Touch Detective (Mystery Detective in most of Europe) and its sequel, Touch Detective 2½, are games made by Success, and released for the Nintendo DS in 2006 and 2007. In both titles, the player takes control of a young girl named Mackenzie, who inherited a detective agency from her father and wants to become a world-famous sleuth. Now add in Funny Animals, walking fungi, zombies that act like normal people and just plain old wackiness, and you have Touch Detective in a nutshell.
The first game's plot is comprised of Mackenzie solving four separate mysteries in order to apply to the Great Detective Society. The second has a more connected plot, with Mackenzie constantly coming up against the Gentleman Thief known as the Cornstalker and trying to unravel a side mystery involving an ancient race of aliens.
In November 2012, both Touch Detective and Touch Detective 2½ were ported to the iOS, with new bonus episodes added to both games.
In addition to puzzle game spin-offs starring Mackenzie's assistant Funghi, a third game in the main series was released in May 2014 (only in Japan) on the Nintendo 3DS, titled Touch Detective Rising 3: Does Funghi Dream of Bananas?
In the fall of 2022, a Compilation Re-release for the Nintendo Switch, Touch Detective Touch Detective: Rina and the Funghi Case Files, which features all three of the mainline games and two Funghi spin-offs with various content from the mobile version, was released for the system in Japan. It was localized in March 2024 under the title Touch Detective 3 + The Complete Case Files, finally bringing the third game outside of Japan.
The series contains examples of:
- All Myths Are True: Chloe subscribes to this. Dream trouble? It's the Mouse King. (Note that even Penelope, the resident Cloud Cuckoo Lander, knew better than this.) Need everyone to go to sleep earlier so the Dream World's not empty when you visit it? Call The Sandman, he'll take care of it. Note that this universe isn't exactly a stranger to fantastical elements; she just happens to be, well, wrong most of the time. This mentality pays off, though, when in the third case of the first game she successfully completes an angel summoning ritual. Even better, Katrina, the Fortune Teller, reveals that she got the incantation from a children's TV show and explains that rituals in this universe are powered by Clap Your Hands If You Believe, meaning that if she didn't have this mindset the ritual would have failed. Mackenzie helped, but Chloe was the one who actually came up with the solution for that case.
- All There in the Manual: The Web sites provide more information on the characters with Mackenzie's "character interviews," learning each character's motto, their favorite foods, occupation, etc.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Penelope. Even her hair is cloud-like (it has floating balls on the sides...).
- While Penelope is the ultimate example, the whole cast (minus Mackenzie) could qualify.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Mackenzie, Chloe, and Penelope.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef:
- Antoinette. She can actually make normal pastry, but her fondness for 'experiments' push her into this territory. Eel shortcake? Mushroom cookies?
- Shorty may also count. He does fine with hotdogs, but his ideas for his choco bananas are pretty weird.
- Cuteness Proximity: Mackenzie is very fond of Funghi, and just loves to pinch Linsey's cheek.
- The Ditz: Penelope tends to be a bit more scatterbrained than her other friends.
- Double-Meaning Title: It's a series about a detective that likes to touch things, who is controlled by a touch screen.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Combined with Title Drop. Mackenzie hates being called "Touch Detective," even though it's her official title due to Cromwell accidentally sending in her Touch List to the Great Detective Society at the end of the first game instead of her Investigation Report.
- First-Person Smartass: Mackenzie
- Fortune Teller: Katrina, the oddly purple-skinned fortune teller. She serves as a sort of go-to expert of the strange that Mackenzie often makes use of during her cases.
- Funny Animal: Beatrice is an anthropomorphic bird, Dover's a man-shark, the ringmaster is a fat man-eagle, and the skating ring owner is a walrus.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Cromwell, who managed to identify a futuristic anti-gravity device and power source which he has never seen before at a glance, and turned what's basically a small theme park ride into a working re-entry vehicle.
- Hammerspace: Where does Mackenzie and Fungi store things such as large masks and broken briefcases?
- Impossible Pickle Jar: One of the bonus cases tasks Mackenzie to help open a bottle of tea that has the cap screwed on too tight. The one who is able to open it? Penelope, much to Mackenzie's surprise. Presenting it to anyone else will have them try, struggle, and quickly admit defeat.
- Inner Monologue: Mackenzie has her inner monologue shown on the second screen - sometimes the things she thinks about don't quite sync up to what's going on in front of her.
- Inspector Lestrade: Chloe in the first game. And Inspector Daria in Touch Detective 2½.
- Kid Detective: Mackenzie is one, and by the end of the first game it's official.
- Leitmotif: The three main girls each have one.
- Little Bit Beastly: Daisy has cat eyes and generally has catlike features.
- Medium Awareness: Mostly in the second game, though Cromwell remarks on the credits that appear halfway through the first game's fourth case.
- A businessman says that there's advantages to living under 'a glass ceiling'.
- The Cornstalker says he'll "see you in the next episode" after Case #3.
- During Case #5, Mackenzie makes reference to Japanese popularity polls, and identifies something from Case #2 as being from "Episode #2". She can also challenge the player to a mini-game during the Bonus Episode if you click on the drawers in the main office.
- Old Retainer: Cromwell
- Only Sane Man: Mackenzie.
- Parental Abandonment: Mackenzie inherited her detective agency from her father, and it's never mentioned in-game what happened to her mom.
- Perky Goth: Daisy in the first game, and Daisy again in the sequel.
- Room Escape Game: The tutorials for each game involve Cromwell putting Mackenzie through one of these as a test. This is also the main objective in the "Funghi Breaks Out" episodes in the iPhone version of the first game.
- Series Mascot: Fungi
- Trademark Favorite Food: Nearly all the characters have one, but Penelope's is bananas, the peels of which come in handy more than once.
- Updated Re-release: Both games, originally released in 2006 and 2007, received ports to the iPhone in 2012 with new bonus content added to them.
- The Voice: Most of the girls living in the Condominium, as well as Shorty the hot dog/chocolate banana salesman.
Touch Detective contains examples of:
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Downplayed. Mackenzie's thoughts are shown to the player via the top screen of the DS. Sometimes it shows that she was actually contemplating turning her now cold tea into Iced Tea while she's supposed to be discussing a case with a client or worrying about the phone Chloe landed on top of while Chloe and Penelope are talking about a snow fairy Penelope met.
- Played straight with Penelope at times as she has a tendency to break into strange tangents and song & dance routines.
- Brainwashed: Penelope was brainwashed by The Astronomer into acting like a doll named Lynette.
- Ceiling Banger: In the first case, Daisy tries to get her downstairs neighbor, Penelope, to pipe down by banging on her floor. Penelope, naturally, assumes she's trying to communicate with her using Morse Code and she replies using this trope. Daisy assumes she's doing this out of spite at first, resulting in her thinking of Penelope as a brat. Once Mackenzie clears the air her and Penelope are on much better terms.
- Chekhov's Gun: In Case 1, Mackenzie discovers that Dover used to be a performer in something called a 'tattoo play', and that Beatrice used to inflate herself like a balloon - both of which become relevant in the fourth and final case.
- Connected All Along: It turns out that several of the characters are former circus performers who got stiffed on their pay and stayed in town after the circus closed down - Katrina the fortune teller, Myron, Myrtle, Dover, Lugol, Shorty the hot dog vendor and even Beatrice the landlady.
- Consulting Mister Puppet: Lynsey, with her hand puppet.
- Creepy Child: Lynsey, who is taken care of by The Astronomer. She's actually not too harmful as long as The Astronomer does not give her people-dolls.
- Dream Land: They can be stolen, apparently.
- G-Rated Drug: The Sweet Dreams cake, which is extremely delicious and which even has some characters addicted.
- The Igor: Lugol might count to The Astronomer, though all he ever does is play music.
- Jerkass: The Circus Master.
- Killer Rabbit: The dreaded Karbanov was actually this.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The fortune teller, who very often gives excuses for not being helpful, has this to say in case three.Fortuneteller: "I can't [help you] right now. The flag's not set on 1. Flags are the road signs that guide the gods of fate. None of us can escape from this binding curse."
- Mad Scientist: The Astronomer could be called one, as he has an unhealthy obsession over stars. He also turns people into life-sized dolls for Lynsey.
- Mayfly–December Romance: The snow fairy had a crush on Chloe in the second case.
- Mystery Magnet: Penelope is either the client, victim, or simply the first person to witness the events for each case.
- Serious Business: Hide-and-Seek, as seen in the extra episodes. Cromwell goes so far as to give him and his team members codenames in an effort to improve their performance. In the second trial, he somehow ropes the entire town into participating.
- X-Ray Sparks: In the second case, after Mackenzie plays with an electrical socket.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: At the end of part 1 of the fourth case. Not spoilered, as the previous cases all had two parts, and there's at least one item you haven't found a use for...
Touch Detective 2½ contains examples of:
- Adventure Archaeologist: The Fossil Hunter and Harrison, focal characters from the third case, travel across the world to find artifacts.
- Aliens Are Bastards: Well as it turns out they have plans to destroy all the beef on the planet.
- Alien Invasion: Part 1 of Case 5 ends with an accidental summoning of a UFO. Part 2 involves stopping the aliens before they destroy all beef on the planet.
- The Artful Dodger: Friday, the freeloading mouse.
- Berserk Button: If you're riding a train with Jack the Conductor, you'd better have your ticket...
- Con Man: Eric, the red-headed Wallaby's employee. Over the course of the game, he tricks his employers, Beatrice, an alien, and even Cromwell.
- Continuity Nod: Two of the sidequests in the Bonus Mission.
- One is to help the antique shop owner open a jewelry box he received. This is done in the exact same manner as in the tutorial from the previous game. As a bonus, the dragon teapot and snow machine from the previous game are also seen, but they have no purpose.
- The other involves recreating an early puzzle from the first game's fourth case, where you must find a stamp and place it on a card in order to recieve the same prize as in the first game.
- Cute Ghost Girl: Colette.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: In Case 3, ask Connor the antique shop owner about Mayor Tom. He'll say that the mayor is very quirky, which makes him hard to impersonate. Thankfully for Connor, though Mackenzie thinks it's an odd thing to say, she doesn't connect this slip-of-the-tongue to the events of Case 1.
- Gainax Ending: The end of Case 3. The Fossil Hunter turns out to be a living fossil from another dimension, who is only able to live in the normal dimension thanks to his eye. His tears are connected to the Cambrian ocean, and he uses them to raise extinct fossils. When he cried in reverse back when he heard about the Noodle Festival, the Seabottom Dwellers, a group from an ancient race who it turns out are not extinct and live in the mountains, took it as a sign of impending peril, so removed his eye, which turned him into a fossil. The weird pink thing that showed up at the three-quarters point that almost poked out Mackenzie's eye? Turns out to be one of the member of the ancient Sea Dweller race, going around poking out left eyes from things at the museum because they can't speak human language and were trying to primitively communicate to the humans about the doom they were sensing. This is all explained in one long explanation from the Fossil Hunter after he's turned back from a fossil thanks to Mackenzie putting his eye back in, in the midst of the arch villain, the Cornstalker, trying to steal his eye, which everyone thought was a rare ancient pearl, and being fooled into taking a fake one. The entire thing even makes Mackenzie's confused, which is saying something given all the other stuff she's already seen before.
- Gentleman Thief: The Cornstalker, who's good-looking and leaves calling cards before committing the crimes.
- Gonk: Miss Yvonne.
- In the Name of the Moon: Daria attempts this repeatedly, usually ending in self-injury somehow.
- Master of Disguise: The Cornstalker.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: In the final case, the Cornstalker's attempts at stealing the treasure end up helping Mackenzie protect it.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Ironically, the Cornstalker. Compare his jawline, basic build, and voice to that of the antique shop owner's. To be fair, he does cover his face and body in a ridiculous costume, which may make this an example of Refuge in Audacity. He's pretty good at impersonating people's appearances, however, and can even fool you, the player, at times.
- Precocious Crush: Mackenzie has one on Connor, the antique shop owner. Thankfully, she shows no signs of this while he's in his Cornstalker costume.
- Ridiculously Human Robot: Silver, a singing doll, is this rather than the cursed sleeping boy the girls thought he was at first.
- Shout-Out: In Case 3, while trying to convince Chloe to help move a large statue, the following is said:Chloe: O RLY?Mackenzie: Yes, really...Chloe: NO WAI!
- Sleazy Politician: Mayor Tom, who built a museum for two purposes: to brag about his accomplishments, and to sell actual artifacts to the highest bidder.
- Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: Collette, the Haunted Mansion's caretaker, is a particularly cute Token Mini-Moe example.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Antoinette used a giant 3-pronged electric egg-beater to make some pastry. It's as big as an electric jackhammer and Dover used it to dig a fish pond in minutes.
- Villain Takes an Interest: The first time Mackenzie stops the Cornstalker, he gleefully declares her as someone worthy enough to be his rival... much to Daria's chagrin, as she sees the Cornstalker as her nemesis.
Touch Detective Rising 3 contains examples of:
- The Rival: Shiro desires to be the best detective in the world. In addition to directly rivaling Mackenzie, this also make her professional detective assistant Kinako a rival to Funghi.
