Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I

From Sega Retro

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SherlockHolmesVol1 title.png

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I
System(s): Sega Mega-CD
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Genre: Adventure

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega-CD
US
Sega Mega-CD
EU
4650
Sega Mega-CD
DE
DM 129.95129.95[8] 4650
Sega Mega-CD
FR
4650
Sega Mega-CD
PT
€14.40014.400[9]
Sega Mega-CD
UK
£44.9944.99[5][6] 4650
Non-Sega versions

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I is an adventure game for the Sega Mega-CD based on the Sherlock Holmes series of books. In North America, the game was bundled with launch consoles, along with Sega Classics Arcade Collection (in the same box) and Sol-Feace.

Gameplay

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Introduction.png

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Desktop.png

Desktop

The game presents the player with three different mysteries to solve. It uses live actors and sets as the player assumes the role of veteran detective Sherlock Holmes, assisted by his longtime partner Dr. Watson, trying to collect clues by visiting various locations, questioning witnesses and suspects, and reading the included mock London newspapers.

The player controls Holmes' iconic smoking pipe like a mouse cursor and can move it with the D-Pad and confirm a selection with A. The three cases can be played in any order. The game can be saved to and resumed from the console's internal memory.

At the beginning of each case, a full-motion video clip depicts Holmes and Watson meeting a client and learning a few background clues about the case. Then the player must choose a particular location or person from the directory or notebook to visit, read the London newspapers for clues, or ask one of the young "Baker Street Irregulars" to investigate. The object of each case is to gather enough clues in the lowest number of visits possible, then go before a judge who then asks the player to answer the important questions about the case. If the player is successful, Dr. Watson reveals the player's score, based on the number of visits it took to solve the case. The player can view a video clip set in Holmes' and Watson's study that reviews the events that transpired.

Informants

Besides witnesses and suspects, there are several general informants and locations that can be visited to provide additional expertise. Visiting an informant is sometimes necessary to provide a clue that leads to solving the mystery.

  • Henry Ellis: The foreign news editor of The Times and an expert on international affairs.
  • Edward Hall: A barrister who can be consulted for his legal expertise.
  • Quentin Hogg: A crime reporter for The Police Gazette and a former police inspector who possesses a keen deductive mind.
  • Sir Jasper Meeks: A medical examiner who can be consulted for his technical analysis of cadavers.
  • H.R. Murray: A chemist who can apply forensics to examine physical evidence.
  • Disraeli O'Brian: The head clerk of the Office of Records, who can provide legal records.
  • Langdale Pike: A gossip columnist who covers London's social scene and knows all of the city's scandalous gossip.
  • Porky Shinwell: A former prisoner and the proprietor of the Raven and Rat Inn who stays connected to underworld dealings through his establishment's seedy patrons.
  • London Library: A large library full of valuable reference materials.
  • Scotland Yard: The city's police headquarters where Inspector Lestrade can aid with the investigation.
  • Somerset House: An archive of records including births, deaths, and records.

Icons

These icons appear on the Holmes' desktop and help the player gather clues and solve the case.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Icons.png
Holmes' Book
Returns to the Table of Contents, where the player can save the game, load a previously started game, or select a different mystery.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Icons.png
Notebook
Opens the Notebook, which stores the names of people and places of interest.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Icons.png
Directory
Opens the Directory, a list of names of people and places in London.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Icons.png
Newspaper
Opens a list of newspapers, which can be inspected for clues.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Icons.png
Travel
After selecting a name from the Notebook or Directory, Holmes or Watson can travel to a location by clicking this icon. A video sequence plays each time the player visits a relevant person or location. Selecting an irrelevant location to visit results in a short audio clip of dialogue between Holmes and Watson and negatively impacts the player's score.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Icons.png
Holmes' Files
After selecting a name from the Notebook or Directory, opens a page from Holmes' file that contains background information about the given person or place.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Icons.png
Baker Street Irregulars
After selecting a name from the Notebook or Directory, Holmes can send the "Baker Street Irregulars," street boys employed by Holmes as intelligence agents. The boys can gather inside information that Holmes is unable to collect in a direct interrogation, but they cannot help with every subject.
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Icons.png
Courtroom
After collecting enough clues, Holmes can visit the courtroom, where the player is asked questions to solve the case and given a score based on the number of visits taken.

Tools

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Table of Contents.png

Holmes' Book
From the Table of Contents, the player can select any of the three cases to play in any order, save the game in progress, or load a previously saved game from the console's internal memory. There is also a video introduction by Holmes and an "instructions" page that provides audio descriptions of the icons on the desktop.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Notes.png

Notebook
A list of names of people and places of interest. At the beginning of the case, it already contains a list of items, but additional names can be added to it from the Directory. It can contain multiple pages of names. The player can select a name and then an icon to travel to the person or place to investigate, open a relevant entry from Holmes' file, or send the Baker Street Irregulars to scrounge for clues.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Directory, Cover.png

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Directory, Page.png

  • Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Directory, Cover.png

  • Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Directory, Page.png

Directory
The London Directory, containing people and places, sorted alphabetically. The Directory contains many names, but it is up to the player to determine which are relevant to the current case. As with the Notebook, after selecting a name, the player can click an icon to travel to the person or place for an interview, open the subject's entry in Holmes' file, or send the Baker Street Irregulars to investigate. The player can also click the Notebook icon to add the name to it.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Times, Index.png

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Times, Paper.png

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Times, Excerpt.png

  • Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Times, Index.png

  • Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Times, Paper.png

  • Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Times, Excerpt.png

Newspaper
The Times, a newspaper that the player can scan for clues. Each case has several papers that can be inspected. Like the Directory, not all of the entries are relevant to the current case.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Judge.png

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Judge, Directory.png

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Judge, Motive.png

  • Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Judge.png

  • Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Judge, Directory.png

  • Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Judge, Motive.png

Courtroom
The courtroom can be visited after collecting enough clues to solve the mystery. If the player has not yet visited enough relevant locations, the judge tells Holmes to investigate more. Otherwise, the player is asked to pick the name of the guilty party from either the Directory or the Notebook. If the correct suspect is chosen, the player is asked to choose the motive from four choices and sometimes asked additional questions concerning the case. If the wrong choice is made, the player fails the case and must start over from the beginning.

If the case is solved successfully, the player is given a score based on the number of resources used in the investigation, with the player achieving Holmes' score if the case is solved in the fewest amount of steps possible. After solving the mystery, Holmes and Watson summarize the case in a video sequence.

Cases

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Case of the Mummy's Curse.png

The Mummy's Curse
This investigation is set on 12 April 1889. Holmes and Watson learn about a series of mysterious deaths of three men who were part of an archaeology trip to Egypt. Each man was found strangled with a sheath of a mummy's wrapping present at each murder. The Times believes the deaths were caused by an ancient mummy, creating mass hysteria. Holmes and Watson decide to take on the case to find the real culprit, but they face a challenge since only one murder was in London, while another was in Egypt and another was at sea.

To solve the case, the player must identify who murdered Ebenezer Turnbull, Andrew Weatherby, and James Windibanks, along with the motive for each murder.

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Case of the Mystified Murderess.png

The Mystified Murderess
This case takes place on 4 July 1888. Frances Nolan is found hovering over the body of her lover, Guy Clarendon, in a London hotel with a pistol in her hand. She is convicted of Guy's murder, despite having no memory of ever being there, nor purchasing the gun that was bought in her name. She insists that she is innocent as Holmes and Watson take on the case to see if she is telling the truth. Along the way, Holmes and Watson investigate the "Society Burglar," a thief who is stealing valuables from members of high society.

To solve the case, the player must determine the real murderer of Guy Clarendon, the killer's motive, the reason that Frances went to Halliday's Private Hotel on the night of the murder, and the identity of the "Society Burglar."

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Case of the Tin Soldier.png

The Tin Soldier
The investigation takes place on 10 June 1890. An old general is murdered in his home by a mysterious visitor who quickly vanishes from the scene of the crime. Holmes and Watson investigate to see whether the crime was due to the general's part in a veteran tontine, a book he was writing on a missing diamond, a disgruntled marriage, or something hidden deep in his past.

To solve the case, Holmes must determine who murdered General Farnsworth Armstead, the killer's motive, why the Napoleon figure was turned around, and what the general used to call his wife.

History

Legacy

The game was re-released as a DVD (for use with a standard DVD player) in 1999. A higher resolution and remastered version of the game was released for the iPad, Windows, and OS X in 2012.

The game was followed by Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. II in 1993. Since the game was only bundled with new consoles and never released as a standalone product in North America, this theoretically means Volume II is a great deal easier to find than Volume I.

A third entry with three new cases was also released for the IBM PC and Macintosh in 1993, but it was not released for any home console.

Production credits

Starring
  • Sherlock Holmes: Peter Farley
  • Dr. Watson: Warren Green
Source:
In-game credits
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Starring.png
[10]


Magazine articles

Main article: Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
40
[11]
Consoles + (FR)
86
[12]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
78
[13]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
75
[14]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
83
[15]
GamesMaster (UK)
76
[16]
Joypad (FR)
63
[17]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
85
[18]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
85
[19]
Mega (UK) PAL
70
[20]
Mega Action (UK) PAL
80
[21]
Mega Force (FR)
75
[22]
MegaTech (UK) PAL
79
[23]
Player One (FR)
50
[24]
Power Up! (UK)
76
[25]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
73
[26]
Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-U
91
[27]
Sega Zone (UK) PAL
90
[28]
Sega Force (SE)
78
[29]
Sega Force (UK) NTSC
86
[30]
Video Games (DE) PAL
46
[31]
Sega Mega-CD
75
Based on
21 reviews

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I

Mega-CD, US
SherlockHolmesI MCD US Box Front.jpg
Cover
SherlockHolmesI MCD US Disc.jpg
Disc
Sherlockholmes mcd us manual.pdf
Manual
Sherlockholmes mcd us times.pdf
Hint Guide
Mega-CD, EU
SherlockHolmesI MCD EU Box Back.jpgSherlockHolmesI MCD EU Box Front.jpg
Cover
SherlockHolmesVol1 MCD EU spinecard.jpg
Spinecard
Sherlock Holmes MCD EU Disc.jpg
Disc
Sherlock Holmes MCD EU Manual.jpg
Manual
Mega-CD, PT

Technical information

Main article: Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I/Technical information.

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Mega-CD
 ?
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
CD-ROM (US)
Sega Mega-CD
 ?
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1
752,581,200 CD-ROM (EU) 4650

References

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NEC Retro has more information related to Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective
  1. Sega Visions, "November/December 1992" (US; 1992-xx-xx), page 52
  2. Mega, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-18), page 51
  3. MegaTech, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-20), page 29
  4. Sega Pro, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-08), page 18
  5. Mega, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-18), page 26
  6. Mega Power, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 79
  7. Select Round, "Septembre 1993" (FR; 1993-xx-xx), page 2
  8. 8.0 8.1 Video Games, "9/93" (DE; 1993-08-25), page 43
  9. Jogos Vídeo, "Dezembro de 1993; Ano 1, Nº 2" (PT; 1993-12-xx), page 15
  10. File:Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol I MCD, Starring.png
  11. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 204
  12. Consoles +, "Octobre 1993" (FR; 1993-xx-xx), page 146
  13. Computer & Video Games, "July 1993" (UK; 1993-06-15), page 106
  14. Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 125
  15. GamePro, "February 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 62
  16. GamesMaster, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-19), page 27
  17. Joypad, "Septembre 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 78
  18. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-xx-xx), page 52
  19. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-xx-xx), page 50
  20. Mega, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-18), page 50
  21. Mega Action, "September 1993" (UK; 1993-08-12), page 27
  22. Mega Force, "Mega-CD Force: Le Supplément Spécial Mega-CD" (FR; 1993-xx-xx), page 20
  23. MegaTech, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-20), page 32
  24. Player One, "Octobre 1993" (FR; 1993-xx-xx), page 126
  25. Power Up!, "Saturday, April 17, 1993" (UK; 1993-04-17), page 1
  26. Sega Power, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-06), page 48
  27. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 38
  28. Sega Zone, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-08), page 50
  29. Sega Force, "7/93" (SE; 1993-11-04), page 18
  30. Sega Force, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-01), page 70
  31. Video Games, "10/93" (DE; 1993-09-29), page 113
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. I

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