Originally released in 2012, DRAMAtical Murder is the fourth boy’s love (BL) visual novel released by Nitro+chiral. Taking the Japanese Internet by storm, the game soared in popularity almost overnight with a hard left turn the game took from the company’s previous title, sweet pool. Instead of diving into a gore-fest religious cult story, DRAMAtical Murder went with a not-so-distant futuristic setting, rich with more color, charm, and style than any of their previous titles. In 2013, the yaoi media fan group, aarinfantasy, released their own fan translation of the game for free, and just like in the east, the west crunched right into it, hard and fast.
Now, in 2021, almost a decade after the game’s launch, JAST BLUE finally released an officially licensed English version of the game. Time to return to Midorijima and Platinum Jail with Aoba and his four lovers. Since so much time has passed and the fan translation was easily accessible for so many years, this will serve more as a retrospect review.
We will not shy away from spoilers or the NSFW content of the game. Read ahead at your own risk!
Character Design
Kicking things off, the game is still arguably one of the most beautiful and deliciously different visual novels in terms of artistic direction. Even today, with a new BL visual novel seemingly happening every month in Japan, DRAMAtical Murder stands out thanks to its character design, vibrant world, and friendly aesthetic. As much as we enjoyed sweet pool and Togainu no Chi, the visual novel industry is flooded with boy’s love releases that try to be as dark and edgy as imaginable. After nearly 20 years of it, it doesn’t matter if I’m playing an older title for nostalgic sake, or any fresher title yet to be translated, the stories and characters start to blend together and feel like the same “tragedy porn”. It is soulless and cheap.
Meanwhile, DRAMAtical Murder starts by introducing a protagonist with bright blue hair and a 1990s revival fashion sense. Love interests include a playboy red-clad samurai, a thuggish gang leader in black and pink, a childish weirdo in a gas mask, and a tech-savvy neon green rabbit obsessed punk. The character design alone makes the game a standout for its over-the-top and near-campy feel. It’s inviting, easy on the eyes, and reflects the characters’ personalities well. As far the game’s aesthetic goes, DRAMAtical Murder really thinks outside the b—
Soundtrack
Even from the title menu, the music slaps from the first beat. In just twenty-three tracks, GEOBED breathed just the right atmosphere in every moment with a whirlwind of 80s-style club beats, pop, synth, and electronic sub-genres. The theme music was composed and performed by a number of artists, each track depending on the characters and ending results of each route. DRAMAtical Murder’s opening theme, AI Catch by GAOTBED…well, it’s catchy, and the music is nice, but the lyrics are otherwise English gibberish that doesn’t amount to anything. Those wanting a more meaningful song that reflects the themes of the story will have to wait until the credits roll on whichever route they achieve. With nine pieces of theme music, there’s more than enough for you to eat your fill!
Plot
In many ways, DRAMAtical Murder has many parallels to Nitro+chiral’s first game, Togainu no Chi. Both protagonists have well-earned reputations in a glorified style of street fighting, (Bl@ster and Rhyme, respectively). Both stories’ main theme is the power of control, which takes place in a theorized future of our world, and secret routes where the protagonists meet their “other half” — a fate forced upon them at birth. While there are several key differences in the overall execution of the stories, it is unclear if DRAMAtical Murder was simply returning to the developer’s roots, paying homage, or even going so far as to repackage one of their more successful titles to suit a new audience.
Aoba’s story kicks off as a normal day when he has to make a few deliveries for the junk shop he works at. A turn of events leads him to get involved in Scrap (a virtual reality combat game), leading him to believe that he is being targeted by whoever is behind the recent kidnappings on his island city, Midorijima. What’s more, Aoba is haunted by unknown medical conditions involving violent headaches. His only solace is the medicine his grandmother personally makes for him. As the days tick by, Aoba has run in after run with corporate spies, gang leaders, raining robots, and cyber terrorists! At the end of it all, a simple hug with his AllMate, Ren, is all he has to keep himself from going crazy…until his grandmother is kidnapped and his medicine runs out.
In a rescue operation, Aoba teams up with his childhood friend, Koujaku, and three people who have been following him throughout the story. While they are able to locate Aoba’s grandmother, their rescue turns sour when Aoba’s headache becomes so troublesome that he is revealed to have the power to seep into human conscience and, if not controlled, can completely rot someone’s mind from the inside-out. Here is where the routes split, and Aoba teams up with one of the four love interests to infiltrate the wealthier end of the city, known as Platinum Jail, to confront Tatsuo Toue on the experiments his company is running with the use of people like Aoba.
Every route has the possibility of a good and a bad ending, some even a second bad ending. Each of the four routes available from the start end with a strong implication that there is still more story to tell, showcasing a new character at the last second in an ominous fashion without explanation. Despite this, just like with Togainu no Chi, the basic routes all feel like a complete narrative without how they solve the particular crisis Midorijima is facing from Toue Inc. This gives us different developments for Aoba and whichever character he partners up with. On the flip side of things, we don’t actually learn anything new about Aoba and the circumstances of his mind alteration abilities until the final route is unlocked.
DRAMAtical Murder provides every character with their own episode for almost half of a full playthrough; enough enjoyment and engaging content that you’ll want to crunch through every route to end.
Unfortunately, we can’t go to Taco Bell, since there are only about five locations in Japan, but you can enjoy DRAMAtical Murder, officially licensed, today! The SFW version of DRAMAtical Murder is available on STEAM, where you can grab the demo, free. Or you can get the double stuffed uncut version, directly from the JAST USA webshop, for only $25.00!
