Tantei Jingūji Saburō (series)

is a mystery-adventure game series developed by Data East, WorkJam, and other companies.

History

The first game of the series, nihongo|"Shinjuku Chūō Kōen Satsujin Jiken"|新宿中央公園殺人事件|extra=Shinjuku Central Park Murder Mystery was released in 1987 by Data East for the Famicom Disk System. Numerous sequels have been released since then, and the series marked its 20th anniversary in 2007 by releasing a new title for the Nintendo DS. According to Enterbrain, the franchise has sold over 2,220,000 copies in total, making it one of the longest standing and best-selling Japanese adventure game series in history.

Famicom games

"Tantei Jingūji Saburō" debuted on the Famicom with advanced graphics, sound effects, and distinct hardboiled scenarios to set itself apart from other adventure games of the time. Kazushige Nojima, the scenario writer of Final Fantasy VII, wrote the scenarios for the 3rd and 4th installments of the series. Time played an important role in the Famicom games, as each command selected by the player caused a certain amount of time to elapse within the game, and failure to solve the mystery during the alloted time period would result in a bad ending. This time system was later revived in the 7th installment of the series.

Fifth generation console games

Production was halted after the 4th installment, but was revived in 1996 with the release of the 5th game in the series on the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The series was revamped with improved graphics and sound made possible by the use of the CD-ROM disk, and featured voice acting for the first time.

ixth generation console games

In 2003, Data East went bankrupt, permanently halting production of many of its game series. WorkJam took over production of "Tantei Jingūji Saburō", and the series continued with two games released for the PlayStation 2 and two games released as mobile phone applications. There are currently 12 console games in the entire series and 16 mobile phone games; 4 of which are remakes from the console releases.

Characters

The main character of the series is nihongo|Jingūji Saburō|神宮寺三郎|Saburō Jingūji, a 32 year-old private detective who operates a detective agency with Yoko Misono in Shinjuku, Tokyo. He was born as the third son of a wealthy business enterprise owner, and traveled to New York during his youth to work as an assistant detective. He is a heavy smoker, and often assembles his thoughts while smoking a Marlboro cigarette. According to his in-game profile, his favorite alcoholic beverage is cognac, and he drives a green Mini Cooper.

Other recurring characters include: nihongo|Yoko Misono|御苑洋子, Jingūji's assistant, and nihongo|Sanzō Kumano|熊野参造, the police inspector of the Shinjuku Yodobashi Police Agency.

Voice acting

Voice acting was first used in certain game scenes in the 5th installment, nihongo|"Mikan no Rupo"|未完のルポ|extra=The Unfinished Reportage, and has been implemented in all subsequent releases, excluding those released as mobile phone applications. Jingūji's character has been voiced by Yukimasa Kishino, Akio Ohtsuka, and Jūrōta Kosugi. Other notable voice actors used include Fumihiko Tachiki (Sanzō Kumano), Kōji Ishii (Sanzō Kumano), Masaaki Tsukada (Sanzō Kumano), and Fumiko Orikasa (Yoko Misono).

Games

Main series

Mobile phone series

The mobile phone games was developed by WorkJam. The first four games are remakes of the original Famicom versions, with minor changes made in text.

Other releases

Eight novels based around the game have been released from 1988 to 2007 by various authors and publishing companies (most notably Dengeki Bunko and Famitsu Bunko). Four soundtrack CDs have also been released.

Notes

ee also

*Katsuya Terada (character designer and illustrator throughout the series)

External links

* [http://www.workjam.co.jp/product/Jingūji/index.htm Official website (WorkJam)]
* [http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/game/gba/Jingūji10/ Official website (Marvelous Interactive)]
* [http://arcsystemworks.jp/Jingūji/ Official website (Arc System Works)]