Quick Links
Master Detective Archives: Rain Codeis here, and fans of Kazutaka Kodaka’s spectacular Danganronpa series are no doubt intrigued. With Spike Chunsoft publishing, and Kodaka’s Too Kyo Games developing, it’s the narrative-driven and mystery-centric reunion project we’ve all been waiting for.
RELATED:Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Review - Dead Good
Players are tossed into a tough time right from the jump in Rain Code, with amnesiac protagonist Yuma Kokohead (yep) awakening in a storeroom and learning his identity by way of a strange letter. It seems he’s part of the World Detective Agency! Right from the jump, there are things we can do to help Yuma along, so let’s hop aboard the Amaterasu Express!
Updated May 23, 2025: We’ve added a video version of this guide to show you how to get through this mysterious prologue.
What Does Difficulty Effect?
So, here’s the thing.Your choice does not impact anythinghere, because your strange new partner immediately points out they’re all these things - lenient, mean, troublesome, and adorable. We’ll circle back to this later on if we discover any hidden aspects at play, but as far as we can currently tell, it’s Rain Code’s way of getting players immediately acclimated to its persistent brand of humor.
Train, Part One: Waking Up Late
After the cheeky intro sequence’s conclusion, you’ll watch as Yuma wakes up and slowly pieces together what’s going on. Once control is first given to you, take heed of all that talk aboutDetective Pointsbyinteracting with every item here.
Detective Points are plentiful in Rain Code, and as you’ve just learned, you’ll gain Detective Ranks as they accumulate. Among other things, it’s a great way of compelling players to interact with absolutely everything, so while this guide will happily point out everything youcaninteract with, you should know going into your adventure that the golden rule is always to poke around your environment whenever possible.
Right off the bat, you should see several things on the shelves, so let’s start investigating.‘Items Scattered on Shelf’includes bags, hats, and books. Notice how your Detective Points just went up by ten? Nice, let’s keep making that happen.‘Toy Robot’prompts Yuma to notice a label that says ‘Lost Items’.
Now, waltz around the room until you find’Cardboard Box’, which doesn’t seem of any help right now.‘Back of the Room’is similarly a bust at the moment; Yuma elects not to move things around to reach whatever’s back there.‘Shelf with Umbrellas’has a label that reads ‘Lost Items Temporary Storage’.
Now,open the doorand exit the starting room. Here, you’ll hit upon the first of manyquestion-and-answerbits throughout Rain Code. We’ll use the following format for all of these, though the answer here is… incredibly obvious, of course.The correct answers will always be bolded!
“The place I was sleeping was…”
You’ll gain30 Detective Pointsfor choosing the right answer. Some tutorial pop-ups soon arrive;you may access a backlog of tutorial content at any time, which is handy. When you regain control, hop into the menu and check yourCase Files. No real reason just yet - but it’s good to get acquainted, since you’ll be coming here often.
Train, Part Two: Getting Acquainted With The Amaterasu Express
Before moving forward, turn around and check the’Warning on the Door’for ten points. Then, check the’Map of the Train’for more points. Beside the map is’Connecting Door’, followed by’Main Control Room A’. As always, these are worth points - in the future, we’ll refrain from mentioning that bit unless they’re worth more than ten.
Now, head down the hall, interacting with’Restroom’and going inside for’Toilet Door’, ‘Window’,and’Mirror'. (Yuma can see his reflection in it?Really?) Back in the hallway, proceed to’Infirmary', which is locked. We’ll want to remember this place.‘Main Control Room B’is up next. There’s no interaction marker with the door beside the Main Control Room B entrance, but go near it, and a cutscene plays out.
None of the detectives have anything to say to you except the bespectacled guy with the cat ears, so let’s hear him out. Afterward,speak with everyone in the room. There’s Zilch, Pucci, Melami, Aphex, and Zange. At the next opportunity, talk to Pucci again, leading to a good deal of exposition.
You’re now given the chance to learn aboutAmaterasu Corporation, Kanai Ward,andthe Amaterasu Express. Select them all in turn. Over the course of these questions, if you’ve interacted with everything up to this point, you shouldRank Up to 3. Now, for our next question.
“Who is the most suspicious?”
Train, Part Three: Searching The Cars
Return to the first car. We need to find a key;go inside the restroomfor quite the scene. Now that we’re familiar with Shinigami,try checking ‘Restroom Door’, ‘Window’, and ‘Mirror’ again for more points.Leave the restroom afterward. The game then hypes up your first ‘Investigation Sequence’, but all you’ve got to do is look at the body once.
Car Two
Check’Fire Extinguisher’, ‘Medical Equipment’,and’AED’while you’re in the room. Hang a left upon exiting, making your way for the area where you met everyone earlier. Things get intense, and we’ve got to check’Corpse’and ‘Liquor Bottle’. Next up is’Bar Counter'. Go through the door past the bar.
Car Three
We should check each room in turn, starting withRoom 301.Before leaving, check’Corpse', ‘Trolly Bag’, ‘Stuffed Bear’,and’Cat Ear Headphones'. On toRoom 302, with’Suitcase',‘Clothing Brush’, ‘Animal Print Glasses Case’.
After Rooms 301 and 302 isBackup Control Room. Sometime around examining’Control Device’and’Monitor Device', you’ll likelyRank Upagain. For the latter bit, you’ll want to look at each portion of it for the max number of points (and story comprehension). Don’t leave without a glance at’Intercom'.
Car Four
Again, let’s do this methodically.Room 401is up first.‘Tissues’, ‘Jacket’,and’Magazine'. InRoom 402, it’s our dear friend Zange;‘Corpse’,‘Bag’, ‘Notebook and Fountain Pen’, and our personal favorite, a slew of insults from Shinigami. (No Detective Points for that one.) Lastly,Room 403has’Clothes', ‘Travel Bag’, ‘Cosmetics Pouch’.
Car Five And Escape
You’ll investigate the corpse automatically, but then it’s up to you to look at’Main Control Room B’followed by’Connecting Door'. Since Yuma rushed ahead, we want to backtrack intothe room behind him.Here, we’ll find’Medical Equipment',‘Fire Extinguisher’,‘AED’,‘Burned Bed’, and then be sure to snag info from’Door Key'.
Keeping track of Detective Rank, you’ll hitRank Fivein here if all’s gone smoothly. There’s nothing inside’Restroom', but merely interacting with the prompt gets you more points. Keep moving back down the car for’Train Car Plate’and’Main Control Room A'. Once you’re set with everything, a cutscene kicks up.
Rain Code now teaches us the fine art of quick time events. Follow the on-screen prompts within the allotted amount of time as Yuma makes haste. Continue the long and winding Chapter 0 with Rain Code’s first Mystery Labyrinth, which you can read about with the following link!
Mystery Labyrinth, Part One: Introduction
After your (hilarious) crash course onMystery Labyrinth, we move into the first of many times we’ll end up back here throughout Rain Code. TheSolution KeysShinigami mentions are, indeed, as essential as they sound. Our partner kindly regurgitates plenty of information for us. If youinteracted with everything aboard the Amaterasu Express, you’ll have plenty of keys.
As you can see, there’s a fair amount of depth to this whole Mystery Labyrinth thing, includingLabyrinth Skills. They requireMemory Cost. Open up the menu, and when you reach the screen for Labyrinth Skill allocation,set Vitality 1.
Memory Cost is tied toMemory Cap, which levels up alongside your Detective Rank. You’ll have ample Memory Cost for Vitality 1. You should also grabMidsummer Night Feed 1. We also went forKeymeister 1andEndless Summerwhile we were at it.
Run ahead now, minding the trippy atmosphere as you go. Rain Code’s firstMystery Phantom battlewill fire up. Below, we’ll present each phase of the battle, as well as the correct response(s).
Mystery Labyrinth, Part Two: Burning Questions
With that behind us, we’ll continue down the Mystery Labyrinth’s passage.
Reasoning Death Match Two
Truth Seeker Two
“Everyone was dead, so how did the culprit pull it off?”
Correct Response:Irrelevant - you’re tugged through ‘Played Dead’
“Who was the last person to die during this incident?”
“Who set fire to the dead culprit?”
“Who was the last person to be burned to death?”
Reasoning Death Match Three
Mystery Labyrinth, Part Three: Conclusion
We’re now back at the crime scene. Grab"Cushion",“Burned blanket.“What follows is aShinigami Puzzle. This game is something else.
Pull the ‘R’, ‘E’, and ‘D’ off the barrelto spell “red.”
Choose"Z*OM"when prompted. Then, pick"Zilch’s corpse.”
“Was what Yuma saw through the window actually Zilch?”
“Was the burned corpse in Car 1 actually Zilch?”
“Zilch swapped places with the corpse in the infirmary…”
“Where was the burnt swapped out corpse hidden?”
Search:The vent to the right of the bed
Reasoning Death Match Four
We’re introduced toAssist Modenow. It allows us to peer further into a specific statement without taking damage.
We’re almost there! Here’s how to keep up the chase when asked another question:
“When moving the body from Car 1 to Car 5, the culprit…”
Correct Response: Moved through the train
And now, onward to the final Reasoning Death Match:
The boulder blocking your path toward the culprit can only be solved with the help of another Shinigami Puzzle.Pull the ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘T’, ‘A’, ‘C’, ‘H’, ‘ED’off the barrel to spell’Detached.’
For the next puzzle,‘C’, ‘A’, and ‘R’for’CAR’.On to a Reasoning Death Match!
Reasoning Death Match Six
Shinigami Puzzle Four
Well, this one’s quick.Just choose ‘4’to prove it was originally a four-car train.
God Shinigami Rush
At last, it comes down to… this? As the game advises,kick, dodge, or jumpas the situation necessitates. Taking damage isn’t the end of the world here, but it will pile up with enough hits, so just do your best.
TheSolution Keysstill come into play here. The large walls require answers!
“There’s no evidence they ever swapped!”
Correct Response:The warped plate
“You have no hard evidence proving that location was the first car!”
Correct Response:Bloodstains on interior lock
“Where was Zilch hiding?”
Correct Response: Main Control Room A
Congrats on completing Chapter 0’s Mystery Labyrinth. But the fun isn’t over yet. Rain Code’s prologue concludes with the first Deduction Denouement. Follow the link below for the final portion!
NEXT:Games To Play If You Like Process Of Elimination
