The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story Now Available on PlayStation, Switch, and PC

Written by Brandon Hofer on May 12, 2022

News: A new mystery-adventure game is now available from Square Enix where you need to solve the mystery behind four murder cases.

Square Enix and video game developer h.a.n.d., Inc. have announced that The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, an immersive live-action mystery-adventure game is now available on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Directed by Koichiro Ito (Metal Gear Solid V) and produced by Junichi Ehara (NieR:Automata, Babylon’s Fall), The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story centers around the ill-fated Shijima family, who have experienced a chain of inexplicable deaths in their family over the past century. Yasuhito Tachibana, producer of Netflix’s The Naked Director, serves as Cinematographer and Scenario Director, taking visual storytelling to a new level with high-quality cinematography and live-action.

You will take on the role of mystery writer, Haruka Kagami and use your powers of deduction to uncover the truth behind four murder cases that have taken place in the Shijima household over the last one hundred years. You will get immersed into an authentically traditional Japanese story, transcend time across different eras of Japan and collect information scattered throughout each era to uncover the truth and solve an age-old mystery.

The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story features performances from Nanami Sakuraba as the games’ protagonist, Haruka Kagami and Yuta Hiraoka as Eiji Shijima, the second son of the Shijima family who returns home to help unravel the mystery behind his ill-fated family. A cast of talented Japanese actors bring this enigmatic Japanese adventure to life, depicting an array of characters throughout each period setting.

“The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story is a game that takes the form of a live-action drama surrounding the murders within the Shijima family that have taken place over a century, which the player will help the characters to solve.The in-game videos have been filmed in live action, so please keep an eye out for the subtle expressions, gestures and movements that can’t be captured in games that use CG graphics! I hope you’ll enjoy unravelling the mysteries behind the incident together with Haruka!” Said Nanami Sakuraba who plays the role of Haruka Kagami.

“My first impression of this story that spans different time periods was to think, “Is this even possible?” and, “This script is really something!” The sheer volume of lines and the tight filming schedule were dizzying, but I think the choice to intentionally film sections that could quite plausibly have been created with CG in an analogue style lends a wonderful retro feel to the game and gives a greater sense of realism to the performance. I’d love for players to fully experience this story about the mysteries of the Shijima family, the murders, and love, that transcends time and space,” added Yuta Hiraoka who lends his talents as Eiji Shijima.

Those who purchase the game before May 19, 2022, will receive the base game, The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story Behind The Scenes, comprising of 50 minutes of interview footage and The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story mini soundtrack composed by Yuki Hayashi, Daiki Okuno, Ryoshi Takagi, Shuichiro Fukuhiro and Shogo Yamashiro.

Take a look at the video below and tell us what you think. Will you be picking up The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story?