This game takes a while to load, the first time, but once you get past that it will load quickly every time. At the start of the game you are given the choice to play in either English or Japanese. If you choose English and it starts showing you Japanese, don't freak out. The game should be in English once you make it past the intro. The main point of this game is to track down different suspects who steal historical world monuments, icons and art. This game actually provides quite a bit of knowledge of different geographical locations. Unfortunately, some of the information is a little outdated, but that is to be expected in an older game. Many people may actually remember playing this game as a child because there was a period of time when schools actually used this game as fun educational game students could play as a reward for good behavior. For those of you who love mystery and suspense, you will probably find this game to be both fun and disappointing. It is fun to track down the thieves using clues you are given, but there is not much depth to the cases you get to solve.

Graphics: 8/10 The overall graphics are quite good for an older game. The pictures of different locations around the world are very impressive for the time in which the game was built. The rest of the graphics are quite similar to what you would find in other games, but the simplicity is rather charming. The graphics also include small animations which were not actually offered in every game from this system. Occasionally, the screen will flash into blue and then phase back out into the regular colors, but it does not detract from the game play at all.

Sound: 6/10 The sounds in this game are rather short lived.. It has some great sound effects for flying or catching the criminals, but the rest of the game does not have very much sound to go with it. Every time you enter a new city it will give you a short clip of sound to represent the city, but there is not much sound in the game to listen to. I found it more pleasing to listen to my own music just to create some noise to go with the game rather than waiting for the next sound effect to come Still, the sounds and music are better than
some of the continual tinny noises offered in other games from the same time frame.

Addictiveness: 8/10 This game is actually surprisingly addictive for having so little plot. Something about sleuthing around and using geographical knowledge to find the crook is amazingly enjoyable. As you continue to go along the game you may learn new things about other countries, or become a higher ranking detective making the game enjoyable even after you have solved your first crime. Eventually though, the addictiveness will wear out as you begin to realize that you know what every clue means without having to think much to know where to go next. Still, this game is rather nostalgic for me, and that just helps add to the addictiveness.

Story: 6/10 Sadly, this game does not really have much story. You start out as a rookie detective and as you solve more cases your rank will start to go up. The cases themselves do not have very much story either. You will be informed of what was stolen and will begin solving the case at whichever city the national icon was stolen from. In the city the citizens you can talk to will tell you hints about what the suspect looks like and where they have gone. As, you get closer to the suspect you will start to see henchmen, and once catch up to the suspect and have a warrant they will be arrested. From there, you will be congratulated on your success and given a new case which will have about the same basic story line as the last case.

Depth: 4/10 There is not a whole lot to do in this game. While this game does teach you about geography it really does not offer much depth. It may take a while to rank up between the cases, but overall, there is not really anything to do in the game outside of the main plot of catch the thief, get a new case, catch the thief, maybe rank up, repeat. For each case, you are given a time limit to find and apprehend the suspect. If you finish the case within the time limit you will be one step closer to getting a promotion. Otherwise, you will stay at your current job level, but will still be given a new case afterwards.

Difficulty: 4/10 This game is not that difficult. Sometimes, the clues given are a little bit harder, but the more you play the game the easier it becomes. Also, those who begin to play the game with a really strong background in geography will have an easier time than those who have almost no geographical knowledge. The only other part of the game is making sure you make the time frame for catching the thief. However, as long as you don’t fly to the wrong place, even that  should not be too hard to do.

Glitches I’ve found: For whatever reason, when you select to play the game in English it will give you an intro in Japanese. Once you make it past that intro, however, the game will be in English. Also, sometimes the screen will have what I like to call a giant blue line run through it. For a short time everything will
turn rather blue, but then the original color will start to return as if someone is sliding a blue see-through sheet of plastic along your game. Thankfully, it does not detract from the game experience at all, but rather, it gives it a fun retro feel.

I hope you found this review to be helpful.

This review really brings back memories.  Although I never played the Turbo Grafx CD version of the game, I had it on my computer, and it was my favorite educational game (outside of "Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?").  Busting the crooks was satisfying, and failure only prompted me to learn more and get better.  I actually might have the game somewhere, but I'm not sure it will run on my family's newer PC without a few modifications.  

We had "Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego?" as well.  Good times.