When Kazutaka Kodaka left Spike Chunsoft to form Too Kyo Games, it seemed like they had promised fans the world, with many projects being revealed one after the other. One of the many games that was released after being teased in 2020 came to us in the form of Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, which was released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch back in June 2023. One year later, the game is back with Master Detective Archive: Rain Code Plus.
As the release date of Rain Code approached, and as a Danganronpa avid fan myself, I was immediately interested in the several Famitsu articles detailing all of the aspects of the game, but after watching some trailers, it felt odd to me that the game was locked to the Nintendo Switch, with seemingly no chance of it ever coming to other platforms.
That, however, changes with the release of Master Detective Archive: Rain Code Plus, which expands the availability of the game to other platforms and adds a couple of extra features. Our staff member Soul Kiwami published a review of the original game, but we now have to answer the question: Is the Plus version worth getting?
First Impressions on Master Detective Archives Rain Code Plus
When it comes to the story of Rain Code, I was instantly hooked. This is partly due to the character portraits and how they are very expressive. Seriously, I think I’ve seen Shinigami’s portrait on her dialogue shift through at least 60 different faces. They’re all masterfully designed by Rui Komatsuzaki, and I really enjoyed her banter with the protagonist, Yuma Kokohead.
Perhaps one of the things that stands out is just how this game feels very Danganronpa-esque to me. I suppose it is to be expected, considering we have the character designer, composer, AND writer all working on it.
The Shinigami Puzzles are basically an altered version of Hangman’s Gambit, where you complete the word that answers the question, and the Solution Keys are a nod to the Truth Bullets. While they are similar, Rain Code stands out in its own way.
For the sake of keeping this relatively spoiler-free, I won’t go into too many details of the story, but I’d say my favorite chapters are Chapters 2 and 4, with 3 being the weakest of them. That’s only because the other two chapters have mysteries and twists that are far more compelling.
The performance was definitely one of the game’s lesser aspects on the Nintendo Switch. Don’t get me wrong, the Switch is almost clocking in at eight years of life, and many developers prove time and again that it’s possible to make games run well if you do proper optimization.
Similarly to what was reported on the Switch version, I noticed many performance issues during my playthrough, such as texture popping and some slight slowdown during a certain Reasoning Death Match when many effects from the pink Noise statements were on screen simultaneously.
A Good Game Isn’t Without Its Gripes
After clearing the main story, I noticed that only three or four trophies were remaining to obtain, and I would argue that trying to do this on your first playthrough is downright tricky, especially with the number of trick questions and fakeouts the game throws at you at the Mystery Labyrinths. And I feel there’s a charm to how the game encourages trial and error, thanks to the Detective Skills assisting in narrowing down the correct answer.
Thankfully, clearing the main story will give you access to the Chapter Select screen, which allows you to skip straight to the Mystery Labyrinth. However, the fast-forwarding option is rather cumbersome because you have to keep pressing down the button, and even then, you aren’t able to skip scenes that you’ve already seen, such as the Deduction Denounment recap at the end of every chapter. It also doesn’t really advance through voiced cutscenes that well, either. It’s not game-breaking, but it’s definitely a bit annoying.
Another one of my gripes has to do with the design of Mystery Labyrinth, as how they all look the same externally. I was sort of expecting that from the way Shinigami described them, they would be shaped around the mystery tackled by the chapter in question, such as maybe Chapter 0 being shaped after the Amaterasu Express. Especially considering that they’re all super varied on the inside.
A Bug with the Game’s Detective Skills
In the original Nintendo Switch version, there was basically no real need to replay the game outside of maybe doing all of the Requests. However, with the PS5 version, there are trophies that will definitely require you to replay all of the Mystery Labyrinths, and I feel the intention of the development team was to replay those with all of your skills intact, thus making you not have to rely on any sort of guide to get yourself an SS rank upon doing so.
Although your Detective Rank is retained between save files, using the Chapter Select feature resets the skill tree, and it seems the Vitality skills contain a bug that confuses the game’s check if you obtain those skills while inside the Mystery Labyrinth. After I replayed Chapter 0 for the SS rank, I got a B on the Stamina grading despite only taking damage once.
This, of course, puzzled me, but after doing some testing, I figured out that by unequipping all Vitality skills, I was able to get the SS on the Stamina, which suggests a bug with how the game grades your Stamina. These skills, when obtained inside the Labyrinth, harm your score due to them confusing said check.
I feel this oversight can be addressed by not resetting the skill tree every time you use the Chapter Replay option, which, to be fair, is a slight annoyance to have to equip and unlock the skills every single time I have to replay the chapter, so that would also address one of its pain points.
All DLC is Included Right Off the Box
Over the course of Rain Code’s release on the Nintendo Switch, DLC was released via the Season Pass, a $16.00 add-on included with the Digital Deluxe Edition or purchased separately. This included five substories, and each of them featured a Master Detective. Fortunately, the Plus version includes them all with no added cost.
Out of the five short stories, the best ones are probably Halara and Yakou. Halara’s story adds more to her character and combines well with the Gabs you obtain from her Memory Shards. Without divulging details, Yakou has the best substory by far, and you should view it after finishing the main game. In fact, you even get a warning if you try to access the menu before clearing, and trust me—there’s a reason for this, and that’s what makes it the best substory, in my opinion.
An All-New Gallery Mode
One of the brand-new things that is exclusive to the release of Rain Code Plus is the Gallery Mode. I had high expectations of how this mode would be implemented, discovering that it contains a total of 95 cinematics and 69 BGM tracks from the game’s original soundtrack for you to listen to and view.
Somehow, when I thought of the “gallery”, I had a feeling it would be something like Danganronpa V3’s gallery, which not only has the theater and jukebox, but also a place that contained concept art you could purchase. I feel this was done because this re-release still has a “digital deluxe” edition, which includes the art book and the rather redundant digital soundtrack, despite the gallery already containing most of the game’s soundtrack.
More Availability for a Must-Play Game
Despite its shortcomings, I still really enjoyed Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, and I’m truly glad I got the opportunity to try out the new Plus port on the PS5. However, if you’ve already played the game on the Nintendo Switch, then there is not much reason to get it other than perhaps all of the DLC being included.
At the very least, the wider platform distribution allows for more players to experience the game. Rather, I feel this release is more suited for people such as myself who haven’t had the chance to play the game yet, and I’m honestly all in for this expanded platform availability because Rain Code is a must-play title.
Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE+ releases on October 1 in the West for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
Disclaimer: Spike Chunsoft sent Final Weapon a PlayStation 5 copy of Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus for coverage.
