Retro Mystery Club Vol.2: The Beppu Case

Retro Mystery Club Vol.2: The Beppu Case drops you into a compact old-school detective adventure where the pleasure comes from following leads, choosing commands, and gradually making sense of a suspicious death in Beppu. Its Famicom-style structure is refreshingly direct if you enjoy mysteries that ask you to slow down and pay attention rather than race toward a solution.

Junior detective Ken has a solid case to carry, supported by a cast whose connections to the victim give the investigation some human texture. This is a good fit for you if a deliberately retro Japanese command adventure sounds comforting, though its traditional pace and menu-driven investigation will feel limiting if you want freer exploration or modern convenience.

Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The Beppu Case starts with a simple but inviting promise: you are a junior detective, there has been a mysterious death, and the answers are somewhere in the conversations and locations around Beppu. It uses a Famicom-style command-selection format, so progress comes from deliberately picking what to investigate, where to travel, and who to question. That old-school rhythm is the whole point. You are not pushed through the case by action sequences or spectacle.

What begins as a very traditional menu-driven mystery can click once you settle into its pace. The satisfaction comes from treating every new piece of information as a reason to revisit a person or place, then seeing the case become more coherent. This format rewards patience and a willingness to follow the game’s line of inquiry instead of expecting a free-roaming detective sandbox.

Frustration can set in if you want the game to constantly surprise you with new systems. Its adventure design is intentionally narrow and rooted in the command-based Japanese mysteries of the Famicom era. If that sounds like a limitation, it probably is. But if you like concentrating on dialogue, deduction, and the steady forward motion of a short-form case, the focused structure is a virtue rather than a compromise.

Graphics

The game takes a Famicom-style visual approach, pairing its retro adventure format with character designs by Kiyokazu Arai. It is an intentionally nostalgic look, better suited to a compact detective yarn than lavish modern detail.

Story

Ken’s investigation centers on an unexplained death in Beppu, giving the game a grounded contemporary mystery. That smaller scale works in its favor. A case like this needs you to care about what the people involved are hiding, and the setting keeps the focus close to the characters.

Midori, the wife, housekeeper Mitsu, and inn attendant Tokiko are among the people connected to the case. Their relationships give the investigation a personal setting.

The draw is a self-contained mystery with a recognizable retro-adventure sensibility. For a little more context on the original Japanese release and its cast, the original Beppu mystery developer page is useful, while the official localized synopsis captures the central case setup.

Overall Experience

Retro Mystery Club Vol.2: The Beppu Case knows exactly what sort of game it is. It is not trying to disguise its roots in old command adventures, and that honesty makes it easy to recommend to the right person. You get a concentrated detective story built around investigation rather than an overstuffed adventure trying to do everything.

The tradeoff is equally clear. Its retro structure asks you to meet it on its own terms, with deliberate command choices and a pace that values methodical questioning over momentum. If you have little patience for menu-based mysteries, the format may feel dated before the case has a chance to hook you.

For fans of Japanese detective adventures, though, this is a worthwhile small case with a pleasingly specific setting and a clean sense of purpose. It is best when you give it an evening, settle into Ken’s investigation, and let the clues do their quiet work.