Mizuki Kuroda struggles with the command input type adventure in "X68000 version clown murder case"!

Impress eSports Women's Retro Game Team

Hello, this is Mizuki Kuroda. The game to be played this time is the X68000 version "Clown Murder Case" released by Thinking Rabbit in 1988. It can be purchased for 440 yen on the retro game distribution service Project EGG.

The opening screen of the clown murder case retro game runs smoothly even on business PCs, so in this series we will use Mouse Computer's "mouse B5-i5". The main specifications are equipped with Core i5-1035G1, memory 8GB, SSD 256GB, full HD liquid crystal. Please refer to it when playing retro games

This game is a command type adventure deduction game. This year (2021), I am 27 years old, and my first game was a Game Boy, so I didn't know about the "command input method"... This is where this article starts.

　The command input formula is to combine several words and enter the game operation with the keyboard. Just enter "8" to move forward, and "Door Akel" to open the door. Requires keyboard input. Commands are mainly in the form of nouns + verbs, and both kana and English are supported, so you can use ``Door Aker'' or ``OPEN DOOR''. In addition to the deduction of the main subject, the difficulty of finding commands by fumbling is also added, and it is truly a retro game. Great tension, isn't it?

　The story goes something like this. "On August 6, 1932, a murder occurred in Brighton, England. The victim was a circus clown. The day before, after setting up the tent and just waiting for the opening, the clown Charles Dubois was killed at around 9:00 pm. She was found dead in the shower wagon by swinger Mary McColan and called the police.The cause of death was a knife stab through the back to the heart.The shower was left running and most of the blood was washed away. The murder weapon was a knife that the knife-thrower used on stage every day, and there is a high possibility that he was murdered between midnight and 1:00 a.m. last night..." (From the package) Quote) The player becomes a detective dispatched from London and works hard to solve the case.

Game screen

　The game starts at the entrance of the circus. No real explanation. If you're the type to read the instructions, I recommend reading through the manual. By the way, I'm not the type to read. Enter "8" for now. I decided to move forward. As you make your way through the tent, you'll come to a prop room where you can enter commands for anything that seems suspicious. This work is surprisingly fun.

A unicycle caught my eye, so I entered "Ichirinsha Noru".

　The reply was "I can't even ride it!".

　If you enter something irrelevant like this, the game side will provoke you, so people with a low boiling point are designed to train their minds. In a way, you could call it a word search game.

The game's reaction to "Ichirinsha Noru" is "I can't even ride it!" The items you have and the things you have picked up are listed on the right side.

And here, the author realizes.

I need a memo.

I don't have the confidence to remember how many commands I found successfully. No matter how you think about it, if you don't take notes, it's an impossible game. The author quickly takes out a notebook. Let's focus on the retro feel here. When I was in elementary school, I wanted to make that self-styled strategy notebook that I showed to my friends. I'm making it for the first time. For the time being, just taking out a writing utensil will make you feel like a "skillful detective" at once, so it's recommended.

I wrote down various things in my notebook like this

　After leaving the tent, when I went to town, there was a bar, and I went inside. The master and a woman are sitting, but no convincing information comes out even after showing the police notebook and asking about the incident.

　If I used my quick wit and asked for a drink, saying, "This is a bar!" is.

"Sake Nomu"

As a result, "money" disappeared from my belongings, and I only drank while working. Afterwards, I found out that if you're not careful, you can use things that are supposed to be used elsewhere in another scene, which is a severe aspect of this game. Of course, that choice may lead directly to the impossibility of clearing the game. To prevent this from happening, you can save up to 10 save data, so it's safe to save your progress frequently.

However, since I didn't know how to save at this time, I proceeded with the story as a detective who had no money and was drunk. If you want to clear the shortest time, as I said earlier, you should read the manual. If I come this far, I won't read it on purpose.

Having "Sake Nomu" here was a big mistake...

After doing "Sake Nomu" at the BAR, the story progressed for 5 hours, but it seems that drinking during work is prohibited. Both socially and strategically, drinking alcohol while on duty is a taboo. After trying many things, I realized that I had to save the money. So, back to my drawing board.

　Start from the entrance of the circus. No explanation of course. I trembled. Retro games have to be like this. Do S feeling is irresistible.

And the "interrogation system" is very important in this game. With 'Name + Jin Mong Sul', you can summon suspects whenever you like, wherever you like, and you can get a variety of information, greatly increasing the efficiency of investigations. It wasn't until 6 hours into the game that I became aware of this system.

Again, read the manual. I will read it after I clear it!

You can interrogate the suspect with the interrogation system. It took a long time to get to this point...

　I also noticed that in scenes where hints are hidden, the sentences are sometimes emphasized. You can feel something there. There is absolutely. But I don't understand the commands...

　While broadcasting, the author struggled to find commands with the viewers, and when he finally managed to get a hint of the incident, even though he was fueled by in-game messages, it was an indescribable pleasure. As you collect some hints, the flag for the next development will be raised and the game will progress little by little. The joy of finding a piece of this puzzle was unlike any other game I've ever played, or any sense of achievement.

It looks like it will still take a while to clear...

I've played for about 8 hours so far, but I haven't been able to clear it yet. In this game, 2 people are better than 1 person, 3 people are better than 2 people, and the more brains the better! Thank you for reading!

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