And so it begins.
The player character arrives at the fictional Vice City of Grimsborough, where they meet some members of the Grimsborough Police Department and are tasked with solving their first murder: the death of a woman named Rosa Wolf.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: We're actually led to believe that, in the Additional Investigation, we'll get some information about a gang from one of their members, only to instead receive this:Ash Bison: We've changed leaders recently. The new guy's name is... Keath Myass!
- Clueless Mystery: Zigzagged, both here and in future tutorial cases. The game obviously gives you the physical evidence needed to determine the killer, but the cases never really explain why Matt or any of the other tutorial killers killed their respective victims.
- Debut Queue: Only Chief King, Jones, and Nathan are introduced in this case, with the rest of the team being properly introduced in subsequent cases.
- Delayed Reaction: In the Additional Investigation, Jones had one toward's Ash Bison's Bait-and-Switch Comment when the former tries getting information about a gang the latter's part of.
- Establishing Series Moment: Collecting clues regarding a murder at crime scenes, obtaining stars to complete analyzes (some of them timed), and arresting the killers. All the basics of the entire franchise are basically shown at you in the very first case.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: You're asked to input your name at the beginning of the case.
- Justified Tutorial: Since you're new to the Police Department, Chief King, and Jones guide and tell you about things that are entirely new for you, such as crime scenes, the forensic kit, and analyses.
- The Killer Was Left-Handed: Averted. In the results of the Autopsy, it clears out that the killer is specifically right-handed.
- Red Herring: One of the only two suspects, in this case, happens to be part of a criminal gang, and we're led to believe it's them. Instead, it's the other suspect, the football player.
- R-Rated Opening: You're shown a corpse with a Slashed Throat not even a minute into the game, making it clear that even with its colorful characters and scenarios, this is not a game for children or people with a faint heart.
- Shout-Out: The roadside scene has a necklace with a blue heart-shaped pendant.
- Slashed Throat: How Rosa was murdered.
- Start to Corpse: The first line you're told in the entire game is that a corpse has been discovered.Jones: <Player's name>, a young woman was found dead at the town entrance. We must inspect the crime scene in order to find clues.
- Welcome Episode: You're welcomed into the Grimsborough Police Department, where pretty much everyone except for you knows each other. Fittingly, the crime took place at the entrance of the town.
