Hitomisaki (Free Mystery Adventure): Introduction, Impressions, and Walkthrough Hints

Recently, one of my Twitter followers (people I follow) has been playing an interesting-looking adventure game, and it's piqued my interest.
The game is called "SHADOW," but it doesn't seem to be finished yet, so I was hoping to play it once it's completed (as of May 18, 2020).
It's already completed and publicly available.
→『SHADOW』

Upon tracing the works created by the same author, this work..."Hitomisaki"I learned about it and decided to give it a try.

The result was so interesting that I decided to write this article.
I think it took me about four hours to complete the game.

Game Overview

Game flow

This is an adventure game created with RPG Maker 2003.
Basically, the gameplay involves reading through conversations between characters and exploring to progress.
Occasionally, choices or a deduction segment called "Recollection Construction" will appear, and failing at these may result in a bad ending.
This is an interesting story because it follows the characters as they skillfully organize the information and pursue the truth behind the incident.

Synopsis

Here's a brief summary of the plot of "Hitomisaki":

Recollection Construction

In "Hitomisaki," in addition to deduction based on choices, there is also a deduction part called "recollection construction."
The story explains it, but it's not that difficult.

This system allows you to deduce someone's whereabouts by tracing their movements based on eyewitness accounts.

First, we'll gather useful information by asking around town.
Once you have gathered a certain amount of information, select "Reconstruct Recollection" from the menu screen.

The control screen then switches to the target person, and you will be asked to recreate their actions by actually performing the actions yourself.
If the interviews are insufficient and the necessary information is lacking, it may be impossible to complete the project.

Furthermore, if you make a mistake in your reasoning during the construction process, you may end up heading straight for a bad ending.
You are required to make correct deductions under the pressure of knowing that a single mistake could mean the end of the game.

Review (no spoilers)

The pacing is good and there are no redundant scenes.I thought it was a very well-crafted mystery adventure game.
It is also friendly to the player, and the important choices are赤Other options are青They are clearly separated.

Making the wrong deduction will lead to a bad ending, but if you save beforehand, it won't be irreversible.
Just because you didn't set the flags early on doesn't mean you have to start over from the beginning.

I'd say the difficulty level is about average.
You might miss some details if you're not paying close attention, but it's by no means an unreasonably difficult level.
Rather, it felt like the game was designed to be fair to the player and allow for deduction.

In my case, I often struggled more with constructing the flashbacks than with the deduction part of choosing from the options.
If I made a mistake there, I had to start the flashback construction all over again, which was a bit of a hassle.
The inconvenience only took a few minutes, so I think it was a penalty that maintained a healthy level of tension.

Since this is a mystery story, I can only say things that won't cause any problems in a spoiler-free review.
However, the difficulty level required careful thought, so I felt a good sense of accomplishment after clearing it.
While it might not satisfy hardcore mystery fans, I think a wide range of people, from beginners to intermediate readers, will enjoy it.

Final Chapter Walkthrough Hints (Contains Spoilers)

This is the final deduction part at school.
From the voice recorder, select two contradictory testimonies.
Trying every possible combination without any idea of what to expect will be difficult, so you need to think carefully.

The reason Kenji was able to get closer to the culprit was because he received information from Detective Yasuda.
In other words, there is a contradiction between Detective Yasuda's testimony and someone else's testimony.
If you consider what Detective Yasuda's testimony mainly focuses on, you'll naturally see which testimonies should be compared and examined.

Review (contains spoilers)

I found the whole thing very interesting.
At first, I suspected that Takumi himself might be the culprit, but since the police also seemed to suspect him, I figured it was probably a red herring.
However, I was surprised because I never thought he intended to kill my aunt in the first place.

The first bad ending involved failing to construct a flashback during the search for Kenji, and being killed by the culprit at that point.
I had assumed our destination was the Inukai family's house, so I was surprised and a little confused.
However, in Takumi's remarks while constructing his flashback,Places that are far away (the Inukai family's house isn't far away, so that's not it), places Kenji has been to.That's when I suddenly realized we were deep in the forest.

I think the thrill of a "aha!" moment is what makes mystery games so irresistible.
It shouldn't be too difficult or too easy, so in that respect, "Hitomisaki" was just right for me and I enjoyed it.

I was able to come up with a pretty good solution for the deduction part in the final chapter (if I do say so myself).
The strongest evidence pointing to the culprit would likely be related to fingerprints, and since the details are described so meticulously, I've been paying close attention to it.

According to Nanami's testimony, in the room"I've never been inside."Despite being a person, according to Detective Yasuda's testimony..."Quite few"I had been told that, so even though it was a bit of a confusing expression, I was excited when I realized, "Ah, this is it!"
If we re-examine the testimony assuming that person is the culprit,I got goosebumps when I realized the meaning behind the casual remark made by the slightly senile old man.
The location where Kenji was attacked also makes sense.

However, if that person is indeed the culprit, it contradicts the circumstances surrounding Takumi's aunt's murder, which made me think, "Huh?" and left me feeling a little unsettled.
(Because that person cannot turn off the circuit breaker)

It turned out to be the correct answer, but I was surprised that I hadn't figured out that it was to protect the other culprit.
Even during the epilogue-like section, I kept thinking, "But I can't turn off the circuit breaker against him..."
However, when the final ending credits showed "FAKE END," I was delighted, thinking, "So there really is a culprit after all!"

Afterwards, I was able to watch "BEST END," but I was left with a rather disheartened feeling.
It wasn't exactly a happy ending, but I'm glad it ended in a way that left me feeling positive.