Akito DATE Short ~10% Malice~ (Free Mystery Adventure) Introduction and Review

This article is about the adventure game "Akito DATE Short ~10% Malice~," which I played after being drawn in by the tagline "A 'genuine' mystery adventure game" that I saw on a free game website.

It appears that this work was released as a short piece in the "Akito DATE series" produced by the mystery game production team "FBI".
This was my first encounter with this series, and I found it very enjoyable, so I'm thinking of playing some of the other games in the series.
The completion time was approximately 3 hours.

Game overview + review (no spoilers)

The story begins with Akito Date, a college student short on cash, being dragged to a coffee shop by Futaba Maki, a high school student, where he is discussing his friend Mayuka Izumi.
(It seems Akihito and Futaba know each other from another case, but their relationship isn't close enough that they know each other's contact information.)
Futaba's request was for Mayuka to be cleared of the suspicion that she had stolen the test questions.
Even after members of the student council joined them, Akihito listened to the story without much enthusiasm, but as he listened to the testimonies, several questions began to arise in his mind.

This game is a mystery adventure, but it doesn't deal with bloody themes like murder cases.
This is an armchair detective type of story where the protagonist solves everyday mysteries on the spot without having to travel.
Other installments in the series deal with murder cases and involve moving between crime scenes, so this "short" installment is less conducive to getting into the story.

Now, in this work, the story basically progresses as you read through the text.
The story incorporates deduction segments at key points, where the player is expected to think for themselves.
You can progress through the problem by selecting the evidence or facts represented on cards.
If you answer incorrectly, your "confidence level" gauge will decrease, and if it runs out, it's game over.
However, you get a new hint each time you make a mistake, and you can leave the final step to Akihito, so it's safe to say you won't actually get stuck.
When choosing two cards, there are many possible combinations, making it difficult to find the correct answer by brute force.
Therefore, it is necessary to think carefully before making a choice.

As is common in mystery stories, many characters are meticulous about being precise in what they say, which can sometimes make their phrasing feel a bit roundabout.
However, I personally like it because I think this is what should be called the proper way to have conversations in detective stories.

The most striking feature of this game is the sheer quantity and quality of the graphics used.
The graphics displayed on the game screen are rarely reused, making for a very lavish use of assets.
Even within a single illustration, there are many variations, and the characters' movements are expressed in great detail.
Because the artwork is originally drawn in an anime style, it gives you the illusion of watching an anime.
I only intended to play a little bit to see what kind of game it was, but I ended up getting so engrossed that I played it all the way to the end.

One of my favorite mystery games was a PlayStation game called "Cross Detective Story," released in 1999 (originally released in 1998 for the Sega Saturn).
With its rich graphics and high-quality storyline, I was completely engrossed in playing it back then.
The protagonist of "Cross Detective Story" also had an ordinary appearance, and Akihito Date, the protagonist of this work, doesn't look like an impressive person either.
A penniless college student like Akihito, who dyes his hair, smokes cigarettes, and speaks crudely, would likely appear suspicious to someone meeting him for the first time.
Because Akihito himself has no desire to make himself look good, people who don't know him well tend to look down on him.
It's really satisfying and very cool to see Akihito's keen insight and deductive abilities gradually change how those around him see him.

Since this is a short story, it might feel a little lacking in length as a mystery adventure.
However, I think even people like me who are playing the "Akito DATE" series for the first time can easily enjoy it.
This game boasts an overwhelming level of quality that's hard to believe for a free game, so I hope anyone who's even slightly interested will give it a try.

Review (contains spoilers)

I successfully completed the game to the very end.
However, even if you make a mistake in your reasoning along the way, you can still proceed, so I don't think anyone will get stuck.
In this section, I will write down my thoughts and feelings about playing this game, just as they come to me.
This section contains spoilers, so please be aware that reading it before playing the game may significantly diminish your enjoyment.

I struggled quite a bit with the final deduction part; I couldn't get the correct answer as easily as I'd hoped.
To be honest, during my first playthrough, I left it up to Akihito and couldn't get the correct answer on my own.
I was able to choose the correct answer after clearing the game once, but I felt that it was difficult to choose because there were many similar cards, especially if you didn't know the truth to some extent.

When I first played it, I thought Kudoken had carelessly leaked the problem.
My theory is that they framed Mayuka as the culprit and fabricated evidence.
I truly believed that until the very end, but when I saw how he became more cooperative with Akihito during the deduction part, I started to think, "Hmm? He seems kind of innocent."

The extent of what was released so far did not clearly reveal who the culprit was.
However, judging from the exchange after the resolution, I suspected Vice Chairman Kirishima.
Standing in front of the school gate, Chairman Mizuki says to Kirishima, "What? I hear there are evil wizards out there."
The word "wizard" is slang for a hacker.
The fact that Mizuki went out of her way to say these things to Kirishima suggests that she suspects Kirishima possesses hacker-level skills and is somehow involved in this incident.
It's also significant that Kirishima then mutters self-deprecatingly, "...Well, I'm not much better myself, though."
The truth behind this might be revealed in the bonus content that will be released as shareware.

I had never played the "Akito DATE" series before, so I was fortunate to encounter it through this game.
I plan to play through the series in order going forward.