Part 11: Aneurysm Time

Part 7: Aneurysm Time

Hokkaido Serial Murders OST - Disappearances of Okhotsk ~ Pursuit



Now that we’ve discovered Kawamura’s body, we can talk to Okoi for some more information on the Kawamura-Kouzou relationship.

HI, YES, WE’RE BACK WITH MORE DANK HUMOR


Unfortunately, it wasn’t anything like this.


: “He was drunk off his ass, mind you. So don’t take everything I say too seriously.”

: “The biggest swindle he worked up with Kouzou victimized a company over in Sumoto, called Sawaki Industries. Oh, speaking of which, did you say that the personal assistant’s name was Fumie Sawaki…?”

That statement is too Japanese for me.

: “Actually, we never told you her name, but that is correct.”
: “Oh, I, it’s nothing…”


And with that, Okoi utters her final line in the game.

: “Wait! What about that ‘special favor’ you were offering me!”
: “...”
: “Boss?”


To be fair, Yasu still hasn’t gotten us the donuts from update 1.


Unfortunately for us, Fumie has taken the opportunity to make do like Looney Tunes, and scat. Since she has a pretty solid motive for murdering Kouzou, it isn’t too far of a stretch to assume that she might be the murderer, or at the very least, an accomplice.

Heheheh, “scat”...


Moving back to the Sumire Apartments, we can see that Kawamura’s body has been removed from the crime scene.


However, that’s Kawamura’s problem. Our problem is Kouzou’s murder.

For the purposes of the investigation, we’ll go onto the boat. There’s a bit of backstory we can snag for Fumie.


Welcome to Heaven, where God has to deal with the deceased, because there aren’t enough idiots on earth.
I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.


: “Thanks for coming aboard. This high-speed boat heads for the city of Sumoto on Awajishima Island.”


Now that we’re here, it’s time for Sumoto to serve its one and only use.


: “You do that….”


Five seconds later…


In-game, this statement comes out of nowhere, so it’s kind of jarring to see someone spontaneously spouting facts about Fumie’s family.

Lil bitch deserved it.

: “Both her parents committed suicide. After that, she was taken in by some relatives. And she was separated from her only sibling, her [older brother].”
: “Hold it...can you repeat that…?”
: “Hmmm? The older brother? Well, I don’t know where he ended up… If I recall correctly, the boy had a butterfly-shaped birthmark on his shoulder.”

GAY!

: “...How do you know this…?”
: “Well, I used to stalk him back in the good ol’ days, so…”


If we prod the bystander for more information, it’s revealed that Fumie’s older brother was taken in by another family.


Now that we’ve learned that Fumie has an older brother, we can search for him.


Welp, looks like we’re back to square one. I suppose it’s time we moseyed back to the police department.


That’s what everyone called him in high school.

Goddamnit?


: “This map… Isn’t this a map of the underground maze at Kouzou’s mansion?”

Yes, yes it is. And it’s horrifying.

: “According to this, it looks like there’s still some secret left in that maze!”

I combed it over for the easter eggs beforehand, which is probably why the dialogue is like this.


And with that, we’ve gotten directions to the final piece of evidence in the game.

MAYBE THIS WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW WHEN WE WERE ACTUALLY IN THE MAZE

No, because the map doesn’t give directions for the Easter Eggs?

Tom Sawyering the LP.

: “Brains: 0…...Maze: 1.”


While we have directions for the mandatory sections of the maze, the problem is that we only have half of the map to peruse through.

Left 2
Right 2
Forward 3...

....Is how the rest of the map is supposed to go, but I’ve never actually managed to find it.


So now that we have the map, it’s time to enter Revenge of the Maze II: Darkness Descending.


Which probably imploded everyone’s minds back then.


First thing we’ll notice is that the entire maze is from a first-person perspective. This is good and bad.

The good is that we have the directions for the maze.


The bad is that I have no idea where I am half of the time.

You’re in a maze, silly.


The only reason why Yuuji Horii had an entire goddamn labyrinth in Kouzou’s basement was because he was impressed by Wizardry’s gameplay -more specifically, its dungeons.

Sex Dungeon?

No.

Aw.


There are also two easter eggs that can be found here. While one of them pertains to the game itself, the other one only accentuates the ridiculousness of The Maze. You can find them both here, but don’t expect much from our commentary.


Shin Megami Tensei: The Portopia Serial Survivors, starring Yasu as the heroine.

In particular, a message pops up with a fake ‘random battle’ message, and promptly goes away, allowing us to progress once more… which only highlights how much Yuuji Horii liked Wizardry back in the good ol’ days.


The paths also close behind us from time to time, which would be more annoying if I was wandering aimlessly for those god-forsaken easter eggs.


If we follow the directions to the letter, we should bump into a wall. Cue secret room.


The obvious solution is to crash in, head first.


Literally.


: “What… did you think… the map was for…?”

Walking into the wall three more times happens to pop open the secret passage.

Obviously the right way to open a secret room.


I mean, for the love of Chzo, imagine how much this would cost in real-life. Hell, imagine how Kouzou would get someone to install the labyrinth in the first place.

: “Hello, this is Ikea, how may we help you to-”
: “MAZE! MAZE! MAZE! MAZE!”
: “I-”
: “MAZE! MAZE! MAZE! MAZE!”

Sex Dungeon.

Unfortunately, the room is completely void of objects we can investigate. However, if we do as Komiya said, and ‘Call Out’...


: “Heeeeey!”


This is it… this has to be the most contrived and shoehorned thing in the game.

More effective voice technology than Hey You, Pikachu!


Welp, there’s nothing left for it. Let’s take the diary and scat.


But first, let’s violate a dead man’s privacy, shall we?




Proof that Kouzou is a superhero. May or may not include Komiya as Robin.


: “It says he hired her as his personal assistant knowing this. It says he did it wanting to make it up to the Sawakis’ children……”


Give her some cash and call it a day. The end.

: “He… he’s also written that he’s going to take responsibility for Fumie like she was his own daughter, including leaving some of his money to her.”


: “...Surely…, he would feel a little regret. Boss……………”
: “...”


: “Alright…”
: “...?”



: “All the mysteries... have been solved.”

While we can arrest the culprit right now, it’s rather abrupt and anti-climatic. So instead of ending it right here and now, we’ll do this, Agatha Christie style.

Theorize

Kouzou
Was Kouzou under enough distress as for him to take his own life…? Perhaps this case is a homicide, after all.

Rokurou Komiya
If Kouzou were to die, Mr. Komiya would be left without a job. There doesn’t seem to be a motive for him to kill Kouzou.

Fumie Sawaki
Certainly, she may have a motive, having had both her parents driven to suicide. But Fumie does have an alibi.

Toshi
He has already been eliminated as suspect in our investigation of Kouzou’s murder.

Hirata
Mr. Hirata’s time of death was prior to Kouzou’s time of death.

Yukiko
Her father killed himself because of debts. There’s no doubt she resented that. I think I know how she feels.

Kawamura
Now even Mr. Kawamura was found dead. So, who on Earth is the criminal?”

Okoi
If Okoi was the one who killed Kawamura, she probably wouldn’t have gone out of her way to call in with a tip.

Fumie’s Brother
Now that we can’t even find Fumie, I don’t know where to begin looking for her brother.


Alibi

Kouzou
Dead.

Rokurou Komiya
Out drinking during the time of the murder.

Fumie Sawaki
Stuck in English Class during the murder.

Toshi
Was dealing drugs.

Hirata
Hung himself prior to Kouzou’s death.

Yukiko
Claims to have visited Kouzou to help resolve father’s debt (Hirata).

Kawamura
Police Chief says he’s not the type to commit suicide, but it’s still possible he could’ve committed the crime.

Okoi
On stage at the time of the murder.

Fumie’s Brother
Given that he’s none of the other suspects, it’s entirely possible for him to kill Kouzou. However, at this point, we don’t know where or who he is.

Evidence
Lighter
Ring
Matchbox
Knife
Memo
Package/Narcotics
Map
IOUs
Diary
Key
Photo (Kouzou)


Who killed Mr. Kouzou?

It’s time to end this.