Releasing in June 2023, I picked up Master Detective Archives: Rain Code on my way down to SMASH! At the time, the game was an unknown although it came with the pedigree of being the next project for the team at Spike Chunsoft: the creators of the Danganronpa series. However, bogged down by the myriad of lengthy games that had released, it was not until late November/ December 2024 that I was finally able to sink my teeth into the game. By then, it had also released on multiple consoles, including the PlayStation 5 (though it was the Nintendo Switch copy I remained true to).

In the first few moments, I fell in love with the game. Primarily because of all the callbacks it made to Danganronpa, as well as the frequent anime references. Of note was to Detective Conan – my favourite kid-sized detective with the mind of an adult (or, in his case, a high school student).

But I also loved how unabashedly absurd and whacky the entire game was. Especially when it came to the Mystery Labyrinth protagonist Yuma Kokohead is forced to navigate to arrive at the truth of a case to combat the accusations lobbed his way in the real world (although, even here, escaping to the Mystery Labyrinth and solving the murder mystery before him doesn’t usually end up helping him in the long run because his enemies aren’t going to sit patiently for him to have his denouement moment).

Plus, our erstwhile sidekick, and constant companion, through all these shenanigans is the beloved Shinigami. And while she is usually a purple-looking ghost for most of the game, when Yuma needs to venture into a Mystery Labyrinth, she’ll transform into a more fitting humanoid form – a la Sailor Moon.

Honestly, there was no need for the game to go so hard as it did in these moments. But go hard it did. Allowing gamers to reap the benefits.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code begins with Yuma waking up in a storage room at a train station bereft of his memories. Patting himself down, he finds a letter on his person addressed, presumably, to him. It tells him a few key facts: his name, that he’s been sent to Kanai Ward and that he needs to board the Amaterasu Express. He rushes onto the train just as it’s about to leave the station and meets his fellow Master Detectives: Aphex Logan, Zilch Alexander, Melami Goldmine, Pucci Lavmin and Zange Eraser.

Except, supposedly, there are only meant to be 5 Master Detectives. Counting Yuma, the number sits at an uneasy 6. The others quickly deduce there is a doppelganger among them although they can’t say for sure who it is. After some back and forth, along with the reveal of three Master Detective Forte abilities, Yuma retires to the first carriage. Before too long, he collapses.

When next he wakes, a purple ghostly spirit is floating next to him. Enter: Shinigami. Understandably, Yuma doesn’t take kindly to the apparition. Until he notices smoke in the train carriage and goes to investigate. The first body he stumbles upon is that of Zilch Alexander. When he goes to warn the others, he finds the other bodies in quick succession. All had been burnt to death.

Before Yuma can even begin to solve the case, the train arrives at Kanai Ward and is stormed by Peacekeepers (it is here we learn that like Shinra before them, Amaterasu Corporation has a finger in every conceivable industry. They provide power to the city, create items like the drone umbrella and even have their own private security force) and is charged with the murder of the other Master Detectives on the train. Unable to even properly string together a sentence in his defence, Yuma has a hard time convincing the Peacekeepers to let him go.

It is then that Shinigami comes to his rescue and summons forth a portal to the Mystery Labyrinth. In so doing, she manages to stop time itself.

Unfortunately, Yuma isn’t able to take advantage of this effect to escape. Instead, he is kicked into the Mystery Labyrinth portal and is forced to solve the mystery of the murders on the Amaterasu Express.

With the help of Solution Keys and the other various minigames inherent in the Mystery Labyrinth, Yuma slowly manages to piece together what happened while he was knocked out in the bathroom. In so doing, he is able to deduce that it was Zilch Alexander who had killed the others and that he was the impostor all along. In fact, Zilch was an assassin sent by Amaterasu to prevent the other Master Detectives to reach Kanai Ward.

The mystery solved, Shinigami reaps the soul of the culprit and Yuma is thrust back into reality. Of course, now knowing who the murderer was, he tries to convince the Peacekeepers to let him go. Unfortunately, they aren’t having any of it. Yuma is instead rescued by Yakou Furio, a local detective of Kanai Ward, owner of the Nocturne Detective Agency, and go-between for the Master Detectives sent by the World Detective Organisation.

After the encounter with the Peacekeepers, Yuma then meets up with the other Master Detectives that successfully found their way into the city: Halara Nightmare, Desuhiko Thunderbolt, Fubuki Clockford and Vivia Twilight.

So, begins Yuma’s journey to unravel the secrets and unsolved mysteries of Kanai Ward.

While the first two cases aren’t specifically tied to the wider narrative, they serve as a great introduction to Kanai Ward and its residents. It also gives players a glimpse of the various Fortes held by the other Master Detectives, including Halara’s ability of Postcognition (which allows her to see the scene of the crime at the time it was first discovered), Desuhiko’s Disguise (as the name suggests, he is able to disguise himself as anyone. No matter their height or shape), Fubuki’s Time Leap (reversing time), and Vivia’s Spectral Projection (also self-explanatory).

It isn’t until the third case where the stakes of using the Mystery Labyrinth and Kanai Ward’s Ultimate Secret come to the fore. This is first hinted at by talk of homunculi then a search for a secret lab in a restricted area. These disparate story threads culminate in the fifth and final case where Yuma must contend with the mastermind behind it all.

Along the way, however, he must contend with the consequences of using the Mystery Labyrinth. Especially as Shinigami’s reaping of souls leaves the true culprits dead (although, in the end, they turn out to be zombies). In this way, it sets up the perfect conflict for Yuma. Especially as the sole reason he pursues the truth to save the people of Kanai Ward and those who have been falsely accused by the Peacekeepers (not unlike the protagonists of the Ace Attorney franchise).

I especially like how at the end of the game, the primary message is to seek help from the friends you make along the way. And in terms of big decisions, sometimes one person may not be able to come up with the perfect solution, so trust in those around you to help with the heavy lifting. It’s a surprisingly positive message of hope. One I wish we could see more of in this world.

Oh, and the fact that the truth will always set you free. Obscuring it, even though the truth may be cruel, will only lead to more misery.

Of course, in the real world, it certainly isn’t as easy. Truth, as many have learned, is malleable. History, as they say, is written by the victors. And what truths we can derive are shaped by our own personal biases.

From a gameplay perspective, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is, for all intents and purposes, a visual novel. There is a lot of dialogue and a lot of things to read through (honestly, one of my major gripes about the game because the pacing felt poor and getting through many of the cases felt like a slog). While the game dresses this up in a third-person adventure game, any ‘traditional’ combat is reserved solely for the Mystery Labyrinth in the form of Reasoning Death Matches. There IS also the GOD Shinigami portion which sees a giant Shinigami race through a narrow track to destroy the fortress summoned by the true culprit to hide the truth, but it’s pretty much on rails without any decent deviation for exploration.

The rest of the gameplay revolves around quick-time events as Yuma Kokohead is a short king with little to no physical prowess. Instead, he can only run away, sneak past, or distract the Peacekeepers that serve as obstacles on his quest to the truth.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a good game for any and all mystery lovers. While the underlying plot had a few good twists and turns, I also struggled with the fact that I’d mostly solve the mysteries set before Yuma and have to wait for him to catch-up. These instances were a little tedious, especially when Yuma and Shinigami would circle back on certain important facts about the case – drilling down to the nitty-gritty details.

Still, I liked how the narrative wasn’t afraid to also lay down the groundwork in its worldbuilding, cleverly using foreshadowing and the player’s own expectations against them. This was especially true in the final case.

On the downside, I would have liked to see more of the other side characters shine. Most, if not all, fall into specific tropes. Which, honestly, was a little disappointing. Especially Desuhiko. But he’s also a man’s man. So, there’s that, I suppose?

Should Master Detective Archives continue, I’d certainly be interested to see where it goes. The story, after all, neatly teases a possible sequel for the characters. But should the developers want to go anthology, there’s also potential there for a separate and unconnected story to be told.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, good rain to you!