#my gripes with master detective archives: rain code

[dangancode]

Rain Code Chapter 0, and why its Twist F*cking Sucks.

This is going to be the start of a series I call "My Gripes with Master Detective Archives: Rain Code". Unfortunately, they are quite numerous, but I figure it's better for me to split them up rather then write one massive post complaining about it.

Because yeah, I did the writer's equivalent of a rage quit on this game, and it breaks my heart. Not only because the writing doesn't work, but because IT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO.

And what better place to start this then the Massacre on the Amaterasu Express, and why shock value is not good writing.

Spoilers for Chapter 0 of Rain Code, and also for Danganronpa 1, 2, V3, and UDG.

Right off the bat, we're introduced to five other characters besides our infamous protagonist, Yuma Kokohead. Aphex Logan, Melami Goldmine, Pucci Lavmin, Zilch Alexander, and Zange Eraser. They're introduced, provide a bit of exposition to Yuma and the player, and their dynamics seem pretty solid so far. Each of them has room to develop, there's hints that Pucci might be a love interest of sorts to Yuma, and some of even show off cool powers that definitely might come in handy in later cases. But then what happens?

They're all f*cking killed. They last twenty minutes before every single one of them, including the culprit, all die off-screen.

SO YEAH. IF YOU'RE ANYTHING AT ALL LIKE ME, YOU'RE MAD. Not upset, not devastated seeing characters you like die.

F*CKING. MAD.

What Kodaka seems to have forgotten when writing Chapter 0, is that there's a reason the deaths in the Danganronpa series work. THEY EXPLICITLY PUT THE IDEA OF MURDER INTO YOUR HEAD. From the very moment Monokuma is introduced in DR1, he says directly, without any sugarcoating, that the only way the characters can get out of permanent imprisonment is to kill someone and get away with it.

The writers don't say who will die (ignoring the whole 11037 thing), because they don't NEED TO. They know the player is smart enough to use context clues and figure out, "Hey, Sayaka and Makoto have been getting awfully chummy, chances are she's probably kicking the bucket." It makes sense, there's payoff, and the moments leading up to that are meant to build connection between the player and the characters.

WHAT PAYOFF IS THERE IN RAIN CODE CHAPTER 0'S TWIST?!

There is none, because Kodaka forgot to give us, the player, any semblance of a hint aside from the chapter's title that maaaaaybe these characters aren't gonna live much longer so try to avoid getting attached.

And no, saying "it's made by the same people who made Danganronpa so it's on you for not expecting that" does not suffice here. Even if Rain Code were established to be part of the same universe or whatnot (it's not), why didn't they give us a bit more warning?

WHAT IS THE POINT OF INTRODUCING THESE CHARACTERS IN THE FIRST PLACE IF THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE WITHIN TWENTY MINUTES OF MEETING THEM?

The short answer is: shock value.

Take a look at Kodaka's writing, and you'll find that he adores shock value. Between the protagonist swap in V3, the divisive "it's a lie!!" ending, and a handful of deaths throughout the series (Taka, Hiyoko, Yuta Asahina), and it becomes entirely clear that payoff isn't his top priority. It's pulling the rug from under our feet, watching us land on the floor, and when we say, "WTF Kodaka?!", his response is probably, "IDK what to tell you fam, you really should've seen that coming."

No, my dude. Of course I didn't see this twist coming. Because you did a terrible job with your foreshadowing. You introduced five characters whose only purpose is to improve your marketing by showcasing a bigger cast on the game's cover art, vaguely hinted at potential development in later chapters, and then did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WITH THEM.

As a writer, I despise shock value. Not hinting at a twist properly beforehand almost never works, and when it does, it falls in line with what we know about the story and the stakes. But by the time the stakes are set up in Rain Code, Aphex and the others are already gone, so their deaths don't really matter.

If Aphex, Melami, Pucci, Zilch and Zange didn't exist, THIS STORY WOULD'VE PANNED OUT THE EXACT SAME WAY. Nobody mentions these characters again anyway, SO WHY DO THEY EVEN EXIST?

Oh, and I've barely discussed the culprit himself, "Zilch-Alexander-but not-really-it's-just-some-unnamed-hitman-who-looks-and-sounds-exactly-like-him."

You mean to tell me that the real Zilch just happened to look EXACTLY LIKE THIS RANDOM HITMAN? A hitman who, much later in the game, is revealed to be old pals with Yomi Hellsmile, the symbolic leader of Amaterasu?

You're telling me this isn't actually a hitman, he's an insider from Amaterasu who managed to not only get out of Kanai Ward, but only left to kill four detectives, use some intricately designed train to pull off their murders, and then frame the trainee who just happened to have amnesia so his alibi is already pretty shaky?

You're telling me he got past all of the security regulations that Kanai Ward had in place preventing people from getting in or out, and instead of taking this opportunity to spread Amaterasu's influence, HE WENT STRAIGHT BACK THERE AND EXPECTED TO BE GREETED WITH OPEN ARMS?!

Are you starting to get why I have issues with this chapter?

It would've been so much simpler to say "Zilch was bribed by Amaterasu to betray the WDO". Melami or Aphex could even mention something along the lines of, "Not all detectives care about the truth. Some only care about lining their own pockets and making themselves look better in the eyes of the WDO." Which would make it easier for us to understand that detectives don't always have everyone's best interests in mind.

And if it's absolutely necessary for the sake of the plot, to fuel Yuma's desire to solve injustices and learn how to use the Mystery Labyrinth to uncover the truth, why can't it just be ONE DEATH INSTEAD OF FOUR?

I discussed this with a friend of mine on Discord, but rewriting this chapter so that only Zange dies would be incredibly easy. Zange realizes their drinks are drugged, and when everyone else falls asleep, he confronts Zilch. Of course it ends badly, and by the time the others realize he's dead, Zilch's status as the traitor becomes even more apparent. One Mystery Labyrinth later, and Swank kills Zilch for blowing cover, saying something like, "You said this would go off without a hitch." It would make Amaterasu seem more like a threat, since they're willing to go to such extreme lengths to compromise the WDO's involvement in Kanai Ward. Aphex, Melami and Pucci would all join the rest of the detective gang along with Yuma, and the story would proceed as normal.

Do you see how easy that was? I'm not trying to say this would've been better than how it actually played out, but I certainly would've enjoyed the game a bit more, at least.

Anyways, I digress. Rants are exhausting, but I definitely feel better getting all of this off my chest. Of course, you're free to agree or disagree, but I'd really prefer not to be called an egomaniac just because I disliked Kodaka's galaxy brain storytelling on this one.

Have a great rest of your day or night, I'm gonna go lay down now. :')

[imperatortez]

What's your favorite game you played this year?

sky my pal my friend my companion sky.

that is a very difficult question, I've played a lot of different games this year! In fact, I've actively been keeping tabs on games i've completed this year, totalling around 20 fully completed games.

I think it's gotta come down to three candidates, Valheim, Jedi Survivor or NEO: The World Ends With You. And the thing is, I love them all for different reasons.

Valheim is such a fun game to play with friends, and is an experience you could easily sink dozens of hours into without even thinking about it. From the biome-based progression and gear system somewhat akin to Terraria. To the harder boss fights and survival based aspects of the game. To it's incredible simplistic, yet very stylish and distinct visual style, it's genuinely a solid 10/10 for me.

STAR WARS: Jedi Survivor was an incredibly fun experience, despite a rocky technical launch. I definitely experienced a good few bugs and poor preformance, but looking aside the state of the game at launch it was a really genuinely phenomenal experience that managed to feel properly Star Wars. Which is a thing not a lot of Star Wars games manage. And I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of that, not to mention that the twists in the story threw me for a genuine loop.

NEO: The World Ends With You was a game I didn't really expect to play this year. It was gifted to me by @somethingwittyandweird for Christmas last year and I got around to playing it sometime early this year, and the first few days didn't super do it for me in game, but after that I was locked in. It was a really interesting and engaging story, with really well written characters, and overall fun gameplay. As it turns out, I am so normal about this game, so y'know, it's fine. Totally fine. (My game be so fine then boom, it got even better)

A few shoutouts before making my final decision: Master Detective Archives: Rain Code was a phenomenal detective game. Which, typically investigation and mystery games aren't 100% my thing, I often don't feel very good at them and I find the mysteries get a bit too complex for my liking. But this one really hit home for me, fantastic game with fantastic characters, art design, writing and soundtrack. Baldur's Gate 3 is another fantastic game I've played this year. I'm a lover of CRPGs and D&D so it was a pretty safe success for me, and I did thoroughly enjoy it. I've got a lot of different gripes and disagreeances about how some characters were handled and some options and such within the story, and various opinions about other bits and bobs. But all in all, it very much deserved GOTY, even if it wasn't my game of the year. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Pathfinder: Kingmaker were also exceptional games I played this year. Again, big fan of CRPGs so these were very safe hits for me. But in addition to that, they let me immerse myself and learn so much about Golarion, the primary Pathfinder setting, and I thoroughly enjoyed that. With well written characters, fantastic stories, and very in depth mechanics, these games were a great time for my fantasy adventures.

I think, having ruminated on it properly, my favourite game that I played this year has to go to Valheim. I can return to that game any number of times for any number of playthroughs and have a fantastic time, it's so engrossing and fun and it's a game I cannot recommend enough.

There are a lot of hot hits this year I just haven't played yet. Like Mario Wonder, Tears of the Kingdom, Alan Wake II, etc. etc. I just have not gotten around to them yet, though I plan on doing so sooner rather then later, hopefully!

I hope this satisfies your curiosity! And I for one look forward to seeing what games will end up being played next year!