#master detective archive: raincode

[youhavethewrong]

Yuiviews: The Too Kyo Games Library

After ending the Danganronpa series in what is basically rebellion against over-sequelization, writer Kazutaka Kodaka, artist Rui Komatsuzaki, and composer Masafumi Takada left the apparently horrible to work at company Spike Chunksoft to join the writer of the Zero Escape series Kotaro Uchikoshi and form their own small studio: Too Kyo Games. Throughout the years, they've kept a consistent output of creative and unique mystery and action games and stories. But in spite of how good they are, a lot of them have flown under the radar, as people in general aren't really aware of Too Kyo Games existing. So, to hopefully rectify that a little bit, I come to you with a list of the things they've made so you can see if any of them strike your fancy!

1. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code

Okay this one was still published under Spike Chunksoft, but the developers are still Too Kyo games so hear me out.

Amnesiac detective Yuma Kokohead is called to Kanai Ward, a city of neverending rain shrouded in mystery. In a place where the truth is hidden by a mega corporation, it is his duty to join a group of world-class detectives with special talents in solving the many murder cases that seem to be around every corner. He is accompanied in his journey by Shinigami, the god of death, who has the power to take him to the Mystery Labyrinths - bizarre construction where finding the exit equals reaching the truth.

The gameplay consists of 3d exploration in the city of Kanai Ward, along with action minigames and puzzles whose solutions lead to figuring out the whodunnit and howdunnit of each case!

A highlight of the game for me is the character of Shinigami, who adds a very macabre vibe to the murder mysteries by making inappropriate jokes and enjoying the whole thing a bit way too much. This game is like Detective Conan for insane people, and I loved it dearly, so I don't know if that's a good thing about myself.

(Probably not)

The game's available on Xbox, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. As of the time of this writing, the Steam version is on discount.

2. Akudama Drive

Not in the mood for games? No worries, here's an anime!

Taking place in a dystopian futuristic version of Kansai, Akudama Drive sees a society that labels particularly dangerous criminals as "Akudama", and heavily persecutes and punishes them for their transgressions. In this society, a regular girl is accidentally roped into a 6 Akudama master plan to perform an Ocean's 11-type heist by a mysterious mastermind.

(One of the characters in this image is the mastermind, and it's not the girl)

One big highlight of the show for me is the animation. Komatsuzaki's art and designs feel particularly difficult to bring to motion in 2d, but this show pulls it off really well with some clever lightning and other stylization techniques. Also, the show has a theme of how society deals with what it deems "undesirable", which resonates a lot with me.

(...for no reason in particular)

The show's available in Crunchyroll and perhaps some other sites too idk.

3. World's End Club

Not in the mood for a game or an anime? Well, how about something in between!

This game tells the story of the Go-Getters club, a club of kids who, during a field trip, experience the end of the world. There's very little I can say about this title's premise without giving most of it away, so instead I'll focus on the atmosphere it creates.

Since this game deals with young children rather than adults or even teenagers, the story is a loooot lighter than other Too Kyo Games projects. It is really lighthearted and even adorable at times. I'm particularly fond of this one scene where the main cast rides this ridiculous 12 person tandem bike while singing a little song.

However, don't let the lighter atmosphere and Take's cute designs fool you. There's still intrigue, heartache, and plot twists that will leave your mouth agape. After playing so many games by the same writers, I thought I was ready for anything that they could throw at me. This game proved me wrong.

(This and more philosophical debates await you in this title!)

Still, World's End Club is a much more relaxing time than the other games on this list. What I think most people would consider its biggest downside is how light it is in terms of gameplay. It's about 80% cutscenes, 20% gameplay. And the gameplay that is there is just extremely basic 2d puzzle sections. However, I don't think this is an objective negative. Me personally, I just see it as an extremely fun interactive story, rather than a game. When I sit down to play it, I think to myself "okay, time to see what happens next", rather than "time to push myself to overcome some difficult platforming challenges", this isn't Pizza Tower. So if you go into it knowing how light the gameplay is, I think it's an extremely delightful experience.

(I haven't beaten it yet, but it has already pulled like 5 plot twists on me, so I'm expecting about... 15 more)

World's End Club is available on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Steam.

4. Tribe Nine (The Anime)

What's that? Youre in the mood for both a game and an anime? Weirdly specific request. And Tribe Nine is more than prepared to grant it to you!

Tribe Nine (the anime) takes place in an alternate world where (recently christened) Neo Tokyo has been broken into turfs, controlled by groups of people called "Tribes". Each tribe decides which turf is whose by way of Extreme Baseball, or XB - a version of baseball where the field is entire towns, and beating the crap out of each other is both allowed and encouraged.

(Only if you're holding the ball though, they're not monsters)

Although I know this is a recommendation, I gotta be honest and admit that the animation's not the best most of the time, and some character designs leave a lot to be desired. That being said, it is undoubtedly a unique, entertaining experience. The characters are fun, the story gets really intense when it means to, and it never gets to the point of being too self-aware. Yes, I'm counting that as a positive. I want to see some stories that take themselves seriously once in a while, dang it. Yes, that guy hit a baseball so hard it broke the Tokyo Tower's tip off. Yes, it's extremely stupid. But consider: who gives a shit, it's rad.

(There's also 4 identical-looking guys all voiced by the same VA. Call that a cost-cutting measure if you will, I'll call it hilarious)

The whole anime's for free on Youtube, with English Subtitles. So you don't even need a Crunchyroll account, you can watch it right now if you want! The playlist's not in order and it's got some weird edits to add ads for the music, but eh. Other options are available if need be.

5. Tribe Nine (The Game)

"Okay, so remember that anime that we made a couple years ago that very few people watched and had practically 0 cultural impact? I've got an idea: let's dial the extreme factor to 1,000, redesign all the characters, make new ones, and release its sequel as one of the best god damned free games people can play".

If that's not how Tribe Nine (The Game) came to be, I've no clue what the circumstances might've been.

Tribe Nine (The Game) may be a sequel to the anime, but it takes place in a world that's very different from what we see in Episode 12. A new threat, Zero, has emerged and taken control of the country. His extreme technological prowess and orbital lasers are as ridiculous as they are deadly, and he's in the perfect position to force the group of rebels that's risen to defeat him into a series of extreme games of strategy and deception.

XB still has its place of course: in the form of action debates that shift the balance of power in each territory.

(Okay I know what you're thinking: "Action Debates? Isn't that the Danganronpa thing?" Well, no. You see, this one's baseball.)

Tribe Nine's biggest downside is that it's a gacha game. And if that's something that deters you from it, I completely understand. However, if you're still willing to give it a chance, I cannot recommend it enough. The game is filled to the brim with content, the action RPG gameplay is extremely fun to master, and as of now can be played start to finish while completely ignoring the gacha aspect, as it just offers additional content, not necessary content. It might as well be a full AAA game that you get for free, because that's exactly what it feels like.

("Look I know every other apple in this basket is poison, but trust me, this one's juicy af and it tast- why are you looking at me like that")

Tribe Nine is available on Android, iOS, and Steam.

6. The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy

Okay, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it: This game is just straight up better Danganronpa

(Put the gun down put thE GUN DOWN I CAN EXPLAIN!!)

THL-LDA takes place in a world where humanity lives in underground domes, and regular attacks from unknown entities are a daily thing. One day our protagonist, Takumi Sumino, is kidnapped by a weird little... egg guy called Sirei, and made to stay 100 days inside a fortified academy. He and other people around his age are then forced to defend "something important" inside the school from invaders, by becoming pseudo-soldiers that use Hemoanima, special weapons that give them Kill la Kill-style uniforms that transform with their blood to enhance their powers and allow them to fight back.

(If this game isn't at least partly inspired by Kill la Kill, I'll assume that using your blood to get a super-powered school uniform is a daily occurrence in Japan)

The gameplay itself is divided in the expected vn sections (complete with minigames and side activities!), and the "defense" sections, where it plays like a really good Tactics game.

I'm usually not one to get too deep into Tactics games (I've tried FF Tactics, Disgaea, and Fire Emblem and sucked at all of them), but this one really pulled me in with how much freedom of choice you get, and how seamlessly it blends story and gameplay. For example, instead of getting a couple moves per unit, you get a certain number of Action Points per turn that you can distribute however you want. You can either move all units once or one unit 6 times. Certain actions will give you more Action Points, so good strategy and thinking ahead can lead to long combos that really punish the enemy.

(Pictured above: Gameplay instructions)

With 100 different endings and 500+ CGs (holy fuck), this is the most ambitious game Too Kyo games have released yet by far. And as soon as you start, you can really tell how much care went into it. In a way, it really feels like the culmination of everything these developers have worked on up to this point.

The demo is extremely generous too. I personally got 7+ hours of gameplay from it, so you've got a lot of time to see if you like the game or not without committing to spending money on it. By the time I was done with it, I was already so hooked with the story and fond of the characters there was no doubt in my mind I'll buy the full version as soon as the May paycheck hits.

(No points for guessing who my favorite character is)

The full game is currently available on Nintendo Switch and Steam.

Extra - Death Come True

Okay I'll be honest, the only reason this one's an extra and not a proper entry is because I haven't played it yet, so I can't say anything about it other than how interesting it is that it's the only FMV entry in Too Kyo's repertoire. However, it's made by the same people who've already made 11 things I've really liked, soooo... like at some point you gotta start giving artists the benefit of the doubt. I think it's fair to assume this one probably rules too. I'm also buying it with the May paycheck I haven't gotten yet and already spent half of.

(I'm also gonna play it on a discord call with my friends, so we can pick the story together. That's not relevant, but isn't the ability to do that an undervalued feature of FMV games?)

Death Come True is available on Steam, Android, iOS, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and probably a Smart Fridge if we try hard enough.

Conclusion:

Too Kyo Games is one of my favorite development teams. They have not disappointed me yet, and have given me unique experience after unique experience. Their style of storytelling is unlike anything else I've seen, and every time I check out something made by them, I end up being moved in new ways.

However, they're also currently facing financial difficulty due to none of their projects being breakout hits, or even hits as big as Danganronpa was. I think creativity and effort like this deserves attention, so if any of the entries above peak your interest, make sure to check them out! Especially if you ever fell in love with Danganronpa, as I think that's proof that this team is capable of making things that resonate with you. And after all, the people behind it have kept improving their craft more and more over time, so wouldn't it be fun to give them a chance to give you even more stories that give you new feelings and experiences~? 💖