Tantei Jinguji Saburo: Toki no Sugiyuku Mama ni

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**Tantei Jinguji Saburo: Toki no Sugiyuku Mama ni** (探偵神宮寺三郎 時の過ぎゆくままに, *Detective Saburo Jinguji: As Time Goes By*) is a murder mystery adventure game developed by Data East and released in 1990 for the Nintendo Famicom in Japan.

## Story

***Memories are sepia tinted...***

Even though it is in the middle of the big city, Shinjuku, it seems that there is only "summer" here in Shinjuku Central Park... Even the noise of cars passing by on the perimeter road of the park is blocked by the strong chirping of cicadas emitted from the surrounding trees, and does not reach here. The blazing sun... if I couldn't see the skyscrapers towering over me, I might forget I'm in Shinjuku (I don't know for sure, but I guess this is probably why I like this park so much...).

Since I set up an office in Shinjuku as a private detective, I wonder how many summers this year will be. I think it's a causal job, but I was so busy looking at the other side of the world, chasing it, running around it, that I didn't even have time to stop...? For a short time like this, I feel the passage of time when I let myself go to "nature" (which is extremely artificial). And at the same time, in the past, many incidents that I was involved in until now come to mind.

The case I am going to talk about is one of the most impressive of them all...

## Gameplay

*Toki no Sugiyuku Mama ni* plays much like previous titles, with the player being tasked with interrogating people and collecting evidence to solve the case. The story is framed as a flashback, with the narrative transitioning between present and past sequences. During the past sequences the game's screen is colored in a sepia tone.

Like the previous Famicom title the game utilizes a password feature to save progress instead of battery saves.

### Commands

* **Move** (いどう): Move to another location.
* **Listen** (きく): Talk with people.
* **Observe** (ひとしらべる): Observe a person's attitude and behavior.
* **Investigate** (ものしらべる): Examine objects and evidence.
* **Show something** (なにかみせる): Show a piece of evidence to a person.
* **Take** (とる): Pick up objects and evidence.
* **Call** (よぶ): Summon a character to your current location.
* **Look around** (まわりみる): Investigate your surroundings for suspicious activity.
* **Threaten** (おどす): Intimidate a person to force it to give information.
* **Tobacco** (タバコ すう): Lights up a cigarette. Helps Saburo to think.
* **Stop** (そうさやめる): Quit the game and receive a password.

## Overview

While taking a break in the Shinjuku Central Park Saburo sees a dog. The dog is Zuta, a former police dog whom Sanzo took for a walk in the park. Upon meeting, the two detectives start reminiscing about an old case from a year prior, which involved both the dog and a kid called Kenichi. This old case actually involved two incidents, which Saburo and Yoko investigated in parallel. Saburo was searching for a painting stolen from a family, while Yoko searches for the mother of Kenichi, who had gotten separated from her and was lost. The two parts switch automatically as the story progresses.

### Main Characters

* **Saburo Jinguji**: The game's protagonist, whom the player controls during the game.
* **Yoko Misono**: Saburo's assistant, she's also controlled by the player during specific parts of the story.
* **Sanzo Kumano**: A veteran inspector and friend of Saburo, he relies information about the case.

### Other Characters

* **Ryosuke Hosokawa**: The owner of a business who had one of his paintings stolen while on a trip. Despite the incident he remains uncooperative with the investigation.
* **Nobuko Hosokawa**: The wife of Ryosuke, she hires Jinguuji through the Kanto Meiji-gumi boss to find the stolen painting.
* **Junko Hosokawa**: Ryosuke and Nobuko's daughter, she has a strangely aggressive behavior.
* **Kenichi Sada**: A small boy who has a heart disease, he got lost from his mother and found by Yoko, who took him to the Jinguji Agency to help him.
* **Zuta**: A former police dog which Kumano forced into Jinguji's care.