Discussion Point - Disco Elysium

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

One of the most beloved RPGs of the last decade is Disco Elysium. A game in which you play a cop who wakes up in a dingy hotel room with no memory of anything, and he has a murder to solve. What follows is a very strange game set in an alternative Earth with its own strange history, countries and technologies, before you even get to the actual game itself. You have twenty stats, who each talk to you based on how much you use it and how much you put points into these stats. All in all, a very unique and memorable game.

As with everything people praise, there is pushback. The most interesting of these arguments, is that Disco Elysium can't be one of the best RPGs because it's actually an adventure game. (Or the more extreme cousin, a CYOA) Some say this, stating that despite the game having stat checks, not having combat disqualifies the game from being a RPG. Others because the gameplay, despite having stat checks, is mostly following an adventure game template. Use an item on something, in this case selecting equipment to give yourself an edge in certain stats, and most of the game is a dialog puzzle. Things which usually aren't thought of as RPG gameplay, more as adventure gameplay.

Most of the time, this argument comes from RPG players, and usually people who seem to view calling a game an adventure game an insult. But despite this, the idea is intriguing, and doesn't seem like it's been discussed much by people who actually like adventure games. So, is Disco Elysium an adventure game? Should we cover it a thousand years in the future when we get to 2019? Feel free to bring up its spiritual predecessor, Planescape Torment, as well, since that often gets hit with some of the same arguments.

Game 151: Innocent Until Caught (1993) - Introduction

Written by Morpheus Kitami

 

It's nice to get back to some normal, standard and uncontroversial adventure games after what in retrospect, was a year consisting entirely of more experimental titles, the most traditional of which was arguably the most insane in other respects. (This was actually written in 2025, since I know it's 2026 when you read this) Yes, sir, it's nice to get back to the realm of adventure games that actually enjoy being adventure games.

What, you think there's going to be a joke here? Nah.

Innocent Until Caught is one of those adventure games with a cool premise and world design that even at the time, seems like a complete and total waste of resources. You're telling me that someone made an adventure game with its own unique universe, completely disconnected to any published sci-fi writer or licensed material? And instead of playing as an actual hero, you're just the local equivalent of a tax dodger? The nerve of these people. Give me ten copies and a framed poster of the box art.

Missed Classic: Dracula Hakushaku (ドラキュラ伯爵) - Lost (And Final Rating)

Written by Morpheus Kitami

Just what I've been doing for the past few months, getting chased by the Pope.

It's that time of year again where I play a horror game based off a movie and wonder why someone took something infamously horrific and turned it into something that is not. Well, kind of, since we've come back to Count Dracula, which so far has been far more horrific than any adaptation of Dracula I've ever heard of. Hopefully this time, we can put the good count to rest.

To recap since you've probably forgotten, Dracula has risen from the dead and has been spending time wandering around and remembering the old horrible things he's done in the past. Which is basically every sort of thing you'd hear on a black metal album except someone screaming Slayer while not wearing pants. More specifically, he saved a woman from being sacrificed for some reason. The woman is named Sistine, which is an odd name to have, because it means pertaining to Pope Sixtus. She apparently foresaw something which I glossed over, and Dracula is talking about a mysterious man he keeps seeing in his memories.

Incidentally, this time around I'm using automatic translations of the text, simply because I haven't got the motivation to translate massive amounts of what's probably the Japanese equivalent of Middle English. Yes, this is a terrible violation of all good principles, loses considerable nuance, but I don't think that's much of a loss at this point.

Missed Classic: Dracula Hakushaku (ドラキュラ伯爵) - Flashback, Heart Attack

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

One person watching another person in the darkness, we need a lot of words for this one.

Welcome back to Dracula. It's been far too long. To bring everyone back up to speed, last time Dracula had just drained the blood of the maid of another paramour of his called Franceska. We start with him staring at her alone, in a gazebo in the forest. She's not yet aware of him.

How's she doing? She's gotten past her fear, but she looks like she's about to break out crying. This amuses Dracula, in such a way that he could laugh. How's Dracula doing? Sucking that girl's blood has made him more...vital. Well...I wasn't missing that. Now I can talk to her. Dracula introduces himself and apologizes (ha) for making her wait. She already wants to get out of here. He asks if she's here on her lonesome. She mentions her maid, but wonders where she went to. He wonders if she'll return. After a little more talk, he says they should go to the palace, because she must be cold out here.

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. III - Final Rating

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

It's time to put the final pieces in place.

I now have the unenviable job to review not only the arguable worst game in a series, but as the guy who didn't even review (or finish) the last two games. If I am too easy on the game, I am being generous to a game I at first bounced off. If I am too hard, I am attacking a game I did not care for to begin with. So, let's do this with all the cards on the table, what I didn't care about in the past, why my rating is probably different from what Joe would have given, and where I think this went better than my experience with the first game.

Missed Classic: Dracula Hakushaku (ドラキュラ伯爵) - Predator and Prey

Written by Morpheus Kitami

Horror of Dracula seems to be the vague vibe that this game is trying to get across, where Dracula is clearly a charming figure yet no less an obvious predator.

Over the years vampires have been depicted many ways, sometimes straight-forwardly, like a monster, a predator or a demon, or sometimes metaphorically, like for disease or oil. Count Dracula, the name of this game in English which I would title it if I had the guts, depicts Dracula firmly as a predator. A charming predator who insists upon himself. His victims have little chance of escaping once they're within his spell.

But as I've played more of this game, I'm not so sure that this game came across this theme entirely intentionally. Dracula is only unique in being a vampire, predators like him roam the world, seeking women to hurt themselves. We've seen that with Jack the Ripper, but soon we'll see that these are not isolated characters in an otherwise hopeful world. I said that Dracula was darker than I expected in the first entry, and it's gotten darker still. So, be warned.

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. III - The Spirpt is Willing...

Written by Morpheus Kitami

The cover to the original 1981 edition of the board game.

This one really isn't going to make any sense if you haven't read previous entries for this particular game, I'm afraid.

Now that we've seen all the cases the computer game has to offer, it's time to see how they played out in the original board game. I say original compared to the reissued board game, released about a decade ago. I'm sure the differences are minor, but still, it should be interesting. And of course, after that there's the final case, untouched by the computer games for reasons that I once knew but have since forgotten.

Missed Classic 137: Dracula Hakushaku (ドラキュラ伯爵) - Introduction

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

When paying for games for 1994 was well and truly done and I got started on finalizing the year, I then went over the games I was on for the year, and my heart kind of sank when I spotted what my first three games were this year:

1. Necronomicon
2. Desire
3. Policenauts

Ah, nuts. It's not that I don't necessarily like playing Japanese games, but I am aware of my limitations and how draining it can be. I'm also not really that much on the train to playing Desire and Policenauts, which I view more as obligations rather than things I'm genuinely interested in even if I will give them a fair shake. I'll explain why when I get to those, but Necronomicon is definitely a game that's been on my radar since learning Japanese, since I like me some HP Lovecraft. And yes, I know that if you look at what I'm currently on, there are only three games that aren't Japanese, but it's only these three that are the sort of Japanese titles that feel like they're not quite adventure games that can feel draining. So, let's get into the first of basically nine such games I'll be covering.

Necronomicon is the fourth collaboration between director Hajime Kanasugi and writer Ken'ichi Hirono, so, we'll start with their first collaboration. Not their first games, because there would be fifteen of those and I don't think anyone wants me to go through fifteen at once. And if I do that, I have to justify why I'm not playing games that are prequels to those, and frankly we still haven't played every Sierra game up until this point, so I'm just sticking to these. Because at that point I would be going into basically every single game developer Fairytale made up until 1994 and I don't want to do that just yet.

Side note, no, I don't know anything about them, they are as anonymous as someone posting here without their name filled out. But you don't make five games together without some sort of understanding.

Dracula Hakushaku, or Count Dracula, is according to a copy/pasted description online, Fairytale's own take on Bram Stoker's Dracula. This is the PC-98 box, which has been spread far and wide, no idea who originally uploaded it. Darkforce is mysterious, no idea what that is. The subtitle is "The Blood of Beautiful Girls is Dripping", which is quite creepy. Dunno what's on the right, but The Man Called DRACULA reminds me of a The Man From UNCLE novel about vampires. The game was released in 1992 on PC-98, a Sharp X68000 release soon followed and then the next year there was a FM Towns release. I'll be playing that one.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective III - The Thames Murders (Won!)

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

What do you think Gregson would say about the tea at Scotland Yard that makes it worse than Mrs. Hudson's? 10 CAPs for the best answer.

Inspector Gregson is here, drinking tea made by Mrs. Hudson again. Guess it can't be that bad if he keeps coming here. Watson, knowing that they serve tea down at the police station, asks why he's here. Seems Inspector Lestrade sent him, a shocking course of events, as he's at his wits' end. "He didn't travel far to arrive there." We're to solve The Thames Murders, four, now five bodies found floating in the river. The latest is Roland Jaquard, stepson of Lord Astley Denham. He was a ne'er-do-well and a womanizer. His days spent being one of the finest Whist players in London, his nights spent in the drawing rooms of the finest families in London. "He wasn't a traveling chambermaid" quips Holmes. Then Gregson puts the names of murder dates of the previous victims in Holmes's notebook.

Incidentally, if you're not familiar with the time period, you could be surprised to hear that the Thames was pretty disgusting around this time, so hopefully poison can be ruled out.

Consulting Detective Vol. III - The Banker's Final Debt

Written by Morpheus Kitami

Haha, the person we pay rent to is a terrible cook, take that for giving us a good deal!

Inspector Gregson is having tea with Holmes and Watson. Glad the game remembered him, having Lestrade be a friendly figure felt like something out of bizarro world. Holmes is more interested in a crossword puzzle than the on-going conversation about a murder of a respected banker. After insulting their landlady's cooking, Gregson gets to the crime. The chief accountant for the Bank of England, Oswald Mason, was found murdered in his home at 10 o'clock last night by his wife. Holmes is being called in because Mason was doing important work for The Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer wants to make sure it isn't related.

I check the newspaper, it's April 11th, and Mason died yesterday, with a rather uneventful article in the paper. Not really much else I can do before finding evidence.

Consulting Detective Vol. III - Watson Steps In

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

As could be expected when Joe announced a hiatus on his contributions to the blog, someone else had to step in to play Consulting Detective Vol. III. I was the most enthusiastic...in the sense that I was the only one who really offered. During the playthrough of II, I tried the DVD version of I, which ended badly, but this time that isn't an option, and most importantly, since then I've had a renewed sense of appreciation of Holmes thanks to the Russian version starring Vasily Livanov. As such, whenever I'm stuck, I'll ask myself, what would he do? Er...what would his character do. Also as is usual when I take over a game, you may change your score guesses at no penalty. Without ado, let's begin.

Holmes' Introduction

Holmes introduces London as an unpleasant city full of danger lurking behind every corner, but that there are people who can help the player. Firstly, we have the daily newspaper, a source of invaluable information regarding our cases. Then, we have the Baker Street Irregulars, a group of vagabond schoolchildren who perform tasks for Holmes. In game, as you may recall from previous games, these guys basically just perform actions instead of Holmes or Watson going there, lowering your score. (Higher is worse) Then, the Baker Street Regulars, various doctors and reporters Holmes knows and can gather clues from. Some are vital to the success of a case, others are often just a source of clues.

Also, for readability's sake, I'm going to be putting in bold the names of people or places you can visit. At least the first time.

Missed Classic: Valhalla - Abandoned

Written by Morpheus Kitami

Welcome back to Valhalla, the game I started back in April and kept putting off continuing for other games because it wasn't quite the right time for this kind of mapping. Considering I was putting off starting this game for a while, that tracks. It's not quite the game that's taken me to the longest between starting and finishing as far as posting it on the internet goes, but it's getting close. This is feeling like a lot of effort for not a lot of content.

Missed Classic: The Dark Half - Won and Final Rating

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

Welcome to Miriam's Apartment in scenic New York (MAY NOT ACTUALLY NEW YORK IN THE GAME) where we, who are definitely not George Stark, will investigate Miriam's death. There are a lot of objects I can examine here, but I suspect a flowerbed is the only one I can do anything with. Oh, well, inside we go.

No wonder Miriam got murdered, she lives in Vincent Price's apartment building.

I'm not so sure Stark wasn't doing the world a favor, apparently Miriam really likes green. 10 CAPs for your best explanation of why this room looks like this. The couch, the trashcan and the sign aren't really important, but since we already know that the paper is useful, we'll take it. Inside her apartment we go.

Missed Classic: The Dark Half - I am Definitely Sane

Written by Morpheus Kitami

How are things going in the land of poorly pixelated Timothy Hutton?

Beaumont picking a bad time to start up a X Japan cover band.

Well, whenever I reload a game, I'm not sure if the game is crashing, which is a good sign. Seriously, there's an in-game moment before the sequence starts, which is just confusing as hell. There also seems to be just one long music track, which isn't bad, but it's just one for a significant area, it seems.

I pick up all I can from the shed, which is a rope and a flashlight. The way out from the graveyard is left from the start. We're not doing great with area transitions.

Missed Classic 135: The Dark Half (1992) - Introduction

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

Stolen shamelessly from MOCAGH.

Yeah.

Kronolog - Won (And Final Rating)

Written by Morpheus Kitami

Welcome to 1942, we have a crackerbox-style house behind us, housing Livingston, our target. There's a rainwater barrel next to Hoffmann, empty because there's no rain, and more cacti on the corner. I can peak in through the window, but alas, the curtains are drawn. I can go to the left, though.

"I've been shot, which is why I'm going to stand like I'm trying to reach a high shelf!"

And it's Livingstone, just after having been shot by Schmidt. Hoffmann tells him not to worry, and to go back to his own time, because he has this. He doesn't quite understand, but does so. If I were inclined to think this game might have a cruel ending, I would think I have just guaranteed that time is a loop rather than things changing and creating new timelines.

Getting closer to the house, it changes to the front porch. The fishing gear and swing are flavor. While I can see in through the windows, I don't see anything of interest. The chest and door are locked. The answer is surprisingly easy at this point, because of that well-known cliche of hiding a key where you can find it if you lose it. Where is it? In the mouth of the fish on the left. This allows me to open the chest, which has a piece of orange cloth with two grommets (those ring things you tie things into, not a noob skateboarder) and nothing else. The key does not unlock the front door.

Kronolog - No Time to Cry

Written by Morpheus Kitami

By observations of what's noticeable in a scene it is the most visible...but then again, it is supposed to be...

As nobody else really felt like looking up a walkthrough to give hints, it fell upon Ilmari to once again look up the walkthrough, giving me the clue that I should check the electrical box. On the left, with the obvious markings. The game says its suspicious, but when I use it, tells me off. 100,000 amps feels good any day, which caused me to put it under the "flavor" part of the game's environments.

If only I had a pair of wire cutters...

What I didn't spot was that I was supposed to look at it, up close. I can open it up easily, revealing the circuit breaker for this floor. I guess the 100,000 amps was a red herring. I'm not sure what I can do here. Ilmari also mentioned that you should press the dot on the exclamation mark, which isn't a hotspot. This reveals...

Kronolog - More Games About Buildings and Food (Request for Assistance)

Written by Morpheus Kitami

Last time, I stopped just after the Proconsul's secretary told me I had something to pick up in his office. It's another elevator down, and as I go down to floor F, I get told that today's thought is "remember the Zeppelin". Some interesting stuff here, cuttings from the now defunct Black Forest, and in this world, everyone's a big fan of Ministry's hit song "Everyday is Flag Day". Well, in Germany everyday is Flag Day, anyway. I wonder if the door I can't enter is a trap or not, or in fact, where I'm actually supposed to go. Oh, looking tells me. I appreciate that a lot.

Sweet digs, but I can't help but notice that the secretary isn't here. On the right we have some classy stuff, pay no attention, it's just there for flavor, you can't even open the cabinets. The game calls the painting on the right a mediocre example of German naturalist, but it still looks better than most modern art I've seen. The one in the back looks about right.

I go behind the desk and the scene changes. Somewhat unnecessary, because as soon as I look at the desk, other actions are invalid...

Game 148: Kronolog: The Nazi Paradox AKA Red Hell (1993) - Introduction

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

Almost as long as we have recorded history have we wondered what would happen if history went a different way. What if the Persians won the Greco-Persian wars? What if Pope Leo X did away with indulgences? What if Napoleon won at Waterloo? What if the Nazis won WWII? Idle speculation or the odd piece of fiction for a long time, until the beginning of the twentieth century.

What it was that caused the genre to start picking up steam is not that tricky to figure out, people who were never there were sore they didn't live in a world where the American Confederacy won the Civil War or Napoleon lost. What prevented the genre from being dumped in the wake of stuff like Gone With the Wind is that actual historians became interested in the subject.

Enter J.C. Squire, himself quite the character, deciding to get a bunch of historians to write on the subject with a more scholarly interest. The resulting book, entitled If It Had Happened Otherwise is mostly notable now for having an essay from a pre-PM Winston Churchill.

Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade - Over and Done With (And Final Rating)

Written by Morpheus Kitami

Right, let's get this over with. The Genesis version, hallowed be thy joypad mouse cursor, on earth as it is in hell, etc., etc..

Welcome to Detroitica, is that right? Five CAPs if I'm wrong and you correct me. I think the music was intended for the Genesis primarily, if you can believe that, because it sounds the least like the person designing it wishes pain upon players. Or maybe just luck, considering everything else I don't believe that to be true. The only thing I can interact with here is a computer, which is switched off. I can't use it, so I guess I have to turn it on somewhere else, like how most computers work.

You know, Dante's depiction of hell is really lacking in the platforming stages from this game. Yeah, sure, being a head stuck in a frozen, screaming vortex while Satan is at the center crying and screaming sucks, but imagine having to live in this stage in real life. This is merciful in one way, you don't die by getting hit by lasers, but it is crueler in the sense that you get shot and you are slowly taken back to the start of the level. This is right after a password point. (I decided against playing this from the start.