Makoto Wakaido’s Case Files Trilogy Deluxe detected on PC and Switch

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Anthology of bite-sized pixel art mysteries available in English for the first time with all-new bonus case

They say most murders are solved within the first forty-eight hours, if they're going to be solved at all. Well, in Hakaba Bunko's newly released criminal anthology Makoto Wakaido’s Case Files Trilogy Deluxe, you should only need about one.

In each of the game's four (yes, a trilogy of four) cases, players control Detective Makoto Wakaido, who is assigned to invesigate a variety of mysteries by examining crime scenes, gathering clues and evidence, interrogating witnesses and potential suspects, and "organizing information in the deduction phase" in order to identify the respective culprits. In "The Executioner Linchpin," people are being beheaded in a "gruesome series of murders ... inspired by Japan in the '80s and the insurgence of religious cults." In "The Bogeyman's Woods," people have begun disappearing from a "small, secluded village." Are they being "spirited away" or is there a more natural, all-too-human explanation? In "The Phantom's Foot," it's Wakaido himself who's accused of murder! To clear his name, he'll need to evade capture and uncover the truth in secret.

These three games were originally released for mobile devices in 2020, exclusively in Japan. Along with their English localizations, Makoto Wakaido’s Case Files Trilogy Deluxe includes an all-new bonus case called "The Weeping Hand Manor," in which a ghostly presence said to emanate from an old well haunts the Kamoyana Inn, "haunting its halls and terrifying its guests." Wakaido, on vacation when a storm hits, is the right man at the right place at the right time to get to the bottom of this supernatural mystery. Intended to take about an hour each, the four episodes all feature a minimalist side-scrolling pixel art style, largely in black, white and grey, with the occasional startling splashes – or rather, spatters – of red. As you explore and uncover new details, certain information is stored in your notebook, where it can be used to "further question people about it or examine things in a new light."

Just in time for Halloween, Makoto Wakaido’s Case Files Trilogy Deluxe is now available on Steam for Windows and Mac (along with a playable demo), as well as the Nintendo eShop for Switch in the USA, Japan, and Europe (excluding France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxemburg).

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