One of the biggest surprises and standouts at the Nintendo Direct on September 13th was the reveal of Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE, a brand new mystery game from Danganronpa series creator Kazutaka Kodaka.
Set in a rainy city filled with bright lights and adopting a darker fantasy style compared to the pink, blood-splattered school halls of Kodaka’s previous series, RAIN CODE is Kodaka’s first Marking his foray into full 3D, he reunites with Spike Chunsoft and many others. The team behind the beloved and greatest mystery game.
After founding Too Kyo Games in 2017, Kodaka helped create, publish, and assist in other games such as the FMV titles Death Come True and World’s End Club, so RAIN CODE is pleased to announce his return as main scenario writer. mark
I had the chance to talk to Kodaka and Spike Chunsoft about this mystery game. We asked Kodaka what his influences were and how his past works influenced him.
Nintendo Life: Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE is described as a “lucid noir adventure game”. Can you tell us a little bit about what that means and how it differs from previous games?
Alex Flagg, Localization Producer: In particular, the part of “Lucid Noir” is a noir-type detective novel, but at the same time, it is a wordplay that has an element of the main character who is not completely clear due to amnesia. There are also other meanings for words related to light and city lights.In particular, neon is a big element that creates the game worldview and atmosphere. “lucid-noir” is a bit of a combination of ideas that we thought were cool.
Kazuki Kodaka, scenario writer: What’s different about “RAIN CODE” is that the previous game had 2D graphics, but this time it’s 3D. With this version, we want to reach more users so that more people can play this game.
The game stars a sort of team of buddy cops who appear in pairs of Yuma and Shinigami, but most Danganronpa games have a larger cast. Have you ever faced
Kodaka: Although it is a duo, detectives with special abilities will also appear. There are many interactions with other characters, so it’s not much different from the previous work.
i feel so lucky to have found you [Danganronpa] Interesting… you can work on bigger projects like RAIN CODE.
So are there moments when you need to team up or pair up with another detective?
Kodaka: Yes, Yuma and the other detectives are working together and are at odds with other detectives that can also be seen in the game.
The Master Labyrinth looks like a very flashy way to solve mysteries in RAIN CODE, but it has some similarities to Danganronpa’s refutation showdown mini-game. How did you change the interactive puzzle solving in this game?
Kodaka: It’s really hard to describe it in words. *smile*
Now you have to experience it yourself.
Kodaka: In the case of Danganronpa, the decision-making power is always the class trial. Mystery Labyrinth is a place where you solve mysteries, and I wanted to show how the scenery and settings change as you get closer to the truth.
In Mystery Labyrinth, general rules don’t apply, so when you solve a mystery, everything changes and you can see a different environment, and many other things can happen.
as if alice in wonderlandand the mix of “I” and Alice in Wonderland you can expect in this game.
I was actually going to ask about it! I read an interview where he was inspired by the work of Tim Burton. Is his version of Alice in Wonderland his one of those inspirations, or are there other aspects of Burton’s work that inspired his RAIN CODE?
Kodaka: There’s Gotham City and the aesthetics that inspired me.
It’s a broader question. What do you think keeps you coming back to the murder mystery genre and how do you come up with ideas that change the formula each time?
I thought the wet kappa image was cool
Kodaka: Murder mystery is very popular in Japan! I think detective crime is interesting and has an interesting culture. I want to use games like this to show the world different sides.
Going back to the Alice in Wonderland/Tim Burton inspiration, Rain Code (compared to Danganronpa and World’s End Club) feels darker and more urban fantasy. Did the change in genre give you more freedom?
Kodaka: It gives me more freedom, but also fantasy elements, such as Shinigami being able to use special abilities that other characters helped with when writing scenarios.
So, are those special abilities available during investigations, or are they only available in the Mystery Labyrinth?
Kodaka: The Shinigami we saw in the trailer are not well known in the world for their abilities, so no one believes in her abilities. is.
Yuma, the main character, has no abilities, but he teams up with Shinigami to become a detective apprentice. During the investigation, Yuma and other talented detectives will work together to unravel the cases and mysteries by making full use of their respective abilities. Detective abilities are specialized in investigating cases.
Focusing on Yuma, an apprentice detective, he is at the beginning of his story or career in RAIN CODE. What do you think attracts you to these characters who seem so ordinary on the surface or like underdogs who ultimately rise?
Kodaka: I want to make the main character as simple as possible so that players can relate to him. Yuma is amnesiac, so it’s another way players can relate (because they’re finding events related to games and characters at the same time as Yuma).
It’s similar to other characters (e.g. Makoto Naegi from Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc), so I think Yuma can relate to it.
Kodaka: I accept!
Touching Danganronpa, RAIN CODE sees you reunited with some of the developers (artists, composers, writers) of the Danganronpa series. How was it working with them again? Did it change your approach to RAIN CODE?
It’s as if it were Alice in Wonderland, a mix of the “me” and Alice in Wonderland you can expect from this game.
Kodaka: This project started about 5 years ago when I was still at Spike Chunsoft. Spike Chunsoft helped develop Rain Code, and while I didn’t use 3D when I was working on Danganronpa, the Spike Chunsoft development team has a lot of tangent-related stuff. I was working on the title of , and supervising the 3D. I had the pleasure of working with this team this time around, so I was able to incorporate the 3D part.
It really is! Great to see you all back together again. Did you have any challenges working with the 3D when working with the team? What challenges did you experience with full 3D?
Kodaka: This time I did not set the city of the real country. It was an experience for me because I had to build a new city from scratch! But I found it very interesting.
What made you want to write a game in a city that doesn’t exist or in a new location?
Kodaka: First, I wanted to create a concept with the character as a detective. And when I think of detectives, I can’t think of anything bright or shiny! I thought cities like cloudy London and so on. I thought this would work better for detectives.
I said London, but I’ve only been there once (laughs) I know Japan very well! But that’s why I wanted to create a new city.
Then I thought of a city where people were wearing raincoats — code, not coats (laughs) — and I thought the wet raincoat image would be really cool for a detective game. The visual idea of the setting came to me first. So there’s a bit of Asia and a bit of Japanese influence in the city. There are also red bricks, which reminds me of London.
absolutely! and rain. It rains a lot in England.
Kodaka: *smile*
Between “Danganronpa” and “RAIN CODE” are “Death Comes True” and “World’s End Club”, works that are very different from Danganronpa. Did these experiences help develop RAIN CODE, or did they give you any ideas or inspiration?
But even if it’s a secondary character, I think, “Oh, what if this was the main character? Can I write a story?”
Kodaka: I didn’t directly write the scenario or direct the game for those titles, so it’s really the first time I’ve been in charge of the scenario and direction since Danganronpa. So it’s been a while since I wrote all these words.
Since Danganronpa, we have released a lot of video games. It’s been five years, so I had a lot of emotions to put into the project.
I can imagine! Why did Danganronpa resonate with so many people not only in Japan, but all over the world, and what do you hope to get out of Rain Code?
Kodaka: When I was doing Dannaronpa, there were no plans to release it overseas, so I was very happy. I don’t really understand why it was so popular and why everyone likes it! But I feel really lucky to validate that everyone is interested in being able to work on a bigger project like RAIN CODE. i feel lucky about that.
It’s great that people all over the world can play this game, but it’s not necessarily aimed at an international audience. As a player, I care a lot about his experience.
That’s a really nice way to put it. Danganronpa has some really overdone characters and rare talents. Do you have a favorite kind of character you like to write?
Kodaka: It depends on where I am or at what point in my writing. But even if it’s a secondary character, I think, “Oh, what if this was the main character? Can I write a story?” That’s what I think about when I write plots.
When I’m creating character profiles, I think of every character as having a main story and being the main character. I write all letters like that.
I think that’s why people really connect with them and enjoy the characters. That’s a really nice way to put it. Finally, have you ever wanted to write something that didn’t involve murder or crime, or is there an ideal story you’d like to write?
Kodaka: Oh yeah, in my story, everyone just happens to be dead… (laughs).
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Thank you Kodaka-san and Spike Chunsoft for taking the time to speak with us. Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE will release on Switch in his spring of 2023.
