From the makers of Danganronpa comes the next big thing from Spike Chunsoft,Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. The game’s relatively unique sense of progression within each chapter is bound to take some folks by surprise, plus there are some golden rules to success throughout its story that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
RELATED:Master Detective Archive: Rain Code - Reasoning Death Matches, Explained
We’re covering all of the above and more with the following tips and tricks, so before you board that Amaterasu Express, be sure to bring both your ticketandthis article along for the ride.
Updated May 19, 2025: We’ve added a video version of this guide to help you get started as a detective.
Leave No Stone Unturned
This first one may seem a bit obvious for a game with ‘detective’ in its title, but hear us out. There may be times when you’ve pieced enough stuff together, both mentally and within the game’s narrative beats, to move on to another area. Never do so until you’ve thoroughly investigated every little thing in every available room.
Rain Code has a feedback loop for this stuff that many other games in its genre do not - you’ll gainDetective Pointsgalore for the things you interact with. Sometimes, you’llget a few more DP from looking at something twice. Don’t worry, it’s not especially often, and the game rather forecasts it ahead of time when a character recommends reassessing a situation, but still.
Bring Your Brain Cap
Rain Code kindly informs players about itsLabyrinth Skillsat the start of the first Mystery Labyrinth, but it’s up to you to keep tabs on all that going forward. While the skill tree and its equippable talents are rudimentary relative to full-blown, stat-driven RPGs, there’s still plenty of incentive to tap into it, asthe right skills can make otherwise-tough obstacles a breeze.
An early example of this can be found inMidsummer Night’s Feed. It’s wise toinvest further points in this path, because the fewer Solution Keys that Shinigami has to… er… let’s go with ‘give you’,the fewer variables you’ll need to account forat critical junctions in the story.
Don’t Fear The (Death God) Reaper
We were pretty tense our first time hitting theMystery Labyrinth, which is where a good deal of Rain Code’s gameplay portions go down. In the Mystery Labyrinth,several sections involve fast-paced question-and-answer situations, and choosing poorly can result in death.
The good news is, Rain Code goes easy on us. Most instances of game over will bring you right back to when the question was asked, and that’s usually no more than a moment or two behind you. Sometimes, it’s a matter of seconds. Who said Shinigami isn’t fair when it counts?
Let The Villains Pontificate
Reasoning Death Matchesare the closest that Rain Code veers into traditional RPG fighting, and they bring their own twists and turns to the concept. You’ll be dodging sentences, slashing sentences, equipping the proper Solution Keys to slash the correct sentences at the right time… it’s a lot.
While it can be tempting to slash the first thing you see that seems like the flaw in the foe’s reasoning,let their entire dialogue sequence play out once before acting.
This will save you time in the long run, because therewillbe points at which you’re leaning toward a particular statement, only for the game to send you back to the start of the sequence simply because they say something else that’s that muchmoreincriminating. Once you have the full script, you’re in a better position to identify the bit of the conversation the writers want you to strike.
Collect Collectibles
Strewn throughout Kanai Ward arememories for Yuma to restorebetween other characters and himself. These additional scenes cannot be viewed otherwise, and they’re enjoyable - not to mention worth DP.
Each chapter appears to have its own lineup, and the only time the game flat-out guides you to one is early on. Seek these out while searching the city!
Throw Away Your Letters
Shinigami Puzzlesare one of several different types of obstacles blocking Yuma’s path during Mystery Labyrinths. These are hard sometimes, as players have a short amount of time to aim for specific letters, in sequence, in order to spell out a certain word.
attempt to do things naturally for a moment. But if you’re stumped,start chucking your sword at everything you can see, because the slowness of the barrel is going to mess you up big-time if you don’t get a move-on. After a couple of letters' worth of guessing, you’ll likely have a keener idea what to look for, too.
Prepare For Trouble
Chapter Zero is filled with tutorials, including how to handle Quick Time Events (QTEs). This one pops up near the end, and apart from a handful of instances, you won’t need to think about these QTEs for some time to come.
Chapter Three,however,is jam-packed with QTEs. After the initial setup, you’ll be encountering a bunch of this, rather swiftly, sometimes within seconds of each other. Don’t let your guard down during this chase-filled third escapade.Keep your controller on-hand!
Difficulty Doesn’t Determine A Thing
This last one’s quick. At the very beginning of Rain Code, Shinigami will ask you to choose a difficulty. Know in advance thatyour answer alters nothing. While we ordinarily wouldn’t bother mentioning something so simple, Shinigami’s a known trickster, so we weren’t 100 percent sure she was telling the truth here for a little bit.
This is just the first of many times Rain Code breaks the fourth wall, but it’s one of the most memorable!
