DRAMAtical Murder Re:code (ドラマティカル マーダー リコード Doramatikaru Mādā Rikōdo) is a remake of the original game for the PlayStation Vita. It was released in Japan on October 30, 2014[1].
Plot
Re:code follows the same plot as the first game with minor to major changes to fit its rating. Mizuki now also has his own route which deals with the aftermath of everyone getting captured by Toue's subordinates, Aoba submitting to Desire and joining Morphine. It is considered the real true end of the game, as it covers plot holes, characters, and their relationships.
Differences from the Original Game
Unlike the PC version, Re:code is targeted to a younger demographic (ages 15 and older) and thus changes were made. While the romance is still present in the game, the sex scenes were omitted and the violence was also toned down. The bad end CGs that were deemed too mature were also heavily edited. More examples of the censorship in Re:code include:
- Sex scenes being removed altogether and replaced with light kissing, extended confession scenes or character dialogue.
- Any scenes involving passionate kissing (i.e. involving tongue) were removed and instead redrawn to show the characters kissing normally.
- Violence, blood and gore was toned down to an extent. Blood was colored over and reduced while some CGs had filters over them to cover the more brutal aspects.
- The non-con in Mink's route was replaced with hair-pulling and choking. The scene in the common route where Aoba is almost raped by Scratch members was also removed with the scene ending before Aoba's pants are removed.
- When Koujaku is assaulting Aoba in Glitter, the CG where he licks and sucks Aoba's neck is redrawn to have Aoba's hair covering Koujaku's mouth. However, you can still hear the sound effects.
- Nudity was omitted. In Clear's bad end, Aoba is wearing a robe instead of being completely naked like in the original.
- The scene where Clear is in nothing but an apron and exposing his buttocks in Glitter was redrawn to have him wearing boxers.
Other edits that don't necessarily involve censorship include:
- Entire scenes being rerecorded. Due to some CGs being edited or scenes being removed and replaced with new ones altogether, the cast had to rerecord their lines and read new scripts.
- The bad and good ends all include the extra content from Re:connect that was not included in the first game due to memory space, making the story be told in its entirety.
- 2 new BGM tracks by GOATBED were created as well as a new bad end song for Mizuki's (Morphine) route.
- AI CATCH, the opening song for the first game, was rerecorded as RADICAL MAT with a slightly different sound and Japanese lyrics.
- Mizuki now has a new "Morphine" route which explains many plot holes from the first game, unanswered questions and character's new backgrounds and involvement with the plot. He has his own good and bad ends as well.
- When the game is complete, Mizuki's 8-bit sprite will also join the others on the title screen.
- Over 20 new CGs were drawn by Honyarara for the game, as well as 2 new sprites (Mizuki and Aoba in their Morphine attire).
Release and Reception
Dramatical Murder Re:code was released on October 30, 2014. It received a relatively well number of sales as well many reviews praising its outcome as a deviation from the original, fans of the original games also approving of it. The safe-for-work release also got the attention of international outlets and websites such as Otaku USA[2] and The Vita Lounge[3], something not common to happen with BL games.
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References