LogFAQs > #979244173

Case 2 beaten. Honestly, I was on board with Herlock's snake idea! The reality is more underwhelming, in both a good and bad way. I do kinda like Kazuma's death not being due to malice or conspiracy, instead being a result of a series of accidents, misunderstanding, and chance. His death was a waste, as Ryunosuke puts it, all his hopes and dreams snuffed out because of a runaway ballet dancer and her cat (and his own dislike of chicken). In that sense it's more realistic than most murder mysteries.

But the nuts and bolts of the case don't quite satisfy me, I don't find Pavlova very compelling and the whole thing is very small. Both of the one-off characters we meet here are involved in the crimes, and the case is set across a grand total of three rooms. Don't get me wrong, I don't like bloat, a small tight mystery can be terrific (not having a court sequence is strangely refreshing), but I don't think the mystery itself all comes together here. It's not bad, but nothing to write home about.

Sholmes' sequences on the other hand are all terrific and I'm really liking this bizarre, wonderful character. The tonal shifts are abrupt, things quickly turns serious again at the end but I think the game owed Kazuma that, so overall I think it's decent. So far I think the overarching story, worldbuilding, main characters, and atmosphere of the game are very strong, but the moment to moment casework leaves something to be desired.

And I'm glad they gave us one last rendition of Kazuma's theme to go out on :)