The Centennial Case A Shijima Story transports us to three different periods of Japanese history, in a whirlwind of intrigue and mystery.
The Shijima family hides many secrets, and the discovery of a skeleton under an ancient cherry tree in the clan’s ancient mansion kicks off a series of investigations spanning a hundred years, from 1922 to 2022. The Centennial Case A Shijima Story signed by Square Enix makes mystery his main figure, building an adventure played by Japanese actors in the fleshcalled to unravel a dense plot that unfolds over time.
With a touch of the supernatural – the protagonists’ searches revolve around a mythical fruit, the Tokijiku which is said to be capable of giving eternal life – the game brings us into the mind of the mystery writer Haruka Kagami, called to use her powers of deduction to uncover the truth behind the murders that have affected the Shijima family for a long time. Self the premises are certainly fascinating, however, the development has left us perplexed in some respects. But let’s go in order …
In search of eternal life
The young Haruka Kagami is enjoying dazzling success thanks to her talent as a writer of detective novels, but she would never have imagined being at the center of a dense web of intrigues that call her to investigate firsthand. Eiji Shijima a researcher in the medical field, asks her to shed light on the discovery of some skeletal remains under the majestic cherry tree in the garden of the family villa: Eiji suspects that the mysterious death may have something to do with the Tokijiku fruit belonging to the Japanese mythological tradition, which could hide the secret of eternal youth.
Haruka agrees to investigate, but is faced with more than one murder case. The crimes, which all affect the Shijima family, are fourand take place in three different historical periods: 1922, 1972 and 2022.
The game also provides a timeline of recent Japanese history, allowing to place the murders in their respective context: it is quite impressive to see 2019 marked by the words “Covid-19 Pandemic” and to acquire the awareness that our years will become part of the great history. However, the historical location of the crimes often translates into a simple change of dress and context for the protagonists, without the social and political events of the period having any impact on what happened. Which is a pity, because the insights provided by Japanese history are many, and even a few small hints – by way of example, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (here is our review of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles) took the opportunity, through rapid narrative strokes, to illustrate the plight of workers in Victorian London – he would have been able to make the adventure deeper and more fascinating.
Although the desire to discover the truth behind the murders is felt, it does not help that the cast of actors is the same in all historical periods cross. A change of makeup and hair et voila – writer Haruka becomes a shy waitress in the 70s, and hers editor Akari transforms into a bel canto star. These changes are in the long run alienating from the characters, and prevent a correct characterization of each of the protagonists of the various stories proposed by The Centennial Story.
Added to this are some questionable choices within the cast itself, with some actors decidedly over the top and out of context with respect to the general picture, which maintains a serious tone and extraneous to any irony. The trigger warning at the beginning of the game, which warns of the presence of death and suicide scenes: however nothing too dramatic, as it isi remains strongly anchored to the dimension of stage fiction.
The way to the truth
There are three steps required to reveal the culprit, and they are called Case, Deduction and Resolution. We start by seeing a video that illustrates the story of the single murder, and within which the clues usable in the next phase to arrive at the decisive deductions. Not all are correct, and for this it will be necessary to get a good overview to evaluate motives, murder weapons and alibis, combining the various elements together to reconstruct a solid and convincing story.
The interface of the Deduction is formed by a long path of hexagons in which to insert the clues in the correct order, to answer with various hypotheses to the questions that the detective asks.
There are two problems. First, the video sessions in which to collect the clues are quite long, and there is no incentive for the player to retrace his steps and review a particular segment: the collection of clues is automatic and does not require any interaction, saves the occasional request to press a key to choose some dialogue options, not particularly significant on the whole. What is lacking is the attention necessary to discover the psychological folds of the protagonists, to be fully employed in titles such as Telling Lies (2019) is completely superfluous to approach The Centennial Case. The second critical point, strictly connected to the previous one, is that between the sessions of the Case and those of Deduction there is a clear break, which involves a certain cumbersome approach to the various phases, which are completely separate. In short, a good rhythm is missing: long videos alternate with long deductions in which the clues must be moved into the right boxes, to then reach the final phase of Resolution in which our reasonings are tested.
This third moment is certainly the most interesting, as several of the cases proposed are well thought out, while using the classic stylistic features of the detective novel (for example, the murder in the locked room). Any supernatural forces are not to be taken into consideration, and everything can be explained by analyzing the clues at our disposal. Of course, in some moments there are situations that put a strain on the suspension of disbelief, but on average the level of the stories is sufficient to maintain the player’s interest in reaching the solution.
Closing, we suggest you try the game with the original Japanese dubbingundoubtedly the most suitable to immerse yourself in the Japanese atmosphere of The Centennial Case. Good quality Italian subtitles are available, net of some small inaccuracies, which do not impact on the overall quality of the localization. The sound accompaniment, on the other hand, is not particularly noteworthy, limiting itself to being the background to the adventure, without being memorable.
The Centennial Case A Shijima Story
Version Analyzed PlayStation 5: The Centennial Case attempts to engage the player / spectator, but lacks the bite of a Telling Lies or the simple but welcome interactivity with the scenarios of an Ace Attorney. The quality of the interpretations of the cast is discreet and the story manages to arouse interest in those who play, but without creating the urgency to discover the truth that must distinguish every good mystery. It is an experience that may be appreciated by lovers of mystery, but which does not derive all the possible benefits that a greater contextualization in Japanese culture and history could have given. In other words, Square Enix’s adventure succeeds only in part, while it could have shown much more grit and character.
