Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Critic Reviews

The creative team behind Danganronpa and, now, Rain Code, are a rare group in video games. They know how to entertain – I didn’t even mention the “replacement” for Monokuma in this game, but Shinigami the ghostly reaper is somehow even more brilliant foil and source of sadistic humour than the iconic bear. But under all the hyper-colourful art, the mysteries that would give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money, and the sheer energy and panache of it all, they also offer something intensely thoughtful with a strong and blunt message to share. As much as I loved Danganronpa, by the end of the third in that series I did think they were running out of ideas. As it turns out, all they needed was a new creative playground.

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.

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

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.

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.

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 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 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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.