Thank you for purchasing "The Portopia Serial Murder Case" by Enix, Inc. for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Please read this Instruction Booklet thoroughly before use for instructions on use and care, and enjoy using the product appropriately.

Also, please store this Instruction Booklet in a careful manner.

• Summary
• Characters
• The Controller
• How to Play the Game - Conducting the Investigation
• Portopia Q & A
• Investigation Notes

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Author	Yuji Horii
Programmers	CHUNSOFT
Publisher	ENIX

* When the title screen appears, press the A button.

The game will begin.

	Boss
	A veteran homicide detective of Kobe City.  Accompanied by his subordinate Yasu, he starts an investigation to bring this case to light. In this game, you play the role of Boss. Use your keen deductive skills to solve this case.

	Yasuhiko Mano
	A young detective who works under Boss.  Goes by the name Yasu. Sometimes he tries a bit too hard to be funny, but as a detective, he is quite capable. He is, however, a gentleman; he tends to be particularly lenient towards young women. He has a strong sense of justice, and his hatred towards evil is uncommonly strong.

	Kouzou Yamakawa
	The president of the loan shark company Yamakin Loans. Because of his profession, he seems to have had many enemies.  This story begins with the discovery of his dead body. Suicide or homicide?  His lifeless body won't breathe a word...

	Fumie Sawaki
	The primary discoverer of Kouzou's dead body.  She was his personal assistant at Yamakin Loans.  Although beautiful in looks, her face shows hints of sorrow.  For a young woman, it must have been quite a shock to discover a dead body.

	Rokurou Komiya
	An elderly man who works as the security guard at Yamakawa's mansion.  Along with Fumie, he discovered the dead body.  He has no relatives, and apparently has been drowning his loneliness every day by drinking.  In addition, he is a timid man, and always appears nervous.

* This list is not complete; you will meet many more people as the story unfolds.  In addition, the faces of "Boss" and "Kouzou" are never seen during the game.

Used to move the cursor (), magnifying glass (), or hammer () on the screen.
In addition, it is used for navigation in the maze. Used to confirm a command.
In addition, when is displayed at the bottom of the dialog area, this button is used to advance the dialog. Used to switch the group of commands displayed at the right side of the screen.
In addition, this button is used when you wish to cancel a command that you have started.

* The SELECT and START buttons are not used in this game.

When Yasu is ready, a list of commands that you can issue to him appears on the screen.  Use the Button to move the to the command you wish to give, and then press the A Button.  Refer to the section below for descriptions of each command. The available commands are separated into two groups.  Press the B Button to switch between the two groups. Some commands will prompt you with an additional list of choices, representing to whom or to what.  Use the Button to move the to your choice, and then press the A Button, or press the B Button to cancel the command altogether.

The commands Investigate Thing→Magnifying Glass and Hit cause a magnifying glass () and a hammer (), respectively, to appear on the main window.
Use the Button to select the area you wish to examine or hit, and then press the A Button.

When you issue the Dial Phone command, a touch-tone dial pad appears on the right side of the screen.  Use the Button to move the and the A Button to select each number to dial, in succession. The numbers will appear in the dialog area as they are dialed.

When the main window displays a maze, you may issue the Move command and then use the Button to walk around in the maze. Up - Advance forward. Right - Turn and face the right. Left - Turn and face the left. Down - Turn around. * Right, Left, and Down on the Button only change your orientation.  They do not cause you to advance.

Additionally, press the A Button while navigating the maze to call up the normal list of Commands.  This will allow you to do things such as examine that spot.

● The story begins in Hanakuma, the suburb in Kobe City where the incident took place.  After introducing himself, your subordinate Yasu will prompt you for his first command   (See The Controller, above, for details).

● The following are descriptions of each of these commands:

I	II
Move	Investigate Thing
Ask	Evidence
Investigate Someone	Hit
Show Item	Take
Look for Someone	Theorize
Call Out	Dial Phone
Arrest	Close Case

Use this command when you wish to move to another location.  When you choose this command, a list is shown of the locations to which you can move.  Use the Button to select your desired destination, and then press the A Button, or press the B Button to cancel.
Depending on your current location, the list of locations to which you may travel will differ.  Also, as the story progresses, you will learn about new locations and the list of destinations will grow.
If you get stuck during your investigation, try moving to a different location.  From there, you may be able to pick up new leads.

When you are not speaking with a specific person, such as when you are in a town, Yasu will question people in the area.  Based on the facts available at the moment, Yasu will automatically decide what to ask about.
For this reason, even in an area where you couldn't get useful information before, it may be possible to pick up leads after some circumstances change.  Even if you have already spoken with people in an area, you should return to question the people again and again.
If you have called someone out to the Police Station, or are otherwise speaking with a particular person, this command will start an interrogation.

Yasu will conduct research and report such things as the job and personal life of a particular person.  Also, choosing this command after hearing someone's alibi will cause Yasu to investigate whether that alibi can be verified.
Whenever you hear about a new person, you may want to ask Yasu to do this first.

Use this command to tell Yasu to show something to someone.
You can show an item you have found during your investigation and see someone's reaction.  Or, perhaps you can show a photograph of a person to someone, and ask about that person.
Even if someone doesn't recognize a person by a name, he or she might recognize a photograph of that person, and give you information.

This command is used to search for a person of whom you do not know the whereabouts.
When you specify the person you wish to find, Yasu will begin a search around the area to find that person.

This command is used when you wish to summon someone to the Police Station.
However, even if you know the person's name, you cannot call someone out if you do not know their location.
Additionally, some people may refuse to come even if they are called.

Issue this command to tell Yasu to arrest someone.
However, you cannot thoughtlessly arrest someone when you do not have the necessary evidence.
Don't be hasty; investigate slowly and carefully.

This command is used to investigate something at your current location.  If you choose Magnifying Glass, an icon representing a magnifying glass will appear in the main window, and you can use the Button and A Button to investigate something in the scene.
Even if something is not visible in the scene, you may find something if you look carefully using the Magnifying Glass.  Be sure to search thoroughly.
Also, using this command at the Police Station will allow you to examine the pieces of evidence in your possession.

This command displays a list of the items that you have acquired thus far.  It may be a good idea to check what you have once in a while.

Choosing this command causes an icon representing a hammer to appear in the main window.  Use the Button and A Button to hit something in the scene.
However, excessively hitting objects or people is probably not a great idea.

This command is used to tell Yasu to take something.
When you have found an item and have had Yasu examine it, be sure to tell him to take it.
Otherwise, you won't be able to show it to somebody in a different location.

Yasu will theorize whether a particular person committed the crime.  However, in the end you are the Boss.  Don't rely too much on his reasoning, but use it as a starting point and try to think beyond on your own.

This command is used to make a telephone call.  However, unless you know the number to call, dialing numbers aimlessly will not get you anywhere.  (For details on how to dial, see Using the Telephone, above.)

Issue this command when the case has been solved.  Yasu will not accept this command if the case has not yet been solved.  If you really must stop the investigation, please turn off the power on your NES.


● Let's take a look at how the actual game progresses.

The first step, quite obviously, is an inspection of the scene.

Tell Yasu to Move, and you will be presented with a list of destinations.  Select Yamakawa Mansion from this list, and you're on your way.  Once outside the mansion, perform the Move command again, and select Inside Mansion.
Now in the study, use the command Investigate Thing to examine the dead body and the murder weapon, and use the Magnifying Glass to search the room thoroughly for clues.

It may also be useful to give the command Investigate Someone and find out about Kouzou's background.

It is also important to question people in the area near the scene.
Return to the suburb of Hanakuma, and command Yasu to Ask around.  Perhaps you will hear about someone new.  In this case, you would use Investigate Someone to learn about that person's job and personal history.  You can also command Yasu to Theorize to infer something about that person.

In addition, it is very important to interrogate people.
Return to the Police Station, and summon the primary discoverer, Fumie.  After using Investigate Someone to find out about her, try using Ask to have Yasu ask her what she knows about Kouzou, and about her alibi on the night of the incident.
After you hear the alibi, you should also verify it by commanding Yasu to Investigate Someone.

...This is just an example of how to begin.

Where to go next?  Which suspect to begin the interrogation with?  These are all up to you, the Boss.
When you do find a lead, it's okay to forget Fumie for a while and follow that lead until you find something new.

So, where do we begin, Boss?

The Road to Solving the Mystery
* Due to the nature of adventure games, we are unable to give hints or answer any questions relating to the content of the game, and cannot accept any such inquiries by telephone or mail.  Additionally, The Portopia Serial Murder Case is a work of fiction, and all names of characters and parties are fictional; any resemblance to existing individuals or parties is not intended and purely coincidental.

Suspect	Relationship with Victim	Motive Exists	Alibi
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Evidence	Conclusion
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ROM cartridges are not defective unless the game display appears obviously garbled.  If you cannot solve the mystery, you are not leading the investigation correctly.

At times during your investigation, an item that you have taken may not appear in your items list, may not be available for examination, or may not be available to show to people.  This is because it is not necessary to solve the game and thus was programmed in this manner.  This is not a defect in the ROM cartridge or in the program.  The same is said for the situation where after hearing of someone's name you cannot summon that person to the Police Station or investigate that person.

The mystery is solvable; please do not give up, and good luck!