In the mid-90s, in full swing towards the futuristic CD technology, the videogame market underwent a real case of popularity of the technique of full motion video. A series of products that, for their own films, present within them sequences shot with real actors. Some companies have thought of realizing them interactive film experiencesjust see the different classics for the SEGA MEGA CD like Night Trap, Ground Zero: Texas, Double Switch or Kids on Site. Almost thirty years have passed since that important historical videogame period, and the FMV technique no longer has the media importance it once was. Despite everything it is a tool still used today, so much so that some even try to carry a real experience from TV series. In this review we analyze just one of the latter products, precisely that The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story directed by Koichiro Ito.
The lantern festival
The story tells of the young writer of detective novels Haruka Kagami who, on a day like any other, is invited by the young man Eiji Shijima to investigate some remains of skeletons discovered in the land of his family. The plot itself is nothing original and presents an idea already seen and revised in multiple mystery stories; despite this, however, it manages to keep the user’s attention high. The variety of storytelling situations, the script and the interpretation of the actors in general, manage to entice you to watch the vision from the beginning to the end credits. In such a product the narrative is certainly the master, for this reason we do not want to dwell further in the description of the story. The game is secured from the very beginning of don’t spoil the experience for players with spoilers, and certainly that is not our aim. We warn, however, that the script of Yasuhito Tachibana presents gods strong themes as the suicide and murdersalbeit always superficially e contextualized always in the scenic impact.
The game published by Square Enix and developed by hand is mainly divided into three gameplay sections: case, deduction And resolution. The first part is basically that mainly cinematic of the entire work, where the player watches a series of films made entirely in FMV, almost like watching a real TV series. An interesting ploy used in The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, and noted in this review, is that of the actors playing a number of different characters in different historical periods. The protagonist thus lives the stories of some crimes related to the Shijima family in 1922, 1972 and 2022. An idea that always tries to give new life to the different interpreters, although the writing of the characters does not change very much, presenting too many points in common.
Fortunately, the original language manages to perfectly convey the emotions and drama of the events, with one written translation in Italian good quality. Unfortunately, the same praise cannot be directed towards dubbing in English, due to a series of voices that are not only out of sync with the lip, but which seem almost robotic and with zero expressiveness. Our advice is to select the Japanese language, since it even helps to further identify with the storytelling. In the latter area, further help is offered from photography, both in the multiple close-up shots and in the environmental ones. The only thing that seemed strange to us are the grains in moving sequences, which make the image undefined and difficult to interpret. In general, it does not happen often, but in any case it shows an imperfect care in the realization of the final montage. A situation that, in theory, should not arise, given that we are talking about a downloaded file and not a streaming product.
In any case, within these cinematic sections they are present different functions such as going back or forward at any time with the films, pausing, reviewing the dialogues of the various characters or skipping real parts, so as to witness those moments that someone may have forgotten in one way or another. In short, the developers have offered all kinds of functions to satisfy the player or speed up a possible second viewing.
In all this, even the menu, accessible at any time, in which it is possible to read, helps all kinds of information linked to the relationships of the characters, the map of the settings, the clues collected, the theories and many other things. An impressive attention to detail, in which it is possible to recognize the idea of creating a work more complex than it may initially seem.
Unfortunately the whole product seems almost thought out later to interactivity, since all the clues are marked automatically and the various choices of dialogue lines do not change the unfolding of events in any way. This is a demonstration of how The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story curtain more than once to accompany the player rather than make him participate in eventsthings we have taken into account in reviews.
The investigations
Once the player has seen the filmed sequences, the more “video game” begins where the goal is to complete the picture of the general situation. Within the mind of our protagonist, represented by a sort of grid, the user must try to combine the clues discovered within the FMV movies. The attention must therefore turn not only to what is present at that moment on the screen, but also to the memory of the different succession of events. In this way the player is asked a series of questions highlighted by the Red, and to answer he will have to insert the clues in the correct position of the grid. Unfortunately, even this phase proves to be extremely guided, so much so that it is practically impossible to go wrong, in addition to the complete absence of some kind of limit both in intuitions and in the time within it. Excessive help that eliminates any kind of challenge within the entire product, almost eliminating even a possible replay value. All in all it is still fun to observe the different ones theories created by the protagonist, reinforced by animations that tend to reconstruct the different thoughts. The section itself turns out though slightly uncomfortable to be controlled with a controller, at least in the PlayStation 4 version we tested, and it seems that the setting of the screen is mainly designed for a mouse or a touch screen.
Resolution is arguably the most successful part of The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, at least according to our review rating. In the pure charm of the room, the different suspects of the recounting cases are gathered in a single point to discover the real face of the culprit. In this piece the player must bring out all the theories and evidence discovered in the previous stages, in order to find a confession from whoever carried out the criminal action. Here is the only part of the game where it is allowed to make mistakes, complete with reactions of those present to the fool made by the player. A situation that, however, does not lead to possible alternative paths of history, but to a simple game over. A real shame, since the introduction of branches in the story can lead to interesting dynamics, completely absent here. At the end of each case, a judgment is even given on one’s deductive performance, but this is not enough to entice one to some kind of replayability. The package ends with a stunning soundtrack composed of personalities from the caliber of Yuki Hayashi, Daiki Okuno, Ryoshi Takagi, Shuichiro Fukuhiro And Shogo Yamashiro.
Review
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The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story (Tested on PS4)
7.5Total Score
The game published by Square Enix and hand proves to be a work that focuses entirely on the script, the interpretation of the actors and the feeling of mystery that it manages to convey. Unfortunately, the challenge offered to the player is practically absent, thus losing the immense possibilities offered by the interactivity of the entire experience. A real shame, because the whole project doesn’t seem to fully understand what kind of experience it wants to offer its users. Recommended for lovers of mystery stories with a thriller atmosphere, who certainly remain intrigued by the history and the elements inserted within it.
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