Case for Three Detectives

"The more that you read, the more things you will know."

"I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"  

I know I haven't been keeping up with my video game reviews lately, partially simply because I have found it more difficult to find the time to play games, and when I do finally finish them, I forget about writing the review. So err, Staffer Case review, I'll get to it one day!

And yes, I did also play Toshi Densetsu Kaitai Center, or as it's better known outside of Japan: Urban Myth Dissolution Center. I had of course already played the Wakaidou Makoto games by the same developer in the past and reviewed them here, so I been looking forward to playing Urban Myth Dissolution Center when it was first announced, and I did get it on the release date. Long story short, I loved the game overall, though it's definitely a game that was better in atmosphere and mood than the actual gameplay, which can be very tedious and repetitive. The game has been well received in Japan, with a lot of merchandise being produced, the series seeing a manga adaptation and a novel adaptation and it also won a Japan Game Award earlier this week.

Anyway, I have been really into the game, so I had been looking forward to Toshi Densetsu Kaitai Center - Danpenshuu (2025) or as the cover also says: Urban Myth Dissolution Center - Collection of Fragments, which released last week in Japan. While there is a "straight" novelization of the game events available too, Collection of Fragments is a short story collection by five different authors, each presenting a completely original story. These stories are "fragments" set before, during and after the events of the actual game, so fans of the game who long for more material, should defnitely look into this book. For those who haven't played the game, the basic premise is that there is a shady organization called the Urban Myth Dissolution Center, a kind of detective agency specializing in abnormal occurences that are related to urban legends. The center is led by the enigmatic Meguriya, an absolute nerd for all things urban legend, but also cunning and manipulative in the way he controls his employees. The center has two "field workers": Jasmine, who provides transport and support and recently hired (duped) Azumi, a college student who has a weird ability that allows her to see ghosts of the past, a power that proves useful in solving the cases she and Jasmine investigate under the supervision of Meguriya. One warning however is that this book is best played after playing the game, as it does spoil certain key events and character reveals of the game. Also: you play the game from the perspective of Azumi, but the three stories of the five that focus on the center, are told from the POV of Jasmine, and because of that, certain things you only learn later on in the game, are revealed right away to the reader (as obviously, Jasmine herself would know about herself). So reader, be warned.

The first story, Ten wo Tsunagu Mono ("Those who Connect the Dots") is by Van Madoy, who mentioned on Twitter (what doesn't he mention on Twitter) that he did his best to make sure it was a proper puzzle mystery story. His story is set soon after the first case in the game, and starts when Azumi and Jasmine are asked to investigate a fried chicken restaurant's security footage, which for some reason has been leaked on the internet. The footage is of the owner closing his shop, but after the shop's closed, a mysterious animal-like creature walks by, sparking rumors of genetically modified chickens being used in the shop. As Azumi and Jasmine investigate the rumors and the footage however, they learn there's more behind this case than meets the eye. Of all the five stories in this collection, this is definitely the most orthodox mystery story. Because the story is told from the point of view of Jasmine, the story feels different from the game: important segments in the game where you'd play as Azumi and solve certain mysteries, happen off-screen while Jasmine is relaxing in the company van, and things like that, but overall, the mystery is decently constructed (though a bit obvious) and while the identity of the mysterious creature is a bit silly, it kinda works in this world, considering the theme of these games and the use of the social media aspect of the game in this story is pretty clever.

Shikku suru Bourei ("The Racing Phantom") has Jasmine and Azumi investigate a famous urban legend: the headless motorcycle racer! A video of an influencer has been gaining views lately, as the image of a headless motorcycle racer was spotted in the background, and more witnesses claim to have seen this racer on the mountain roads. Is this headless racer really a ghost, or is it the handiwork of a man? This story by Tsukinami Kira is very faithful to the atmosphere of the game, following the same structure of Azumi and Meguriya first determining what the urban myth is they are dealing with and the subsequential dissolution of the myth, and also includes the social media investigation aspect of the game; while the Madoy story use the social media aspect in a more clever way, the use here feels more like the game. While the trick behind the racer itself is not super surprising, I think as an Urban Myth Dissolution Center story, this one was by far the most succesful at providing "more content like the game." 

Ki no Mori, Tatariishi ("The Forest of Taboos, The Cursed Stone") by Miyamoto Mirei and Hibe Seika's Shinrei Flamenco ("Ghost Flamenco") both focus not on the center trio, but on fan favorite characters, going by all the fanart on social media: in the former story, we see the influencer Kinoko and Yamada Gasmask go on a camp together, while in the latter, we follow a certain tour guide soon after he returns to Japan after living abroad, and his experience with a ghost haunting the place he lives at. The first is barely a mystery story, but the tour guide story is actually a pretty fun, if predictable horror-mystery story that is also genuinely funny. 

Tomariki ni Kyuusoku wo ("To Perch") by Okita Yoshihito is set some months after the climatic finale of the game, so even more spoiler warnings here. The story once again opts to follow Jasmine, who this time is on her own as she's hired to help transport the young child of a high-ranking official to a safe place. The boy however claims he saw a ghost. Jasmine has no powers unlike Azami and Meguriya, so she doesn't feel like she's the right person to be doing this, but the reader soon learns she can certainly hold her own when t comes to investigating seemingly supernatural cases. The case itself is not super exciting, but it proides an adequate explanation to why the boy saw a ghost. While the story is set after the main game, it works perfectly as a bridge to the epilogue of the game, so definitely recommended reading for those who like Jasmine as a character.

Overall, I'd say Collection of Fragments is a pretty fun read... if you're a fan of Urban Myth Dissolution Center. It does the bare minimum to explain the basic setting/characters of the game, but on the other hand, it is not afraid to spoil certain twists of the game early on, so it really knows it audience. This also means the mystery plots are not that complex, as they were not like that in the game either. In that respect, I do think Madoy wrote the most complex one (even if on a scale, it's still fairly simple). The second story is the best Urban Myth Dissolution Center-esque story though, and the one you must read if you long for more of the type of stories you played in the game.

While I am at it, I wanted to very briefly discuss two other game-related stories I read earlier this week: they are so short they don't really warrant their own post, so I might as well talk about them here. The first one is Kamaitachi no Yoru: A Novel (Night of the Sickle Weasles - A Novel", 1995) by Abiko Takemaru. This was a completely original novella included in the Kamaitachi no Yoru Official Fan Book and acts as another "variant" of the basic story of the first and very influential Kamaitachi no Yoru game on the Super Famicom, a game that plays as a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure and which revolves around a murder that happens in a small lodging house that has been snowed in. Abiko was the original writer of the game, and so it's only fitting he wrote this extra scenario, which again revolves around murders happening in the pension Spur. The story is presented as a Guess-the-Culprit scenario, with seperated "problem" and "solution" parts and a Challenge to the Reader, but the story is fairly short and Abiko spends a lot of time focusing on the clues necessary to solve the mystery, making it too obvious what the main trick is about. This scenario was included in certain later ports/remakes of the game (I believe the GameBoy Advance port, as well as the PS Vita remake), but it's not something you're really missing out on if you happen to have a different version that lacks this story. Interestingly, this novel is actually printed "backwards" in the Kamaitachi no Yoru Official Fan Book: if you start from the normal "front" cover, you get all the fan-oriented content like interviews and things like that, if you start from the "back", you simply start reading Kamaitachi no Yoru: A Novel. 

The other story I wanted to discuss is Kitayama Takekuni's Choutantei no Narikata - Halara Nightmare no Baai, or How To Be A Master Detective: A Halara Nightmare Case, which is a short story Kitayama wrote for the enhanced release of the game Rain Code (Rain Code +), with Halara being one of the master detectives who works with game protagonist Yuma as they investigate the curious incidents in the Kanai Ward. This story is set in the past and starts with Halara being transported in a prison van. He infiltrated the prison in search of missing mafia money, but things went wrong, and now he's being treated like a real prisoner. An accident later means an escape not only for him, but also for the other inmates who were being transported. It's snowing heavily outside though, so they seek shelter, but when they arrive at a little cabin, they find the murdered body of another fellow inmate who was being transporte. Who is the killer? The story is fairly short, but I think Kitayama did a great job at presenting a story that builds on Halara as presented in the game, but used in a way the game couldn't do. I was actually surprised by how neatly he pulled it off. If you already have vanilla Rain Code, I wouldn't say it's worth upgrading to Rain Code + just for this story, but if you can read it, definitely do!

I didn't really manage to write too deeply about the mystery plots of today's books, but the main theme is the same for all three books: these books are definitely meant for the people who have already played the games they are based on, so don't even consider reading them if you haven't played them. Of these three, I think the Urban Myth Dissolution Center and Rain Code ones do have interesting points about them that make them worth a read, while the Kamaitachi no Yoru story fails to add something substantial or original (and you can actually play it in game form in certain versions of the game anyway).

Original Japanese title(s): 『都市伝説解体センター　断篇集』:円居挽「点を繋ぐ者」/月並きら「疾駆する亡霊」/  宮本深礼「忌の杜、祟り石 」/ 日部星花「幽霊フラメンコ」/ 尾北圭人「泊まり木に休息を」 

我孫子武丸『かまいたちの夜　A Novel』 

北山猛邦『超探偵のなり方 ハララ＝ナイトメアの場合』