No puzzle left unsolved!

Heya! I'm Bun/Yuki and I'm an artist whose favourite thing is detective video games! II Asks open and encouraged! II Main/art account is @idleyuki II she/her

[bunshoe]

Welcome!

Hello there!! This is a blog where I get to be very excited about detective video games (alongside sometimes other detective media. as a treat), as well as talk/theorise about things that interest me! Asks are open and encouraged, and if you're interested in my art specifically or other socials then check out my main!

Tag system: #bunchat - casual posts/talking #bunthoughts - thoughts/theories on a particular game #bunplays - posts made about a game I've not finished #bunart - posts including my art

Below is a list of all the detective games I've played and plan to play in case you want to know what you can talk to me about! Feel free to chat about stuff that's not on the list too- I appreciate recommendations for new stuff, or it may be something I know about already! (films, books etc)

Notable detective games I've played With a summary sentence + favourite character ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Dangaronpa series: Danganronpa Incredible concept and presentation, but found each case's twist easy to predict. Aoi Asahina Danganronpa 2 Improves on the original in many ways, and has the best case in the series, but the fanservice was a bit much. Sonia Nevermind Danganronpa V3 Presentation and character design the best in the series, but is held back a bit by the slow pace; I enjoyed the ending. K1-B0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 999 series: 999 Stellar concept, stand out voice performance from Evan Smith, and a remarkably grounded atmosphere for an Anime Game (affectionate). Snake Virtue's Last Reward Takes the interesting meta concepts of 999 and runs with them for a truly one-of-a-kind narrative, although is let down slightly by a convoluted ending. K Zero Time Dilemma I have never seen a game go so downhill so quickly in its last 20 minutes; had a blast playing, but for all the wrong reasons. Carlos ------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Ace Attorney Series Ace Attorney A classic for a reason; one of the best in the series even when compared to later entries. Dick Gumshoe

Justice for All Would be solid if not part of a series of such high quality titles. Phoenix Wright

Trials and Tribulations Absolute standout of the series, with a final case that manages to capture the very best elements of Ace Attorney. Miles Edgeworth + Ron Delite

Apollo Justice Whilst by no means bad, for me it never really reached the highs of other titles in the series. Trucy Wright

Dual Destinies One of my favourites, with a self aware sense of humour that allows them to embrace the inherent silliness of Ace Attorney. Simon Blackquill + Bobby Fullbright

Chronicles My favourite games of all time; it's like someone set out to make a game specifically for me. Herlock Sholmes

Investigations 1 Decent game, and always nice to play as Edgeworth, but one of the worst offenders of the Ace Attorney "you can't present the banana peel until you present the banana!" type problem. Miles Edgeworth ------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Professor Layton Series Generally more puzzle than detective, but I feel like they count. It takes a couple of games for the series to find its footing, but from Lost Future (my favourite) onwards, it masters the balance between an engaging narrative/larger mystery and the puzzles. The puzzle design is generally excellent, with the exception of the Katrielle Layton games, where there is a notable degrade in their quality. Incredibly charming and approachable series. Emmy Altavia, Luke Triton, Hershel Layton, Katrielle Layton

Return of the Obra Dinn Absolute exemplar of the genre which uses the medium to make you BE the detective in a way a film or book can't, presenting you with clues that require you to think out of the box to solve its tough but fair mysteries. Henry Evans

AI: The Somnium Files Pleasantly surprising and satisfying murder mystery game, with an incredibly likeable lead duo and cast. Mizuki

Ghost Trick Tight, engaging puzzles based on an interesting time-based premise are supported by excellent writing, characters and art direction; the animation is a particular underrated standout. Inspector Cabanela

Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright Although not the best of either series, Layton's gameplay works incredibly well in place of AA's typically lacklustre investigation segments.

The Sexy Brutale Groundhog day but with murder; an interesting premise and wider mystery coupled with tight puzzle design draws a flattering comparison to Ghost Trick. Trinity Carrington

Tangle Tower Excellent art, fun (fully voice acted!) characters and a decent mystery, sadly let down by a jarringly abrupt ending. Detective Grimoire

Aviary Attorney Ace Attorney but with birds; visually great, with some fun genre subversions, but I'm just not personally a huge fan of 'your choices matter' type detective games. Jayjay Falcon

The Room Series Sets out to do one thing, and does it well- good for those who are more interested in puzzles over narrative.

Her Story Interesting example of how allowing player agency in a detective game sets the experience apart from other mediums in the detective genre.

Unheard One I haven't heard people talk much about, and I don't know why; its audio-based method of providing clues is unique and interesting, and is a concept I would love to see explored further.

The Case of the Golden Idol Not as good as Obra Dinn, its clear inspiration, but fills that same role as a detective game that encourages lateral thinking; if you liked Obra Dinn, you'll like this.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog Was personally a little disappointed that deduction was done in the form of a platforming challenge instead of being allowed to present my own reasoning, but that isn't what this game was trying to be, and is instead carried by an impressive level of charm and a surprisingly great larger mystery. Tails

Games I plan to play: AI: Nirvana Initiative (currently playing) Outer Wilds Loco-Motive The Spider of Lanka Frog Detective Shadows of Doubt Overboard Strange Horticulture Paradise Killer Mohism: Battle of Words Rusty Lake Hotel Your Turn to Die Methods: The Canada Files Darkside Detective ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pagedoll by dianthus-alpinus

[spiritcc]

EXAMINING EVERY ACE ATTORNEY CASE ON THE LIKENESS OF US BEING PAID

The topic that must be finally put to rest considering how every AA protag and money issues go hand in hand, how many cases did we actually get paid for?

PHOENIX WRIGHT: BROKE ATTORNEY

1 - literally spelled out by the game that larry left us with fuckall, a bad omen of the life to come.

2 - nothing could scare the law offices' balance sheet more than the entrance of maya, but in the frenzy of fighting for the life of our workspace we didnt even notice the whiff of the long-lasting implications.

3 - okay this is the first $u$pect that can pay our bills, no way will powers left us without a relatively phat check so GIRL WE MAKING MONEY!

4 - genuinely if edgelord somehow figured that money dont matter in a friendship, either it was my wallet that bullied him into killing himself between these games or he at least had the decency to utilise von karma's leaked pin code situation and allowed us to drain his bank account posthumously. either way my belief that edgeworth got the bill paid here is naively high.

5 - i dont care if lana was going to pay or not bc i billed her for every fucking turn she did at the detention center. either way whether her estate got arrested in the investigation or not it seems like she'd be forced to pay so im staying positive.

ACE ATTORNEY: RAMEN FOR ALL

1 - maggie. what exactly can maggie even pay me. i feel like the case was more of a friend request anyway so we're eating roaches for dinner again, but i also feel that maggie would be inclined to offer at least something. im not sure if putting down a "presumable twenty" counts as success. i'm going to go with no.

2 - maya is starting to get slightly comfortable being a liability to my expenses, this is my first warning girl.

3 - MAXIMUM GALACTIC PROFIT??? OH HE PAYIN. OH HE PAYIN EVERYTHING OUT OF HIS CLOWN ASS. CONFIRMED. FORCED.

4 - this HAS to be a case of the arrested estate being distributed towards paying the fee because i absolutely refuse to live in a world where maya's existence just keeps costing me money. engarde better have paid for it all. the gallows dont drop until he signs my check.

ACE ATTORNEY: TROUBLES AND REMUNERATION

1 - a very big question mark about what can peenie the fail art student pay and whether grossberg is someone who entertains himself a free case. the existence of case 4 may actually suggest something interesting so let's come back to this one later.

2 - i dont care what kind of crippling debt ma$k has because if his wife can allow a bike she CAN, and WILL, pay my fucking fee i dont care. she looks like the type to pay anyway.

3 - maggie. maggie, maggie, maggie. what does it matter musing on how things would've turned out differently if they had actually remembered my face in time. in either universe, this is another expense, in a crisis where my laundry bill is financially ruining me as coffee cups keep flying in my face.

4 - this is a convict already. what can a convict pay to grossberg law offices? suddenly it looks like his gig takes up on free cases bc usually this dude would get a state attorney, right? is grossberg providing such services? if we are getting paid here, it is only the bare minimum it seems, so in retrospect it IS possible for case 1 to have been completely unpaid. as for this one, marking it as unpaid bc Doubt what we'd get could even pay for a single-ply toilet paper + they'd find a way to pay out even less considering the trial technically didn't go through smh.

5 - bitchass fucking fey family, call it THE FEE FAMILY for the way NONE OF THEM ARE PAYING IT!!!! THEY PUT ME IN THE HOSPITAL!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chronologically we have edgelord's two investigation games next so:

THESE TWO GAMES FOLLOW SEVERAL CASES CONDUCTED FOR A MILLIONAIRE'S OWN ENTERTAINMENT. WE DO NOT CONDONE MONEY PRIVILEDGE BEHAVIOUR AND WE BOYCOTT THE ANALYSIS OF THESE GAMES.

MONETARY JUSTICE: ACE ATTORNEY

1 - well money was probably one thing in the whole mess there, sure. Dick Wright jailed this barbie girl motherfucker just so he wouldn't pay the bill. girl we making no money era is back.

2 - weirdly enough but god might exist after all because no way the kitakis are not paying me. we are saved!!!!!

3 - in a grand twist, there is also no way that these moneyfucks are not signing me a phat one so big bet a hot meal was had that day! i think after lamiroir regained her memories she just decided that this fee was her paying off child support for both kids and fucked off forever.

4 - boy I lost my god damn job.

5 - an interesting situation here because this case was most likely sponsored by the state since it's testing out the jury system and all so. we got paid? almost three cases in a row? WOE MAMA!

ACE ATTORNEY: DOUGH'S DESTINY

1 - not this shit again. another freeloader caught up in the scheme of my monetary ruin. at the time when a teenager is feeding a company of four. peenie's new drip alone cost us six months worth of rent. girl we eating discarded prison gruel at the dumpster in this dark age of the law.

2 - oh a wrestler AND a mayor? oho. ohohohoho. ohohohohohoho.

3 - the humble beginnings of my empty wallet, innit. sure, let her get away this time. not my first rodeo.

4 - starbuck for the love of god i know they said their budget went down but he is PAYING that bill or im cutting wires on his rocket and doing phantom a favor here. he can afford to pay me.

5 - maya sure evaded leaving her footprint on my taxes but there's such a sweet difference between an employee and an independent contractor and athena saw why. sure, free case! its cost is taken out of your salary, baby. you're not eating for four months. at least.

6 - hey the aquarium folks Surely have the dough, right? they found us themselves too so that's a definite bill here.

BROKE ATTORNEY: NO SPIRIT OF JUSTICE

every case in the russian republic of village kurainovo was free which is a devastating stain on my financial report this year, remember how durke said we probably cant afford three meals per day? hello????

1 - motherfucker. this case actually cost us about 20 brazilian roubles because albi charged us for the magatama edible. the first case that lands us in the negative twenty. incredible.

2 - i fucking. if trucy thinks her main breadwinner status excuses her from freeloading a case that almost landed us in 3m debt then im selling rights to the gramarye IP to bozo the clown. family is Nothing to me. i havent eaten properly since 2016.

3 - stop fucking reminding me. not only that but fucking MAYA. THE BIGGEST EXPENSE IN MY LIFE IS BACK WITH NO JUSTICE DONE TO MY FINANCIAL WELLBEING. i havent showered in months. remember how nick told edgeworth that he "heard" that washing in the sink is good enough in the temple? so he didnt even do that himself. the lowest point of my life.

4 - with the urgency of it all and everything i have a strong suspicion the payment of this case was soba. max of what we're getting is food from that place. im shaking does this count as fair barter economy in their eyes? we're not in ancient fucking egypt.

5 - penniless, fatherless, across two countries too. whats not to like in this world. we havent seen a cent in this entire game.

6 - THE $PROKET$???? HELL YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Let's count the results:

31 cases across 6 games

13/31 cases most likely than not were paid for in acceptable capacity, which is less than a half. if we exclude cases where the situation isn't entirely clear (eg. engarde, lana), that is even less and we are looking at a third of all cases being remunerated for.

despite quite a few of the presumably paid cases involving rich clients, our gig most likely charges standardised fees, which makes the wealth of our clients irrelevant and simply further questions how much we actually made at the end of the day.

they are not lying, we really are making no money. this is concerning. ga'ran was right, fuck the attorneys just go and pick a state-backed position with the forces.

[nyaagolor]

I’m getting used to ace attorney being insane, but every once in a while the tone shift just gets me— like what do you mean we just finished watching the breakdown of a woman so haunted by her own crippling guilt and the manslaughter charges against her that she reconstructed her own scarred face into that of her sisters and the next case is about clown murder

[bunshoe]

Massacre on the Amaterasu Express

Thoughts on the Mystery Labyrinth after having played the prologue (aka looking at an anime girl's swimsuit to solve a murder)

So far, the idea of the mystery labyrinth is very compelling. I love how the place is almost personified, with it both obscuring the truth to reflect the efforts of the culprit whilst also having to play fair . Whilst I did see the twist of having to return to a branch of the mystery labyrinth coming, it's still a compelling concept, allowing the mystery to unravel and come back onto itself in a way that is interesting to see in a linear story. In this way, the mystery labyrinth is an excellent expression of how it feels to try and solve a puzzle, and the ways you get stuck and have to backtrack your thoughts, similarly to how Danganronpa's trials capture the feeling of being in a chaotic discussion, and picking out possible weak points to break apart an opponent's reasoning.

It's even more interesting from a meta level; usually, when you solve a puzzle in a game, you expect the story to progress linearly, but once the mystery labyrinth implants the idea that you might return to branching paths later, the player has the understanding that progression does not always guarantee your thinking is on the right track, and therefore is encouraged to think more critically about the information the game presents to them.

However, this interesting game structure is sadly juxtaposed by the baffling return of Hangman's Gambit: No-one's Favourite Danganronpa Minigame, This Time With Boobs!, featuring the digital equivalent of one of those posters where you scratch off a woman's clothing to reveal her unmentionables underneath, except this time you're doing basic primary school level spelling by shooting letters off a rotating barrel to reveal the swimsuit-clad anime girl inside. Whilst these two share a common voyeuristic concept, the key difference is one is a hundred times more mortifying to have to explain to your parents than the other.

To parrot ProZD, "Indeed!" the game cries, "the fifth body was a red herring. BUT CAN YOU SPELL THE WORD RED??!?!??" I understand that this is a fanservice segment, but I would hope that the pseudo-sentient death maze's attempt to obscure twisted truths would take a more compelling form than the world's most bizarre spelling bee

Another gripe I'd like to express is that the twist that the labyrinth kills the culprit behind the mystery has not been explored anywhere near as much as I would have liked, and I can only hope we see the resurfacing of this idea in later chapters.

At the moment, the mystery labyrinth is plenty interesting, but seems to serve no real practical function aside from allowing Yuma essentially infinite time to solve a mystery, as well as unearth certain clues that he missed the first time around. However, I do have faith that this is something that the game will explore later, if only to ask why pre-amnesia Yuma was eager to sacrifice so much to gain access to the mystery labyrinth, and what kind of person he was to want such a thing in lieu (or perhaps because?) of the deaths it would lead to. 'What is worth sacrificing in pursuit of the truth?' is a concept quite commonly explored in detective video games, and time will tell whether Raincode will have something valuable to contribute to the discussion.

[jamesbranwen]

this is not me trying to defend nintendo's business practices or say that either of these games don't have flaws, but I think a lot of the comparisons people are making between breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom are a little unfair and don't really take into account that they are different games with different purposes.

"breath of the wild feels so empty compared to tears of the kingdom" ... yeah? with breath of the wild, one of the game's main themes was isolation. you wake up in the future far after the apocalypse you were trying to prevent has already settled. you have no memories, very little strength. just like hyrule, just like zelda, all you have is your will to continue. breath of the wild is the quiet moments, the secret spaces, the weight of the world that has continued to turn without you still resting on your shoulders.

tears of the kingdom is not like that. hyrule is no longer the wild. it is no longer quiet and lonely. there's community. every sidequest is intertwined. your friends fight alongside you. this isn't "fixing" breath of the wild, this is it's natural continuation. as time goes on the world continues to heal and rebuild. if breath of the wild was clawing hope, tears of the kingdom is direct action.

like yeah there are things tears is doing better and (imo) things breath of the wild did better. but i don't think either one is a replacement for the other.