The culprit is you! Or was it somebody else?
What They Say:
A teenager with no name and no home wanders from one city to the next, burdened by the weight of his extraordinary ability. When he is accused of murdering a woman that he’s never met, he sets out to prove his innocence and find the true killer. The investigation quickly takes a turn for the complicated when a strange voice appears in his head, warning him to watch his step.
Search for clues, interrogate witnesses, and find a murderer. Even with your extra abilities, it will still take solid facts and logic to prove your innocence!
Enjoy this cult classic indie mystery visual novel with HD art, backgrounds, and assets!
Content:
I love mystery games and I love visual novels. Since Jisei: The First Case HD is a combination of both, I can already tell that I’m going to like this game. I will admit that I never played the original version of the game that came out many years ago. This is a whole new experience for me! Who’s ready to solve a mystery!? I know I am. Let’s get to it, shall we?
You play as a young man who never reveals his name to anyone. So secretive! Teenagers, am I right? The story begins when this young man awakens at a café. I thought coffee was supposed to keep you awake! After making his way towards the bathroom, he discovers the body of a dead woman. Well, if he wasn’t awake before he definitely is now. And unfortunately for him, he’s accused of being the murderer immediately. Wrong place, wrong time. Thus, you spend the whole game trying to prove your innocence and identify the true murderer. It’s a good thing that the off duty detective that was conveniently there gave us permission to investigate and ask questions! For a detective, he sure trusted a boy who wouldn’t give out his name quite easily.
As I said, we’re given the freedom to search the café and talk to everyone. You can find clues about the murder by examining the room you’re in. If you don’t examine all of the rooms, you may miss something important! I really like that aspect of the game. It makes it feel like you’re an actual detective, albeit an amateur one. If you don’t examine any of the rooms, you’ll probably never clear your name. Search for those clues! Of course, talking to the people at the café is another good way to gather information. The more you talk to them, the more you learn about them. Are one of these people the culprit? Is the culprit even in this café? That’s for you to find out! You can also report everything you learn to the off duty detective. Seriously, why is this detective giving us so much freedom!? This game is very short so don’t expect a ton of different endings as you’d often find in visual novels. Let’s just hope you manage to find the actual killer or you might be the one going to prison! Also, maybe don’t drink the coffee. Just a bit of helpful advice. Don’t forget to save often, too! It can be game over very quickly if you’re not careful.
By the way, did I mention that the nameless boy has psychic powers? I didn’t? Well. he does. Why does he have psychic powers? Why can he hear a voice in his head? What does this voice want with him? Are there others like him? While a few of these questions are answered, you’re mostly left with a lot of unanswered questions by the end. You spend the whole game solving the mystery of the murder you stumbled upon and realize that the true mystery is actually trying to figure out just who this nameless kid is. Honestly, the game feels like a prologue to a much larger story. After doing a bit of research, it seems that is exactly the case. I guess I’ll have to play the other games in the series to see the whole picture!
The art style of the game is nice. It actually made me a bit nostalgic. It reminded me of the visual novels I used to play when I was younger. Good times, good times. I’m also a fan of the character designs. The game’s opening was pretty neat and the song was hauntingly beautiful. The soundtrack did a good job conveying the mood of a mystery. One thing that really surprised me is that the game was fully voiced! It was definitely a pleasant surprise. I even recognized a few familiar voices such as Kira Buckland and Cherami Leigh. That’s some great talent right there!
This game is published by Ratalaika Games. All you trophy hunters out there already know what I’m getting at. If you’re looking for an easy platinum trophy, then look no further. Jisei: The First Case HD is a very short game. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to obtain it. If you skip all the text, you can get it in under an hour. Although, I’d recommend actually reading through the text and immersing yourself in the story. If you’re going to spend money on a game, might as well enjoy it, right?
In Summary:
Jisei: The First Case HD is a short yet enjoyable game. As I mentioned before, the game feels like a prologue to a much bigger story. You’re left with more questions than answers by the end. If you want to see how the story unravels, you’ll have to play the other games in the series, Kansei and Yousei. I’m hoping those two games will eventually get ported to consoles as well. On the bright side, Jisei does a good job piquing your interest. It makes you wish the game was longer, you know? It also makes me really want to play the other games in the series. I’m certainly interested in finding out more about the nameless boy and his powers. That being said, if you’re looking for a mystery game or a visual novel that won’t take up too much of your time, I’d recommend picking this game up!
Grade: C+
Publisher: Ratalaika Games
Developer: Sake Visual
Genre: Mystery, Visual Novel
Age Rating: T for Teen
Number of Players: 1
Release Date: July 22nd, 2020
MSRP: $4.99
Platform: PlayStation 4 (Reviewed), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
