Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code’s twists and turns aren’t quite as wild as Danganronpa’s, but they make more sense, and are, ultimately, more satisfying. And don’t get me wrong, Rain Code goes to some very dark and surprising places. Kodaka has built the world of Rain Code brick-by-brick in a very careful way, and it’s hard not to admire the craft. And a lot of crafting has be done! The game is at least 30 hours long and those who aim to clean up ever sidequest and collectible could spend closer to 40 hours. Expect to spend a lot of time combing through these archives, mystery fans.

A vividly arresting mystery adventure soaked in ambiance, personality, and a seemingly limitless imaginative streak.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is a great mix of investigation, crazy word battles, and humour with a great cast of characters. If you enjoy solving mysteries and interesting stories, I am sure you will love this game.

Spike Chunsoft has proven again that they still have plenty of twisted murders and killers for their games. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code feels both familiar and brand new. Maybe it’s not the Danganronpa sequel that we wanted but it is the spiritual sequel we needed.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE manages to live up to its mystery adventure predecessor and establish a name of its own in the process. Removing the shroud of mystery around each case was intriguing, and made for some of the best twists that I couldn’t have seen coming. The wonderfully eccentric cast balances out the dark and gritty narrative in a way that manages to create a stellar adventure of investigation and seeking the truth at any cost.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is undoubtedly the beginning of something big. A bet by its creators to make a visual novel 2.0. The mystery, the dialogue and the construction of iconic characters follow the usual line of the studio, which is excellence, but also begin to add new elements that better the gameplay.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code delivers an excellently paced detective mystery through its clever writing and memorable cast of characters. It’s not afraid to go to some dark places and have fun at the same time within its narrative, but the balance of these themes is crafted in a way that keeps you hooked. The puzzles are all clever, and the gameloop never comes off as repetitive or straightforward. It’s an excellent experience that rivals all other releases in this genre.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a wild ride from start to finish. There were some twists in the mystery I wasn’t expecting and some that I saw coming. Despite a short lull in the middle section of the game, it still results in an excellent story told with a colorful cast of characters. Kanai Ward itself is such a beautiful place too. Like how the rain never lets up in the city, the suspense never lets up in Rain Code.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a mysteriful masterpiece boasting an immersive world, quirky characters, unique gameplay, and a heap of captivating cases to crack. Engaging from start to finish, it’s clear that your adventure with Shinigami and Yuma is a cult classic in the making.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE feels like a complete evolution of what Danganronpa was all about, offering a series of very interesting mysteries, unexpected plot twists and an excellent cast. While its gameplay can get a bit repetitive, getting to the end of the game rewards you with an unforgettable story.

While I encountered few serious technical problems during my playthrough, I did have one instance where I loaded into a cutscene before I was supposed to with Yuma sitting suspended in a void until the game caught up to me. This didn’t impact my experience but seems worth mentioning. After a pre-launch update, I also noticed a few lines of dialogue seemed to be missing audio, although it was a sporadic occurrence. All in all, I greatly enjoyed my time with Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. As mentioned earlier, it feels like a lost relic of the PlayStation Vita in the best possible way. While the egregious fanservice may be a turn-off to some, for Danganronpa veterans and fans of other narrative adventure titles like the Zero Escape series, I highly recommend taking a trip to Kanai Ward. Just be sure to pack a raincoat.

If you are a Danganronpa fan, this is a title to shake up the genre we don’t see much of nowadays. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a gloomy and mature, yet wacky anime thriller mystery that promises a lot and delivers exactly as much. Presuming you don’t mind slower pacing and loads of loading screens, we can say with zero doubt - you are in for a treat.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is a stellar mystery game full of loud and endearing characters that you'll come to either love or hate, and the type of absurd out-of-the-box mystery solving that only Spike Chunsoft (and Too Kyo Games) can create. However, the mysteries of Kanai Ward never quite reach the levels of the killing games or the nonary games, though the gameplay far surpasses its predecessors.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a great game that really goes deep into each of its cases to prove who the real culprit is, sometimes to a fault. The Mystery Labyrinths can tend to go on for a bit despite knowing who the real culprit is halfway through and Shinigami’s sense of humor can get a tad annoying at times. It also doesn’t help that after going through a few hours of how the crime was committed, you then basically get to relive the entire crime two more times which at that point just feels like the game is padding itself. Overall though, if you’re up for solving some mysteries with a purple ghost sidekick, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is definitely worth checking out.

The elaborate plot keeps you playing in a game that manages to bring plenty of gameplay. The mini-games are fun, the missions you complete are engaging and it feels more than fine thanks to the audio-visual style, although you have to skip the English voice-acting. If you are a fan of the Danganronpa games, this is a purchase you can consider without hesitation.

Kodama delivers a great game once again: a good cast of characters, a unique combat system and a strange atmosphere make for a solid entry in the Too Kyo production list.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a captivating and refreshing take on the mystery genre. It uses a zany story, uniquely expressive characters and a perfect blend of mystery and adventure to stand out amongst its contemporaries. While some performance limitations stop it from looking its best, Rain Code’s strong and effortlessly stylish presentation more than makes up for it. It’s a satisfying and immersive experience that anyone who’s a fan of visual novels, courtroom dramas or both themselves to check out.

All in all, I enjoyed Master Detective Archives: Rain Code and you probably will, too. The presentation is slick, the setting is gorgeous, and the premise is genuinely brilliant. Making rapid-fire deductions while dodging accusations and falsehoods is one way to make solving mysteries a heart-pounding experience.

Excluding a slow and sometimes labored pace and only occasionally intriguing exploration, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a great mix of visual novel, stylish visuals and detective adventure.

My feelings about Master Detective Archives: Rain Code are complex. There’s some incredible gameplay at its core, mixed with some tired and unnecessary sexist and immature tropes that feel out of place in the current media landscape. If nothing else, it’s definitely a game I’ll remember, for reasons good and bad, which in itself is an achievement.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a great detective and murder game that strives to take visual novels a little further with mini-games, RPG-like combat, scenario exploration and other mechanics, while exhibiting a superb technical aspect, even with occasional performance problems.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is a game that aims to constantly surprise the player both with its crazy story and its simple mechanics. While its technical aspect still needs some polishing, this doesn't overshadow a universe that promises to offer new adventures.

An intriguing adventure with noir overtones and 100% Japanese madness, featuring an intriguing story involving a team of super-detectives, an unscrupulous multinational corporation remotely reminiscent of Resident Evil's Umbrella Corporation, and a protagonist whose past and future are shrouded in a thick blanket of mystery.

Unlike mystery games, such as Sherlock Holmes, this game is much more linear and partially guides you forward by asking questions to which you have a choice of several answers. This mix of game and novel allows the creators to tell a much more interesting and complicated detective story than usual. [Issue#329]

A brilliant story-driven adventure bordering on a visual novel. It’s excellent at setting up its world and characters, the mysteries are compelling, the voice acting very good and the story explodes into a stunning finale. But it’s also a very repetitive game which doesn’t respect the player’s time. And there are a few too many sexual innuendos.

While not quite reaching the heights of the Danganronpa series, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is great spiritual successor to the cult classic and whether this is the beginning of a new franchise or if it will be a stand-alone title, it marks a return to form for Tookyo Games.

Its poor optimization and its localization problems are a drawback, but it does not lose the excellence that the Danganronpa series already had in its way of posing mysteries, stories, plot twists. RAINCODE shines in all this, making it a more than recommendable instalment.

If you enjoy games about solving mysteries, you’ll likely enjoy Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE. That goes double if you like the Danganronpa series, as it goes to many of the same places in tone and themes. The mysteries are well-built and fun to unravel, the overall story and the episodes that make it up are interesting, and the overall presentation is really sharp despite some technical shortcomings. Some of its attempts to mix things up might have been best left on the cutting room floor, but overall this is a satisfying ride.

As we present final arguments to a court overseen by a busty death god, the detective gameplay, captivating characters, and enticing plot serve as compelling evidence for recommending Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE. Pacing and loading issues aside, the signature brand of storytelling that made the Danganronpa trilogy so refreshing is on full display here. I genuinely grew to adore the pairing of Yuma and Shinigami by the game's end, and that’s a testament to how well both characters are written and voiced. There are some rough patches in this murder-filled mystery adventure, but it's a ride well worth experiencing.

Whether you are a fan of Spike Chunsoft’s previous work or a detective enthusiast, you should certainly pick up Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. Persona fans may even enjoy the RPG mechanics and the environment that almost seems reminiscent of its layout. I hope to see more projects like this from the developers, where it can potentially step away from its predecessor to become something else entirely.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a strong, confident spiritual successor to the Danganronpa series. Whilst it might lean heavily on its forebearer for its mechanics, it tells a compelling story filled with likeable characters and tons of mystery.

The genre of crime stories visual novels is alive and if you want to deep dive into demanding cases, you have a very good chance here. There is a strong script with excellent characters, tricky murders and strong investigation. The overall Atmosphere, places and music are helping a lot too.

Master Detective Archives Rain Code offers players a rich investigative game that keeps them on their toes throughout. Whether thanks to its story or its gameplay mechanics, it will bring beginners and experts alike into a universe where the cards are shuffled in order to uncover the dark secret of the town of Kanai Ward. However, not everything is rosy, as it also has a few shortcomings, such as the graphics, which may bother some of you, or the fact that the queries are not particularly interesting. If we had to sum up this title in a few words, it would be: A real pleasant surprise.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code doesn’t shy away from being deeply strange. It’s a delightful mystery game in the vein of Ace Attorney with every dial turned up to 11. Its art direction, music, world design, and gameplay are all solid, even if there’s far too much of everything, and despite some suspect writing with certain characters, it’s hard to look at it too harshly. My only wish is that, if there’s to be a sequel someday, somebody brings in an editor and trims down some of the fat.

If you can look past (or appreciate) the brazen clichés and huge levels of fan service, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a phenomenal murder mystery visual novel. The gorgeous world, wonderful characters and genuinely well-constructed mysteries combine into a thoroughly enjoyable if bizarre experience. If other similar games like Danganronpa or Ace Attorney are your bag, this is definitely worth investigating.

Rain Code unsurprisingly excels where Danganronpa always has: it’s a masterclass of storytelling and building anticipation. I laughed, cried and felt betrayed, both in my role as Yuma Kokohead and as a fan of Danganronpa. The story of Rain Code is the video game equivalent of an earworm. It will always be on the periphery of your thoughts, reminding you that the quest for truth is often convoluted and ugly. And that’s all the more reason that it should prevail.

Produced by the makers of the Danganronpa series Mastery Detective Archives: Rain Code has managed to be a pretty good adventure game, if we can ignore some technical problems and moments that undermine the gameplay.

Master Detective Rain Code is not as complete and original like the Danganronpa trilogy, but it is, nonetheless, an enjoyable and well written point and click adventure that will appeal to all of the existing fans of Kazutaka Kodaka.

If we could extrapolate the sole essence of the narrative sector of Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE, our judgment on the production would be much more flattering. Unfortunately, the new creation of the authors of Danganronpa is plagued by some problems related to the rhythm of the story. A technical sector that is not too dusty and gameplay elements that are not fully developed help to limit the great potential of Too Kyo Games' work. Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE remains in any case a title capable of being appreciated by lovers of investigative adventures with disturbing atmospheres.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE exudes a personality and style that differentiates it from its peers, and each individual chapter is brilliantly written and highly entertaining. Despite offering very little variety in terms of gameplay, each Mystery Labyrinth you’ll enter over the course of the game feels fresh and enjoyable thanks to the excellent storytelling and presentation. It is fortunate that this is what makes up the majority of the game, because the overarching narrative surrounding the mystery of Kanai Ward is often an unwelcome distraction from the case at hand, leading to a conclusion that is less satisfying than it could have been had more time been spent on setting it up over the course of the game. The blurry visuals and occasionally erratic performance can also occasionally break immersion in the fantastic set pieces on display in Mystery Labyrinths and the gloomy ambience of Kanai Ward. But even with those caveats, Rain Code is still a mystery adventure that is more than worth your time to solve.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is an easy recommendation for fans of the Danganronpa series. It’s got the same dark humor and an unapologetically weird premise, and it features a slightly different take on the contradiction-smashing gameplay that made the former series stand out. There’s some room for improvement in what’s been added, but if you can stand some stale anime tropes and imperfect graphics, Rain Code is a crazy enjoyable ride full of twists and turns.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE does a good job of refreshing the mystery solving formula with fun mini-games and an attractive neon city backdrop; that is, if you can sit through hours of banter between the more enjoyable parts.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code overall does a good job combining elements of adventure games, visual novels and mini-game-based action titles, with a minor lack of being too less demanding. The cases could be very suspenseful, but for this, the storytelling is too lengthy. In the end, not least the game lives from its exaggerated characters and its, in parts, twisted humor.

The game delivers a very competent experience when it comes to its fun, varied gameplay, going from action/adventure to visual novel, and its stunning presentation fits in nicely with a well written plot. It leaves the players wanting for more, though. The supporting characters deserve a lot more protagonism, its hub world would benefit greatly from sidequests and further exploration, and some occasional performance issues need fixing.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code has pacing issues and its puzzles aren’t very satisfying. That said, the deep world building and story make up for its shortcomings.

While not without its faults, Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is still a highly enjoyable and ambitious game. It isn't a game I’d recommend to everyone, but it at least provides an engaging experience for mystery and Danganronpa fans alike.

The final two cases are undoubtedly a huge cut above the others that take place in Kanai Ward, and it's a shame that the game takes so long before hitting its highs. But stick through to the end, and Rain Code eventually delivers a satisfyingly twisty adventure in spite of its shortcomings – helping to somewhat fill that Danganronpa void.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code falls short and ends up being mediocre. This game neglects the elements that made Danganronpa successful, such as well-written characters, engaging storytelling, and unexpected plot twists.

But even though it's not quite as good as Danganronpa's dizzying roller-coaster highs, Rain Code is a solid detective adventure that entertains and engages for the majority of its runtime. It's got an intriguing concept, enjoyable dialogue, an interesting and plenty of bold, outlandish strangeness to hold a player's interest. I, for one, certainly hope this isn't the last we see of Shinigami's sublime snark.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code promises to satiate those hungry for more Danganronpa through gameplay that is as familiar as it is distinctive. It is able to effortlessly blend adventure, visual novel, mystery, detective and exploration elements with bold mechanics that surprise us at every turn. Given the experience of the developers, I expected Master Detective Archives: Rain Code to be a more robust product, with fewer technical glitches, better graphics, faster loading, better dialogues and a more rewarding gameplay cycle. Still, none of this completely spoils the overall experience, nor does it erase my desire to play the next title Too Kyo Games cooks up.

Its unique combination of action RPG with puzzle solving works to provide a really fun and mentally stimulating experience. However, it being in between these two genres can be unsatisfying for certain players.

Some problematic narrative and character design aside, Rain Code offers interesting mysteries, great world building and a beautiful setting that will absorb you until you have solved them all.

Truthfully, our stay in Kanai Ward was a lot of fun, and we want to see more of the game's setting in the future. Master Detective Archive: RAIN CODE is a great narrative adventure with some truly satisfying detective work. It mostly comes down to this: approaching RAIN CODE like a visual novel with some unfortunate action elements means it's an enjoyable jaunt, and well-worth a look; expecting more from it beyond its engrossing world, charming mysteries, and charismatic cast, however, might make for a less than stellar stay in Kanai Ward for would-be master detectives.

The overall package doesn’t quite match up to any of the Danganronpa titles, but Rain Code’s storytelling and characters make up for its minor shortcomings.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code delivers masterful craftsmanship of mysteries that players will delight in unravelling. Though the more hands-on gameplay mechanics aren’t groundbreaking and can feel a bit too easy, the strength of the narrative alone and cleverly created whodunnits make this a must-play for Danganronpa fans and anyone who loves channeling their inner detective.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a solid follow-up to the Danganronpa franchise that demonstrates a heap of ambition from its developers and mostly lives up to its predecessor's impressive reputation. But while the game delivers an excellent cast of characters and some truly intriguing mysteries to solve, it also stumbles in its methods, introducing mechanics and locations that outstay their welcome and become frustratingly repetitive. Still, for fans of Dangaronpa and those who enjoy a good gruesome crime or two, it's definitely worth checking out.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE could have used its inventiveness more concisely, but what’s here is still an enjoyable first entry for a new IP that holds plenty of promise now and hopefully into the future.

This is a game of contradictions, then. It's an impressive exercise in mystery construction that often cringes at its own geeky strengths, masking its intelligence behind juvenile posturing. But at the same time its technical shortcomings rob it of that swagger, its anime stylings lacking the gloss you'd expect from the cocksure tone. Much can be forgiven when you're submerged in its waterlogged crimes, but you never quite shake the sense that Master Detective Archives is raining on its own parade. [Issue#387, p.118]

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code improves after a slow start with some truly fascinating mysteries in later chapters. However, a central pairing that never quite works and long mystery labyrinths that are almost entirely uninteresting stop it from being all it can be. Fans of the Danganronpa series will still want to check it out, but most others should find another mystery to dig into.

Master Detective Archives: RAINCODE has some interesting ideas in isolation, but they never fully come together in a way that’s fun or fluid.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE feels a bit like another entry into the Danganronpa series simply without the school approach, leaving it feeling like it’s not really standing on its own two legs. The highlights end up being the investigation elements and many side quests which are the most somewhat original parts it could manage. The main story will keep players engaged, but it’s a shame it’s held back by outdated elements disguised as “humor” that only those stuck in an edgy school kid mindset could enjoy. It’s easy to see how many will still be able to look past the flaws and enjoy the overall experience, but it’s a shame they had to exist at all due to poor writing that feels as though it’s from those who never consumed anything but their own creations. For those who have enjoyed Danganronpa this will likely be at least mostly enjoyable through and through, but it’s a shame Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE couldn’t find a good footing to stand up and feel like a truly original title.

A neon-lit murder mystery unable to uncover a deeper core.