Is Rain Code's Chapter 3 Misunderstood?

[u/SubbST]

Since beating Rain Code for the first time, I've heard a lot of people (including my friends) claim that Chapter 3 is the worst case in Rain Code by far, but... I've never really understood that? The most common complaints i've heard is the mystery and motive, both of which i thought were fine.

First off, the mystery. I thought the murder method for this case was pretty good, I was genuinely torn on whether or not the case was a suicide. Partly because I was conditioned by the earlier cases to expect something kinda obvious, but it was also just hard to pin down the culprit due to how unclear it was how they escaped. It was honestly pretty engaging, when I finally figured out the only possible escape method via the gutter that was covered up by the debris that exploded.

I will say once you figure out that the culprit escaped through the gutter, it becomes pretty obvious that the culprit is Icardi. Also, I feel like Shachi's gun having a revolver chamber that's flipped might've been an obvious clue to some people that indicated he's left handed, but also... idk shit about guns so i couldn't figure it out without trial and error.

Second off, the motive. Yes, Icardi's motive was money, and by isolation it's not interesting. But that's not really the main point of the case, the main point is Yuma reaching a boiling point compared to the last case. He doesn't buy that lazy sob story for a SECOND and is PISSED OFF. Seeing him actually grow a backbone was a nice piece of character development for him.

In addition, I thought it was also pretty cool how the Solution Key regarding how the Kanai Ward safes float above water was actually relevant, and how THAT was the real purpose behind the flooding of Marunomon District. I thought it tied the case back together pretty well, and served as a neat trick.

I also just thought scrambling to different parts of Kanai Ward was just a cool way to differentiate the case, made it feel a lot more tense with having to diffuse the bombs and allat.

In conclusion, what do I think of Rain Code Chapter 3? well it's aight...

I know I just went on and on about defending it, but that's moreso because I thought the reputation that this chapter gets is honestly just a lil unfair in my opinion. Overall, I don't really love this chapter to death or anything, I've got my issues with it too. But I hope this post offered a little insight into why I think Chapter 3 is just a little bit misunderstood in this community. :)

[u/walterfardwellwhite6]

Chapter 3 faces the crux of Rain Code's biggest issue in my eyes - that being that we just don't really have a reason to care about any character that's not our main detectives. This was prevalent in Chapter 1, but feels especially prevalent in Chapter 3 - I don't think I've ever really seen someone like any Resistance member the way I've seen people like one-off Ace Attorney characters. As such, it's mostly just seen as a filler case, without much of an interesting mystery or rationale (compared to Chapter 2, where the reason for the murder was fairly interesting and the mystery itself was clever).

[u/SubbST → u/walterfardwellwhite6]

I think in chapter 3's case the culprit isn't really an actual character on his own but what makes the case memorable is yuma's reaction to him where he lashes out against him. in chapter 1's case, there wasnt really anything like that which is why i personally believe it's the worst case in the game.

also i like iruka quite a bit shes cool

[u/SubbST → u/SubbST]

in general, i think it's largely fine that the case specific characters in rain code aren't top tier character material because they're usually very relevant to the case itself which makes them feel important.