Pro Yakyuu? Satsujin Jiken!

24.12.1988

Genre: Adventure

A comedic adventure game that satirizes the heavy number of baseball and murder mystery games for the Famicom. It was developed and published by Capcom in Japan only. Pro Yakyuu? Satsujin Jiken! ("Pro Baseball? Murder Case!") is a slightly tongue-in-cheek parody of the Famicom's overabundance of Portopia style murder mystery adventure games and baseball simulators, especially the annual Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium releases. The player controls a professional baseball player that's been framed for a murder and must solve the case while on the lam. Capcom inserted various additional modes into the game, such as mini-games and a shoot-em-up sequence whenever the protagonist is caught by the cops. This game is perhaps notable for being released on the same day in Japan - December 24th 1988 - as another Capcom game: Rockman 2. One of these sort of overshadowed the other.

The main character, Igawa, was once a professional baseball player, but is now retired and works as a sports news commentator. One day, while Igawa was watching TV at home, a breaking news report came on. It was the news that a man had been found dead in a hotel in Tokyo. Just then, the chime of Igawa's house rang, and his fellow baseball player, Hora, came to visit. An exhausted-looking Hora told Igawa that he had been suffering from alopecia areata and had consulted his fellow baseball player Kakifu about medication. While Hora and Kakifu were conversing at a hotel in Tokyo, a reporter from a sports newspaper he knew suddenly appeared and handed Hora an attaché case. When Hora tried to ask him what happened, the reporter fled, and when Hora saw the stranger running toward him, he panicked and immediately ran away, coming to Igawa to ask for help. Realizing that the hotel was the same as the one where the man's body was found, Igawa urged Hola to examine the attaché case. When he opens the attaché case, he finds a large wad of cash inside. Just then, a group of policemen rush in, chasing after Hora. Igawa insisted to the officers that Hora was to blame for everything and that he had done nothing wrong. In a further panic, Hora went into Igawa's house and fled out the back door. Igawa hurriedly chased after him. Chased by the police as an important witness, Igawa evaded their pursuit and began an investigation to prove his own innocence.