REVIEW

Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness Review

by Rob Pritchard, September 15th, 2016

In recent years, it has become exceedingly popular to continue cancelled or finished franchises in another medium. One of the most popular of these extensions is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels, which have now carried Joss Whedon’s cult series into its eleventh season, despite only having seven whilst airing on TV. Psycho-Pass Mandatory Happiness is another example of this phenomenon, as it previously existed as an anime series back in 2012. This game provide more of what make the original series so successful, but it also lacks some of the interaction of what makes visual novels so enticing to play.

Psycho-Pass Mandatory Happiness is set within the first season of the anime, and makes you decide between playing as an amnesiac inspector named Nadeshiko Kugatachi, or Takuma Tsurugi, a heartbroken enforcer who is searching for his missing lover. Each chapter follows the exploits of the team as they attempt to neutralise potential criminals using the Psycho-Pass system, whilst they deal with their own personal dramas such as regaining lost memories and enforcing the hierarchy of the team. Whilst this is taking place, the team have to deal with the overarching threat of a hacker named Alpha, who is giving people their hearts desires with no regard of the legality of the ambition. Although there is an element of copy and paste which occurs in most detective drama, each case feels fresh enough to distinguish it from the previous one, and the story comes to a satisfying conclusion.

Fans of the anime will be pleased to learn that most of the characters make an appearance during the game, and most of the original voice actors from the Japanese dub have returned to reprise their roles. There is no English dub included in Psycho-Pass Mandatory Happiness, so anyone expecting to hear Kate Oxley or Josh Grelle return to their roles as Akane Tsunemori and Nobuchika Ginoza will unfortunately be disappointed. The returning actors have not lost their touch, bringing the same level of high quality voice work they did back when they recorded the original anime.

Although it is classified as a game, Psycho-Pass Mandatory Happiness is in fact a visual novel with interactive elements. Although you can save and load your game at any point during the story, there seems to be no way to revisit previous chapters until you restart the game, which is slightly disappointing if you wanted to revisit a particular moment in the narrative. Whichever character you decide to play as, your characters mental state, or Hue as it is referred to in the Pyscho-Pass universe, will be visible. With every choice you make during the investigations, whether to eliminate a threat or ignore the orders of a superior, your Hue will be altered, bringing you one stop closer to being eliminated yourself if you make negative choices. This can be counteracted by using the supplements offered to you at several times during the game, but having a perfect Hue will not allow you to see every ending on offer.

During the game, you are given pieces of information that are added to an internal database. These pieces of information can be accessed at any time, and allow you to make informed judgements before you direct your characters. The choices that you are able to make during each case do have an effect on the overall investigation’s dialogue and context, but there seems to be no examples of a wider branching narrative in sight, as each choice made will inevitably lead to arriving at the same location or conclusion. This is especially true in the first case, when you are asked by the team to recommend a place to investigate, but if you make the wrong decision, the narrative will guide you towards to the “correct” path to take. It is understandable why the developer would choose to do this, but it does shatter the illusion of making your choices truly matter as the game continues on.

Graphically, Psycho-Pass Mandatory Happiness replicates the style of the original anime, whilst providing some effects that have been made possible thanks to the arrival of high definition media. The soundtrack is a relatively middle of the road affair, with several tracks proving to be catchy, but relatively forgettable. A particular highlight is the opening intro’s theme, which sets the mood for the high paced investigations you are about to undertake.

Overall, Psycho Pass Mandatory Happiness is an enjoyable extension to the Psycho Pass universe, but lacks the interaction to be classed as one of the best visual novels of the current generation. Its vibrant graphics and satisfying story allow you to experience the franchise in a whole new way, whilst bringing in two new protagonists to keep from retreading the same ground. Whilst the choices you make do not affect the overall narrative to a great extent, the cases on offer are worth the investment, even if you do not revisit them in the future.

Psycho-Pass Mandatory Happiness is a well developed continuation of a classic anime series, but it's lack of meaningful choices and average sounding soundtrack keep it from being a recommended option.