Please note that this review will be SPOILER FREE, since it is more "obscure". I want to give people an oppourtunity to actually play the game themselves, so instead of spoiling the story, I will only reveal slight tidbits of information.
The One and Only "Case Closed" game, The Mirapolis Investigation was released in the summer of 2009 only in Europe, and only on the Nintendo Wii console. The game takes Conan and friends to a place called The Mirapolis. The game plays similar to the previous point and click "Detective Conan" games that were released in Japan, and everything is rendered in 3D. Some parts of the game also play as a visual novel with 3D animated backgrounds.
NAME: The Mirapolis Investigation
YEAR: 2009
PLATFORM: Wii
REGION: EU/JP
PLAYERS: 1
CORRESPONDING SEASON: N/A
This game is the only Case Closed game to be released, as all of the other Conan games have never been English dubbed besides this one (And a very, very old GBC one in the 90's).
Despite the game not being affiliated with FUNImation entertainment, all voice talents from the English dubbed Anime returned.
One of the many things I hate about this game, which may seem like such a small thing, is Vi Graythrorn's (Haibara) name. In the game, they decided to use her name from the Manga rather than the Anime Movies (Vi only appeared in the movies, as CC was cancelled a season short of her Anime introduction). Her name in the game and manga is Anita Hailey, which yes, is more Americanized than Vi Graythorn, but I preferred Vi, because the name comes from FUNImation, and I prefer the Anime series to the Manga, IMO. Yes, this seems like a very small thing, and it is, but it breaks storyline for me when they constantly call her Anita.
Another problem with the game is the very bad animations. Yes, it is a budget title, and yes, we are lucky at all to be getting an english dubbed CC game. However, the animations are painfully awful, and not to mention that almost every ingame character model actually looks like their Anime counterparts, something is up with Conan's face ingame. Is it his glasses? No idea. It looks awkward. Additionally, when characters engage in conversation with NPC's, they simply stand looking forward with no facial expressions whatsoever, as seen below.
A few other minor problems are the plot inconsistencies. The plot jumps around from one place to another, and they first talk about one thing, and then another.
More problems occur with the very bad control scheme. Since you are forced to use the awful Wii controller in the style of a TV remote, as you can imagine for a 3D platform/action adventure game, this is a bad thing. Controlling Conan is a pain. If you could use a classic Wii controller, or at very least this came to PS3 and 360 with analog sticks, it wouldn't have been a problem.
I do recommend that hardcore Case Closed fans check this game out if you can. Sadly, if you don't have access to a Europe Region console, or at least a region free modded Wii, you are out of luck, because the North American port of this game was to be published by Electronic Arts in 2010 (According to IGN.com), but nothing ever came of the port. It is assumed that it was cancelled due to Funimation ending the dub. Who knows? If you can play it, I suggest you check it out. The plot was poor though, and the overall experience is not really rewarding, but if you are finished watching the Anime and Movies and just want more Conan, this would be something you can get into.
Actually, I have heard that Anita was going to be Haibara's official name in the dub and Viz does tend to give the major characters the same names, but FUNimation decided to name her Vi instead obviously.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I am more used to her original name, Haibara.
The game does sound somewhat stupid though.