first introduced us to Tim and Pikachu, and brought us the first detective game within the Pokémon franchise. I truly hope I don't have to explain what Pokémon is, but in short: Pokémon is a gigantic media franchise that started with videogames, but also features animated series, theatrical releases and muuuuuuch more. The games are about the titular Pokémon (Pocket Monsters), about 1000 different species of creatures with special powers. People use them for a variety of activities, from pets to using them for Pokémon fights and having them help with work. Pikachu, the best known Pokémon for example, is a yellow mouse species of the Electric type, capable of generating electricity for attacks. Meitantei Pikachu ~ Shin Combi Tanjou ("Detective Pikachu ~ Birth of a New Duo") was the first time a mystery adventure game had been made with Pokémon, but this release was basically only a preview: it was about three chapters long, and stopped just after Tim and Pikachu got their very first lead. It would take another two years before the first full game was released on the 3DS. It turned out the 2016 release was really just the first third of the final product Meitantei Pikachu (Detective Pikachu), a game which I quite enjoyed as a detective game set in the Pokémon world, as it actually did interesting things by combining the concept of Pokémon (creatures with unique powers) with puzzles and a mystery plot. But while the game did provide a full story, the disappearance of Harry was not resolved yet at the end of the game, so we had to wait for a sequel. Which took a long time to come. A live-action film of Detective Pikachu was released in 2019, which did provide a full story, but of course, it didn't follow the game exactly, so I always wanted to see how the story would be resolved in the games. And now it's 2023, and we finally have our answers!

Detective Pikachu Returns is a direct sequel to the 3DS game, with many references to events and characters from the first game. While not absolute necessary, it is recommended to play that one first as the two games do form one single narrative. Going back to my own reviews of the 3DS releases, I would say that this new release is still very similar to the previous release in terms of gameplay. During their hunt for answers, Tim and Pikachu constantly come across problems they have to solve or mysteries that need to be explained, ranging from identifying a thief to finding a way through a hidden temple. After collecting both physical evidence and witness testimony at the scene, Pikachu will lead Tim through some questions to see if they can solve their conundrum (= testing the player). Once the problem is solved, the story progresses, bringing new locales and new challenges for the duo. Rinse and repeat. This was how it worked in the 3DS games, and how it works now. It is not a very challenging game by any means, though that is also because it is clear this is aimed at a younger audience, and it works perfectly fine as a "first mystery adventure game". You usually just find all the necessary evidence and testimony, and then Pikachu will condense that information in usually three or four "hypotheses" based on everything you know. Of course, only one of them will be correct, while the others wrong. A game for an older audience would probably implement a step between that, where the player themselves has to use the evidence first to create a hypothesis, and then have those hypotheses as possible solutions, but again, this is for children, and thus I don't really see a problem with the game condensing this process a bit, as the proposed solutions by Pikachu are still logically based on the evidence you collected, both the correct and false solutions, and at least the questions and their related answers make sense, unlike Detective Conan: The Mirapolis Investigation, which for some reason always had questions that didn't precisely match up with the correct answers, leading to frustrating gameplay. This game adds some moments not found in the first game, where Pikachu teams up with other Pokémon to solve puzzles, like having to shove boxes to clear a way like Sokoban, but these moments don't really add very much in terms of gameplay.

Detective Pikachu is unique in the sense we get Pikachu as a partner, who can communicate with other Pokémon. Mystery-wise, you can just think of Pokémon as intelligent animals with specific powers, or perhaps even as yokai and this opens up possibilities for interesting mysteries. In a "normal" detective story, you can't really have people ask random animals whether they saw the culprit pass by, or whether they themselves were part of a criminal plot, but in this game, it is possible. Pokémon all have unique special powers, which allow for unique mystery plots a we have Pokémon who can fly, turn invisible, can see through walls and all of that, but at the same time, for basically all people who know Pokémon, this still results in a fair play detective story, as this is all shared knowledge: we all know Pikachu can use electric attacks, we all know Gengar is a ghost. It's not secret I love mystery fiction with supernatural/magical elements in them, and Detective Pikachu is really no different from that, heck, I'd say it even feels fairer to a lot of people, because players know the world of Pokémon and their position in the fictional society very well.

That is also why however I was a bit disappointed this game had so many chapters that focused less on providing such mystery plots. The second and fourth chapter don't really have a clear main mystery, and are also set in locations further away from society, resulting in not very interesting plots mystery-wise, and the way Pokémon are involved with them. The second chapter in particular is a bit more puzzle-focused, where you are just exploring a ruin, and constantly solving minor puzzles to clear the way so you can move deeper in. In the original 3DS game too, the best parts were those where Pokémon were used in human crimes, set in very human-filled locations, and that's the same case here, only it's a minority of the cases in Detective Pikachu Returns that deal with that. The first case is probably the case that adhers to this preferred model the most, dealing with a jewel theft from a large mansion, with Tim and Pikachu having to deal with both human and Pokémon suspects, and investigate who'd have the opportunity and means to pull off the crime. A later chapter involves a gigantic wave of Pokémon causing trouble in Ryme City, leading to them being detained by the Pokémon Protection Bureau, the police-equivalent for Pokémon. These Pokémon however claim they are innocent of the crimes they are accused of, and Tim and Pikachu work slowly to verify their alibis and try to figure out whether someone is setting these Pokémon up and why. These plots are the most fun, as you see a lot more of how Pokémon are integrated in human society and how their powers could be used for crimes, or for solving crimes, which is something you sometimes see depicted in the anime, but less so in other Pokémon games (which focus for example more on trainer battles, or collecting Pokémon etc.). But I have to say, on the whole, I do think the 3DS game was better in terms of balance, as Detective Pikachu Returns just dedicates less time of its playtime to these mystery plots, as the more story-drived episodes are more about solving minor obstacles on Tim and Pikachu's way, rather than about solving things like impossible crimes.

It's also a missed opportunity the side quest mechanic wasn't used more extensively. You can now help other people and Pokémon who have their own problems while you're working on a case, but besides them mostly being (cute) fetch quests, each chapter usually confines you to a certain location (with several sublocations), and you don't really get to revisit locations from previous chapters. Which I don't really understand, as many locations are actually interconnected, so making the game a bit more "open-world"-esque would really not have changed much, but for example, you can enter certain streets in the first chapter, but which are closed off in the third chapter. Just keeping everything open would have made for a more lively setting, and also allowed for more interesting side-quests spanning chapters, or for example still offer minor human-crime mysteries even if the chapter's main focus is on a human-lite setting.

Story-wise, the game does finally provide a conclusion to the quest of Tim and Pikachu looking for Harry, so in that sense, I'd definitely still recommend this game to anyone who played the 3DS game. People who have seen the live-action film will probably recognize a lot of the cues in Detective Pikachu Returns, and it seems likely the producers of that film already had access to a rough outline of the events of this game, but still, the games are their own world, and I still had fun playing the game. Also, the game is cute. Really cute. I took soooo many screenshots of this game, just of Pikachu babbling, making funny comments or simply walking around.

Detective Pikachu Returns is undeniably a very simple mystery adventure game, but I don't ever think it ever aspired to be anything but that, and while I do think the 3DS game was the better mystery game overall, I did have fun playing this game and finally finding out what happened to Harry together with Tim and Pikachu. While I can't deny I would have wanted to see more of the human-Pokémon society-focused crimes in this game as they are by far the best moments of the series, I did enjoy my time in Ryme City again. It would be fun to see another Detective Pikachu game that would explore the potential of these supernatural-themed mysteries more, and perhaps aimed at a slightly older audience, but I can only hope! For now, I'm just glad we finally have closure after seven years!

Original Japanese title(s): 『帰ってきた　名探偵ピカチュウ』

The Adventure of The Silent Partner

I wanna be the very best 

Like no one ever was 

To catch them is my real test

To train them is my cause

Pokémon Theme (Jason Paige)

Sooo, was the biggest detective-themed Hollywood movie of this year for the west?

Tim Goodman is a young insurance agent who one day is informed his father, private detective Harry Goodman, passed away in a traffic incident. Tim had an estranged relationship with his father, but he travels to Ryme City to take care of the necessary formalities. Even in a world where Pokémon live, Ryme City can be called a unique metropolis. There are about 700 different species of Pokémon (Pocket Monsters), each with their own special powers and characteristics. People use them for a variety of activities, from pets to using them for Pokémon fights and having them help with work. In Ryme City however, humans and Pokémon live peacefully side-by-side and Pokémon trainer battles are even forbidden. An enormous surprise awaits Tim in Harry's apartment in Ryme City however: not only does he find his father's partner Pikachu (who was first presumed to have also died in the same accident) roaming around in the room, Tim can actually understand what this Pikachu is saying! The electric yellow mouse-type Pokémon is suffering from amnesia and can't remember much, but he tells Tim that he believes Harry is still alive out there, given that he survived the accident too. He is convinced the incident had to do with a case Harry was investigating, involving a mysterious gas container still left in Harry's office. Tim is the only human who can understand Pikachu, which makes Pikachu believe this is destiny and that they have to work together to find Harry. Tim is at first very reluctant to help Pikachu, but then they start uncovering a large conspiracy involving Pokémon experiments in the 2019 live-action movie Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

Given that Nintendo's famous Pokémon franchise is not 'just' a videogame series, but a worldwide cultural phenomenom that has lasted for some decades, I doubt I have to explain that much about Pokémon, and long-time readers of this blog will also be familiar with the title Detective Pikachu: it was a spin-off mystery adventure game released in 2018 for the Nintendo 3DS which I enjoyed a lot. The game may have been geared towards a younger audience, but it was fun, and actually did interesting things with combining the concept of Pokémon (creatures with unique powers) with puzzles and a mystery plot. The movie Pokémon Detective Pikachu, incidentally also the very first live-action movie based on the franchise, is based on this specific videogame, though you have to note that is not a 1:1 adaptation. The basic story of Tim and a wise-cracking Pikachu teaming up to uncover Harry's fate while investigating his last case is of course the same and there are scenes in the movie that will remind you of specific events/places of the game, but the game is quite a bit longer with far more locales/sub-storylines and in fact, the story of the videogame will continue in an upcoming sequel, while the movie is a standalone story that wraps up everything at the end.

For the mystery fans, I'd definitely recommend the game over the movie though. Pokémon Detective Pikachu is obviously aimed at a younger audience and it's fairly enjoyable as an adventure movie (though I still think photo-realistic CG Pokémon are creepy). Ryan Reynolds seems to have a blast voicing the supercute Pikachu and if anything, the interrogation scene with Mr. Mime (a mime Pokémon) is hilarious and a must-see. But as a mystery movie, it is quite lacking, especially considering the source material had plenty of great moments to offer. There' is barely any problem solving in this movie, no carefully thought-out clewing or meaningful foreshadowing. It's a buddy movie with a very straight path: Tim and Pikachu first find a clue in Harry's office, which leads them to location A, there they get a clue to location B, etc. And there's some really lazy fill-in-the-gaps moments where characters start to explain everything out of nowhere or the heroes stumble upon conveniently significant clues or locations, so the core mystery plot never feels rewarding, as there's never any proper build-up and clewing. One could just say, 'it's a kids movie', but so are the Detective Conan movies and most of them are proper mystery movies. And as I said, the source material (the Detective Pikachu videogame) does work as a mystery adventure game, despite being designed for kids too.

One element which made the Detective Pikachu game satisfying as a mystery game, was that it really incorporated the various Pokémon and their powers in the plot. The game was divided in chapters, in which Tim and Pikachu had to solve smaller mysteries/happenings during their investigation, for example 'accidents' that occured in a television studio or how to escape a blocked cave. Solving these smaller puzzle plots always involved the various species of Pokémon and their specific powers: sometimes you had to deduce which Pokémon was the 'culprit' by observing the clues and figuring out what kind of Pokémon would be able to do such a thing, sometimes you had to pick the right Pokémon to help you with a certain task, considering their special powers and characteristics. The game was also really intent on presenting a fair play mystery too, as it was always sure to inform the player in various ways what the characteristics of these Pokémon were beforehand, so even people new to Pokémon could enjoy the game. It resulted in unique situations, where you had 'crimes' committed by invisible characters etc., but which where still absolutely fair because each Pokémon and their powers are documented and well-presented in the game.

This element isn't really present in the movie, sadly to say. While Tim and Pikachu have plenty of screentime together, there's barely any mystery-solving that is truly dependent on Pokémon and their powers. Most Pokémon that appear are either just background characters, or have fallen victim to the experiments and gone berserk, attacking our heroes. There's one minor moment in the finale that actually has some good foreshadowing that involves Pokémon powers, but that is all: you don't get those moments from the game where Tim and Pikachu really sit down, consider all that has happened and manage to deduce how it was done and which Pokémon were used to accomplish certain tasks. Because of that, most Pokémon don't really even feel involved in the story of Pokémon Detective Pikachu: they're just there as props and hardly interact with other characters or the plot. Which is a real shame, for if there's one thing the Detective Pikachu game really did well, is portray a world where Pokémon and humans live together, and build a mystery plot on that.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu has its moments as a live-action Pokémon movie, even if it's never outstanding or going beyond (reserved) expectations. The quips and banter of Pikachu are fun to watch, and the story is not as bad as you'd first fear when hearing the words live-action and Pokémon together. It's just a shame that as a mystery movie, it basically ignores all the potential the original source videogame offered. Had it gone the effort to really integrate the fantastical of the various Pokémon species up to with a mystery plot or even smaller puzzles/problems in the story, I might have been able to recommend Pokémon Detective Pikachu as a mystery movie (for kids), similar to how the Detective Pikachu does work as a standalone mystery game, but as it is now, I can only see Pokémon Detective Pikachu as a Pokémon movie. Disney's Zootopia (2016) is similar in concept, but was more entertaining as a mystery movie too.

It's All in the Game

「ピカッとひらめいた! 」

『名探偵ピカチュウ』

 

"A bolt of brilliance!" 

"Detective Pikachu"

While they have been a while for a long time, episodic videogames really took off with the many games by TellTale Games like Sam & Max and The Walking Dead and is now a commonly seen format in the videogame industry. Like the term says, an episodic videogame is like an episode of a series: it is considerably shorter than the usual videogame (and also cheaper, of course), but it is intended as part of a larger, contineous series and are released in a more frequent schedule than conventional videogames. This format results in cheaper releases that can be delivered more quickly to the consumer and it gives the developers an early stream of income as they work on subsequent episodes in which they can also incorporate consumer feedback on earlier episodes. This format is somewhat similar to the serialization of novels (which is also an ongoing service), though still very different in key elements, with the most important distinction being that episodic videogames can stand on their own for the most part, while installments in serializations are usually not standalone, as you need the context of the installments before, and also after to make sense of the story. An episodic videogame ideally is a vital part to the whole series, but should also feature its own storyline that is mostly resolved within that particular episode, giving the player some closure at the end of the deal. That is of course not often the case with novel serializations, as the installments are basically excerpts.

Episodic mystery fiction is not common, but there are some examples. Videogames like Famicom Tantei Club and Trick X Logic were originally episodic releases for example. If we look at printed books, the interlinked short story collection is an example, if the short stories themselves are published seperately first before being collected in a volume, though usually, the overall storyline of episodic videogames is far stronger than those you'd usually see in interlinked short stories. Basically, episodic videogames and interlinked short story collections are standing right opposite each other: the interlinked short story stands on its own, but can also be read in relation to the other stories, while the episodic videogame is intended as a vital part of a series, but also happens to work as a seperate piece.

Two years ago, I reviewed the 3DS download-only videogame Meitantei Pikachu ~ Shin Combi Tanjou ("Detective Pikachu ~ Birth of a New Duo"), which was a simple, but entertaining mystery videogame starring Nintendo's famous Pokémon franchise. I absolutely loved it as it was a funny game that actually made creative use of the creatures for its mystery plots, but I mentioned it was only the first episode in what was obviously supposed to be a longer series. I even ended my review with "Let's hope new episodes will follow soon.". At the time, I assumed new episodes would follow in a few months, half a year tops, as that was the standard release schedule for an episodic videogame. How wrong I was. It seems they eventually simply gave up on the episodic format, and decided on releasing a single, full-length standalone version of the game instead! So instead of releasing seperate episodes, they made us wait until March 2018 to release Meitantei Pikachu (Detective Pikachu) on the 3DS, which includes all the chapters of the story (the first episode that was originally released in Japan corresponds to the first three chapters of the final product). So I was a bit bummed I had to wait two years for this mystery to be finally solved, but as I really liked the original release, I had no choice but to get it.

The story is of course exactly the same as the original release. Young Tim Goodman moves to Ryme City in search of his father, a private detective who has gone missing while working on a case. Immediately after his arrival in the city, Tim runs into a talking Pikachu, an electric mouse was actually the partner of Tim's father Harry. Harry and Pikachu got in an car accident and only Pikachu was found. Pikachu lost his memories of what happened, but he gained the powers to communicate in human speech with Tim. Together, the two try to find out what happened to Harry. The original episode ended right after Tim got his first real lead to what happened to his father, but the story of the complete version of Detective Pikachu obviously goes beyond that, and while it still leaves some questions unanswered for a potential sequel, Detective Pikachu works perfectly as a standalone game or a "first season" of a series.

I was reading through my review of the first episode again, and to be honest, there's little I want to add to that. I really recommend you reading that review first, as the full version of Detective Pikachu runs on the exact same way the first episode paved, so all my points still stand. During their hunt for answers, Tim and Pikachu come across problems they have to solve or mysteries that need to be explained. After collecting evidence and testimony at the scene, Pikachu will lead Tim through some questions to see if they can solve their conundrum (=testing the player). Once the problem is solved, the story progresses, bringing new locales and new challenges for the duo. What makes Detective Pikachu stand out is how it incorporates Pokémon into its mysteries. There are about 700 different species of the creatures they call Pokémon (Pocket Monsters), each with their own special powers and characteristics. People use them for a variety of activities, from pets to using them for Pokémon fights and having them help with work. Pikachu, the best known Pokémon for example, is a yellow mouse species of the Electric type, capable of generating electricity for attacks. Only a selection of them appear in this game, but Detective Pikachu makes excellent use of the well-documented powers of the Pokémon to bring a detective story you're unlikely to find elsewhere. For example, Pokémon usually can't speak with humans, but through Pikachu's interpretation skills, Tim's able to question Pokémon for valuable testimony, testimony that human characters usually can't give. These 'humanized animals' allow for all kinds of neat things in the mystery plot, like getting testimony from Flying-type Pokémon, while in the real world, you wouldn't be able to question a bird even if they were witness to some crime.

The fact all the Pokémon are all fleshed-out creatures with special powers is also cleverly used for the mystery plots, as sometimes the powers of a Pokémon are used to commit a seemingly impossible crime, or you yourself have to use their powers to accomplish a task, or even deduce the identity of a culprit-Pokémon by examining the skills it used or other characteristics. Because Pokémon are so well-documented regarding what they can and can't do, it's still a fair-play mystery even if some Pokémon can turn invisible or walk through walls, and everything you need to know to solve the mystery is within the game, so you don't need to know much about Pokémon to enjoy this game.

The cinematic presentation is also top-notch by the way, and I think that people who like Zootopia will really enjoy this game. The banter with Pikachu (who sounds and talks like an middle-aged man) is really funny, and really gives the game its own voice and face. Detective Pikachu is also slated for a Hollywood live-action adaptation by the way, and I'm actually very curious to see how that'll turn out! The source material is certainly brimming with potential for a great film.

They also released an amiibo-figure of Detective Pikachu, which I couldn't resist. I think this is the biggest figure I have of a detective character (then again, the only other figures I have of detective characters are some small keychain mascottes of Detective Conan and Ace Attorney...). Sure beats the classic Sherlock Holmes bust!

So while it is undeniably a very simple adventure game, Detective Pikachu manages to be a very entertaining experience. It has great presentation, and while the story is a bit predictable in a cartoony way, it also brings creative mystery plots that make great use of the fact that this is a Pokémon game, resulting in a detective story that is totally unique and more importantly, incredibly fun.

Original Japanese title(s): 『名探偵ピカチュウ』

The Great Mouse Detective

「 オレは名探偵じゃない。名探偵だ」

『名探偵ピカチュウ　新コンビの誕生』

"I'm not a detective. I'm a great detective!"

"Detective Pikachu ~ Birth of a New Duo"

Pikapikapikachu? Pikapika. Pikapikapikkkachu. Pi!

When it was first announced in 2013 that a detective game starring the mascotte of the Pokémon franchise, Pikachu, was in the making, people were surprised for several reasons. One was the creepy facial mapping technology used for Pikachu. But people also got excited because it was so unexpected and yet somehow fitting, especially because Pikachu's voice actress, Ootani Ikue, also voices Mitsuhiko from Detective Conan, the Detective Boys member who is way too smart for his age. Fast-forward to January 2016, when Nintendo suddenly released this trailer of the 3DS game Meitantei Pikachu ~ Shin Combi Tanjou ("Detective Pikachu ~ Birth of a New Duo"), together with the announcement the game would be released the following week (first week of February). And people were surprised again. Not by the sudden release, but by the deep, manly voice Pikachu suddenly had. I decided immediately I needed this game. Meitantei Pikachu tells the story of Tim Goodman, a young man who has moved to Ryme City in search of his father, a private detective who has gone missing while working on a case. Immedaitely after his arrival in the city, Tim runs into the talking Pikachu, who was actually the partner of Tim's father Harry. Harry and Pikachu got in an car accident and only Pikachu was found. Pikachu lost his memories, but he gained the powers to communicate in human speech with Tim. Together, the two try to find out what happened to Harry.

Do I need to explain what Pokémon are? Pokémon is a popular media franchise that started with videogames, but also features animated series, theatrical releases and much, much, muuuuuuch more. The games are about the titular Pokémon (Pocket Monsters), about 700 different species of creatures with special powers. People use them for a variety of activities, from pets to using them for Pokémon fights and having them help with work. Pikachu, the best known Pokémon for example, is a yellow mouse species of the Electric type, capable of generating electricity for attacks.

I wouldn't say that all Pokémon games are for kids (stuff can get crazy complex in battles), but Meitantei Pikachu ~ Shin Combi Tanjou is definitely a mystery game geared for kids. But that's not a bad thing. I actually enjoyed this game a lot. During the game, Tim and Pikachu will come across mysteries, which they record in their notebook. To solve a mystery, the duo needs to find evidence, both of the physical kind, as well as testimony from both humans and other Pokémon. When you have gathered all the available evidence, the game (Pikachu) will prompt you to solve the mystery, which you do by combining the right evidence (there is also non-essential evidence). As the game is geared towards the younger public, the mysteries aren't super difficult, and can be solved just by carefully reading all the clues (and the game also nudges you in the right direction). There are no penalties for doing something wrong, they just have you reconsider your answers.

The game is called a "Dramatic Adventure", which in this sense means the game is very story-focused. You solve a mystery, the story advances, and you find yourself in a new spot with more mysteries to solve. You are always confined within a limited space (of several streets/rooms/areas) to find your clues, so it's never that difficult to find every ncessary clue. There is no way to stray from the correct path, so it's a very linear experience.

While I said the mysteries are not particuarly difficult (okay, they're easy), the game does offer something seldom seen in other mystery fiction. That is: the Pokémon themselves. And that makes this a very special detective story. Animals in mystery fiction have always been troublesome, because well, they're animals. But Pokémon do have a human side to them, and because Pikachu can talk (and 'translate' for Tim), you're actually able to get testimony from them. It adds a very original element to detective fiction, because now you have 'humanized animals' participating with the plot, which gives the mystery plot a lot of potential to do original things. Normally, you wouldn't be able to get testimony from birds. But in this game, you can get testimony from Flying type Pokémon. Meitantei Pikachu's mysteries might not be really complex, but it really is an original experience because of the use of Pokémon throughout the plot.

A while back, I wrote that a mystery starring youkai could be considered fair, because even though these are fictional and supernatural beings, they are actually well documented, meaning they have clear 'rules' and thus can be used in a fair mystery story. I'm glad to say that Meitantei Pikachu did precisely that. Pokémon are fictional creatures with extraordinary powers, but extremely well-documented and defined. Pokémon belong to certain types and learn certain powers. Within the world of Pokémon, there is the Pokédex, an encyclopedia on the many species of Pokémon. So while a talking, electricity-generating mouse might not be real, its powers and characteristics are 'defined' in enough detail in the fictional world for it to work within the framework of a fair-play mystery. Meitantei Pikachu has you make deductions based on the powers of the various Pokémon that appear within the story and therefore feels really fresh and original compared to 'boring realistic' mystery stories. And for those not very knowledgable on Pokémon: don't worry. All the clues necessary are available within the game.

Detective Pikachu deserves a special mention: he's a really fun character. Great voice-acting and animation really brings him alive and you soon forget he's basically a talking animal.  Sometimes, he acts like the cute mascotte figure he's supposed to be, at other times he sounds like a hardened private eye. As an original detective character, I think he's one of the most memorable characters I've seen in years!

The only 'but' I have for Meitantei Pikachu is the fact the game is fairly short considering the price. It's also only the first episode in a longer storyline, meaning it ends with 'To Be Continued" and leaves you with quite some unanswered questions. This first episode does end with a climax in the storyline, but to be honest, considering the price I had really expected this game to be at least one hour longer. I'll probably play the following episodes too, but I do really hope they do something about the pricing.

So while I'm not really sold on the cost/performance ratio of the game, I did really enjoy Meitantei Pikachu ~ Shin Combi Tanjou as a funny, original and accessible game. Let's hope new episodes will follow soon.

Original Japanese title(s): 『名探偵ピカチュウ　新コンビ誕生』

『時の過ぎゆくままに。。。』

「あんたが自分を信じなくても俺はあんたを信じるよ」
『金田一少年の事件簿：剣持警部の殺人』

"Even if you don't believe yourself, I believe in you."
"The Case Files of Young Kindaichi: Chief Inspector Kenmochi's Murder"

Writing on detectivey-stuff is not going really well lately, mostly because I hardly read here. It at least is not a problem of not having enough material, because shelving problems are slowly appearing. I had started writing about how Japanese detectives are often like mini travel guides, as if they are not set in Tokyo or Osaka, they are often set at touristic spots all across Japan. Which was mainly inspired by a Wednesday TV drama I am watching, Meitantei Asami Mitsuhiko: Saishuushou ("Great Detective Asami Mitsuhiko: The Final Chapter") , which is about a journalist traveling all across Japan writing about touristic attractions, solving crimes and basically is an excuse to have every story set in another part of Japan. But then I realized this traveling aspect is also to be found very easily in Western (English) detectives, with the Orient Express and the Nile or just all across England, so it was not that interesting (though apparently the Asami Mitsuhiko series is quite popular here because it's so much like a travel guide with stuff on local legends).

But I digress. I don't do much reading except for homework now. Of course, I am actually required to read Edogawa Rampo stuff, as I have to hand in a book report next month for my research paper here, but even books with titles as The Era of Rampo: Ero Guro Nonsense can't help this reading-slump. Heck, even reading manga is not going as fast as it should.

Games are progressing quite good though. But while I enjoy detectives and games, they seldom work really good together. Case in point: the recently released Nintendo DS game Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo: Akuma no Satsujin Koukai ("The Case Files of Young Kindaichi: The Devil's Killer Voyage"). As releases in the Kindaichi Shounen series are not frequent anyway, I was kinda looking forward to this game, but as soon as I started up this game, I knew it would disappoint me, having played another game by the same developer. Please, developers at Tomcat, senseless clicking on every part of the map in the hopes the story progresses is not fun. Nor is diffusing bombs. Especially your bombs. Didn't you learn with Galileo DS?!

It's a problem I see often in detective games, where developers don't seem to be able to streamline the story. Either the story goes too fast, not allowing the player a chance to think or do anything at all, or the developers don't streamline the story at all and you are left clicking on everything, hoping you find the trigger for the next story event. A detective novel usually flows from one event to another, whether it being new information or the analyzing of information, but somehow, developers never seem able to really translate this to a working game system. And then you have the problem of developers wanting to make a detective game more like a game, so they insert bomb diffusing segments in the game. Which. Suck. Just because I am playing on a DS doesn't mean that you have to insert bad touchscreen gameplay.

Luckily, I had two new Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo volumes to wash away the memories of that game. They may only release two volumes of the manga a year, but it's always something to look forward too. And Pokémon HeartGold has found a great home in my Nintendo DS. After so many years enslaving poor critters is still addicting. And Butterfree, after so many years, you still are my favorite. Till I find a fishing rod to get me a Staryu. To get me a Starmie. 

Original Japanese title(s): 『金田一少年の事件簿　悪魔の殺人航海』