Murder in the Crooked House / 斜め屋敷の犯罪

At the northern tip of Japan lies an architectural marvel known as the Crooked House, a large mansion built at a slight angle. It is the home of wealthy businessman Hamamoto Kozaburou, his daughter and some servants. One Christmas he invites some business associates to spend the holidays at the Crooked House. Unfortunately, the festivities are brought to a halt when corpses start turning up inside locked rooms.

Whodunnit: Murder in Mystery Manor & Whodunnit: Murder on Mystery Island

Several years ago, there was a murder mystery game show called Whodunnit? that ran for a season. It was entertaining to watch, but it was far too removed from actual detective fiction to provide much satisfaction as a mystery. As it turns out, two tie-in books written by show creator Anthony Zuiker were released at about the same time: Murder in Mystery Manor and Murder on Mystery Island. They are... pretty much the exact same as the TV show, down to format and flaws.

The Judas Window

James Answell has been accused of murdering his fiancee's father, Avory Hume. The case is quite grim: the murder occurred in Hume's study, where every window and the sole door was bolted—not merely locked!—from the inside. There were no secret passages, and absolutely no gaps in any of the entrances. The murder weapon was an arrow that had been hanging in the study, and the only fingerprints on it are Answell's. Answell claims that this was a set-up and that he drank tampered whiskey... but the decanter in Hume's study is full, all the glasses are dry, and the doctor who checks Answell concludes he wasn't drugged.

Despite these overwhelming circumstances, one man believes in Answell's innocence—Sir Henry Merrivale—and takes up his defense in court.

The Witch of the Low Tide

I find The Witch of the Low Tide a bit funny, because it is very obviously structured in a way to make the synopsis more exciting, but misleading.

The "intended" synopsis is: Psychiatrist David Garth is infatuated with the young widow Betty Calder. However, one night a Scotland Yard inspector appears before Garth and informs him that Betty is, in fact, a blackmailing Satanist prostitute. That night, one of Garth's friends identifies Betty as the woman who tried to strangle her aunt and then disappeared from a locked basement. And the next day, a corpse turns up in the bathing pavilion of Betty's house, even though there were no footprints in the surrounding sand. The Scotland Yard inspector insists that Betty is behind these crimes. Will Garth be able to discover the truth of these crimes and, more importantly, the truth of Betty herself?

The actual plot: All of the above, except we quickly learn that Betty has an older sister who looks just like her, Glynis Stukeley. Glynis is the blackmailing Satanist prostitute, Glynis is the person Garth's friend actually claims she witnessed, and—Glynis is the corpse in the bathing pavilion, so we can't pin that one on her. But two out of three ain't bad!

Deadly Premonition Origins

I knew Deadly Premonition Origins had a bit of a wonky reputation, but I thought I'd be able to look past its flaws, especially since it's a murder mystery. However, the graphics were dated, the story was nonsensical, the characters were bizarre, the atmosphere was oppressive, the controls were janky, the combat was clunky, and the survival elements were annoying. The game was a mediocre mish-mash that I just did not enjoy playing.

Missing Parts: the Detective Stories / ミッシングパーツ the TANTEI stories

Most murder mystery video games tend to be pretty silly. Maybe it's because, compared to mystery novels, they generally have a younger target audience, or because the visual element requires some extra pizazz, or some combination of the two along with some other things. While there are some novels that are out there, generally they're more restrained than video games.

But then we have a game like Missing Parts: The Detective Stories, which is about an ordinary guy, Magami Kyousuke, investigating ordinary murders in an ordinary city during his ordinary life. While there are some flavorful characters, there aren't any hyper-talented high schoolers or spirit mediums. These murders take place in apartments and alleys, not secluded islands or space stations.

And it's sooooo good.

Enola Holmes

Before watching Enola Holmes, I thought it would be about a mediocre mystery that Enola solves. After all, original movie mysteries tend to not be that great. But I can admit when I'm wrong.

Enola ended up not solving the mystery at all.

AI: The Somnium Files / AI：ソムニウムファイル

AI: The Somnium Files is the latest video game by Uchikoshi Kotaro, most famous for making the Zero Escape series (which I adore) and the Infinity series (which I have not played). After the... troubled ending of the Zero Escape franchise, it was exciting to see what Uchikoshi would pull out with his first original video game since 2009. (The Punch Line anime came first, so that statement is technically correct!) Knowing that AI: The Somnium Files would be heavily plot-focused, I made sure to minimize my exposure prior to release, and, after many months of waiting, finally played Uchikoshi's new masterpiece.

Unfortunately, sometimes, life is simply unfair.

Aviary Attorney

In a lawless land, only one man (with a distinctly avian name) stands between hapless defendants and ineffectual policeman, corrupt prosecutors, and indifferent judges, fighting for truth and justice against insurmountable odds.

Hmm, where have I seen this before...?

Aviary Attorney wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and, even though it was a neat idea to use classical illustrations and music and Aviary Attorney nails the witty banter of its namesake, the game falls short in nearly every other respect. I doubt Ace Attorney fans will be able to resist the temptation of such an obvious tribute, but just make sure to purchase Aviary Attorney on sale and temper your expectations.

Edge

Suzuki Kouji’s Edge is about Saeko Kuriyama, a freelance journalist who has been brought onto a project to do a TV special about the missing Fujinuma family. The Fujinuma case had captured national attention a few weeks prior, when they appeared to have vanished into thin air. They were a perfectly normal family—father, mother, son, daughter—and the state of their house implied that all four members disappeared in the middle of a perfectly normal evening. Despite the intense national scrutiny, absolutely no dark secrets or typical causes for disappearances (such as debt) came to light, and in fact no evidence or testimony of any kind was obtained. Even though this is Saeko’s first time officially working on a missing persons case, she has plenty of experience since her own father disappeared without a trace 18 years ago and she investigated his whereabouts thoroughly (to no avail).

Although the driving thrust of Edge is a disappearance, don’t mistake it for a fair-play mystery. If you allow me a video game comparison, this is much more Zero Escape than Ace Attorney. We aren’t investigating crimes; we’re logically diving into bizarre happenings with regular metaphilosophical tangents and a hefty slice of horror. (Suzuki also wrote Ring, by the way.)

The Invisible Guest

The Invisible Guest is about Adrián Doria, a successful businessman, who has been accused of murdering his mistress, as he was found locked inside a hotel room with her corpse. The entirety of the movie consists of Adrian's conversation with his defense attorney, Virginia Goodman, in his apartment as she questions Adrian on what happened and they try to solve the locked room and mount a defense.

The Misaki Black Swan Manor-White Swan Manor Serial Locked Room Murders / 三崎黒鳥館白鳥館連続密室殺人

What is the appeal of the mystery genre?

To me, it's two-fold: first there's the ability to engage with and grapple with the text as the characters confront the crime, and then there's the feeling of catharsis when the curtain is pulled back and all the pieces fall into place. My ideal mystery novel features an interesting problem to sink your teeth into, and a clever solution that requires brilliance to grasp but is so elegant you feel you should have seen it yourself.

That is not the kind of mystery we're going to be discussing today.

Instead, I'd like to introduce you to the wonderful little subgenre known as the baka-mystery, literally "idiot mystery," abbreviated as baka-mys. While the goal of a normal mystery is to provide an intelligent solution to a logical problem, a baka-mystery attempts to do the opposite, aiming for a conclusion you'll never see coming not because it's so brilliant but because there's no way the answer could ever be anything that stupid.

Methods: The Detective Competition

Methods: The Detective Competition is an odd duck. Its mysteries are simple, the character designs make it look like the game should have been called "Meth-heads," and its worldbuilding can only be described as bizarre.

And yet I can't help but adore it. All the weirdness joins together into one big ball of DETECTIVES with the energy of a shonen anime tournament arc. The graphic style is weird, but it's consistent, and there's tons of assets so it feels like it's the result of a conscious decision rather than a monetary restriction. The unorthodox plot structure has some drawbacks, but also keeps the game from ever getting predictable. And the silly sense of humor, while sometimes tonally dissonant, gives the game a charm of its own.

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

This introductory segment is going to be slightly different than usual. The protagonist of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle wakes up in a forest with no memories except the name "Anna" upon his lips. He doesn't know anything going into the story, and you might have a better experience if you begin the book in the same condition. So here's the bottom line: if you like the Zero Escape series, stop reading and add The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle to your to-read list.

If you want more information before deciding to read, or don't mind learning about the premise, or just want to know my opinion on the book, a regular review is under the cut.

Birth ME Code

You may or may not have heard the term "ontological mystery" before, but if you're the kind of person that reads a blog like this, you've probably already encountered some. An ontological mystery is essentially a story where the characters find themselves in an unfamiliar and often limited setting, and one of the main focuses of the story is learning about and escaping from the setting. I've already reviewed a few of them. Other major questions often include why these people in particular were chosen and who is behind everything.

Birth ME Code, the second game in the ABiMe series, takes this sub-genre and flips it on its head by letting you play as the mastermind and tasking you with ensuring your death game runs smoothly. (Well... Without naming any names, a fair number of ontological mysteries are convoluted enough where it turns out by the end that you were the mastermind the whole time. But Birth ME Code is different because it bakes this into the premise.)

Or at least, it tries to flip the sub-genre on its head. It's a solid ontological mystery, especially considering it was all done by one guy (even if he calls himself "Team" Miracle Moon), and a noticeable improvement from his previous game, Head AS Code. There's a lot to like, and Birth ME Code will undoubtedly scratch your itch if you're looking for games like Zero Escape or Danganronpa, but, along with a few other pitfalls, it never really manages to live up to its central conceit.

The Cuckoo's Calling

Cuckoo's Calling is the first mystery novel written by Robert Galbraith, or—as "he" is better known—J.K. Rowling. The fact that J.K. Rowling is so famous and popular can skew opinion of her books (which is why she tried to publish it under a pseudonym in the first place), but fear not: I was never a huge Harry Potter fan, and, while I did initially add Cuckoo's Calling to my pile because it was J.K. Rowling's mystery book, I had completely forgotten about that until literally the moment I started to write this review. So my opinion is completely unbiased!

Detective Galileo / 探偵ガリレオ

Detective Galileo is a short story collection by Higashino Keigo about how you probably learned everything you ever needed to know to solve crimes in your 10th grade science class.

The stories center around Kusanagi Shunpei, a detective in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, who often goes to his friend Yukawa Manabu, a physics professor, for help with particularly confounding cases. The stories are interesting and have cool ideas behind them, but probably won't satisfy readers looking for traditional detective stories.

Hacknet

Wazzup, have you ever wanted to be a leet haxor and backdoor the mainframe by overclocking the firewall? Well, now you can with the hacking simulator Hacknet! (Not to be confused with Nethack.)

In all seriousness, Hacknet is a pretty nifty puzzle game that recreates the feeling of a hacker in a Hollywood movie. It's awesome.

The ???????? Murder Case / 〇〇〇〇〇〇〇〇殺人事件

That is not a mistake in the post name!

The central gimmick of The ???????? Murder Case is that the true title has been hidden, and you're supposed to deduce it from the story. Trying to deduce the title is a novel idea that... doesn't really add much to the book. While the title gimmick and actual plot were fun enough for The ???????? Murder Case to become the 50th recipient of the Mephisto Prize, I don't think it's the right book for everybody.

The Mill House Murders / 水車館の殺人

The Mill House Murders is the sequel to Ayatsuji Yukito's Decagon House Murders, and once again features our unlikely detective Shimada Kiyoshi looking into a series of murders that takes place in a home made by the eccentric late architect Nakamura Seiji.

While The Decagon House Murders is a classic in Japanese mystery fiction that is credited with starting the 'shin-honkaku' movement, I didn't like it very much, for reasons I will touch upon later in this review. But Mill House Murders was fantastic, providing a satisfying resolution to a long string of mysterious events at a nearly perfect level of cluing.

Every Fifteen Minutes

Eric Parrish is a good guy. Okay?

Like, a really good guy.

He’s a brilliant doctor—the head of his hospital’s psychiatry ward!—and legitimately cares about his patients and making them better. He’s courteous, respectful, handsome (he has the cuttest abs of all the dads), diligent, and hard-working. He’s a loving father to his seven year old daughter, and still cares deeply for his ex-wife, even though she left him and is acting like a massive jerk in their divorce proceedings.

But bad stuff keeps happening to him! And he’s such a good guy! Don’t you feel bad for him? He’s so good! And this stuff is so unfair! Argh!!

Children of Zodiarcs

I don’t usually like SRPGs, but an SRPG card game? Sign me up!

...Maybe I should have trusted my preferences more.

Kakegurui / 賭ケグルイ

Oh, Kakegurui...

It’s stylish, sexy, and over-the-top. It’s become relatively well-known, giving some much-needed exposure to the psychological/games genre. Unfortunately, as far as psychological/games anime go, it’s pretty bad.

Cat Food / キャットフード

Cat Food is a book about man-eating shape-shifting magic cats.

In the world of Cat Food cats can talk and have their very own laws and society, hidden just beyond our own. A very small percentage of cats are born with the ability to shape-shift and are known as “bakeneko”. So what happens when a group of unsuspecting humans visit an island full of bakeneko trying to kill them? Well, presumably nothing good for the humans...