Japan’s rapid technological advancement has sometimes fueled unease, which seeps into urban legends. Stories like “Hitobume no Jidai”, where security cameras or AI gain sentience, reflect societal fears of losing control to machines. Some legends involving haunted phones or cursed video tapes tie into anxieties about technology infiltrating daily life.
Urban myths have been a part of Japan’s cultural zeitgeist and have evolved as the stories are shared and reinterpreted. It’s no wonder why visual novels are a superb genre for exploring this subject and immersing an audience in why the stories have endured.
Urban Myth Dissolution Center aims to deconstruct legends by reframing them with procedural crime scene investigations. Are the legends real? The truth is out there and get ready to crack this one wide-open in our Urban Myth Dissolution Center review!
Urban Myth Dissolution Center
Developer: Hakababunko
Publisher: SHUEISHA GAMES
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Release Date: February 12, 2025
Price: $17.99
Azami Fukurai has a problem; she’s just been recruited by Ayumu Meguriya, a crippled psychic with a Machiavellian streak. He chose Azami because she has a rare gift that allows her to see shades of the past; an ability that makes her an effective detective for the Urban Myth Dissolution Center.
Meguriya’s agency specializes in uncovering the truth behind urban myths and he needs Azami to do his leg work because his legs don’t work. Thanks to their psychic abilities, they can always stay in touch if she needs any guidance. The only issue is that Azami is hopelessly unprepared to deal with the supernatural, psychotic weirdos in Japan and on social media.
Azami is way too high-strung and uptight to cope with the situations she’s put through. She’s also really dumb and is usually several steps behind the player when it comes to figuring things out. She is meant to come off as naive, but she comes off as dim-witted which makes it seem like she’s Mr. Magooing her way through the story as the player guides her.
After accepting the fact that Azami is a bit of a dummy, gamers will be pleased by how well the dialogue flows and the cleverness of the stories. The three main arcs explore different urban legends and the Urban Dissolution Center is responsible for dissolving each myth… solving the crime becomes a different matter altogether and results in some surprising twists.
Each chapter has Azami finding leads by checking social media and looking for rumors and information. Her paranormal detection abilities are amplified by a pair of glasses that make relevant information stand out to her. Still, more importantly, they allow her to see shades of past actions.
When donning the glasses, people committing past deeds are represented as unnerving abstract shady figures. Discovering that a crime scene had a suspect take a picture of a room is visualized to Azami as a nightmarish creature with a large, grotesque eyeball. It is like being in a waking nightmare and decoding the symbolic meaning becomes part of the investigative process.
The core gameplay revolves around checking around scenes on a 2D plane and probing suspects. Putting on the glasses reveals the vague and creepy representation of the events, but things won’t always appear as they seem. The identities are typically obscured and players and be mindful of red herrings.
Exhausting all dialogue options won’t always move things forward, expect to return to objects or characters for follow-up questions and statements. When exploring social media, Azami’s glasses spot phrases to search which opens up the case and narrows down where to go.
There is never any confusion or guesswork about where to go and what to do since Jasmine always chauffers Azami exactly where to go automatically, shunting the player forward. It would have been nice if there was freedom to go about the investigation at your own pace.
Urban Myth Dissolution Center is too linear for its own good. Some of the best moments in mystery adventure games are being stumped and wandering around, trying to crack the case wide open. Azami being such a passive character doesn’t allow players to get lost in absorbing the setting and taking in the details.
The stark and minimalistic, yet lively pixel art and throbbing music give Urban Dissolution Center a distinct look and feel. The dialogue flows and reads naturally and each character design flawlessly communicates their respective personalities. Some scenes call to mind Death Note and some shades of The X-Files and Moonlight Syndrome.
Sometimes it feels like Urban Myth Dissolution Center is less of a mystery adventure game and more of a visual novel. There are no penalties for making incorrect statements when Meguriya channels Azami for questioning. She should have had a life bar like in the Danganronpa games.
Having stakes would have put pressure on the player to not fail and would fit Azami’s high-strung nature. Her portrait sprites are hilariously expressive and nervous-looking. It looks like she is on the verge of a panicky, stress-induced heart attack in some shots, making it believable that she could die from making too many mistakes.
The tone and ambiance are moody and expressive as hell. Sprites are drawn in a limited color pallet and showcase a lot of personality in their fluidly animated body language. The manga-like splash screens are plentiful, making the story come alive like a dramatic anime that isn’t afraid to show some violence.
Picking out phrases and assembling Azami’s thoughts to make her case wasn’t the best way to solve mysteries, but at least they weren’t like the Hanged Man’s Gambits. The gripping story, nightmarish visuals, and mysteries are what will keep gamers hooked on Urban Myth Dissolution. It’s an awesome depiction of the anxieties of modern urban life and myth plays a role in our lives.
Urban Myth Dissolution Center was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch using a code provided by Shueisha Games. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Urban Myth Dissolution Center is now available for PC (via Steam), and Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5.
