Jisei: The First Case HD (Nintendo Switch) Review

By Nayu 10.02.2021

Review for Jisei: The First Case HD on Nintendo Switch

All it takes to be a suspect in a murder is to be at the wrong place in the wrong time, which is exactly where the protagonist to Jisei: The First Case HD by Ratalaika Games ends up. Innocent from murder, but not of having supernatural abilities, means from time to time the protagonist gets hints from a mysterious voice about what to look out for. That can be a bit tricky to hide from the off-duty policeman, but it serves him well as he figures out who murdered the victim, in a case that is not as simple as it seems.

While a little on the short side in terms of game time, there is nothing lacking in the plot twists of Jisei: The First Case HD. A murder on its own is always a mystery. Having someone with an extraordinary ability to find clues that then have to be explained logically to the police makes life hard for the protagonist. It truly wasn't his fault he was the one to find the victim in the café's toilets. It wasn't even an accidental death from a fight gone wrong. There is a lot of intrigue as the victim had information that powerful individuals wanted kept hidden at all costs. They even send along someone to recover that information, but thanks to the policeman keeping an eye on all within the vicinity of the body that plan doesn't go smoothly.

Screenshot for Jisei: The First Case HD on Nintendo Switch

Making the choices of who to speak to, or who to investigate at times feels a bit repetitive, because unless the correct choice is made, the policeman will keep telling the protagonist to find out more. At times that can be frustrating, because it might seem that the same choices can be tried and over and over without progress ever being made, but eventually the correct choice can be chosen and the story move on. Having to guess the culprit from the clues in the story was a bit hard, as it then resulted in different endings. It is worth making frequent saves to make it easier to backtrack if an outcome doesn't seem right.

Unusually for a visual novel, there is an epilogue available on the title screen. Playing it created the desire to replay the entire game and see all the clues for the correct culprit. None of the characters are who they seem, throughout the adventure some of their secrets come to light, connecting them with each other and the victim. Stereotyping the characters proves a mistake for the protagonist, who dismisses some as the murderer when they are more involved than they appear.

Screenshot for Jisei: The First Case HD on Nintendo Switch

Cubed3 Rating

7/10
Rated 7 out of 10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Rated 7 out of 10

With the truth not necessarily being found on the first play-through, Jisei: The First Case HD definitely merits a second one to learn about more of the secrets in detail, which do not appear to be revealed all in one route. This feels like it should be a series, so hopefully Ratalaika Games will make more with this strange protagonist, who can sense things other humans can't. From the nature of his character, this won't be the only murder the protagonist comes across and is assumed to be linked to it. There's certainly no hint as to where his powers come from, or where they will lead him either.

Developer

sakevisual

Publisher

Ratalaika Games

Genre

Visual Novel

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

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