Recap / Criminal Case: World Edition - Case 30: The Murder Games

Carmen: <Player's Name>, we've seen a lot, but you never get used to seeing dead children. Looks like this boy was shot with an arrow.

The Bureau goes to the Island of Kyushu, Japan, to look for Sanjay and the other missing children that have been recruited and trained by SOMBRA for "the next phase", which they discover involves murdering each other in a horrific Deadly Game. Once there, Carmen and the player have an encounter with Chieko, who begs for their help as she has just found her long-lost brother, dead after being shot in the back with a crossbow bolt.

Tropes:

• Arms Dealer: In addition to training to recruiting and training the children, Ronin is also revealed to be the weapon provider for the SOMBRA hunt, which temporarily puts him in prison until he's released at the end.
• Arrow Catch; Jonah catches a crossbow bolt when June attempts to shoot an apple off April's head, possibly averting a very gruesome scene.
• Attack on the Heart: Hiroshi died after the crossbow bolt punctured his heart from behind, leading to cardiac arrest.
• The Atoner: While he wasn't really evil, SILVERee still helped SOMBRA by letting them use his songs for their indoctrination program, and as such he helps you during the Additional Investigation save the children by giving them their confiscated objects.
  Marina: Who'd have thought SILVERee would redeem himself by helping you undo the damage Obaasan caused! He'll still need extensive therapy, but I can refer him to some excellent specialists.
• Back for the Finale: Obaasan, SILVERee, Ronin Ozawa, Sanjay Korrapati, and Tsukada Chieko all reappear as suspects in this case, which is the last one set in East Asia.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • During the Additional Investigation, Elliot uses BØB to send a signal to the children's tracking device and let them know the hunt is over and they don't need to kill each other anymore, saving the lives of at least twenty of them.
  • Marina also contributes by using her psychologist skills to help the brainwashed children recover, helping Chieko, Sanjay, and SILVERee feel better after the hunt is stopped.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Obaasan is not such a nice granny after all, showing her true colors as an Evil Old Folk during her arrest.
• The Climax: For East Asia.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Marina recalls how Zhaoi Mei repeated that weak people die when you find a puzzle when that exact phrase on a crime scene.
  • Sanjay's motivation for joining SOMBRA and The Hunt is because he thinks that's what his pet elephant would've wanted. Spring Angels, the charity foundation created by Lars and Angela in the same case, is also mentioned.
• Cooperation Gambit: Ronin decides to offer you information about SOMBRA in exchange for his freedom.
  Ronin: It's true that I was close to SOMBRA. That's why I can give you information nobody else can offer. Obaasan will never betray SOMBRA, but I do business with the highest bidder.
• Daruma Doll: You find one belonging to the killer where they wrote they killed Hiroshi, confirming that the culprit speaks Japanese.
• Deadly Game: One involving children killing each other with weapons à la Battle Royale.
• Death of a Child: The victim of this case is Chieko's younger brother, who is 16.
• Distress Call: At the beginning of Chapter 2, Sanjay calls Carmen and the player so they can come rescue him before the other kids can kill him during the hunt.
• Don't Ask: When Sanjay gives you some money after you return him his elephant plushie, he tells you to not ask where he got it from.
• Don't Celebrate Just Yet: Despite dismantling the child-trafficking network after Obaasan's arrest, Chief Ripley informs you there's still more work to do, as Elliot discovered the "winning" children were being sent to Thailand to participate in something called "The Next Level" as evidenced by the video message you found featuring a strange girl.
• Everything's Better with Sparkles: SILVERee covered the shuriken he was provided by SOMBRA with glitter for some reason.}
• Evil All Along: After appearing to be a Cool Old Lady with a soft spot for children and helping orphans in need throughout all her appearances, Obaasan turns out to be a member of SOMBRA put in charge of making children kill each other under her watch, and murders Hiroshi when he refuses to comply.
• Evil Old Folks: Obaasan, an 80-year-old woman, is revealed to be a SOMBRA agent put in charge of kidnapping and brainwashing children so they can participate in a Deadly Game involving killing each other, and decides to murder Hiroshi after he refuses to take part on it.
• Flowery Insults: Carmen calls SILVERee a "prancing glitterpuss" after he refuses to cooperate when you interrogate him for the first time.
• Good All Along: As it turns out, SILVERee has absolutely no idea what he's into, believing that SOMBRA are just sponsors and that "The Hunt" is just a reality show that involves children without the knowledge that they're killing each other. In short, he's good, but stupid.
• Happily Adopted: Both Chieko and Sanjay get adopted at the end of the case, the former by a family provided by Angela through Spring Angels and the latter by Carmen.
• Human Traffickers: Ronin (and by extension the Yakuza) are revealed to be the ones behind the child disappearances all over East Asia, supplying them to SOMBRA for their hunt and Brainwashing program.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: According to Jonah, the killer was about 50 meters away when they shot Hiroshi with the crossbow (which loses accuracy over long distances), making them very skilled with the weapon.
• The Infiltration: Chieko stole a crossbow and a SOMBRA armband so she could infiltrate the hunt and look for her brother from the inside, leading to the Bureau mark her as suspicious since they don't know if she's telling the truth.
• Karma Houdini: At the end of the case, Ronin is released from prison because of his Cooperation Gambit allowing you to save the children, even when he's a Yakuza and the one responsible for said children to be in danger in the first place.
  Jonah: What? Ronin will walk free, despite all the evidence against him?!
• Lampshade Hanging: While this might just be she showing her true colors, Obaasan remarks how the player brings death wherever they go, referencing how they tend to stumble onto a unlikely amount of bodies in any place they visit.
• Last Episode, New Character: Played With. While this is Hiroshi's first (and only) physical appearance in the season, he was mentioned multiple times by Chieko throughout the region, which means there was a deal great of Foreshadowing about him being bound to appear.
• Licked by the Dog: Sanjay accepts being adopted by Carmen because Kesavan liked her.
• Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Implied by Ronin when you place him under arrest for trafficking weapons, who claims he's a king inside of prison and therefore it doesn't scare him.
• Mysterious Past: During Obaasan's trial, Judge Adaku mentions how her entire existence is a puzzle to the Court, as she has no birth record, known address, or even a real name.
• Nobody's That Dumb: Carmen refuses to believe SILVERee is such a ditz that he has no idea what SOMBRA is really accomplishing with the kidnapped children.
  Carmen: Stop lying! You're wearing a SOMBRA armband, and now it turns out you have a shuriken! Admit it: you're part of SOMBRA's hunt!
  SILVERee: It's just for show! Some SOMBRA roadies told me to take those shuriken and go slay the kids, or whatever. And I was like, that's what my dance moves are for!
  Carmen: Please tell me you're not actually this stupid.
• Obfuscating Stupidity:
  • Throughout all her appearances, Obaasan acted like a ditz and forgetful old woman right until her arrest, where she reveals she's far from incompetent.
  • Subverted with SILVERee, whose stupidity turns out to be entirely genuine until the end as he has no idea children were killing each other in The Hunt.
• Orphan's Plot Trinket: All the children involved in the hunt had to give up their most appreciated objects so they could "grow up", which is why Obaasan confiscated Sanjay's elephant plushie and Hiroshi's locket with a photo of his family. During the Additional Investigation, you give the plushie and locket back to Sanjay and Chieko to make them feel better and recover.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Ronin tells you he couldn't have killed Hiroshi because children are more profitable alive than dead for the yakuza.
• Put on a Bus: At the end of the case, Lars tells you the triplets are going home back with their grandparents for the time being.
• Removed from the Picture: Obaasan did this with the photos of her old classmates after they died one by one, which Carmen finds to be a little grim.
• Running Away to Cry: Chieko runs off to cry after Angela scolds her for giving a crossbow to her daughter even when she meant no harm.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: After crossing four countries, half a continent, and basically going through hell all for the sake of reuniting with her brother, Chieko gets hit hard with this when she finds his dead body just minutes after him being murdered. Ouch.
• Shout-Out:
  • The case's title is based on The Hunger Games, with the scenario being a combination of both the aforementioned franchise and Battle Royale.
  • The victim, Tsukada Hiroshi, resembles Hiro Hamada.
  • WeBuy is a parody of eBay.
  • In the Garden Footbridge scene, there is a parody of The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
    • Another parody is seen in the Temple Corner scene.
• The Social Darwinist: During her arrest, Obaasan reveals she's the one behind brainwashing children with the Madness Mantra of "The weak die", which are her exact same views regarding society.
  Obaasan: They were orphans with nowhere to go! I looked after them! I gave them values to live by: to contribute, to be useful! The way I grew up, before the war!
  These days only the yakuza know what loyalty and honor means! <Player's Name>, SOMBRA gives these children the best future they can hope for!
  Carmen: Honor? Future? You killed them if you thought they weren't strong enough! That's why you wrote "I killed the weakling, Hiroshi" on your Daruma doll!
  Obaasan: SOMBRA has no place for weaklings. Hiroshi didn't want to be part of SOMBRA's hunt. He was weak.
• There Can Be Only One: Sanjay tells you how SOMBRA ordered the children to kill each other until only one of them remained.
• The Un-Hug: Carmen and Sanjay attempt to hug each other after he's adopted, but don't really know how and instead decide to high-five.
• Unishment: Obaasan mocks everyone during her trial by claiming that, instead of torturing her for information, you'll feed, clothe, and allow her to grow older in prison without consequences, calling you weak even in victory.
• Victory Through Intimidation: Jonah manages to make Ronin talk about how to rescue the children by offering to knock out his teeth if he refuses to cooperate.
• William Telling: June attempts to shoot off an apple from April's head with a crossbow, which thankfully Jonah manages to catch before it's too late.
• Would Hurt a Child: Obaasan is willing to murder a child with her own hands just for considering him weak after he refused to participate in the Deadly Game organizer by her and SOMBRA.