Perhaps part of it is that I love visual novels. Or perhaps it’s that the development team actually went to the effort of crafting an appealing art style. Whatever the reason, unlike most cases when a non-anime property is converted into a videogame, I’m actually curious to find out just what Trick for the DS will be like.
The DramaWiki describes Trick as a — wait for it — “X-Files-meets-Scooby-Doo” affair; a concept I simply can’t seem to visualize in live-action no matter how hard I try. The story starts with a broke self-professed “super” magician, Naoko Yamada, who replies to an offer by Jiro Ueda — a physicist offering money to anyone who can prove the existence of magic to him. Naoko manages to impress (or con, if you prefer) Ueda with her tricks, following which he asks her to aid him in uncovering the secrets of a local cult.
Konami describe the DS game as a mix of mystery and comedy, just like the TV drama. Players investigate crime-scenes and gather clues in the form of cards, and form hypothesis based on their clue-cards.
The full title of the game is TRICK for DS – Kakushigami no Sumu Yakata, and it releases on May 13th in Japan for 5,250 yen. The TV drama originally began to air ten years ago, and films are still being produced using the same cast.
