Konae's Investigations

Konae's Investigations is the third and final game in the Matsumori series (the others being Matsumori Days and Arbiters from Another World), and is a large departure from its predecessors in numerous ways. The primary difference is a change of setting. Where the first two games either placed modern day teenagers into a fantastical, persona-inspired setting, or set itself in a complete fantasy world, Konae's Investigations takes places in a modern day city, and the two main characters have no magical abilities whatsoever.

It's an fresh new approach to the series, and developer Marrend has embraced this change in setting by implementing more modern abilities for its heroes both in and out of battle. Single target and AOE magic gives way to stat debuffs and ailments, swords and staves are traded in for pistols and knuckles, and a crowded collection of characters whose only difference is in their elemental flavors are whittled down to three important characters with a healthy variety of abilities to make each one feel more unique and special.

Unfortunately, the series also departs from its predecessors by trading a straightforward plot for a rapid fire series of exposition-riddled set pieces that try, but ultimately fail, at being deeper than it really is. Plus, in the third act of the game, a character joins your party that is so grossly overpowered that the entire chemistry of battle the first two acts tried so hard to build up is thrown completely out the window. The character in question is actually a returning veteran from Matsumori Days and, consequentially, is supposed to be incredibly powerful(though her healing spells are conspicuously missing). I get that, but there's a difference between being powerful and being game breaking, and the character in question falls completely into the latter category.

You play as the titular Shizu Konae, an investigative journalist who is called to check out a factory in Togo Road, the latest in a series of bizarre murders. Paired with her partner, Nanami Idane (whose entire character can be summed up with the words, "I'm coming, too!"), she sneaks into the factory to hunt down the truth. Once the duo arrives, though, they find that the factory had been overrun with bloodthirsty monsters, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. Not one to back away from a big scoop, the pair investigate.

Battles are a simple affair, but the three skills that the pair start with encourages simple strategy: taunt enemies with the hardy Nanami while Shizu moves in with the damage. This strategy only becomes really effective in the second stage, as initially the pair can get by with mashing attack. I would have liked to see Shizu's gun and Nanami's fists have different elemental properties, as I never noticed any major fluctuation with the pair's physical damage. Having certain enemies counter or immune to either guns or fists would have added a nice layer of depth. As it is, the battles are functional and require minimum grinding to overcome assuming you make frequent trips back to the shop to upgrade your equipment.


Though it would probably help if I knew what the skills actually did. I disarm an opponent and it attacked me anyway.

As an investigative journalist, Konae employs more than fancy gunplay to crack the case (how she learned to handle a gun is left to your imagination). You'll come across multiple locks that need picking, and occasionally need to bribe someone for information. These are both excellent ideas and add sprinkles of variety while on your way to the next objective. Bribing, unfortunately, only occurs twice, both times on the same person, and whether you do or don't only changes how much money you offer him, since you'll leave the conversation with the info you need.

Lockpicking is much more fleshed out, if not slightly gimmicky, since it plays out in a minigame. Now, I am a law abiding citizen (whatever the fuzz have been saying about me!!), and have never attempted to pick a lock to break into places I'm not supposed to go. That being said...

I think it's reasonable to assume that process does NOT involve shrinking yourself down, jumping into the keyhole, and flipping switches.

Regardless, Lockpicking added some much needed diversity in the game, breaking up the flow for the fifteen seconds or so it takes you to get to the next plot point.

The plot itself is actually quite a letdown. For a game centered around finding the truth, the truth doesn't get any more complicated than your standard "This guy wants to destroy the world. Take him out" plot. But this is the finale, so perhaps Konae's Investigations doesn't need any more complicated plot than that? After all, the enemy that has plagued the world after three games will finally defeated. But even that raises more questions than answers. If I recall correctly from Matsumori Days, a team of six elementally charged battlemages couldn't even put a dent in the same enemy. How is it now that ONE of them along with two others with NO powers were able to finally beat it?

The biggest issue with the story, though, is how little Konae and Nanami actually contribute to it. In the factory, I rescue a girl who never appears again in the plot except by reference. In Shima Place, I arrive as a monster is about to kill a man who vanishes completely from the plot afterwards (and also leaves the crying children locked away in the back room while monsters lurk outside their door). Going into Matsumori High, the pair join up with a veteran from Matsumori Days on her way to fight the final boss happens to let us tag along. If Shizu and Nanami took the week off, maybe go on vacation to the beach halfway across the world and left the fight to the veteran, what would have changed?


Speaking of the veteran, here she is. I see the resemblance in clothes, but the character in question does not have green hair.


All in all, I feel like the game in Marrend's head is vastly different to the game available for download. It's depressingly obvious that he wanted Konae's Investigations to be the exciting conclusion to the trilogy, but instead, it's just... a conclusion. Konae seemed like an interesting character if her personality went beyond, "Let's find the scoop!", but before she or anyone had time for development or a reason to get invested emotionally (especially if you've played the first two games), the credits roll. My playthrough clocked in at exactly 1:13 hours, and it was quite a fast 1:13 hours.

That being said, I find it hard to hate. There are a few good moments in the plot (such as the surprise return of two other characters from Matsumori Days, assuming they left an impression on you), and the different roles Shizu and Nanami play in battle will make for an interesting experience in the second dungeon before being rendered completely obsolete by the OP powers of the returning veteran (who was, by far, the most interesting character of the initial cast). However, the game lacks the finesse and commitment to take those cool moments and drive them home. Instead, these supposedly, "deep" moments come and go before you'll have any real time to process them.

If you have an hour and a half to kill, you could certainly do worse than Konae's Investigations. Just don't go in expecting to have your world rocked.