Yuji Horii’s Mystery Trilogy
[堀井ミステリー三部作]
1983年
The Roots of Dragon Quest
On May 27, 1986, Dragon Quest is released on the Famicom, introducing a wide audience to the pleasure of fighting, becoming stronger, solving puzzles, and experiencing a story through conversations. Following the success of Dragon Quest, the role-playing game genre quickly gained popularity in Japan, and the talent of its creator and writer, Yuji Horii, now expressed itself in a fresh new form.
However, Yuji Horii was already regarded as a key game designer a few years earlier, in the early 1980s, following the release of three innovative adventure games known as the Yuji Horii Mystery Trilogy.
“Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken”, The Portopia Serial Murder Case, released in 1983 on Japanese personal computers, developed by Yuji Horii and published by Enix, and later ported to the Famicom on November 29, 1985.
“Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin: Ohotsuku ni Kiyu”, Hokkaido Serial Murders: Disappearance in Okhotsk, released in 1984 on Japanese personal computers, developed by Login Soft and published by ASCII, and later ported to the Famicom on June 27, 1987.
“Karuizawa Yūkai Annai”, Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide, released in 1985 on Japanese personal computers, developed and published by Enix.
These three works had a significant impact on the Japanese video game industry. Their mastery already reflects the roots of Dragon Quest.
In an era marked by a lack of expressiveness, Yuji Horii's adventure games combine words, images, and sounds to craft a distinctive vision of the world —a believable reality. An adventure filled with drama, surprises, and mysteries that deeply resonate with players' hearts.
The first adventure games were introduced to the Japanese audience through the magazines Monthly ASCII and Login starting in April 1982. Many Western adventure games were featured, including Mystery House, published by Sierra Online in 1980, and Deadline, published by Infocom in 1982.
Most adventure games mass-produced in the 1970s typically used a method of expression consisting of describing in-game situations with text only.
Mystery House is the first game to express its worldview through text and images that match the scene. The adventure game genre, once regarded as an electronic novel, now transformed into an electronic story entertainment. Following Mystery House, adventure games have been classified into two types: text adventures and graphic adventures.
Deadline, on the other hand, was the most advanced adventure game of its time. By entirely abandoning the graphic aspect, this mystery adventure game focuses on the storyline, ideas, traps, and puzzles. The main character is a detective who collects evidence and interacts with non-player characters who act individually based on the game's progression. The dialogues are written in a style similar to that of a novel.
The first Japanese adventure game is released in April 1982. Omotesando Adventure, published by ASCII, is a text-based adventure game written entirely in English. In July 1982, Microcabin released Mystery House, an adventure game inspired by Sierra Online's Mystery House, but completely different and original. The term “adventure game” thus began to spread in Japan.
These games all feature an interaction system based on text input. To interact with an element on the screen, the player must type out full sentences with the keyboard, adhering to the game's specific grammar rules. If the player makes a typing error, the computer responds with messages like "I don't understand" or "Why don't you try something else?". In Japanese, it is even more difficult due to the existence of three different words for "I" and a wide range of vocabulary for commands like "open the door".
This frustrating command typing system often impedes the game’s progression. The game's pace regularly self-destructs and the player, despite numerous attempts, struggles to progress.
Aware of this issue, Yuji Horii developed a system of expression based on command selection, which assigns commands directly to the numeric keypad of a computer keyboard according to a predefined list of words, which he first introduced in the second installment of his mystery trilogy, Hokkaido Serial Murders, and later incorporated it into the Famicom remake of the first episode, The Portopia Serial Murder Case. Selecting commands from a list is indeed much simpler than typing them out directly on the keyboard. Spelling, grammar or comprehension errors are thus completely eliminated, whatever the language, and the game can maintain its intended pace.
Before Hokkaido Serial Murders, several primitive command selection systems had already been used in Japanese adventure games, where movements and various actions are assigned to keys on the numeric keypad.
"Joshi ryō panikku", released by Enix in June 1983, employs a command selection system that assigns functions to the up, down, left, and right directional keys on the keyboard.
"Miko to Akemi no Jungle Adventures", released by System Soft in March 1984, features a wide range of commands the player can select by navigating through a pre-established list using the keyboard's directional keys.
However, "Hokkaido Serial Murders" differs in that it carefully analyzes the words on screen and only displays commands relevant to the specific needs of the scene.
This command selection system, while convenient and functional, has an inherent flaw due to its own design. By simply selecting all the available command one after the other, the player will eventually solve any puzzle in the game.
To overcome this issue, Yuji Horii creates a linguistic maze that prevents players from brute-forcing the system. The main scenario is condensed, occupying only 20% of the game’s content, while side dialogues are expanded to fill the remaining 80% in order to deal with all the player's actions and interactions. As a result, completing the game by blindly selecting every command for each scene becomes more difficult. If the player chooses commands without careful thought, his progress is slowed, or worse, irreparably interrupted.
Thus, the player becomes emotionally engaged in the game, as the story changes and evolves based on his actions and deductions, providing a profound sense of satisfaction.
Since the late 1970s, Yuji Horii, as an independent writer and young mangaka, envisioned a utopian adventure game where progress would be driven by conversations between humans and computers, so that the computer could generate its own dialogue and engage in discussions with the player.
By developing a dialogue database for the computer in advance, he succeeded in making it speak with the player. The player could type a few words, and the computer would respond with a relevant reaction, creating the impression of a real conversation.
The first program created by Yuji Horii was a "fortune-telling program" that could guess and display on the screen what users had done in previous days. In reality, the program simply used the INPUT and PRINT commands of the Basic programming language, and Yuji Horii had preloaded all the information in advance. Thus, by entering a birth date or last name, the program output the user's personal information based on the data the computer has in its database. It was more of a joke than an actual fortune-telling program. However, the program already contained all the foundational elements of a text-based adventure game.
Yuji Horii would continue to refine this program, eventually creating a game where the story unfolds through conversation, leading to the creation of his first mystery adventure game, The Portopia Serial Murder Case.
In 1982, while writing columns for the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, Yuji Horii developed Love Match Tennis for the NEC PC-6001, which he anonymously submitted to Enix's first video game program contest.
Love Match Tennis received an honorable mention and was commercially released in February 1983.
Love Match Tennis is a pioneering game that combines sports gaming with adventure game elements.
The main character is a female student who communicates with her opponents using manga-style speech bubbles on the selection screen and the end screen after winning or losing a match. The difficulty of the game also varies depending on the opponent.
From the very first video game in history, "Tennis for Two" in 1958, to Magnavox's Odyssey game console and "Pong," which established the video game industry in 1972, tennis games have always been closely linked with the history of video games.
Love Match Tennis can be seen as an early attempt at integrating a story mode into a sports game.
At the awards ceremony, Yuji Horii meets Koichi Nakamura, the grand winner of the Excellence Award for his game Door Door who was quickly becoming a programmer renowned throughout all of Japan.
In 1983, Yuji Horii worked on The Portopia Serial Murder Case, which he wrote, programmed and drew alone. That same year, Enix sent him to the Apple Fest with Koichi Nakamura, a trade show organized by Apple in the United States. There, Yuji Horii and Koichi Nakamura discovered Wizardry on the Apple II and explored Western role-playing games, which would go on to influence the development of Dragon Quest.
In 1984, he writes Hokkaido Serial Murders but leave the programming to Login Soft, and in 1985, he again takes on writing, drawing, and programming alone for Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide, the third episode of his mystery trilogy, a romantic adventure game that incorporates role-playing elements for the first time.
At the same time, he publishes a series of essays on video games in Login magazines and in the Famicom Shinken section of the Weekly Shonen Jump. Through these writings, he introduces adventure games and role-playing games on microcomputers to the Japanese public, helping to attract future customers. This ability to be altogether a writer, creator, and editor is a defining characteristic of Yuji Horii.
The Portopia Serial Murders Case
ポートピア連続殺人事件
The Portopia Serial Murders Case was released in 1983 on Nec PC 6001, PC 88, PC 98, Fujitsu Micro 7, Sharp X1, and MSX.
A businessman is found dead by his secretary inside his mansion.
The clues suggest suicide…
The player controls a veteran detective from the police investigation division. He does not appear on screen and his appearance is not represented in the game. He is accompanied by his assistant, Yasuhiko Mano, nicknamed Yasu, a young detective who, while a bit mischievous, is good at his job and has a strong sense of justice.
The player leads a police investigation, in subjective view, in order to discover the culprit of this first murder. He travels from place to place and from scene to scene to interviews residents and gathers information. He uses his analytical and deductive skills to solve this case successfully.
He interacts with the game by giving orders to Yasu, who fulfills the player's functions in his place.
The game's non-linear structure allows objectives to be achieved in various ways. The player makes his own choices that determine the dialogues and sequence of events. While the player can accuse different suspects that condition the different alternative endings, only one is the true culprit, and the others serve as red herrings. If the player closes the case with the wrong culprit, he will face criticism from the police chief. The game ends, requiring the player to reopen the investigation.
The player can use a telephone to manually dial any number, and contact various non-player characters. He also manages an inventory to collect, examine, and use objects as evidence during the investigation.
The adventure takes place in Hyogo Prefecture, between Kobe, Awaji Island, and Kyoto.
The settings are based on real locations. Portopia was the name of an amusement park located on the artificial island of Porto, built between 1966 and 1981 to host the Kobe Porto Island Exposition 81, abbreviated PORTOPIA '81
While the player never directly visits the island, he can spot artifacts from the exposition, such as the Ferris wheel, scattered throughout the game.
In the original version released on Nec PC 6001 and Nec PC 88, the game’s images are slowly rendered with dots and lines. They load for several seconds before being fully displayed.
All commands are manually entered with the keyboard as was common in many adventure games, but in later versions, frequently used commands such as "Iké", to move, "Shirabero", to investigate, and "Alibi" are assigned to specific keys on the keyboard, reducing the laborious and repetitive nature of command entry.
Unlike many games of its time that utilized English command input, Portopia employs a Japanese text input system. Due to the lack of standard memory for kanji on Japanese personal computers at the time, all characters are displayed in katakana.
The NEC PC-6001 version of the game comes with two programs, one for the original 6001 model and another for the 6001 Mach 2.
While the content remains the same across both versions, the Mach 2 version features synthetic voices, which are recorded on the B-side of the cassette. The PC-6001 has a voice function that can reproduce a synthetic speech using the Roman alphabet by controlling gender, accents, sounds length, and speaking speed. In Portopia, instead of simply reading the on-screen text, the voice function is used to add spoken dialogue between lines of text. For instance, when Yasu, the player’s assistant, questions characters on the street, he throws in catchphrases like "Can I ask you something," with responses like "Yes, what do you want?" being spoken by other characters.
The Nec PC-6001 version was made by a single person. Yuji Horii drew the images, created the sound effects, did the programming and wrote the scenario.
There is no music but the generic sounds of the computer are used to simulate sound effects and build suspense.
The Famicom version of Portopia was released on November 29, 1985. By this time, Yuji Horii was already designing Dragon Quest which he planned to release quickly on the console.
However, the Famicom is at the time mostly known to the public as an action game platform, and its player base—mainly young children—had little to no experience with adventure or role-playing games. To familiarize players with the idea of playing with text and images, Horii chose to delay Dragon Quest and first release Portopia with some adjustments and modifications on the Famicom, simplifying the method of entering commands to make the game more accessible. It became the very first adventure game for the Famicom and marked Yuji Horii's debut on the console. Koichi Nakamura programmed the Famicom port in its entirety.
Portopia became a massive success, selling over 600,000 copies.
To overcome the console's technical limitations, the game employs numerous graphical and textual tricks.
On the Famicom, Portopia contains exactly 20 frames and 1000 lines of text, and many of the original sentences written for the PC version are stripped of suffixes and particles to save cartridge space. Rendering speed is improved, and the game now supports hiragana, making it more accessible and readable to players. Although the game lacks music, it does include a few key sound effects, such as the siren, telephone ring, door closing, command selection, and dialogue cues
To compensate for the lack of storage space, the title screen had to be removed. There is also no introduction, and the basic plot is summarized in the game manual. As a result, the game begins immediately without traditional exposition.
Since the Famicom lacked a save chip and Portopia does not use a password system, the game was bundled with a notepad, encouraging players to manually record clues, suspects, and other key information.
The player progresses through the game by selecting specific commands.
The command selection system designed by Yuji Horii for the second episode of his mystery trilogy, Hokkaido Serial Murders, is integrated into the Famicom version of Portopia and is officially named the "Command Select System”.
Here is the list of commands available :
1 Change location.
2 Talk to a person.
3 Examine a person or object.
4 Show items or evidence.
5 Search for a specific person.
6 Call a specific person.
7 Arrest a suspect.
8 Investigate objects.
9 Show Evidence.
10 Hit a suspect.
11 Take something.
12 Make logical deductions.
13 Make a phone call.
14 Conclude the investigation.
1 Change location.
2 Talk to a person.
3 Examine a person or object.
4 Show items or evidence.
5 Search for a specific person.
6 Call a specific person.
7 Arrest a suspect.
8 Investigate objects.
9 Show Evidence.
10 Hit a suspect.
11 Take something.
12 Make logical deductions.
13 Make a phone call.
14 Conclude the investigation.
The "Hit" command can be used on objects or suspects to apply pressure during interrogation, compelling them to talk.
The player can use a magnifying glass to search for and examine clues and crucial evidence.
In the Famicom version, a notable design choice is the absence of a "game over" screen. If the player incorrectly accuses a suspect, his boss will reprimand him over the phone, and the case will be immediately reopened.
The Famicom version also includes a dungeon segment that emulates the first-person exploration style found in Wizardry. This addition serves to familiarize players with Western role-playing game mechanics and exploration, acting as an introduction to the genre before the release of Dragon Quest.
There are two models in detective novel adventures. The first model involves revisiting a closed case to solve it by going back in time. The second model, which Portopia follows, involves incidents occurring simultaneously across different locations, with the player solving them one after the other.
At the time, adventure games lacked the concept of time progression. In Portopia, events unfold in real-time as the story progresses, and the case develops with the player's actions, which makes it more dramatic.
The player navigates by selecting location names to change scenes and uses a transportation system that allows instantaneous movement between places.
In adventure games of the era, the player advanced toward their objectives by inputting cardinal directions north, south, east, west, slowly progressing through each room and repeatedly crossing them over and over again to reach the desired location.
In Portopia, because the story unfolds across many different locations, the character moves instantly when the player enters a location name. In Portopia, instead of confining movement to a limited space where the player moves from left to right in a room, the player can instantly travel between various locations. This singular method of transportation, which appeared here for the first time, was dubbed the "Portopia method" in many Japanese magazines. It quickly gained popularity and was considered a distinctive feature of Japanese adventure games.
This method, which eliminates tedious movement and allows progress through instantaneous scene changes, resembles the narrative style of manga.
When Yuji Horii invented this method of movement, Japanese adventure games came to resemble the style of novels, manga, films, and television series, thus expanding the potential of video games.
Portopia reinvented the way the player interacts with the computer, or in this case, with his partner. Prior to this, adventure games typically broke the fourth wall, with the computer speaking directly to the player.
For instance, when the player arrives in a forest, the computer displays a message like "You are in a forest." If the player wants to move, he would respond with instructions such as "go south," repeating this format as he progresses through the game. The player responds to the computer’s prompts with command sentences, engaging with the game without any sense of empathy.
In Portopia, the interaction takes place between the player, who assumes the role of a seasoned investigator, and his colleague Yasu, a young detective. The dialogue with Yasu is designed to be emotionally engaging and easy to read, with the story progressing solely through interactions with this character. The player is thus given a distinct role and character, allowing him to empathize and engage more deeply with the other characters in the game.
In addition, Yasu's dialogues serve to explain the opening plot, the system, and the mechanics of the game, effectively making the interface itself a character in the narrative.
Yasu, the main character's assistant, personifies the dialogue sent by the computer. It allows for warmer and more engaging interactions between characters than between a player and a computer.
"Boss! I'm Yasuhiko Mano, your assistant. You can call me Yasu. I'll explain the incident in question. The victim is Kozo Yamakawa, the president of a successful banking company. It was his secretary, Fumie Sawaki, who first discovered the body. When Kozo didn't show up for work, she went to check on him earlier this morning and found him dead. When she arrived, Kozo was in his office. The door was locked. She got the caretaker, Rokusuke Komiya, to force the door open. When she entered, Kozo was already dead... The key was still inside the lock. Looks like we're dealing with a locked-room murder. Fumie immediately called the police. Komiya backed up her story. It doesn't seem like she's lying. Boss... what really happened here? Boss!! The tape's ready. If you're set to dive into this case, just load the main program and hit the return key."
First incident.
Hanakuma, a suburb in the outskirts of Kobe, where the body was discovered.
Yasu begins questioning the local residents. Hirata, a man known in the neighborhood, has seemingly vanished since the day of the murder.
The player arrives at Kozo Yamakawa's mansion and finds a ring on the landing of the front door.
In the mansion, the player arrives at the crime scene. On the floor, chalk outlines the shape of Kozo's body, which has already been sent for autopsy. The estimated time of death is 9 p.m., but the cause remains unclear. There's even a possibility that Kozo may have taken his own life.
Fumie Sawaki and Mr. Komiya have alibis for the estimated time of death, so they cannot be the culprits.
Fumie appears shocked, with a hint of sadness on her face. Mr. Komiya, on the other hand, is shy and nervous, seemingly having drowned his loneliness in alcohol since the incident.
Kozo was despised by many due to his position as the president of a large bank. He had no wife or children, but he did have a nephew named Toshiyuki Yamakawa, who lives in a small apartment near the port.
The player discovers a matchbox under the desk and a photo of Kozo in the closet. In the living room, a lighter is found on the floor.
Clues reveal that Kozo lent money to individuals named Hirata and Kawamura. However, attempts to contact them are unsuccessful.
The player goes to the port and questions the locals. They report having seen Toshiyuki at the port shortly after 9 p.m.
In Toshiyuki's apartment, the player discovers a notepad. Yasu answers Toshiyuki's phone and intercepts a meeting scheduled at the port.
At the port, a man hands Yasu a suspicious package intended for Toshiyuki.
At the police station, the player receives a report indicating that Mr. Hirata intended to go to Kyoto. He reportedly warned his daughter, Yukiko, about his fraudulent activities.
The player reexamines the alibis of the people involved and their relationships with the deceased using the objects left at the crime scene.
The player questions Toshiyuki about the package. He admits that he was at the port around 9 p.m. for a drug deal but insists he did not kill his uncle Kozo. Toshiyuki explains that the ring found in front of the mansion was a gift he gave to Yukiko to persuade her to go out with him.
Toshiyuki is arrested on suspicion of drug dealing, but he has a solid alibi for Kozo's murder, leaving the investigation back at square one.
The player questions Rokusuke Komiya, the caretaker of Kozo's mansion. On the night of the murder, he went out for a drink and forgot to lock the main door of the mansion. However, he insists that he did not kill Kozo.
Second and third incidents.
The player travels to Kyoto.
Traces of Mr. Hirata are discovered at a hotel in Kyoto, but it appears he left for the mountains and has not returned.
Mr. Hirata is found hanged under suspicious circumstances!
Yasu suspects that Mr. Hirata's hanging was a suicide, believing him to be the murderer of Kozo. However, this explanation is not entirely convincing.
The autopsy reveals that Mr. Hirata died at 1 p.m., which is before Kozo's murder.
The investigation continues.
His daughter Yukiko is questioned. She reveals that she was outside the night of the murder. She did visit the mansion at 7 p.m. to request a loan from Kozo to help her indebted father. Kozo agreed and was sympathetic and understanding. Thus, Kozo was not responsible for Hirata’s suicide, and the Hirata family had no motive to kill him. Hirata’s death was likely a result of his own financial troubles.
The player heads to Shinkaichi, a district of Kobe, and visits a hostess bar. There, they discover that Kozo had an altercation with a man named Kawamura. The lighter found in Kozo's mansion actually belongs to Kawamura.
The residents of Shinkaichi reveal that Yuhi Okoi, a local stripper, was a close friend of Kawamura.
The player interviews Yuhi Okoi, who discloses that Kawamura was involved in a fraudulent affair with Kozo and had been blackmailing him. She reveals that Kozo had garnered widespread animosity and was implicated in the deaths of several individuals, despite having no criminal record.
Kawamura is discovered dead in his apartment. Yasu again deduces that it is a suicide, recommending the case be closed. However, the player remains unconvinced. Kawamura might be the latest victim of a serial killer, just like Kozo.
Kawamura and Kozo are revealed to have intimidated and threatened a company named Sawaki, which shares the same last name as Kozo's secretary, Fumie Sawaki.
Towards Awaji Island.
From the port, the player takes a boat to pursue Fumie, who has fled to Sumoto on Awaji Island.
The player discovers that Fumie's father’s company went bankrupt due to Kozo and Kawamura's shenanigans, leading to her parents' suicides.
After her parents' suicides, Fumie was taken in and raised by relatives, but she was separated from her older brother, who was adopted by a different family and likely changed his last name.
Her older brother is missing, but he is rumored to have a butterfly-shaped birthmark on his shoulder.
However, despite Fumie's motive for revenge and her potential to have manipulated the crime scene, her alibi is perfect and she could not have killed Kozo. She must have had an accomplice who carried out the crime on her behalf.
From the hidden door to the underground labyrinth.
Upon returning from Awaji Island, the player is informed by his superiors that a map to a secret passage has been discovered in Kawamura's apartment. This map is believed to lead to an underground labyrinth beneath Kozo's mansion.
Back at Kozo's mansion, the player finds a hidden button behind a painting. Pressing it reveals a hole in the ground, leading to an underground passage.
The player ventures into the underground labyrinth.
The player uncovers a hidden room and discovers Kozo's personal diary, which contains his confession.
In his diary, Kozo reveals the truth: he knew Fumie was the daughter of the Sawaki company's director and deeply regretted driving her parents to suicide. He confesses that he knows that Fumie became his secretary solely for revenge. Kozo viewed Fumie as his own daughter and intended to support her financially for the rest of her life. His relentless pursuit of wealth was, in fact, a means to make Fumie his heir as an act of atonement.
Confronted with this revelation, Yasu reflects that if Fumie's older brother was the one who killed Kozo out of revenge, he must now be consumed with regret.
When the player arrives at the police station, he already has a clue about the whereabouts of Fumie's brother. It becomes clear that the physical description of Fumie's brother matches Yasu himself.
The player urges Yasu to remove his clothing, and indeed, Yasu reveals a butterfly-shaped birthmark on his shoulder. This confirms the brilliant deduction: Yasu is Fumie's older brother!
Yasu confesses that he was the one who killed both Kozo and Kawamura, driven by his desire for revenge against those who caused his parents' suicide.
The culprit is Yasu!
After Kozo's murder, Yasu gave the key to the mansion to Fumie. She then asked Komiya to force the door open. Then, Fumie inserted the key into the lock from inside the room.
The scene concludes with the distant wail of a police siren echoing through the night.
The Portopia Serial Murder Case is one of the first adventure games with a complete, seamless, and organic story set in modern Japan. Unlike earlier games that often break the fourth wall, creating a sense of distance between the player and his character, Portopia serves as a platform for a story that conveys human drama in both content and form.
The game design of Portopia emphasizes storytelling over the mechanics of solving mysteries. It features a well-crafted narrative with intricate character development, where various thoughts and motivations intertwine, leading to an unexpected and impactful ending.
The characters are intentionally ambiguous, often blending with the voices of other characters. This creates a polyphonic narrative where each character feels like a mosaic of contradictory voices, fragmented and incomplete like a puzzle. Due to their fragmented egos, the characters are depicted from multiple perspectives, becoming mere metaphors of themselves. As a result, they frequently mislead the player, sending them down false trails. To uncover the truth, the player must piece together all the voices and fragments of these characters.
Yuji Horii thus crafts a timeless masterpiece in which the significance of every word is carefully emphasized.
His experience as a manga author influenced his decision to eliminate large blocks of text, opting instead for shorter lines that are easier to read.
The dialogues are expressed precisely within a limited number of characters, similar to how a manga author is restricted to inserting only 3 lines of text in his speech bubble to convey the action.
Each line of dialogue is crafted with subtlety, humor and poetry. The beauty of the text is exceptional, displaying mastery over rhythm and musicality. The characters are captivating, with distinct personalities and unique linguistic quirks.
Portopia adopts an almost romantic approach, presenting a story that explores human drama with perfection. The game successfully brings credibility to its characters by weaving personal stories that invite players' sympathy.
The motive for the crime and the identity of the criminal remain mysterious throughout the game, until the astonishing conclusion.
The identity of the real culprit has become a significant cultural phenomenon in Japan. Even people who have never played the game often recognize the name of the criminal. Yasuhiko Mano, the player's assistant and close companion throughout the investigation, who also serves as a key part of the game's system, is frequently referred to as "the most famous criminal in Japan."
The phrase "【犯人はヤス】Hannin wa Yasu", meaning "the culprit is Yasu," is often used as a single word in Japanese. It remains a popular parody phrase in Japan, referencing spoilers or situations where the true culprit is unknown.
It is one of the most famous quotes in Japanese video game history.
Yuji Horii has even humorously suggested that should he create a sequel to Portopia, he would include this quote into the subtitle. The sequel would be titled The Portopia Serial Murder Case 2 the culprit is Yasu, with a roster of characters all sporting names that begin with "Yasu," like "Yasui" and "Yasuki."
The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case:
The Okhotsk Disappearance
北海道連鎖殺人 オホーツクに消ゆ
The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: The Okhotsk Disappearance is the second installment of Yuji Horii's mystery trilogy, in which Horii contributed solely as the scriptwriter. Programming was entrusted to Login Soft, and the game was published by ASCII in 1984 for the NEC PC-60-01 and PC-88-01, with subsequent releases in 1985 for the PC-98, Fujitsu Micro 7, and MSX. It was later ported to the Famicom on June 27, 1987. Hokkaido is not a direct sequel to The Portopia Serial Murder Case. It stands as a full-fledged mystery adventure game, even though it builds upon the core concepts and gameplay mechanics established in Portopia.
Hokkaido is one of the first adventure games to introduce a command selection system. Players no longer need to input commands manually, which streamlines progression and enhances the overall pace of the game. This allows the player to focus more on solving puzzles and immersing himself in the storyline on a deeper level.
In adventure games of that era, progress was frequently stalled by the trial-and-error process of inputting commands that matched the limited vocabulary understood by the program. However, in Hokkaido, all the programmed words are conveniently displayed in advance within a text menu on the right side of the screen.
The player can move instantly between locations, engage with locals to gather clues, present evidence, and make deductions. The player has a camera to capture evidence or suspects, which can be reviewed later in the investigation. If the player gets stuck, he can play Blackjack to earn new clues or receive a 20 characters password to save progress and exit the game.
Here is the list of commands available :
1 Change location.
2 Look around.
3 Talk to a person.
4 Examine a person or object.
5 Show items or evidence.
6 Search for a specific person.
7 Call a specific person.
8 Investigate objects.
9 Take something.
10 Take pictures of the victim or the scene.
11 Check belongings.
12 Make a phone call.
13 Play blackjack.
14 Stop the investigation and receive a password.
1 Change location.
2 Look around.
3 Talk to a person.
4 Examine a person or object.
5 Show items or evidence.
6 Search for a specific person.
7 Call a specific person.
8 Investigate objects.
9 Take something.
10 Take pictures of the victim or the scene.
11 Check belongings.
12 Make a phone call.
13 Play blackjack.
14 Stop the investigation and receive a password.
A man's body is found on Harumi Pier in Tokyo Bay…
When the Nipopo doll cries, another corpse appears...
The player takes on the role of a highly skilled and esteemed police inspector. He is accompanied by an assistant who faithfully executes the player's instructions in his place.
He travels to Hokkaido to gather clues, but during this time, a second and then a third murder are uncovered. What exactly is the criminal's goal? As the player investigates the relationships between the victims, a significant and troubling past emerges.
The story is set in Hokkaido and includes real tourist destinations such as the Five Lakes of Shiretoko, Abashiri Prison, Kitahama Station, and Yubari Coal Mine, along with iconic local elements like the Abashiri Nipopo doll.
Yuji Horii visited the locations himself to scout and document the atmospheres, which was quite exceptional at the time. He photographed countless sites, which are faithfully reproduced in the game, and conducted interviews to capture the accents and speech patterns of the locals. The weight of Hokkaido's history feels more authentic than in Portopia, benefiting from the on-site scouting and detailed documentation.
The scenery and buildings are beautifully rendered, immersing players in a genuine sense of travel.
The seamless integration of landscapes evokes a profound emotional value and deep fascination, making the environment feel like a work of art in its own right. The soul and nature of the various environments, meticulously recreated, emerge vividly from the depths of their appearance.
The story also incorporates local specialties, transforming the game into a tour guide for Hokkaido.
The atmosphere of the Showa era is vividly captured. At that time, games with text and dialogues imbued with a sense of travel were quite rare.
In Hokkaido, instead of emphasizing the surprise of the culprit’s identity, the story is crafted to ensure that the player comprehends the full context and intricacies behind the incident. The narrative unfolds coherently through extensive dialogue, rich with twists and red herrings that can mislead the investigation and end to potential failures.
The player must ensure a thorough understanding of the story to select commands in a coherent manner, rather than choosing them one after another mindlessly, at the risk of hindering his progress and suffering considerable delays in the investigation.
The game's flow does not always clearly indicate if the player is on the wrong track. Without realizing it, the player may end up going back and forth for a long time, encountering numerous traps and misunderstandings. The game is designed in such a way that it compels players to make unnecessary choices.
As the player delves deeper into the case, the story takes a dramatic turn, and his assigned partner shifts from Kuroki, his assistant in Tokyo, to Shun, his assistant in Hokkaido.
The game undergoes several transformations based on the plot, simulating the passage of time through various methods, including enforced time breaks. When the player encounters a dead end in his investigation, he can play blackjack to obtain new clues or to take a break. He must execute a set number of commands to move the investigation forward in time, or he may need to pause his investigation, quit the game, and resume it later to reveal new clues. If he remains in one location for too long, information will begin to emerge in a different area. He must revisit locations and question suspects repeatedly to uncover new clues, mirroring the dynamic nature of a real investigation where events and interactions evolve over time. As the investigation unfolds, the circle of characters involved and victims expands.
The art direction is highly imaginative. The graphics are refined, and the overall visual identity of the game exudes a cinematic quality.
The original microcomputer version mirrors the style of adult drama manga, known as Gekiga. The drawings are clear and intense, aiming for a high degree of realism. The game evokes a sense of movement and animation despite its simple drawings. It employs various planes to segment the visuals, utilizing long shots, medium shots, and close-ups effectively. The game adopts techniques akin to the cutscenes found in contemporary games. This early version of Hokkaido would go on to influence subsequent cinematic adventure games, including Snatcher, Misty Blue, and Policenauts.
The text uses only hiragana and katakana. To enhance readability in the absence of kanji, different spacing and colors are employed depending on the type of dialogue.
The graphics of the Famicom version are drawn with greater delicacy. They have a warm, inviting quality that feels more familiar. They are crafted by Kiyokazu Arai, the renowned mangaka and regular artist for Famitsu magazine. The character portraits are intricately detailed with bold black lines, adding a striking expressiveness. They dynamically shift between facing forward and sideways during conversations. The landscapes are simple yet distinctive and well-crafted, effectively enhancing the narrative's descriptive depth. The dramatic and suspenseful atmosphere is significantly intensified. The game features subtle lip-sync animations for the characters and dynamic flashing effects on the scenery. These design elements have since become standard in adventure games.
The title screen and logo elegantly transform to reflect the changing seasons. Upon completing the opening investigation, the title screen features an illustration of the Sea of Okhotsk in winter, with the phrase "Tsuzuku", to be continued, added, evoking the feel of a dramatic series.
Toshiyuki Ueno, then the lead editor of Famitsu under the pseudonym Gessen Ueno, composed the music for the Famicom version. He also served as the lead programmer for the PC-60 01 and MSX versions.
The numerous themes are stunning and consistently exude elegance. They are well-diversified and perfectly underscore each moment of the adventure and investigation. At times, several themes alternate within the same scene.
The sound effects convey a range of emotions through their atmospheric depth. The persistent sound of the plane in the scene resembles the intrusion of wind into the house, suggesting that something ominous has occurred.
The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case offers two distinct versions of the story development after the intermediate stage: the original version, on PC-60 01, PC-88 01, PC-98 01, FM-7, and MSX, and the later version on the Famicom. The characters that appear differ between these versions, and the identity of the culprit is not the same.
At the beginning of the game, the player is prompted to enter the name of the main character, using up to four hiragana characters.
A man's corpse is discovered at Harumi Pier, in Tokyo Bay
The player is accompanied by his assistant, Goro Kuroki, a young and slightly eccentric investigator from Tokyo. Together, they head to the crime scene.
Mr. Takano, a warehouse company employee who lives near Harumi, was the first person to discover the corpse. At this point, the victim’s identity remains unknown.
The player finds a note in the corpse’s pocket with a phone number scribbled on it. The number leads to Leblanc Cafe, a hostess bar located in Takadanobaba.
The player visits Leblanc Cafe and is lured inside by a casual man. Once inside, he shows the note to Akemi, a popular hostess at the bar. However, she seems wary of the police and is reluctant to cooperate.
Luna, another hostess at the café, recognizes the photo of the victim. She reveals that the man had been staying at Takada's inn.
While searching his hotel room, the player finds a postcard along with the name and address of the victim, who is identified as Fumikichi Masuda from Kushiro, Hokkaido. He is rumored to have traveled to Tokyo to participate in a lucrative trafficking scheme.
The player heads to Hokkaido while Kuroki decides to withdraw from the investigation and remain in Tokyo.
Upon arriving in Hokkaido, the player meets Noriyuki Yamabe, the chief detective of the Kushiro police department. He informs the player about the recent emergence of a yakuza group known as the Hokuryu-kai in the city.
Yamabe’s assistant Shunsuke Saruwatari, affectionately known as Shun, a young detective from the Kushiro police department, now joins the player’s investigation.
The player heads straight to the address listed on the postcard.
Fumikichi Masuda's wife is oblivious to her husband's activities. However, she mentions that she received money from a man named Yukio Iijima, who is located in Kitahama.
Upon arriving at the scene, the player discovers that Yukio Iijima's body has just been found on Kitahama beach. It appears that Iijima and Fumikichi Masuda, the first victim, were acquainted with each other.
According to his son Shinji's testimony, Iijima had been threatened prior to his death.
The player presents Shinji with a photo of Fumikichi Masuda.
According to Shinji, Masuda bears a striking resemblance to Gen-san, an employee at Koropokkuri, a restaurant located in Susukino, Sapporo.
The player arrives at the restaurant in Susukino, where Gen-san is alive and well, busy cooking. Despite their resemblance, he is not Fumikichi Masuda.
As the player presses on with the investigation without uncovering any new leads, a radio call comes through, notifying him of a new incident.
A new body has been discovered at Abashiri Port. It appears to be smiling, despite being a corpse.
The player travels through the cities of Kushiro and Abashiri, eventually arriving at Abashiri Port.
He examines the evidence at the end of the pier and interviews the locals for more information.
A business card discovered in the victim's wallet identifies him as Yukuro Shiraki, a prominent business leader and president of a large supermarket in Tokyo, who was visiting Hokkaido.
He lives in Meguro Ward, Tokyo.
His employee, who arrives at the crime scene in a panic, reveals that Yukuro Shiraki had intended to visit Lake Mashu and that he was a friend of Yukio Iijima.
The player travels to Lake Mashu, where he encounters Megumi Nakayama and Makiko Nomura.
Megumi is a sentimental young woman with large round eyes, embodying a very urban style. She is visiting her childhood friend Makiko, who has beautiful clear eyes and resides in Hokkaido, for the holidays.
No clues are discovered.
The player chooses to play blackjack with Shun to pass the time and then contacts the main police station.
A fourth body is discovered in a lake in Shiretoko! The victim appears to have drowned, with a stocking tightly tied around her neck, suggesting suffocation.
Nakano, the young groom who found the body, has no additional information regarding the incident.
The player traverses the parking lot and the souvenir shop to gather clues.
He discovers that the victim's name is Tatsuo Shiraki, who resided in the Hotaru-cho district of Hakodate. After the war, he had taken up the role of a traveling merchant in the region. It is mentioned that he had recently bought a large figurine from the souvenir shop. He was seen with a woman approximately 25 years old, with long hair, and the couple was staying at the Kagaya Inn.
The player heads to the Kagaya Inn, where he encounters Banto, the manager, and Kikuyakko, a geisha.
Tatsuo Shiraki reportedly had a heated argument in the middle of the night with the woman accompanying him, Ikumi Shiraki. She was seen crying and repeatedly saying "Marimoya Marimoya."
In Hakodate, the player discovers that Shiraki was spotted at Lake Akan.
The player arrives at Lake Akan, where a photographer is capturing images of individuals dressed in traditional Ainu costumes.
The player discovers a cigarette and a lighter at the scene.
The player visits the Marimoya Inn near the lake and presents the suspects' pictures, confirming that the couple spent the night there. It is also revealed that a Yakuza gang had been staying at the inn, targeting Yukuro Shiraki. During the investigation, the player finds a Marigo flower, a type of moss typically found floating on Lake Kussharo.
The player heads to Lake Kussharo to search for further clues.
He inspects the telescope and gazes out at the view overlooking the Marimoya Inn.
He returns to the Marimoya Inn, where he finds a photo of a mysterious woman along with a suspicious note directing him to Utoro Port. In the game, this information is presented as a password, which the player meticulously writes down. After exiting the game, he selects the continue option to start a new session and enters the password.
A sailor from Utoro Port informs the player that the woman who was with Shiraki went alone to the Todowara Viewpoint on the Notsuke Peninsula, a location reminiscent of a tree cemetery.
The player arrives at the Todowara Viewpoint and discovers the woman collapsed on the ground. She eventually regains consciousness at the police hospital. In her statements, she claims that "Shiraki" is not her real name; her true identity is Tokuko Ono. She confesses that the body found at the Shiretoko Lakes belongs to her lover, Kunio Imochi, whom she murdered in a fit of rage after he toyed with her emotions and planned to abandon her. She adopted the name Shiraki to keep her true identity hidden. However, she insists that she has no connection to the other murders. This revelation leaves the investigation at a standstill, bringing the case back to square one.
The police analyze Yukuro Shiraki's body and discover that it contains Marigo flowers and fresh water, indicating that he had been in a different location before his death, rather than the sea as initially suggested by the crime scene.
Shun theorizes that Yukuro Shiraki might have been murdered at Lake Kussharo, where Marigo flowers grow, and then his body was subsequently disposed of in Abashiri Harbor.
Investigations around Lake Kussharo suggest that Shiraki may have traveled to Wakoto Onsen.
At Wakoto Onsen, the player finds a blue-covered notebook listing the names of Yukuro Shiraki, Yukio Iijima, and Kisuke Okumura, all marked with a cross. Additionally, there’s a name noted: Hideo Akutsu, an Abashiri MP running for minister, along with a phone number.
Megumi appears and mentions that Masuda bears a striking resemblance to her childhood friend Makiko's father. She recalls that Makiko had a younger sister who tragically lost her life in a car accident in Tokyo.
The player attempts to take Megumi's bath towel, leading to Shun's disapproval. However, if he remains patient for a few minutes, Megumi eventually removes the towel herself. Is this moment truly relevant to the investigation?
The player investigates Makiko's apartment and uncovers a letter postmarked from Monbetsu, written by an individual named Okumura, who could be linked to the incident.
The player arrives at Monbetsu Station and discovers that Iijima was a journalist who resided with a man named Kisuke Okumura.
From this event, the narrative diverges into two distinct paths: the original version for microcomputers and the Famicom version.
The player visits the observation point that provides a panoramic view of Monbetsu city and finds a memorial commemorating a fishing boat that sank in 1944.
Locals mention that a woman resembling Makiko frequently lays a bouquet of flowers at the memorial.
The player visits the Port Authority office and discovers that the sunken boat was the Eifuku Maru, which belonged to Kisuke Okumura. It is reported that the captain and seven others perished in the incident.
The player visits Kisuke Okumura's home, where his wife reveals that her husband committed suicide a week ago while he was out fishing. Prior to his death, he intended to present the police with a Nipopo doll, which is crafted and sold at Abashiri Prison. This particular doll features a peculiar chisel mark under its left eye, giving it a tearful appearance.
At Monbetsu Port, the player discovers that the Nipopo doll was crafted at Abashiri Prison by a man named Urata, a former fisherman from the area. It is rumored that Urata was involved in several murders in the past and has since gone missing.
The player visits Abashiri Prison and discovers that the Nipopo dolls marked with a tear were consistently finished by Jingoro Urata the day after a murder. Currently serving a life sentence, Jingoro Urata is reluctant to speak at this time.
A clerk at Abashiri Station mentions that a young woman purchased a ticket to Kushiro.
In Kushiro, the player finds out that Makiko withdrew a substantial amount of money from the bank, which she then gave to Masuda's wife.
When the player revisits Makiko's apartment, the guard mentions hearing sounds of a struggle. Upon entering, the player sees that the room has been vandalized, with a photo album lying on the floor. There is a picture of Makiko with her father and older sister; her father resembles Masuda but is actually Gen-san. Additionally, there's a photo of Makiko alongside Urata.
The player goes to Koropokkuri, where a panicked restaurant employee reveals that he received a threatening letter meant for Gen-san. The letter warns, "If you fear for your daughter's life, come to the Yubari Chuo Coal Mine."
In Yubari, the player interrogates the owner of an electronics store and learns that a black foreign car is heading toward to the coal mine.
Equipped with a flashlight, the player enters the mine and finds a shoe that could potentially belong to Makiko.
Inside the mine, the layout resembles a maze. As soon as the player steps into the darkness, the entrance shuts behind him, revealing it to be a trap!
The player delves deep into the mine.
At the very bottom of the mine lies Makiko, bound and unconscious. She is quickly transported to the police hospital, remaining in a state of unconsciousness due to oxygen deprivation. Shun is deeply worried about her condition.
The player heads to Abashiri Prison to meet Urata and shows him the photo of himself with Makiko. Upon seeing the picture, Urata begins to recount everything.
Shortly after the war, a gang was laundering money by stealing relief supplies from the American military. Akutsu was the gang leader, Okumura was responsible for preparing the ship, and Shiraki was in charge of selling the stolen supplies. Just as the gang was on the verge of being discovered, they sank the ship to eliminate the evidence.
Iijima, then a war reporter, had disguised the sinking as a simple accident. Nomura, captain of the Eifuku Maru and good friend of Urata, had entrusted him with the raising of his only son Genji Nomura, as a surrogate parent. This is Gen-san, Makiko's father.
When Urata encountered Masuda a few days earlier in prison, he mistakenly thought he was Gen-san and recounted the entire story of the sinking. Masuda likely intended to blackmail Akutsu but ended up getting himself killed.
Akutsu allegedly targeted Gen-san, who was aware of all the details surrounding the shipwreck, but accidentally killed Masuda instead. He then murdered Makiko's sister, Yukari, staging it to appear as a car accident. In a bid for vengeance for Yukari's death and to protect Makiko, Gen-san purportedly began eliminating everyone involved in the shipwreck, one by one.
Back at the police hospital, Makiko has regained consciousness. She claims that Gen-san intends to finish the job and is determined to kill Akutsu, who is supposedly on his way to Sapporo.
Meanwhile, Gen-san has taken a kitchen knife from his restaurant and is making his way to Sapporo Station. He is being pursued by the Yakuza Hokuryūkai gang.
When the player arrives at Sapporo Station, Akutsu is about to disembark from the train that has just arrived. Gen-san, lying in wait, attempts to attack him with his knife, but he is quickly surrounded by the Yakuza.
Shun successfully overpowers the Yakuza, leading to a confrontation between Akutsu and Gen-san. The player manages to immobilize them, ultimately arresting Akutsu, Gen-san, and the Yakuza members.
Gen-san is relieved to hear that Makiko has been found and is safe under the care of the police.
After solving the case, the player returns to Tokyo.
A month later, he receives a postcard from Shun. The card features a picture of Shun and Makiko in a wedding dress!
The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case challenges the player's deductive reasoning and perceptiveness. The intricately woven narrative and its development, which pushes the boundaries of mystery, is a masterpiece.
The game provides scant hints about future events, concealing a dark narrative woven within layers of subtext. The unfolding of seemingly unrelated incidents, which ultimately converge into a singular plot, creates a continuous sense of suspense and intrigue.
Ther is a distinct tension between the story's chronological sequence and its temporal structure, which presents events in a pseudo-chronological order that often feels disjointed. This approach disperses the narrative rather than seamlessly connecting it. At times, to allow the meaning of the experience to crystallize, the player must halt the flow of time and pause his investigation. This multi-layered approach to storytelling is characteristic of Yuji Horii's style.
The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case was initially a collaborative effort between Login and Yuji Horii, who was involved in writing articles about video game development for the magazine.
Yuji Horii did not handle the programming, instead concentrating solely on the scenario. The story concept was developed rapidly as a result. Programming responsibilities were handed over to Ueno, resulting in a clear division of tasks. The development period was condensed to just one year, constrained by Yuji Horii's busy schedule, as he was simultaneously working on the creation and scenario for his third mystery adventure game, Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide.
Bad Cover
The Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide
[軽井沢誘拐案内]
After The Portopia Serial Murder Case, Yuji Horii originally planned to create a game titled Hokkaido Kidnapping Guide. Hokkaido eventually evolved into The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case, while Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide emerged from the original Kidnapping Guide idea.
Yuji Horii developed Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide on his own, handling the script, programming, and artwork at his own pace, without following a strict structure, in contrast to Hokkaido where he wrote the script from start to finish to optimize teamwork during development.
Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide is the final installment in Yuji Horii's mystery trilogy. It also marks his last experimental project before transitioning to the development of his iconic full-scale RPG, Dragon Quest.
The game was released by Enix in April 1985 for the NEC PC-88, Fujitsu Micro 7, Sharp X1, and in 1986 for the NEC PC-6001 and MSX. Subtitled Romantic Mystery, Karuizawa is a unique work that blends adventure games with RPG elements.
It is the only episode of the trilogy that was never ported to the Famicom, for a clear and straightforward reason: the game’s content is too erotic, too evocative, and too sensual.
Karuizawa has a more relaxed and casual atmosphere compared to the previous two installments. The player takes on the role of a student who assists his girlfriend, Kumiko, in searching for her missing sister, Nagisa.
Has she been kidnapped...? As night falls, they decide to venture out together to search for her.
As the mystery deepens, it becomes unclear whether "Nagisa" truly exists...
Karuizawa employs the same command selection system and command list as Hokkaido Serial Murders. However, players must sometimes guess the names of characters or locations and input them directly via the keyboard. Additionally, there are instances where specific commands must be used at particular moments during conversations, making it impossible to progress by merely selecting commands in succession.
The player can search for evidence and later present it to other characters.
Some commands are notably suggestive, such as "kiss" and "cuddle". The resulting erotic scenes serve as rewards for the player and provide a brief respite from the unfolding drama. These explicit scenes are frequent and distinctly set this episode apart from its predecessors.
The story takes place in the summer resort of Karuizawa, a popular destination for Japanese people, particularly young women. The game incorporates real-life locations, including Karuizawa Station, Lake Leman (an artificial lake named after its Swiss counterpart), Jizogahara, and Mount Asama. Notably, Yuji Horii makes an appearance as a character in the game, alongside "Fumie Sawaki," a supporting character from the Portopia Serial Murder Case.
In Karuizawa, the player switches partners multiple times throughout the adventure. Initially, the protagonist’s girlfriend accompanies him, but she mysteriously vanishes midway through the story. For a period, the narrative unfolds with just the main character, until he acquires a new female partner. The interface adapts accordingly, as the partner takes on the role of the interface. This shift in partners alters the player's perspective of the game world.
Additionally, if the player fails to keep his partner sufficiently happy, she will abandon her role as the interface and refuse to follow commands, preventing any further progression in the game until her mood is restored.
The story consists of six chapters. In addition to real-time saving, the player can restart from the beginning of each chapter based on his progress. However, the MSX version does not allow for game saving; instead, each chapter begins with a password that must be entered every time it is restarted.
The player moves around a 2D top-down terrain map reminiscent of Ultima's scrolling map. However, similar to Hokkaido, the player can also move instantly by selecting the names of locations.
Alongside the 2D top-down map, the final chapter introduces statistics like "endurance," "strength," and "defense," with the player engaging in battles against enemies in classic RPG combat scenes.
In battle, the main character can attack while the two heroines utilize unique skills like "Nage Kiss" (Throw a Kiss), which lowers the enemy's attack power, and "Pantyra" (Showing Panties), which diminishes the enemy's defense power.
Yuji Horii created the images using only the LINE and PAINT commands along with a programming routine originally developed by Kazuo Morita, a prominent programmer of the 1980s known for puzzle games like "Kazuro Morita's Shogi" and "Morita's Othello." Morita won first prize in the 1983 Enix game program contest. At the time, creating images on a computer was both time-consuming and memory-intensive, so it was essential to compress image data effectively without consuming excessive memory. While the PAINT command was used for drawing, traditional command instructions resulted in slow graphics display. In contrast, Morita's routine allowed for much faster rendering.
The game lacks any music; instead, sound effects are automatically generated by the computer, similar to the PC versions of Portopia and Hokkaido.
Each version of the game includes a glossy, slightly blurry photo of Nagisa. This item serves as a valuable clue for completing the game.
Nagisa goes missing.
In spring, the hydrangeas bloom, and the seaside resort of Karuizawa, usually bustling in summer, remains somewhat quiet.
That night, the player visits his girlfriend Kumiko's vacation villa, where they are expecting Nagisa, Kumiko's sister, to join them along with her boyfriend.
Kumiko is delighted when the player finally arrives, mentioning that her sister Nagisa has gone out shopping.
They flirt for a bit, but Nagisa doesn't return. Could she have been kidnapped?! Meanwhile, Kumiko begins receiving strange, silent phone calls.
The young couple then decides to contact the police.
A detective arrives, but doesn't take the case seriously.
They decide to wait until the following day and spend the night in the house.
The following day, Nagisa still hasn't returned home.
Where could she be? It’s unlike her to stay out without letting anyone know. And the strange phone calls only add to Kumiko's worries...
The couple decides to search for her, exploring various locations around the city. They ask people at drive-ins, churches, hotels, supermarkets, and tennis clubs, but they don’t receive any helpful information.
They encounter Hanayama, the new president of Kumiko's father's family business, Masao Takagi. Hanayama stepped into the role after Takagi's tragic death in a car accident.
On an island in Lake Léman, they discover a tarot card with the image of the Grim Reaper.
They come across a wild cannabis crop in the back mountains and discover Nagisa's wallet along a path. Inside the wallet, they find another tarot card depicting the Grim Reaper, which serves as an invitation to a party in Jizogahara.
Nagisa is believed to have gone there with a man.
The couple encounters Asami Mizuki, a high school student and Nagisa's best friend.
Based on the information provided by Asami, the couple meets Shinoda, Nagisa's boyfriend, but they don't uncover any valuable details.
At the Karuizawa Villa Hotel, Director Sekiya provides them with details about the Jizogahara festival.
The couple heads to the festival hall, where they learn that Nagisa was supposed to attend with Ishida, a troublemaker with a rough past, but no one has spotted them at the festival.
Once back home, Kumiko receives another silent phone call and begins to exhibit a sudden change in her behavior.
The player seduces Kumiko in an attempt to coax the truth out of her.
Kumiko never had a sister at all!
Or rather, her sister passed away long ago when Kumiko was just 12 years old, allegedly due to an illness.
When Nagisa died, their mother, unable to cope with the situation, began to suffer a nervous breakdown.
Kumiko then started to play a double game, occasionally adopting her sister's role and identity in an attempt to help her mother heal.
The following day, the player parts ways with Kumiko and continues the investigation alone.
Kumiko goes missing.
After departing from the villa, the player seeks information about Nagisa and observes that the cannabis plants are now gone.
On a trail, he finds a shovel and a lighter inscribed with initials.
At the Karuizawa Villa Hotel, Sekiya states that Masao Takagi, the late father of Kumiko and Nagisa, frequently had disputes with his assistant Hanayama.
At the stud farm, jockey Nishimura reveals that the brakes on Kumiko's parents' car were faulty on the day of the accident.
The death of Kumiko's parents was not an accident but a murder. Could Hanayama be the culprit?
The player then calls Kumiko to warn her, but she has disappeared!
He receives a phone call urging him to drop the case.
He presents the lighter he found earlier to Yoko Hirota from the tennis club, who seems surprised.
At the drive-in, the player discovers that Nagisa might be with Hanayama.
The drive-in owner and Yoko from the tennis club provide dubious testimonies.
At the church, the priest informs the player that he can dig anywhere with the shovel he found, but he is permitted to dig only once, as per God's will.
As the player starts to grow suspicious of Hanayama, he chooses to dig in his garden.
Beneath the root of a blue hydrangea, he uncovers a bolt.
Hanayama is promptly interrogated, but he flees the scene.
Hanayama appears suspicious.
A letter is discovered behind a vase, stating that Masao Takagi sent it to Hanayama last fall, prior to his accident. In the letter, he requests that Hanayama look after his daughters if anything were to happen to him.
Back at the villa, the player encounters Asami, who reveals that Nagisa was investigating her parents' accident. She suggests that Nagisa may be in Jizogahara.
The player heads to Jizogahara with Asami.
They enter the house where Nagisa was last seen, having broken the window to get inside.
Inside, they discover a photo of an older man in his forties with a child, along with an old newspaper.
From the newspaper, the player learns that Masao Takagi's company was embezzled, leading to the suicide of a man named Katsuo Hirota, who had two children.
As accessing the second floor of the house is impossible without a ladder, the player decides to visit the Duran guesthouse next door.
Upon arriving at the guesthouse, the player is welcomed by a beautiful woman named Fumie.
She mentions that she has seen the priest enter the house next door from time to time and recognizes the handwriting on the lighter as belonging to the owner of the drive-in.
Oda, the owner of the Durand guesthouse, identifies the boy in the photo as Masakatsu Hirota, an old classmate from middle school.
To say more, he insists on seeing Asami's panties. Oda is a pervert!
Masakatsu Hirota left for Tokyo after graduating, and Oda hasn't seen him since. The girl in the photo with him is his older sister, Yoko.
The player uses a ladder from the guesthouse to access the second floor of the house, which opens up to a spacious villa that he can explore.
He finds a memo that reads "3rd down," along with a homemade cigarette and a list of nightclubs.
Behind the shelf, he discovers a hidden room containing administrative documents.
A hole in the back of the wall uncovers a large cave.
While exploring the cave, the player discovers a villa that cannot be accessed from the city.
Behind a photo frame, the player uncovers a cupboard and finds a document that includes the name Ginji Ishida.
The player heads back to the cave and takes the southern exit, which leads to a lake.
At the lake's edge, the player encounters an old man who enjoys soaking up the sun.
After leaving the cave and the villa, the player encounters Fumie once more.
This beautiful woman turns out to be Fumie Sawaki, the character who discovered Kozo Yamakawa's corpse in the first installment of Yuji Horii's mystery trilogy, The Portopia Serial Murder Case.
She reveals that her older brother's name is Yasuhiko Mano, nicknamed Yasu!
The player goes back to Oda, the owner of the Durant guesthouse, to gather more information.
Asami has him try the cigarette she discovered earlier. It's rolled with a wild cannabis leaf.
Oda then examines the administrative document, which turns out to be a stock certificate for a villa hotel, signed by Masao Takagi.
He recalls that a girl of the same age as Asami once lived in this hidden villa, and her name was Nagisa.
The player returns to the hidden lake at the end of the cave, and suddenly, the old man reappears.
He's actually a god!
South of the lake, a cliff has collapsed on the mountain road. The old man clears the path for them with a magic trick.
At the end of the path is Yubo's house. He is actually Yuji Horii.
The player then arrives at Ishida's place, where he claims not to know Nagisa. However, the player knows he's lying, as they've already been seen together.
Ishida finally reveals the truth: he was indeed with Nagisa, describing her as a very cute girl. However, he mentions that a certain Mr. Dragon captured her.
Mr. Dragon is the owner of the large villa and the boss of the Jizogahara party hall. He is always masked, concealing his face and true identity from everyone.
Upon re-entering the villa, the player hears a man's voice echoing from the corridor. The man claims that he has already dealt of Kumiko and Nagisa, but he refuses to elaborate further.
The true identity of the dragon.
The player decides to return to the front of Karuizawa Station with Asami.
He organizes his thoughts in his mind.
It seems this incident is linked to Kumiko's parents' accident.
Nagisa was seen with a man who appeared to be around 40 years old.
The owner of the drive-in and Yoko from the tennis club appeared together in the same photo.
A lighter was discovered in the same location as Nagisa's wallet.
Kumiko's father wrote to Hanayama and trusted him. It’s possible that Hanayama is innocent, but someone is framing him for the crimes. The placement of that shovel seems deliberate.
Kumiko received a phone call from a man’s voice warning her to stop her investigation.
Kumiko then claimed that she never had a sister.
Additionally, there was some grass resembling wild cannabis on the mountain behind Kumiko's villa, but later, the evidence had disappeared as if someone had removed it.
A party was held at a villa in Jizogahara, where marijuana cigarettes were being rolled in the basement.
A long time ago, a man committed suicide after being dismissed from Masao Takagi's company.
That man's name is Katsuo Hirota.
In the photo found in the villa, the boy is identified as Masakatsu Hirota. Fumie believes he bears a strong resemblance to the owner of the Drive-In.
Masakatsu Hirota had an older sister named Yoko. Alongside this, a large number of stock certificates under the name of Masao Takagi, Kumiko's father, were found. These certificates were for a villa hotel.
There is also the mysterious man known as Mr. Dragon. The large villa likely belongs to him.
According to Fumie, the priest also used to visit the villa. But whose distinctive voice was heard on the second floor of the villa?
The player then summarizes:
The man in the photo with the other two children is believed to be Sekiya. He likely raised Masakatsu and Yoko. Sekiya held a grudge against Kumiko's father and is said to have murdered him and his wife in a tragic car accident. Sekiya could be Mr. Dragon!
Did he want to steal the stock certificates of the villa hotel, or was he trying to protect his cannabis cultivation that was about to be discovered in the back mountain?
Perhaps for both reasons, Mr. Dragon, aka Sekiya, murdered Kumiko and Nagisa's parents. As for Nagisa, who was beginning to investigate the accident, she would have become a problem.
The owner of the Drive-in, Masakatsu, would have kidnapped Nagisa while she was investigating the case with Hanayama.
Masakatsu, Yoko, and the priest, a frequent attendee of the marijuana parties, are all accomplices of Mr. Dragon, who is attempting to frame Hanayama for the crimes.
They buried the bolt in the fence of his house and intentionally dropped the shovel to frame him as the culprit.
Sekiya would be the mastermind behind the whole affair, while Masakatsu would act as the kidnapper. He likely had a grudge against Masao Takagi's company since his father committed suicide.
It all makes sense.
The player contacts the police to rescue Nagisa and Kumiko, who are probably in danger at the hands of Mr. Dragon. The detective recognizes the name Mr. Dragon.
Ten years ago, a crime was attributed to an organization known as Dragon, which has since been dismantled. There's no way such a criminal group could endure in Japan, a country known for its safety. As a result, this case does not concern the police.
The player returns to confront the priest, who then reveals his true colors: he was indeed a regular at these parties, and his weaknesses led him to cooperate with Dragon.
However, he didn't play a significant role in this story and doesn’t have any additional information. May God protect him.
Kumiko suddenly appears!
She had been hiding at Hanayama's place all along. Threatened, she was afraid of being attacked.
She lied to the player and didn’t warn him to avoid involving him further. Instead, she conducted her own investigation and discovered an intriguing photo!
The player then examines the photo included in the game box.
Nagisa, who was searching for her father's killer, has indeed been kidnapped.
But the photo could be a clue.
The landscape behind Nagisa, composed of a church cross and a farm, resembles Mount Asama.
The player, along with Asami and Kumiko, then heads to Mount Asama.
Stamina, strength and defense parameters are displayed on screen.
A first thug blocks the passage.
By selecting the "Fight” command, a battle begins.
The player determines the actions of his group of characters.
He can fight and protect himself.
Kumiko can fight, protect herself, and blow kisses to lower the enemy's motivation.
Nagisa can fight, protect herself, and show her panties to lower the opponent's defense.
When the team defeats an opponent, the characters earn experience points, leading to an increase in their skills.
Treasures, which also increase the characters' skills, are scattered throughout the field map.
A water source, which can be used repeatedly, allows the team to fully recover their physical strength.
The objective is to infiltrate the enemy's hideout.
The player increases the skills and experience of his team to defeat the powerful enemies guarding the entrance.
On the field map, the player discovers a transparent panty and a bunny costume.
When Asami wears them, her ability to show her panties is increased.
Asami manages to defeat the last boss thanks to her transparent panties, allowing the group to enter the Dragon's lair.
Kumiko has emerged! But where is Nagisa?!
Sekiya must have taken care to make her disappear long ago. Is it already too late? Is she already at the bottom of the lake?
Sekiya orders Masakatsu to eliminate the player! However, filled with regret and hatred towards Sekiya, the adoptive father he has always despised, Masakatsu refuses! He insists that Nagisa is alive and being held prisoner just behind the door.
The group can finally bring Nagisa home!
Sekiya draws a gun, but the police arrive at the same time. Despite their doubts, they followed the group on their adventures, and the village is now completely surrounded.
Kumiko finally finds her sister, Nagisa.
It is a joyful day.
All four of them return safely to Kumiko's villa.
It seems that the Dragon organization has been destroyed for good this time.
While Nagisa searches for the soy sauce, the player sneaks into the next room with Kumiko.
-A few days later……-
Nagisa has disappeared again! But she left behind a clue.
"I'm going on a trip to find a wonderful boyfriend, just like my sister."
"Please don't look for me this time. Nagisa."
Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide is a prodigious game, a bold artistic risk, and one of the most unique titles for exploring Yuji Horii's elegant and unconventional universe. This mysterious adventure is rich with gags, unpredictable plot twists, erotic elements, and refined dialogue. Its multifaceted atmosphere mirrors the complexity of Kumiko's character.
Much like RPGs, adventure games have a long-standing tradition of featuring a silent protagonist. Basically, in an adventure game, the player inputs information first, and the computer responds by providing additional information.
In Karuizawa, the main character has his own dialogue and speaks autonomously, without needing command input from the player.
A speaking protagonist is an unusual feature in a Yuji Horii game, but in Karuizawa it plays a crucial role to make interactions with the girls more believable.
Yuji Horii designed Karuizawa entirely on his own, giving him the creative freedom to make as many changes as he wanted and experiment with various elements to surprise the player. For instance, in some chapters, a phone suddenly rings unexpectedly, and the player’s partner leaves halfway through the adventure.
Karuizawa starts as a traditional adventure game but gradually transforms into something more experimental. The player visits a mansion and explore mysterious caves. The narrative shifts into an extraordinary stream of consciousness where the player must piece together the clues gathered throughout the adventure in an introspective, one-sided dialogue that did not exist in games until then.
The game then offers the main character a new awareness of the world around him and of himself. At this moment, the truth becomes clear and simple. The resurgence of his deepest emotions and natural impulses allows the player to grow in the long term. Karuizawa is a rite of passage.
In the final chapter, the game evolves into a true RPG.
Instead of adhering to a story governed by specific rules, the rules themselves are shaped by the narrative. The gameplay mechanics shift in accordance with the storyline. Karuizawa is pure entertainment.
Prior to Karuizawa, there were very few adventure games featuring a main character who spoke without any text input. A similar title, also supervised by Yuji Horii and created by Hikaru Sekino, was released just a month before Karuizawa. Tokyo Nampa Street.
Tokyo Nampa Street
[トウキョウナンパストリート]
Tokyo Street Pick-up.
Tokyo Nampa Street was released in 1985 on the NEC PC-88, Fujitsu Micro 7, Sharp X1, and MSX. The game was developed by Hikaru Sekino and published by Enix.
Hikaru Sekino was part of the same group of young mangaka as Yuji Horii during their university days. He won the 3rd Game and Entertainment Program Contest organized by Enix in 1985 with his game Tokyo Nampa Street, which would later serve as the prototype for all dating simulation games.
The objective of the game is to pick up a girl.
At the start of the game, the player can either hit the streets to meet women without any preparation or directly select his preferred type of woman based on various parameters, including age, personality, and physical traits. Additionally, he has the option to input the phone number of a previous date and retain his previous settings.
Depending on his preferences, the player can choose from various flirting destinations, such as Shinjuku, Harajuku, a women's university, or Yokohama. He can either stay close to the starting point or venture farther, but each trip comes with transport costs deducted from a total wallet determined at the beginning of the game.
The player has a motivation gauge and experience points, along with a schedule to manage. As the player's motivation and experience points increase, he becomes more spontaneous, allowing for a wider variety of actions to approach and attract girls.
There are 55 potential partners, each with clearly defined ages and personalities. The conversation models associated with them are consistent and reflective of the social dynamics of the time.
After meeting a girl on the street and getting to know her, the player can continue the conversation by entering commands using the numeric keypad, similar to Yuji Horii's mystery trilogy, and input information for certain specific actions directly using the keyboard.
He should take his partner on a date to a café, restaurant, nightclub, or to see the sea near Yokohama to seduce her. Each city has its own preferred locations.
The conversation must be conducted at a steady pace and with precision, depending on the girl's mood. Additionally, some actions must be performed in real time.
The player must understand the psychology of the other person through her facial expressions and speech tics, then identify a topic of conversation that pleases her.
The objective is to maintain the girl in a good mood.
The game provides various choices and options. The player can begin by offering his partner a coffee and asking for her name, followed by compliments on her style or her eyes. He can then attempt to touch her shoulder, hand, or chest and observe her reactions. If she is not happy, the player will lose sympathy points. However, if she is charmed, he can take her on a date to a suitable location, which may vary based on the partner’s preferences.
The player can navigate this linguistic labyrinth to achieve his objective: bringing the girl to her room or to the hotel.
Traps are scattered among the girls to seduce. The player may encounter tour guides, lazy girls, or escort girls. Once he manages to bring such a girl to a hotel room, he may face comical situations. If the girl demands marriage before going any further, the player will be forced to marry her if he insists to go through with it. If he brings home an intellectual girl, instead of romance, she will give him a lecture. If he chooses a depressed high school girl, she will start crying and the evening will turn into a disaster.
Tokyo Nampa Street is a highly polished game, featuring a variety of girls, a rich variety of scenes, numerous conversation choices and easy operation thanks to the command selection system. The game defies the technical limitations of its time and possesses a rare charm.
Tokyo Nampa Street is a revolutionary and completely innovative game because it simulates a conversation with an artificial intelligence for the first time. The game is also quite humorous! The conversation strategy feels completely outdated, and the elegant dialogues carry a distinctly retro charm.
Tokyo Nampa Street was a huge success and had a significant impact on future generations of dating simulation games. It can be considered a major milestone in the genre.
Tokyo Nampa Street and Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide are games that abolish traditional dialogue with the computer. They consist solely of protagonists who speak spontaneously. In Karuizawa, the main character speaks to impress a girl, and in “TOKYO Nampa Street,” the main character speaks to flirt with a girl. This characteristic would later serve as the foundation for “Tokimeki Memorial,” released by Konami in 1994, and “YU-NO,” released by ELF in 1996, two of the most popular dating simulation games of the time, where the main character also speaks independently.
Portopia Serial Murder Case, Hokkaido Serial Murders, and Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide embody Yuji Horii's mystery trilogy. However, two additional installments were originally planned: The Fang of Kowloon, set in Hong Kong, and Soviet Murder Tour: The Witness Who Vanished Under the Midnight Sun, set in the Soviet Union. Both games were joint projects with "Login" magazine. Although research and documentation were completed on location, no programming work was done, and the games were never released.
The Fang of Kowloon
[九龍の牙]
The main character, Ko Toyoji, is an office worker about to get married. However, his fiancée suddenly vanishes during a trip to Hong Kong with friends for her bachelorette party. While her disappearance initially sparks concern, the incident fades from memory over time. Six months later, the player, determined to find her, travels alone to Hong Kong, following a lead from a friend. He eventually locates his fiancée, who had been drugged and enslaved by a human trafficking organization called Nhoudougiku. Tragically, just before he can rescue her, she takes her own life. Devastated and consumed by vengeance, the player learns Kung Fu and unleashes fury on the streets of Kowloon. He no longer looks like an ordinary office worker, and people start to call him "The Fang of Kowloon".
The player can freely explore the streets of Hong Kong and Kowloon. The game promises thrilling car chases and other exciting moments. As the player battles enemies, his level increases and he can learn Kung Fu techniques as well as Cantonese. Mastering Cantonese unlocks powerful spells that provide advantages in negotiating prices, acquiring rare items, and gathering crucial information. The main character embarks on his journey alone, without any companions. The game incorporates RPG elements, featuring a well-defined protagonist, a storyline involving a human trafficking organization, and commands like "shut up and listen."
Soviet Murder Tour: The Witness Who Vanished Under the Midnight Sun
[ソヴィエト殺人ツアー 白夜に消えた目撃者]
The game follows a 15-day group sightseeing tour of the Soviet Union, with a diverse group of participants, including the player, a sociology professor with a love for detective novels, a Japanese tour guide, a Russian tour guide, an elderly couple, a university professor and her student of Russian literature, a quiet, caring lady, two female office workers, and a mysterious male trio. On the second day, a murder occurs within the group. Who is the culprit? Suspicion falls on the player, but the journey continues. The evil hand of the murderer draws closer to the player.
And who is this beautiful Russian woman who joins the trip midway?
The game features a time flow system, meaning the sightseeing tour proceeds even if the player overlooks certain information. Comprising 10 chapters, the locations and narratives advance on their own as the days pass. Time can also progress more quickly by selecting the "sleep" command.
If Yuji Horii's Mystery Trilogy, which currently includes Portopia, Hokkaido, and Karuizawa, had been fully realized and published, it would have eventually become the Enix trilogy consisting of "Love Match Tennis," "Portopia Serial Murder Case," and "Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide”, coexisting with the ASCII trilogy consisting of "Hokkaido Serial Murder Case," "The Fang of Kowloon," and "The Witness Who Vanished Under the Midnight Sun."
In his mystery trilogy, Yuji Horii demonstrates meticulous attention to detail that is important enough to convey the soul and the meaning of each situation. He takes the time to write more fully, in a way that feels rich and complete despite the context. The descriptions of events and natural landscapes are deep enough to speak to the heart like if it the player is experiencing them for the first time. Everything, every little detail is seen from a new perspective. Thus, Yuji Horii recaptures the original feeling and significance of each thing.
Life consists of rare, isolated moments of the greatest significance. These moments when life speaks completely to the heart and soul are ephemerals, and appear most of the time only once.
The command selection system and instant transportation mechanics allow for sacrificing the flow of time for the isolated moment, and the path for the destination. Contextualization is not necessary. What is essential, therefore, is the isolated moment and not what comes before and after. The emotion of the scene takes precedence over the chronological progression of the story.
Thus, because each scene has a singular message, it must also have its own dedicated form. As a result, the form of Yuji Horii's games is always changing. It juxtaposes and multiplies itself. It assumes the sacrifice of traditional representation and fits the message of the text rather than aesthetic values and conventions.
It is the creation, through "de-creation", of a new system of values to better represent the world.
The player feels as though they are seeing the world for the first time because it is depicted from so many angles. Everything is so beautiful all at once. Yuji Horii returns banality to its irremediable enigma.
Adventure games of that era largely fell into two story categories: "escape from a maze" or "treasure hunt in a maze." These were known as “escape games” or “treasure hunt games.” However, with The Portopia Serial Murder Case, mystery adventure games gained popularity in Japan, inspiring other iconic titles like The Keyhole Murder Case, The Clown Murder Case, and, later on, Snatcher, Famicom Detective Club, Jinguji Saburo, and EVE Burst Error. Portopia is set in a real-world location and unfolds a mystery deeply rooted in human drama. It adopts a detective novel-like approach, demonstrating how literature can be integrated into a video game. Portopia paved the way for storytelling in video games, expanding the range of creative possibilities ever since. Games like Metal Gear, LA Noire, Half-Life 2, and The Last of Us use a companion character to drive the narrative, much like Portopia, where Yasu, an unreliable partner, ultimately reveals himself as the true culprit.
In 1983, adventure games started incorporating visual effects from other media, with titles like Jesus and Misty Blue using animation to create cinematic elements. QTEs, or Quick Time Events, were introduced to let players engage with rapid, successive visual effects in real-time. The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case implemented a command selection system that sped up the plot's progression and enhanced the player's experience of the visual effects. The game employed close-ups of characters and objects to enhance the dramatic atmosphere. The game starts with a summary of the story, and the title screen only appears after the player resolves the initial plot.
Thanks to the numerous innovations introduced in The Portopia Serial Murder Case and The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case, scene transitions and visual production became more systematic, enhancing the dramatic quality of Japanese adventure games.
Adventure Maker, the precursor to RPG Maker, was published in the January 1987 issue of Login magazine and programmed by Gessen Ueno for the PC 88 01. It built upon the fundamentals and models established by The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case, allowing players to create text adventure games utilizing a command selection system.
However, the video game landscape was on the brink of a new era, where the primary genre for narrative-driven games shifted from adventure games to RPGs. As certain adventure games began to adopt a blockbuster approach and command selection systems gained popularity, the genre gradually reached a dead end.
Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide integrated terrain maps from role-playing games, demonstrating that adventure games could be deeply integrated with other genres. Dokyusei, released by Elf in 1992 for the PC 98, was a groundbreaking romance game that incorporated the concepts of time and money from Tokyo Nampa Street, along with the top-down terrain map from Ultima, similar to that used in Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide. Dokyusei further refined character development and intensified the dramatic elements of the plot.
Video games from the 1990s adopted the storytelling techniques, character development, and dramas established in Yuji Horii's adventure games, blending them into RPGs, action games, simulations, sports games, point-and-click adventures, sound novels, and visual novels. This method of storytelling has become an inherent aspect of video games overall. Karuizawa Kidnapping Guide, which merges RPG and adventure game elements, was the first title to forge this path. RPGs, represented by Dragon Quest, emerged as a new form of storytelling game that supplanted traditional adventure games. Dragon Quest reclaimed its leading role and became a symbol of the genre.