Karuizawa Yūkai Annai
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is a 1983
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...
designed by
Yuji Horii is a Japanese author, video game designer, writer and director best known as the creator of the ''Dragon Quest'' franchise, supervising and writing the scenario for ''Chrono Trigger'', and '' The Portopia Serial Murder Case'', released in 1983 ...
and published by
Enix was a Japanese multimedia publisher who handled and oversaw video games, manga, guidebooks, and merchandise. It was founded in 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima as Eidansha Boshu Service Center, initially as a tabloid publisher and later attempting t ...
. It was first released on the
NEC PC-6001 The PC-6000 series is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced in November 1981 by NEC Home Electronics. There are several models in this series, such as the PC-6001, the PC-6001 MK2 and the PC-6001 MK2 SR. There is also an American version, c ...
and has since been
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...
to other
personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...
s, the
Family Computer The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the U ...
(Famicom), mobile phone services and most recently,
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
as
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
showing off their
natural language processing Natural language processing (NLP) is a subfield of computer science and especially artificial intelligence. It is primarily concerned with providing computers with the ability to process data encoded in natural language and is thus closely related ...
technology. In the game, the player must resolve a murder mystery by searching for clues, exploring different areas, interacting with characters, and solving
item Item may refer to: Organizations * '' Instituto del Tercer Mundo'' (ITeM), the Third World Institute * ITEM club, an economic forecasting group based in the United Kingdom Newspapers * '' The Item'', an American independent, morning newspap ...
-based
puzzles A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are different ...
. The game features first-person graphics,
nonlinear gameplay A video game with nonlinear gameplay presents players with challenges that can be completed in a number of different sequences. Each may take on (or even encounter) only some of the challenges possible, and the same challenges may be played in a ...
, an
open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...
, conversations with
non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s, branching dialogue choices, suspect interrogations, nonlinear storytelling, and
plot twist A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending. It may change ...
s. The Famicom version also features a command menu system,
point-and-click Point and click are one of the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse or other pointing device (''click''). An example of point and click is in hypermedi ...
interface, and 3D dungeon maze. Upon its release, ''The Portopia Serial Murder Case'' was well received in Japan. It became an influential title, inspiring Japanese game designers such as
Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer. Regarded as one of the pioneering auteurs of video games, he developed a strong passion for film and literature during his childhood and adolescence, which in turn has had a significant influence on his game ...
and
Eiji Aonuma is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer at Nintendo. He is a senior officer within their Nintendo EPD division and serves as the producer of the ''The Legend of Zelda, Legend of Zelda'' franchise. Career Aonuma was born as on ...
.


Gameplay

''The Portopia Serial Murder Case'' follows a
first-person perspective A first-person narrative (also known as a first-person perspective, voice, point of view, etc.) is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from that storyteller's own personal point of view, using first-person grammar suc ...
and
narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...
. The various events are described with still pictures and text messages. The player interacts with the game using a
verb A verb is a word that generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual description of English, the basic f ...
-
noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...
parser Parsing, syntax analysis, or syntactic analysis is a process of analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language, computer languages or data structures, conforming to the rules of a formal grammar by breaking it into parts. The term '' ...
which requires typing precise commands with the keyboard. Finding the exact words to type is considered part of the riddles that must be solved. While sound effects are present, the game lacks music and a save function.
Translation
It features a conversation system with branching dialogue choices, where the story develops through entering commands and receiving answers to them from the player's sidekick or
non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s. (Reprinted at ) The game features
nonlinear gameplay A video game with nonlinear gameplay presents players with challenges that can be completed in a number of different sequences. Each may take on (or even encounter) only some of the challenges possible, and the same challenges may be played in a ...
, allowing multiple different ways to achieve objectives. Reprinted from This includes travelling between different areas in an
open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...
and making choices that determine the dialogues and order of events as well as alternative endings depending on who the player identifies as the culprit. However, only one of the characters is the true culprit, while the others are
red herring A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences toward a false conclusion. A red herring may be used intentiona ...
s; if the player closes the case with the wrong culprit, then the player will face criticism from the police chief and need to re-open the case. The game includes a phone that could be used to manually dial any number, which is needed to contact several non-player characters. The game also features an inventory system requiring the examination and collection of items, which could be used as evidence later in the game. With no keyboard, the Famicom version replaces the verb-noun parser with a menu list of fourteen set commands selectable with the
gamepad A gamepad is a type of video game controller held in two hands, where the fingers (especially thumbs) are used to provide input. They are typically the main input device for video game consoles. Features Some common additions to the standar ...
. This is similar to the command selection menu system introduced in Yuji Horii's murder mystery adventure game ''The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: The Okhotsk Disappearance'' , which was released in 1984,
Translation
)
in between the PC and Famicom releases of ''Portopia''. One of the commands on the menu allowed the player to use a
point-and-click Point and click are one of the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse or other pointing device (''click''). An example of point and click is in hypermedi ...
interface, using the
D-pad The D-pad (short for directional pad) is a compact input method developed for video games, designed to translate thumb movement into directional control through a flat, cross-shaped surface that rests on four internal switches. Each switch corres ...
to move a cursor on the screen in order to look for clues and
hotspots Hotspot, Hot Spot or Hot spot may refer to: Places * Hot Spot, Kentucky, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Hot Spot (comics), a name for the DC Comics character Isaiah Crockett * Hot Spot (Tr ...
. The Famicom version of ''Portopia'' also features branching menu selections, which includes using the pointer as a magnifying glass to investigate objects, which is needed to find hidden clues, and as a fist or hammer to hit anything or anyone, which could be used to carry out beatings during suspect interrogations. Additional sequences were also added, notably an underground
dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...
maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lead ...
, with a style similar to
role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
s.


Setting and characters

Although the story of the game is fictional, it is set in real Japanese cities; mainly
Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...
, in addition to a few sequences in
Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
and Sumoto. The president of a successful bank company, , is found dead by his secretary inside a locked room in his mansion. Signs seem to indicate that Kouzou stabbed himself; however, the police sends a detective to investigate further. The detective in charge of the case is an unnamed, unseen and
silent protagonist In video games, a silent protagonist is a player character who lacks any dialogue for the entire duration of a game, with the possible exception of occasional interjections or short phrases. In some games, especially visual novels, this may extend ...
who essentially embodies the player, and is simply referred to as . He works with an assistant named , nicknamed , who is the one who actually speaks and executes most of the player's commands. Other characters include, among others, , daughter of a man named ; , Kouzou's nephew and heir; and , a dancer.


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 modifying other games. During this time, he read a
PC magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and continues . Overview ''PC Mag ...
article about the rise of the
text adventure Interactive fiction (IF) is software simulating environments in which players use text Command (computing), commands to control Player character, characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narrati ...
computer game genre in the United States. Horii noticed the lack of such games in the Japanese market, and decided to create an adventure game of his own. Horii also cited the
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
authors
Tetsuya Chiba is a Japanese manga artist. Considered a major figure in the history of manga, many of his early titles are still in print due to continued popularity. He is most famous for his sports stories, having been described as "the biggest contributor ...
,
Mitsuru Adachi is a Japanese manga artist. After graduating from Gunma Prefectural Maebashi Commercial High School in 1969, Adachi worked as an assistant for Isami Ishii. He made his manga debut in 1970 with ''Kieta Bakuon'', based on a manga originally crea ...
and
Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese Mangaka, manga artist, screenwriter, animator, and film director. He first rose to prominence as a pioneer founder of the New Wave (manga), New Wave in the 1970s. He is best known as the creator of ''Akira (franchise), Akira'', bo ...
as influences. The game was developed using the
BASIC Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...
programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Programming languages are described in terms of their Syntax (programming languages), syntax (form) and semantics (computer science), semantics (meaning), usually def ...
. Horii wanted to expand on the adventure game genre with his own ideas. One such concept was to create "a program in which the story would develop through entering a command and by receiving an answer to it." His idea was for "a game that progresses through conversations between a human and a computer." He "started to get more ambitious," and thought he "could make the computer converse" if enough data is entered, attempting to create an
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
language algorithm. However, he realized this was not possible on computers at the time, so he created "dialogue for the computer beforehand" where the player "could type in some words, and the computer would reply back with some reaction." Another concept was that, in contrast to other "very linear" stories in adventure games at the time, his idea was for branching,
non-linear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system (or a non-linear system) is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathe ...
storytelling, where "the main scenario should only take up about 20% of the game's content, and the remaining 80% should be in response to the various actions of the player." However, due to PC memory limitations, he was only able to create several short branching scenarios, which he still found more interesting than one long linear scenario. He also conceived of a graphical format, with a picture on-screen representing what's happening and a command menu system to select an action, which later became the standard format for Japanese adventure games. Following its 1983 release, the game was ported to various Japanese personal computers. A Famicom port was then released in 1985 and was the first adventure game to be released on that platform. The Famicom version was also the first collaboration between Yuji Horii and
Koichi Nakamura is a Japanese video game designer. Nakamura gained fame as a programming prodigy while still in high school; in 1982, he entered Enix's first national programming contest and claimed runner-up prize with his entry, '' Door Door''. In 1984, he fo ...
of Chunsoft, before ''
Dragon Quest previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing video games created by Japanese game designer Yuji Horii (Armor Project), character designer Akira Toriyama (Bird Studio), and composer Koi ...
''. The Famicom version was programmed by Nakamura, who was 19 years old at the time. This version of ''Portopia'' changed the interface, adopting the command menu system that Horii created for the 1984 adventure game ''The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: The Okhotsk Disappearance'' . Due to frustration with text-based entry, admitting he was never able to get very far in adventure games because of it, Horii created a command menu system for ''Hokkaido'', which was later used in the Famicom version of ''Portopia''. Horii also noted that, for the Famicom versions of both ''Portopia'' and ''Hokkaido'', he wanted to make them appealing to a more mature audience, beyond the Famicom's typical younger audience. He was also playing ''
Wizardry Wizardry may refer to: * ''Wizardry'' (video game series), role-playing video game series, originally published by Sir-Tech ** '' Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord'', the first game of the series, released in 1981 * ''Wizardry'' (The ...
'' at the time, inspiring him to include a 3D dungeon maze in the Famicom version of ''Portopia''. The game was never released in the Western world, largely due to its mature content, involving themes such as murder, suicide, fraud, bankruptcy, interrogation beatings, drug dealings, and a strip club. The lack of a Western release prompted
ROM hacking ROM hacking is the process of Modding, modifying a ROM image, ROM image or ROM file to alter the contents contained within, usually of a video game to alter the game's graphics, dialogue, Level (video games), levels, gameplay, and/or other elemen ...
group DvD Translations to develop an unofficial translation of the Famicom version. The first
mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
version of the game was branded as a part of a trilogy along with mobile versions of ''The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: The Okhotsk Disappearance'' and ''Karuizawa Yūkai Annai''. It was released in 2003 on
EZweb au, or au by KDDI, is a Japanese mobile phone operator. au is a brand marketed by KDDI in the main islands of Japan and by Okinawa Cellular in Okinawa for their mobile cellular services. au is the second-largest wireless carrier in Japan, w ...
and
Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...
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. The games of the trilogy, which was retitled , 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 Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...
, a bonus function obtained after completing the game, and a hint option which nullifies the ending bonus if it is used too frequently. The game is also featured as
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
's AI technology preview for GDC 2023 featuring
natural language processing Natural language processing (NLP) is a subfield of computer science and especially artificial intelligence. It is primarily concerned with providing computers with the ability to process data encoded in natural language and is thus closely related ...
functionalities such as
natural language understanding Natural language understanding (NLU) or natural language interpretation (NLI) is a subset of natural language processing in artificial intelligence that deals with machine reading comprehension. NLU has been considered an AI-hard problem. Ther ...
and
natural language generation Natural language generation (NLG) is a software process that produces natural language output. A widely cited survey of NLG methods describes NLG as "the subfield of artificial intelligence and computational linguistics that is concerned with the ...
. A public version was released worldwide on 24 April 2023 without the natural language generation features out of fear for the software being used to generate inappropriate content. It was poorly received by fans and critics.


Reception and legacy

The Famicom version of the game sold 700,000 copies. The game was well received in Japan for allowing multiple ways to achieve objectives, its well-told storyline, and its surprising
twist ending A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending. It may change ...
. The Japanese press described it as "a game without
game over "Game over" is a message in video games which informs the player that their play session has ended, usually because the player has reached a loss condition. It also sometimes appears at the successful completion of a session, especially in ga ...
" because "there was technically no way to lose." According to Square Enix, it was "the first real detective adventure" game. The game, along with ''
Super Mario Bros. is a 1985 Platformer, platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series. It was origi ...
'', inspired
Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer. Regarded as one of the pioneering auteurs of video games, he developed a strong passion for film and literature during his childhood and adolescence, which in turn has had a significant influence on his game ...
, creator of the ''
Metal Gear is a Media franchise, franchise of stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear (video game), Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX, MSX home computers. The player often takes con ...
'' series, to enter the video game industry. He praised ''Portopia'' for its mystery, drama, humor, 3D dungeons, for providing a proper background and explanation behind the murderer's motives, and expanding the potential of video games. Kojima considers it one of the three most influential games he has played, with its influence evident in his games, including the ''Metal Gear'' series and '' Snatcher''. The PC-6001 version of ''Portopia Serial Murder Case'' is included as a hidden secret in '' Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes'' and '' Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''. ''Portopia'' was also one of the first video games ever played by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
's
Eiji Aonuma is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer at Nintendo. He is a senior officer within their Nintendo EPD division and serves as the producer of the ''The Legend of Zelda, Legend of Zelda'' franchise. Career Aonuma was born as on ...
, who went on to become the director of ''
The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...
'' series starting with ''
Ocarina of Time is a 1998 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. The game was the first in the '' Legend of Zelda'' series with 3D graphics. It was released in Japan and North America in November 1998 and in PAL regi ...
''. ''Portopia''s influence is also evident in Horii's own later work, including the seminal role-playing game ''
Dragon Quest previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing video games created by Japanese game designer Yuji Horii (Armor Project), character designer Akira Toriyama (Bird Studio), and composer Koi ...
'', which used storytelling techniques and the menu interface from ''Portopia''. John Szczepaniak of ''
Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...
'' considers it "one of the most influential games" as it was responsible for defining the
visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...
genre, comparing it to the role of ''Super Mario Bros.'', ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' () is a puzzle video game created in 1985 by Alexey Pajitnov, a Soviet software engineer. In ''Tetris'', falling tetromino shapes must be neatly sorted into a pile; once a horizontal line of the game board is filled in, it disa ...
'' and ''
Street Fighter is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...
'' in defining their own respective genres (
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
,
puzzle game A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are different ...
, and
fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...
, respectively). 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
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography The is an art museum concentrating on photography. As the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, it was founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and is in Meguro-ku, a short walk from Ebisu station in southwest Tokyo. The museum also ...
as part of its "Level X" exhibition. The English-language
webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the computer ...
''Retrogaming Times Monthly'' compared the game to the later-released ''
Shadowgate ''Shadowgate'' is a point-and-click adventure game developed by ICOM Simulations and published in 1987 for the Macintosh as part of the MacVenture series. The game takes place in the Castle Shadowgate, residence of the evil Warlock Lord. The p ...
'' where the player must examine and collect objects and find their true purpose later on, and recommended ''Portopia'' to fans of "slower paced games that require
layers Layer or layered may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Layers'' (Kungs album) * ''Layers'' (Les McCann album) * ''Layers'' (Royce da 5′9″ album) *“Layers”, the title track of Royce da 5′9″’s sixth studio album * Layer, a ...
to think through puzzles". John Szczepaniak praised its pacing and quality of writing, and considers the gameplay and plot to be sophisticated for its time. He noted that it contains elements found in a number of later titles, including ''
Déjà Vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is the phenomenon of feeling like one has lived through the present situation in the past.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford University Press. pp. 167–1 ...
'', ''Snatcher'', '' 428: Shibuya Scramble'', and ''
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors ''999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors'' is a visual novel and adventure video game developed by Chunsoft. It is the first installment in the ''Zero Escape'' series, and was released in Japan in December 2009 and in North America in Novemb ...
''.
1UP In video games, a life is a play-turn that a player character has, defined as the period between start and end of play. Lives refer to a finite number of tries before the game ends with a game over. Sometimes the euphemisms chance, try, rest an ...
also noted that ''Portopia'' is similar to
ICOM Simulations ICOM Simulations, Inc. (later known as Rabid Entertainment) was a software company based in Wheeling, Illinois. It is best known for creating the MacVenture series of adventure games including '' Shadowgate''. Following the foundation in 1981 ...
' ''Déjà Vu'' released several years later. Nintendo's successful ''Famicom Detective Club'' series of adventure games were also inspired by ''Portopia''.
USgamer Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...
compared it to the later ''
Police Quest ''Police Quest'' (or ''SWAT'') is a series of police simulation game, simulation video games produced and published by Sierra On-Line between 1987 and 1998. The first five were adventure game, adventure simulation game, simulation games, the f ...
'' adventure games and '' CSI'' television series, as well as classic
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
novels. According to ''
Official Xbox Magazine ''Official Xbox Magazine'' (''OXM'') was a British monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released at E3 2001, with another preview issue in November 2001. The maga ...
'', ''Portopia''s features, such as point-and-click, murder mystery plot, open world, suspect interrogations, nonlinear gameplay, dialogue choices, and alternate endings, are "standard for 2015, but way ahead of its time in 1983", comparing it to '' L.A. Noire''.
Peter Tieryas Peter Tieryas is an American writer. He is the author of ''Bald New World'' (2014) and the ''Mecha Samurai Empire series'' which consists of ''United States of Japan'' (2016), ''Mecha Samurai Empire'' (2018), and ''Cyber Shogun Revolution'' (2020) ...
gave ''Portopia'' a positive retrospective review, stating that, while its "influence is undeniable, it's the tragic back story, the strange vicissitudes the characters face, the uncanny freedom to investigate, and the haunting uncovering of the killer that makes it so special."


Notes


References


External links


Family Computer version official page
* Second mobile version official websites
EZweb

i-modeKeitai
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Portopia Serial Murder Case, The 1983 video games Adventure games Chunsoft games Detective video games Enix games EZ Web games FM-7 games I-mode games Japan-exclusive video games MSX games NEC PC-6001 games NEC PC-8001 games NEC PC-8801 games Nintendo Entertainment System games Open-world video games Point-and-click adventure games Sharp X1 games Single-player video games Square Enix games Video games about police officers Video games developed in Japan Video games set in Japan Windows games Yahoo! Keitai games