Greatest Mysteries Never Told
DGS Mysteries and Their (Not) Conclusions
I didn’t know it was possible to come out of a game riddled with holes and mysteries and yet still feel satisfied, but DGS proved me wrong. It’s probably less because of these mysteries being forgotten, and more because there seems to be clear threads leading off from the game’s end, with (hopefully!) promises for them to be answered in the next title.
Until then, though, we’re still left in the dark.
Under the cut you’ll find a list of various mysteries the game brought up, along with any answers that were given. These go from the ordinary to the most ridiculous--I’m gonna try to cover all the bases.
Mysteries Given Proper Explanations
Just like it says, these are mysteries that have been given close to or exactly 100% explanation, with anything left hanging being comparatively minor or trivial.
Each case. Though Case 3 didn’t get explained until Case 5
Mysteries Given Some Measure of Closure
These are questions that have gone a long way to being answered, but only in the broadest sense. Questions remain about the details, but those details may not have affected things in the story as we witnessed it.
Gregson’s mission (and only the mission itself). We found out that he was trying to get back some stolen, top-secret information, and he was trying to go at it solo. It was concluded in so far as the information has been taken back by the authorities, but questions remain about what exactly Cosney’s goal was.
Cosney Megundal. Were it not for his relation to Gregson’s mission above, he’d likely be in the above category. We simply don’t know what his goal was in trying to get a hold of sensitive information, despite everything else about his involvement in the game being answered.
Mysteries Given Less Than Half Closure
These are mysteries where answers have been given to some degree, but they either feel lacking, or don’t quite go far enough to explain some other things.
Barok van Zieks. We found out the reason for his hostility towards Ryuunosuke: he had a Japanese friend years back who then completely turned on him, leaving a deep emotional and mental wound. Whether or not his physical wound was also the result of this is left unknown. Most of the rest of Barok’s circumstances are either flat-out mysteries, or can only be inferred. These include his ‘Shinigami’ title, and his five year absence from the courts.
John H. Watson. What we do know is that he is Iris’s father, he was Sherlock’s partner (and wrote up his cases), and that he had to leave for ‘a place far, far away’ in relation to one of Sherlock’s cases. We don’t know if that country was Japan specifically, what exactly his relationship with Mikotoba Yuujin was, or the details of the case that forced him to leave in the first place.
Mysteries Given That May Not Be Mysteries
These are smaller things--possible red herrings, or items of concern that may not actually have any greater impact on the story.
Dmitri Demiglaski. The Russian revolutionary who was briefly mentioned in Case 2 in the newspapers as the one who kidnapped Nikomina. In the case itself we find out this isn’t at all the case, and that Nikomina escaped herself to seek asylum. However, Dmitri himself shows up as Juror 6 in the last case, and no more mention is made of him than a throwaway joke that Ryuunosuke seems to recognize him.
Asougi’s Sword, “Karuma”. It concerns me that they went out of their way to name Asougi’s sword, and that its name is specifically “Karuma”--the Japanese surname for the von Karma family--in both kanji and in pronunciation. While the kanji itself, “demon hunter”, was given explanation in relation to Asougi’s personality and his profession, I feel like it’s still something worth noting.
The World Fair. It was mentioned multiple times by multiple people (including at least Vortex and Sherlock), and it seemed there were preparations underway. Though I’m not sure what kind of significance it may have to the goings-on of this title, I wouldn’t be surprised if it came back in some form in any following games.
Mysteries Given No Closure
These are the REAL questions, where answers are either so scarce as to have basically not been given at all, or are only hinted at throughout.
Jezail Brett. The first culprit of the game, and the murderer of John H. Watson. Her motives remain unclear, and her whereabouts even more so. The last we hard was that she was to go to Hong Kong and possibly (possibly) face trial there, but it otherwise seems as if she won’t actually answer to her crimes.
Asougi’s True Mission. From the very first case we are given hints that Asougi’s study abroad experience is meant to be something much more. Yuujin mentions something to the effect, and Asougi tells Ryuunosuke that there’s ‘something he must do’ while in England. Ryuunosuke telling Vortex that he’ll ‘carry on Asougi’s will’ earns him a very strange reaction, as well. We are never actually told what it is, but there’s a decent chance it’s related to the other names mentioned in the top-secret info.
The Hound of the Baskervilles. Despite having it already written up, Sherlock refuses to let Iris publish it. His only answer to Iris’s questions about it are that she wait until the time comes where it can be published, and that he can’t tell her the reasoning behind it yet. In addition to this, Susato knows the full name of the story for some reason, and she also claims that she cannot tell Iris the reason for this.
The Top-Secret Info. The info Gregson was searching for turned out to be in Japanese Morse code, and listed four names: K. Asougi, A. Sasha, T. Gregson, J. Watson. Why their names are top-secret government info, what the four of them had in common, whether or not Cosney knew what he was trying to get a hold of, whether or not it was related to Asougi and/or Watson’s goals--none of this is answered.
Mysterious Conclusion
These are all the in-game mysteries that stand out to me for now. If you think I’ve missed anything, please let me know. As far as I’m concerned, it’s exactly because all these unanswered questions exist that I believe DGS will be getting a sequel at some point, and I look forward to finally getting concrete answers to a game that is simultaneously the most satisfying and most mysterious in the franchise