Kara no Shojo

Kara no Shoujo is a detective visual novel adventure game with black crime theme. Project was developed by Japanese studio Innocent Grey. Game is designed for adult players only. It is a part of the series initiated by Cartagra ~Affliction of the Soul~ game from 2005.

Plot

The action takes place in Tokyo in 1956. The main character is a private detective Tokisaka Reiji, who receives three cases in a few days. The first one is a request from a mysterious girl he met in Inokashira Park. She wants him to find "her true self".

Soon after, the detective is also hired by the local police to help solve a series of brutal murders in which the bodies of young girls are found with their uteruses cut out. The third case involves the disappearance of female students of an elite all-female high school known as Ouba Academy. Its principal wants Reiji to find them and offers him undercover work as a substitute for one of the teachers.

As the story unfolds, the detective begins to suspect that all three cases are connected in some way.

It is worth mentioning that although the game takes place in the same universe as Cartagra ~Affliction of the Soul~, it is not a continuation of that story. Kara no Shoujo offers a new main character and a plot that does not require any knowledge of the earlier game from Innocent Grey. However, several familiar faces appear in the campaign and the game allows you to learn more about their fates, which is quite a treat for fans.

Mechanics

Kara no Shoujo is a game with elements of the visual novel and detective adventure games genre. For most of the time the player follows the plot, having conversations and making decisions. His actions and talks shape the development of the story, leading it to several alternative endings.

These standards of the visual novel genre are enriched with strong adventure game elements. The game regularly serves us investigative sections. During them, we have to analyze crime scenes in order to collect evidence and clues. Information gained in this way is later used to indicate the right answers in deduction challenges.

Another element that makes the game different from classic visual novels is the travel system. Moving between locations takes a lot of time and causes that we can visit only a few places on a given day.

The game is very non-linear. The course of the story is influenced not only by the plot decisions, but also by our achievements in the investigations and the places we have visited each day. What is more, we can fail in many challenges and the plot still moves forward, although its shape changes then.

Game modes

The game offers an exclusive single player mode.

Technical aspects

Kara no Shoujo is a classic visual novel. Thus, it is made in 2D, offering mostly static two-dimensional images of characters and backgrounds. Still, it pleases the eye thanks to the exquisite execution of these elements, offering atmospheric locations and detailed character designs that are done in a more realistic style than what visual novels normally offer.