Okay, this review will need a bit of context. While I always enjoyed Tennoji in all the other Metro PD routes I played, his unprofessional and disrespectful attitude in his own route’s first three chapters kept me from purchasing it. I therefore may have missed some references.
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Basic Premise: The MC and Tennoji track a criminal to New York City and attempt to prevent another murder.
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Positives
- The translation, pacing, word choice, and comedic timing work beautifully.
- The grayness of the world creates real tension during the mystery and suspense plot. I really didn’t know how it would resolve, and there are no perfect “makes it easy” answers.
- The MC is funny, intelligent, and fair without being perfect.
- Tennoji is driven, rash, and funny with just the right balance of sincerity and dismissiveness.
- The banter between these two made me laugh every chapter. Have a quote:
- Tennoji and the MC are good detectives, good friends, and such good romantic partners while still being believable. I didn’t even play the main route, and I want to see these two married and in their sixties and still kickin’ butt professionally and teasing their grandchildren during Japanese holiday get-togethers. I would say “send help,” but I’m enjoying these two too much.
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Negatives
- I wish more of the secondary characters had sprites.
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Everything Else
- A couple of “well, isn’t that convenient” moments happen in service to the plot but are so nimbly executed that I can’t mark it as a negative.
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Bottom Line: Highly recommended. I love these two.
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Voltage’s Metro PD: Close to You is available on iOS and Android.
