"At the attraction hotel of the topic now, Misane and Nanase who was about to enjoy the vacation. However, some trouble has happened..."
1BeatHeart is a "spinoff" sequel of 1bit Heart created by Miwashiba. Sometimes after the event of the first gameNote , Misane and Nanase * , now both detectives in training, decide to have a vacation and stay at a resort hotel. Unfortunately for them, they're given no time to relax as numerous incidents begin to take place there. So it's up for the duo to investigate the crime before the culprit could harm more hotel guests inside.
While overall it has the similar gameplay to 1BitHeart, the game is more focused on solving mysteries rather than making friends. In addition, Misane become the center of the story as she's now a playable character. You can download the game in English version here
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1beatHeart contains examples of:
- Big Bad: Shinobu Kasuga is the Serial Killer responsible for all the murders of the game.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: At the beginning of the game, Misane introduces herself directly to the player, much to Nanase's confusion. Later on, Nanase lampshades how his telepathic ability could potentially break the gameplay.
- Darker and Edgier: 1bit Heart was a game about making friends and stopping villainous hackers who never actually kill anyone, and has an uplifting ending. This game, while having moments of humor, is a murder mystery with multiple named-character deaths, a Serial Killer as the Big Bad, and a Downer Ending where the heroes fail to catch the killer.
- Foreshadowing: At one particular scene in the animated opening, Misane is shown to be held up with a string like a doll before it follows by the girl replaced by a puppet ragdoll beside a mysterious figure. It foreshadows Shinobu manipulating Misane by exploiting her hatred toward the culprit (who is not revealed yet at this point) to make her kill Nanase.
- Mood Whiplash: Following a massive Downer Ending where the heroes confront and fail to capture the mass-murdering Big Bad, the post-credits epilogue scene is a very goofy segment featuring Izuchi Nasuga testing an age-regression medicine on a willing Nanase.
- No Ending: Shinobu puts the heroes to sleep, gets away, and the heroes never learn who he really is or why he did it. Roll credits.
- Real Is Brown: In contrast to 1bit Heart, this games mostly brown color palette.
- Shout-Out:
- In addition to the gameplay taking after Ace Attorney, one of the pieces of evidence in the prologue is a clock hidden inside a small statue. Solving the prologue mystery requires you to point out how the culprit knew it was a clock, just like in the first case of the first AA game.
- The Stinger references Case Closed by having Nanase try a medicine which turns him into a child.
- The Bus Came Back: Izuchi Nasuga appears in The Stinger of the game as he asks Nanase to become his test-subject once again. It’s hinted he may actually be Shinobu.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The hotel manager’s son and camera girl are never seen again after the ending, and it’s not clear if Shinobu killed them or not.
