The creative team behind the Danganronpa series is back with a brand-new title called Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. It was shown off at the Nintendo Direct on September 13, with Master Detective Archives: Rain Code being a mystery game set in a dark and rain-covered metropolis. The game is co-developed by Spike Chunsoft and Too Kyo games, set in an all new universe for players to experience that some have already compared to Atlus' Persona francise.
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, formerly known as Enigma Archives: Rain Code, has the player taking the role of the amnesiac detective named Yuma, along with the spirit haunting him: Shinigami. Together, they explore the vast metropolis and solve various cases by investigating clues, gathering evidence, and hearing testimonies. This style of gameplay is not dissimilar to how the Danganronpa series played, which would be to its creator's strengths. However, the key difference in how these cases are conducted is the supernatural realm called the Mystery Labyrinth that draw clear inspiration from Persona's Palaces.
Similarities Between Mystery Labyrinths and Palaces
Mystery Labyrinths set Master Detective Archives: Rain Code apart from Danganronpa, but also shows similarities to Persona.Persona 4 and 5 have realms that serve a similar function to the Mystery Labyrinth, where players gather evidence over the course of an investigation to show an exaggerated representation of the truth. This description matches how the palaces of targets in Persona 5 worked in the sense that they were exaggerated forms of how people felt.
When the trailer for Master Detective Archives: Rain Code showcases the Mystery Labyrinth, it has Yuma and Shinigami venturing into a maze while dodging obstacles and traps. There is also something called a Mystery Phantom that will attempt to impede progress, with an example in the trailer representing a corporate executive briefly seen earlier in reality. Persona 5's palaces share a similar purpose, taking on the appearance of how the Phantom Thieves' target perceives a certain place. The target also takes on a different appearance based on how they see themselves.
Master Detective Archives' Mystery Labyrinth Could Flesh Out Character Motivations
In Persona 5, being able to go into palaces and understand a target's feelings was a key motivator behind many plot points. Doing this helped the Phantom Thieves pinpoint the treasure they were trying to steal from a target's heart and get more context for their character motivations. Many of the antagonists in Persona 5 probably never would have been found out if the Phantom Thieves had not gone inside their palaces and learned more about them.
This presentation of palaces was a big draw for players, and a step up from dungeons that appeared in the series prior. Persona 4 had a similar concept in the sense that dungeons represented a specific person, although most had a similar layout. The dungeon design reason why Persona 5 breathed new life into the series, and other franchises like Psychonauts have seen great success by having the player literally delve into the psyche of their characters. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code has a great chance of standing out by following a similar concept.
The Danganronpa series features a plethora of interesting characters with different motivations for murdering. By having the ability to go into Mystery Labyrinths, fans could expect a similar representation of these characters to how antagonists were portrayed in Persona 5. By combining Danganronpa's character writing with dungeons similar to Palaces, players could see some fantastic mysteries come out of Master Detective Archives: Rain Code.
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is scheduled to release in spring 2023 for Switch.
