Akito DATE Episode 1 ~The Unusual Feeling of the Heinous Act~ (Free Mystery Adventure) Introduction and Review

This is an introductory article for the full-fledged mystery adventure game "Akito DATE Episode 1 ~The Unusual Nature of the Heinous Act~".
The completed version of this work was released in 2003, and it seems that a version ported to Kirikiri (a novel creation tool) was released in 2008.
It's a film that was released quite a while ago, but it was recently released.Akito DATE Short ~10% Malice~I played "[Title of previous game]" and became interested in this series, so I decided to give it a try.

While it does feel a bit dated considering it was first published 18 years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed it as a mystery game.
The completion time was approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Game Overview (No Spoilers)

The story begins when the protagonist, college student Akihito Date, takes on a part-time job as a temporary tutor at the cram school he used to attend.
However, a murder occurs at the workplace where he works part-time, and a police investigation begins.
Will Akihito be able to identify the culprit and unravel the mystery of how the murder was committed?

Basically, the story progresses by reading through the text and making choices.
In the exploration part, the story progresses by clicking on things that interest you on the screen and examining key objects.
In the exploration part, where you can move around and investigate freely, the game progresses as you trigger flags by talking to people in specific locations or examining key items.

In the deduction section towards the end of the game, you'll be presented with many choices.
The deduction progresses by choosing the correct options and selecting the evidence cards you have collected so far.
If you answer incorrectly, your "confidence level" gauge will decrease, and if the gauge runs out, it's game over.
It's a good idea to save your game before the deduction section.

Review (no spoilers)

I somehow managed to complete it all on my own.
Although it's a film that was released many years ago, I found it very enjoyable.
The great thing about mystery stories is that as long as the scenario is interesting, you can enjoy them regardless of whether they're old or new.
Although this film was less than three hours long, it was a well-structured and enjoyable first episode in a series.

Regarding the graphics, since the game is nearly 20 years old, you can definitely feel its age at times.
However, the sheer number of graphics used is impressive, and it's clear that the quality was exceptional even for its time.

One thing that bothered me a little was the exploration part where you click around on the screen.
There are patterns where the points to investigate are quite small, making it difficult to pinpoint what you might be overlooking.
It might have been easier to understand if there were markings or other indicators at the points that could be investigated.

The final deduction section had some slightly difficult parts, but I think the difficulty level was just right.
If it's too easy, it's not challenging enough, and if it's too difficult, you won't be able to solve it on your own.
Since there are situations where you have to combine two pieces of evidence to make a selection, it would be difficult to get the correct answer by brute force, so I think this approach was just right.
If you have difficulty, please check the official website.Strategy guideSince there is such information available, it would be a good idea to refer to it.

Review (contains spoilers)

This section will contain my thoughts and impressions, including spoilers.
Please be aware if you haven't played yet.

I figured out the culprit's trick and motive midway through the game, so I think many other players probably figured it out along the way as well.
The fact that the perpetrator deliberately acted in a way that would make them easily caught on security cameras made me realize that they were trying to make it look like a random attack.
This would mean that the poison was actually in the cigarette.
I quickly figured out who the culprit was, but I found it very interesting and enjoyable to see how they proved their guilt with almost no physical evidence.

Indeed, there is no direct evidence linking the perpetrator to this method of killing.
However, I thought it was interesting to prove it by combining two facts: "The culprit definitely used this method" and "Only the real culprit could have used this method."

I struggled a bit with the final deduction part.
However, when I finally chose the correct combination and heard the "shing" sound effect, it felt incredibly satisfying.
I find games that make the player feel like they're solving the mystery themselves to be really fun to play.
I think they're creating that feeling not by giving you a choice, but by presenting you with relevant evidence from a large pool of evidence.

As a side note, Akihito in this scene is strangely tall and slender, almost eight heads tall, which made me laugh.
While many characters in this work appear tall overall, this scene in particular stood out to me.
I plan to play the second episode, which is shareware, as well as other short scenarios.