The Portopia Serial Murder Case
[ポートピア連続殺人事件]
1983年6月
“A full-scale Suspense Adventure Game”
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."