So there are times when one translation of a title can really ruin a game. Luckily, the opposite is also true. Enter Tokyo DebunkerOne Disney Twisted Wonderland mobile game genre. ZigZaGame’s constant social media promotion convinced me to give it a try. Although it takes a lot of inspiration from other stories in terms of concept and characters, the sheer effort in localization kept me reading and exploring the story.
Alike Disney Twisted Wonderland, Obey Meand similar titles, Tokyo Debunker is an otome-adjacent adventure with some RPG elements, gacha, and plenty of attractive, single young men set in a school setting. In its alternate setting, ghouls, demons, and supernatural elements exist. The player character is a young woman who ends up being cursed by such an anomaly. In the process, she encounters two ghouls from Darkwick Academy sent to destroy it. Since the encounter and her curse, which will also kill her in a year, means that the matches used to erase the memories of normal people no longer work on her, she is forced to stay at the school. Furthermore, subsequent encounters leave her bound to a legendary artifact that allows her to enhance the powers of any ghoul if she touches them. This also means that she will not be sorted into any of the Darkwick houses (Frostheim, Hotarubi, Jabberwock, Mortkranken, Obscuary, Sinostra, or Vagastrom) and instead has her own living space.
Oh, and many vampires are corrupt or villainous in nature.
And as you draw from the gacha, you will collect cards of characters that act as warriors in auto battle, turn-based battle, or equipment.
There are also fake calls and character stories.
Anyway. I’m not here to say, “If you like Disney Twisted Wonderland or Yes I doyou should look into Tokyo Debunker.” (You probably will.) It’s more than that though this game do It feels like it’s cut from the same cloth and has a lot of similar characters, the writing is very coherent so it feels good.
For example, the first four vampire characters we meet in Tokyo Debunker and the initial encounters with the anomalies are the main reason I kept playing. In the first game, the story pulls you in perfectly. The creature that surprises you and curses you is terrifying, but also beautiful. When you meet Taiga, he’s brutal, rude, and evil, but also pretty hot when he thinks he’s going to solve your problem—an innocent bystander—by throwing you off the train. Haku, the ghoul who basically comes in with a “please don’t” to stop that from happening, is calm and kind. It’s a great way to draw someone in.
From there, I admit I was a little taken aback when I saw Professor Not-Satoru-Gojo (Hyde) and Professor Not-Korosensei (Moby). I was worried, because they were so similar to anime characters, and you could see that influence spreading to the other members of the cast.
But after I met Not-Zenitsu-Agatsuma (Kaito), Tokyo Debunker It completely won me over with its charm and plot despite feeling very familiar. The character traits are fun and allow for interesting interactions between the cast members. It also adds to the actual investigation of the various supernatural situations that ghouls cover. It’s very well written and the localization is handled so well, I’m fine with it. Sure, the two orphans who get into trouble at the academy with Slenderman are named Sora and Riku. Of course they are. Go save their lives. The only downside now is that sometimes my party of characters ends up being too under-leveled or too weak to continue the story, but so far I haven’t found myself isolated too much.
Tokyo Debunker just for fun! Yes, a lot of the scenes seem very familiar. You can see Disney Twisted Wonderland And Yes I do in Tokyo Debunker DNA. The thing is, it really relies on that to make sure the story and characters are entertaining.
Tokyo Debunker available on mobile device.
