So, this all started back in 2019 when I did a ROMHack localizing the game, Pop Star Debut (アイドル八犬伝) for the NES. (See here: https://www.romhacking.net/translations/4972/) For whatever reason after finishing it, I really wanted to make a fan-game in the same style. Then, with Mareeta’s help, I came with an idea to do one based on Akechi and how he became a “detective”. First, I tried to make it as a ROMHack, but that didn’t work out. All I managed to do was expand the textboxes and rework how text printed. It’s for the best, though, because I was able to make this instead!
Polinym and Mareeta present… Detective Debut!
Detective Debut is a visual novel for Windows 7, 8, and 10 . It’s set before the events of the Playstation 4 hit, Persona 5, following the story of how Akechi became… the kind of person he becomes. Basically, this game explains all the events that go unexplained in ATLUS’s Persona 5. It’s also, by the way, totally E for Everyone (unlike the original Persona 5). You may even enjoy this if you’ve never played a Persona game in your life!
Like Pop Star Debut, you play from the perspective of Goro Akechi, a high school kid in Tokyo. One day, he stumbles into a strange world where people’s distorted desires come to life. He awakens to the power of his Persona, and runs into others with similar powers. Akechi, with the help of his allies, uses this paranormal Metaverse to solve cases as a detective-in-traiting.
The game is incredibly simple to play, with only 12 commands you need to know and 6 buttons. The Spacebar is the A Button, Shift the B Button, and the Arrow Keys are your D-Pad. If you have a SNES USB controller, you can play with that, too!
You can resume your progress using Passwords provided after the end of each of the game’s Acts, or with the new Checkpoint system developed by Polinym.
There’s also included a manual (based on Pop Star Debut’s) which goes a bit further in detail about the game.
Download your copy of the game before ATLUS takes it down here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BC75wfHh3Vj-zN7nyskWjclM6RSW6e0c/view?usp=sharing
Also, check out the game’s trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syhH61U7NtI
Hint: There are bonuses if you put in the most of the passwords from Pop Star Debut into Detective Debut!
Screenshots:
One last piece of advice: If you want to see everything this game has to offer, don’t betray your friends!
Attachments:
– Some Battlefront II Clone
Check out my own JRPG: Octo Vinctum
