Retro Mystery Club Vol.2: The Beppu Case

I adored Retro Mystery Club Vol 1, and was really looking forward to more of the same. Vol 2 attempts to add increased depth to the games characters to mixed results. Part of the magic of Vol 1: The Ise-Shima Case was it worked extra hard trying to replicate that classic Famicom command-based adventure game style. The occasional pixelated discovered body, repeating the same commands over and over to progress, the graphics and sound and everything in between were spot on. In Vol 2: The Beppu Case, the game spends an increased amount of time introducing all of the characters in a specific family and fleshing out their relationships. It's very much a tale of domestic discord with a lot less morbid imagery. This leads to a longer runtime that's mostly comprised of sifting through dialogue between the same handful of characters. While a lot of it is pretty intriguing and builds up the mystery to an exciting climax, I found myself getting tired of looking at the same character portraits for hours repeating questions over and over. You'll be talking to the maid an awful lot. There's a surplus of backgrounds that were made for the game, with many sequences involving wandering around a large park or carnival made up of dozens of screens with very little interaction. Everything again is very attractive and plays well, but it doesn't feel as focused as the original game. There's definitely $10 worth of game here, and the ending ties all the threads together in a satisfying way. I'd say make sure you enjoy Vol 1 first, and even then be prepared for something different.

Full review at: https://thegamehoard.com/2024/04/08/retro-mystery-club-vol-2-the-beppu-case-pc/ Retro Mystery Club Vol.2: The Beppu Case handles its core mystery well, working towards new leads and new revelations at a steady pace so its narrative momentum doesn’t run out. However, the game wisely slows down so you can get to know the key characters well, allowing you to both form your own suspicions but also come to be invested in their fates. Your role as the player is more to go through a set of menu options to progress the investigation, but there are times it will be rewarding to notice a detail and make the appropriate action and there are a few more involved sections like the underground diving maze. It even has a few moments you can indulge in a little tourism for the unique sights of the city of Beppu, giving you some extra motivation as fascinating real world places intermingle with an intriguing fictional case.

Decent homage to Portopia Serial Murder Case and Famicom Detective Club. Overall I think I might've liked Vol. 1's story resolution better but this one definitely has more content (it's at least twice as long).

NO COMPREN ESTE JUEGO PORQUE ESTÁ ROTO. Me enviaron una clave para análisis y jugué un buen rato, PERO cuando guardé la partida para volver jugar después EL JUEGO NO CARGA. Hice un tema en el foro oficial de Steam junto con un video adjunto para mostrar el problema que ocurre en la pantalla de inicio y nadie de Happymeal me respondió, les envié un mail y tampoco. Hasta que no arreglen el Bug que bloquea el juego no tendrán su análisis, por el momento solo puedo advertir a los demás de este problema.

Really great Japanese-style mystery adventure. I love this kinda game, and if you do too you really should give it a shot.