The Portopia Serial Murder Case
The Portopia Serial Murder Case | |
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Windows | |
Release | June 1983
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Single-player |
The Portopia Serial Murder Case
In the game, the player must resolve a murder mystery by searching for clues, exploring different areas, interacting with characters, and solving
Gameplay
The Portopia Serial Murder Case follows a
The game features
With no keyboard, the Famicom version replaces the verb-noun parser with a menu list of fourteen set commands selectable with the
Setting and characters
Although the story of the game is fictional, it is set in real Japanese cities; mainly
The detective in charge of the case is an unnamed, unseen and silent protagonist who essentially embodies the player, and is simply referred to as Boss (ボス).[10][5][4] He works with an assistant named Yasuhiko Mano (間野康彦), nicknamed Yasu (ヤス), who is the one who actually speaks and executes most of the player's commands.[1] Other characters include, among others, Yukiko (ゆきこ), daughter of a man named Hirata (ひらた); Toshiyuki (としゆき), Kouzou's nephew and heir;[10] and Okoi (おこい), a dancer.[10][2]
Development and release
The game was conceived by Yuji Horii around 1981, when he was 27 years old, shortly after he bought his first computer and learned to program with it by
Horii wanted to expand on the adventure game genre with his own ideas.
Following its 1983 release,
The first mobile phone version of the game was branded as a part of a Horii Yūji Gekijō (堀井雄二劇場, "Yūji Horii Theater") trilogy along with mobile versions of Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin Okhotsk ni Kiyu and Karuizawa Yūkai Annai. It was released in 2003 on EZweb and Yahoo! Keitai services. It features a list of set commands similar to the Famicom version but also improved graphics, no free-moving cursor, and a save function.[13] The games of the trilogy, which was retitled Yuji Horii Mysteries (堀井雄二ミステリーズ), were re-released in 2005 and 2006 on the same services. The second Portopia version possesses the same content as the first mobile one, in addition to updated graphics, background music, a bonus function obtained after completing the game, and a hint option which nullifies the ending bonus if it is used too frequently.[1][10]
The game is also featured as
Reception and legacy
The Famicom version of the game sold 700,000 copies.
In 2003, The Portopia Serial Murder Case ranked 19th in a poll to determine the thirty best Famicom games; the poll was conducted by the
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Gameman (6 September 2005). 「ポートピア連続殺人事件」の舞台を巡る. ITmedia +D Games (in Japanese). ITmedia. p. 1. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2007. (Translation)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Szczepaniak, John (February 2011). "Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken". Retro Gamer. Archived from the original on 3 December 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2011. (Reprinted at John Szczepaniak. "Retro Gamer 85". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2011.)
- ^ a b c d e f "The Possibilities of Adventure Games with Yuji Horii of Enix and Rika Suzuki of Riverhillsoft". Beep. 1987. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Megal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain". Official Xbox Magazine. Christmas 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Peter Tieryas (5 April 2015), "The Murder Mystery from the Creator of Dragon Quest", Entropy, archived from the original on 22 February 2017, retrieved 22 February 2017
- ^ a b Szczepaniak, John. "Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier". Hardcore Gaming 101. p. 3. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2011. Reprinted from "Retro Japanese Computers: Gaming's Final Frontier", Retro Gamer, no. 67, p. 2009
- ^ a b c Jacobi, Scott (October 2006). "Nintendo Realm - November to December 1985". Retrogaming Times Monthly. No. 29. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
- ^ "北海道連鎖殺人 オホーツクに消ゆ". Enterbrain. Archived from the original on 1 August 2003. Retrieved 20 September 2011. (Translation Archived 12 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ a b c d e f g h Szczepaniak, John. "Before They Were Famous". Retro Gamer (35). Imagine Publishing: 76.
- ^ a b c d e ポートピア連続殺人事件 (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
- ^ "59 Developers, 20 Questions: 1985 Interview Special". Beep. October 1985. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- Gamasutra. Archivedfrom the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ^ a b "事件だヤス! iモード「ポートピア」配信開始". ITmedia +D Games (in Japanese). ITmedia. 26 November 2001. Archived from the original on 26 January 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
- ^ Ryozo, Ota (13 January 2005). "「ポートピア連続殺人事件」にグラフィックなどを一新したBREW版". ケータイ (in Japanese). Impress Group. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
- ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (21 April 2023). "Square Enix's free AI game isn't selling me on the tech's power". digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Square Enix's free 'AI tech preview' has a Steam user rating of Very Negative and deserves it". PCGamer.com. 24 April 2023.
- ^ "ポートピア連続殺人事件". Square Enix. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ^ Michael McWhertor (5 October 2011). "The Four Video Games That Shaped Metal Gear Creator Hideo Kojima". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- GamesRadar
- ^ Latest Zelda's making process & "Ocarina of Time" proposal disclosed (Nintendo Eiji Aonuma x SQEX Jin Fujisawa) (interview) Archived 25 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, DenfaminicoGamer, 9 June 2017
- ^ 1UP.com. May 2011. p. 2. Archived from the originalon 8 November 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- 1UP.com. Ziff Davis. 1 January 2000. Archived from the originalon 13 June 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- 1UP.com. Archived from the originalon 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- USgamer. Archivedfrom the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
External links
- Family Computer version official page (in Japanese)
- Second mobile version official websites: EZweb Archived 12 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, i-mode, Keitai Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
- The Portopia Serial Murder Case at The Visual Novel Database
- Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken at MobyGames