Mizen Tantei: The Protea Cases

Mizen Tantei: The Protea Cases is a detective adventure game with visual novel elements. The game was developed by orange, a Japanese studio specializing in this genre, known for Gothic Murder: Adventure That Changes Destiny, among others.

Plot

The action takes place in 2023 Japan in the Shinjuku area, one of the districts of Tokyo, which is the center of gaming, shopping and business. The main character is a young girl named Chiharu Izuki, employed at a local detective agency. She is a talented investigator, but lacks self-confidence due to the trauma caused by her kidnapping years ago.

The story begins when, while searching for a missing person, Chiharu discovers a mysterious mobile application called Protea. It's artificial intelligence-based crime prediction software being tested quietly in Shinjuku by the Japanese police.

Chiharu is quickly joined by another detective in need of her help and a boy who hides many secrets. Together the three will try to use the Protea application to stop crimes before they are committed.

Game mechanics

Mizen Tantei: The Protea Cases combines elements of a detective adventure game and a visual novel. We explore locations, talk, collect objects, interrogate witnesses and gather evidence and clues while playing. From time to time we also have to solve simple logic puzzles.

At the same time, the whole action is shown in the typical visual novel style, and players every now and then have to make decisions that shape the further development of the story. In addition to detective elements, romantic subplots also play an important role.

Game modes

The game offers a single-player mode only.

Technical aspects

Execution of Mizen Tantei: The Protea Cases is typical of visual novel games. The graphics is fully 2D and is made up of fully detailed but mostly static images, varied by occasional animations.