Doll Recollect (Free Mystery Death Game) Introduction, Impressions, and Strategy Notes

Some of my favorite games include the "Danganronpa" series and the "Ace Attorney" series.
Both games are less about serious mystery novels and more about solving puzzles that require you to find and point out inconsistencies.

This time, I will introduce"Doll Recollect" is a free game described as a mystery death game.
If you're a fan of the "Danganronpa" series, I think this is a game that's easy to get into and enjoy.

The previous game, "Figure Detect," was a compact and well-structured mystery death game.
This latest installment, "Doll Recollect," is even bolder and more challenging than its predecessor, making it a truly powerful and improved work.
The total playtime, including reaching the bonus room, was approximately 6 hours.

Game Overview

This game is an adventure game where you advance the mystery by pointing out inconsistencies.
Free movement and exploration are kept to a minimum, and the game is designed to allow players to concentrate on the main deduction aspect.
Even with difficult concepts, the satisfaction of having your deductions correct is immense.

The initial introduction can be summarized as follows:

The general flow of the game is:Situation explanation ⇒ Incident occurs ⇒ Investigation and interviews ⇒ DiscussionThat's the general flow.
The explanation of the circumstances leading up to the incident is somewhat lengthy, but the investigation and interviews after the incident are completed in a short time.
For those who find the investigation parts in games like Danganronpa or Ace Attorney tedious, this game offers a less stressful experience.

The debate will essentially proceed by pointing out inconsistencies in the witnesses' statements.
The discussion progresses by correctly selecting information that contradicts the testimonies.

Making the wrong choice will decrease your "confidence" stat, which can lead to a game over.
In difficult situations, making mistakes often doesn't diminish your confidence, so in the worst-case scenario, you can even clear it by brute force.
However, since the number of combinations can be quite large, I think carefully considering your answer is the quickest way to succeed.
There are plenty of save points, so as long as you don't accidentally overwrite your data, you should be fine.

Review (no spoilers)

With its content that pays homage to "Danganronpa," I think its greatest appeal lies in the dizzying, ever-changing plot twists.
While the incidents themselves are often straightforward and simple, the truth unfolds in unexpected ways from the moment the crime is discovered.

The chapter begins with a somewhat explanatory description before the incident occurs.
However, things moved quickly after the incident occurred, and the discussion began relatively soon.
Once the discussion about the case begins, there's no stopping point, and you'll find yourself reading it all the way through in one go.
The tricks surrounding this murder method are very interesting to read.

During a debate, selecting evidence that corresponds to the testimony presents a certain degree of difficulty.
Some of the answers are easy to figure out, but the sections in the later chapters where you have to combine multiple options are quite challenging.
Although I could see the previous backlog, there were times when I suddenly became unsure of what was being discussed and which response I should choose.
I think it would be even better if there was a backlog function to go back a bit further, or a function that displays hints after making several mistakes.

The way each character's facial expressions changed after they were about to be exposed as the culprit was very expressive and created a creepy atmosphere, which I appreciated.
It was both sad and frightening to see the character, who had been so friendly with Nico Nico up until then, change.
The shading and design of the character graphics are distinctive, and I think they create a unique atmosphere.

For those who enjoy themes like mystery and death games, I would recommend this along with the previous work, "Figure Detect."

Strategy Notes (Contains Spoilers)

I haven't included answers to all the options; I've only included those that I found difficult even after trying all the options.
In situations with few combinations, brute force might suffice, but sometimes it requires trying all 4 to the power of 4 combinations.
I recommend trying to figure it out on your own as much as possible, but for those who absolutely cannot proceed, I will provide some of the answers.

Act 1

It's a combination of 4 to the power of 4 in the last scene.
It's easier to understand if you consider when the doll's blood turned clay-like.
Blood started to ooze out.
Show me your dagger!
Take lots of pictures!
About the soul
⇒ He was still alive after Kazana's attack.

Act Two

We're just before the final scene.
It would be good to point out that simply falling onto a bed of needles doesn't guarantee you'll get pricked.
・When I looked, there was a doll there.
I dropped my flower dictionary.

This is the final choice.
- There is nothing on the stone.
Black light

Encore

Unexpected events
・Pichika

This is one of the most difficult scenes in the entire work.
The key is whether you can pay attention to Pulmula's hair ornament and the doll's blood.

I'm happy
- The bodies of the first contestants
- The bodies from the second contest
Pulmula ornamental beads
⇒The clue is whether the color of the nails is a cool color.

This scene takes place after the catchphrase, "This is our doll recollection!"
The annoying thing is that they make you choose the same thing for both the first and second options.
The key is to focus on Liline's body and whether you can pay attention to the personal color that Ailia mentioned.

Liline's body
Liline's body
That's nice.
・These are sweets in my color!
⇒ It is impossible to determine the bloodline of Liline and Ailia.

Bonus Room

Soubis is hiding in the bonus room, but you can talk to him if you touch him.

Review (contains spoilers)

This section contains plenty of spoilers about the tricks involved.
Please be aware that reading this before playing may spoil the enjoyment of the game.

One of the things I liked about this work is how it effectively utilizes the setting in its plot twists.
I felt that the rules of the death game itself, as well as the unique characteristics of the dolls that differentiate them from humans, were fully utilized, resulting in a flawless production.
Instead of needing evidence, when a suspicious person appears, the doubts about whether they are truly the culprit or simply protecting someone else are endless.
The culprit could win by making the victim give a wrong answer, so I think the strategic maneuvering involved was one of the highlights of the show.

From the very first act, the problem of indistinguishable twins, reminiscent of Kyotaro Nishimura's "The Killing Hyperbola," immediately excited me.
The blueprints used to distinguish them are not only used in this chapter, but are also depicted as a foreshadowing for the final chapter.
The meaning of the title of the first act, "Goodbye Palgy," becomes clear after completing the main story, proving that the title is not misleading.
Even after Chapter 1, the fact that it wasn't clear whether Palgy's character portrait was Palgy or Vibra when it was displayed was a clear foreshadowing of the final episode.

As is the case in every chapter, what's interesting is that the culprit's desperate struggles cannot be easily dismissed.
I couldn't help but laugh at the scene where, regarding the meaning of the markings on the blueprints, someone claims that it's clearly the location of the soul, and Palji retorts, "It's not clear! It could be a charm point!"
I couldn't help but laugh, but the interesting thing is that even such a ridiculous counter-argument must be refuted with evidence as long as there's a non-zero possibility.
Since it's a game, all the necessary information is provided to thoroughly refute your argument.
However, I felt frustrated by the fact that even the most flimsy excuses from the perpetrator could be considered valid if they couldn't be refuted, highlighting the limitations of scientific investigation.

Now, Act One is the period when there are the most living dolls.
Therefore, even after the discussion began, I couldn't match the appearance and name of each character in my mind, which caused me some confusion.
As the story progressed to the final act, the number of characters decreased, and each character was explored in more depth, so by that point, I had a firm grasp of them.

However, if there are too many detailed explanations about each character before the events begin in the first act, players might lose interest, so I think there's a certain inevitability to this.
If I had to choose between taking risks and spending time developing the characters, or quickly diving into the case and getting to the bottom of it, I think I would also choose to quickly dive into the case.

I like many characters, but the one who left the strongest impression on me, including the impact he made, is Kazana.
The way he suddenly emerged as a suspect and then played dumb with a creepy, fake smile was really frightening.
Furthermore, immediately after the image above, the way the character's eyes become extremely far apart in the standing pose, as if to feign ignorance, gave me chills because it felt so insane.

I was saddened when Ailia said that not long ago, he was so playful that he would even use water ninjutsu in the pool.
The reason everyone has changed like this is likely because they've been influenced by Weese, the new soul supplier, as mentioned in Churil's special event.
That's a reasonable explanation for the cause.

I found the trick in the final case, where the organizer impersonated the person who was supposed to be involved in the case to mislead the victim, to be very original.
The fact that the culprit's goal was to run out of time added a nice twist and made it more interesting.
The way the tricks from earlier chapters came to life, such as the twin-switching trick and the mistaken identity of the corpse, was truly impressive.

By the way, of the three friends of the protagonist who are being held hostage, why is Momoka the only one who has a character portrait?
Personally, I suspect that Barako and Momoka might be related, perhaps sisters, given the similarities in their names and clothing.
Although it wasn't specifically mentioned in the main story, this might be a remnant of changes made to the plot, or it might be relevant to future works.
If they release a third installment in the series, I would definitely want to play it right away.