With the Watch Dogs games unofficially on hiatus, fans are still eager to see the franchise evolve. And in a series set in the near future, what better city to set the next chapter than in the most futuristic city in the world, Tokyo? And then, what better medium to tell that story than in a Japanese manga?
It’s a bit of a no brainer. Unfortunately, after reading the first of two volumes of the Watch Dogs Tokyo Book from TokyoPop, I worry there is nothing here to reignite the fanbase.
Things start off with a bang however. In much the same way as how the opening moments of the first Watch Dogs game introduced us to Aiden Pearce at the start of a big mission, we join protagonists Goda and SSB, as they are about to pull off something big. Things, naturally, don’t go as planned but whilst they encounter some resistance, they still manage to pull it off. Members of the Japanese branch of DedSec, these hactivists have pulled off something they’ve been planning for a while.
We are then transported back a year where we learn that Goda is actually a cop investigating a murder. However, this investigation is also found utilising the newly adopted ctOS. And if you’ve ever played a Watch Dogs game, you’ll know this isn’t the best idea, as the creators, Blume, aren’t the most trustworthy.
It turns out, using the ctOS makes this a pretty open and shut case, or so that’s what they would have you believe. But Goda believes there is more to it than ctOS would initially have him think, and wants to investigate further.
Watch Dogs Tokyo is set some time after the events of the first game. The ctOS experiment was deemed a success in Chicago so was rolled out to other cities including Tokyo. Volume 1 of Watch Dogs Tokyo from TokyoPop does a pretty good job of portraying Tokyo in black and white. There are some pretty cityscape drawings, including Kabukicho, every now and then, along with plenty of Japanese symbols in and amongst the more action-oriented scenes. There’s the obligatory mention of the Yakuza too, in case it wasn’t immediately obvious that this is Japan.
Where Volume 1 really lets itself down though is with the lack of non-linear storytelling and of character building. The actual start of the story begins with a murder, so it doesn’t feel like it needs to start with a heist scene to grab a reader’s attention. The murder is more than capable of doing that.
But it’s because of this non-linear storytelling that our two protagonists aren’t really given the time they need to build until Chapter 4. Their interactions up to that point are largely during action sequences. This, and many of the supporting cast are only given names on plaques next to a cell that predominantly features them, and these can be difficult to spot in fairness. It seems like Watch Dogs Tokyo is more interested in giving you action sequences than an interesting plot. Thankfully, the moments of action are pretty good though.
Also in Chapter 4 there is a cool moment involving automated moving shelf stacks that feels ripped out of a film. I wouldn’t be surprised to see something very similar involving using these shelves for cover as they go about their business in a blockbuster some time soon. But Watch Dogs being Watch Dogs, these shelving units are conveniently hacked, giving the protagonists some control over where their manoeuvrable cover is going.
Then in Chapter 5 there is a quick car chase involving a Nudle car, as featured in Watch Dogs 2. Needless to say, it needs to be a quick car chase, because the Nudle car is not good in a straight line. This and the many other references are nice little throwbacks to the wider franchise, and adds a bit of cohesion to it, all whilst being capable of running as its own entry.
Watch Dogs Tokyo Volume 1 sets up another tale of DedSec versus ctOS/Blume without straying too far from the path. There is definitely something bubbling underneath what is presented, without really grabbing the reader from the very off. A few design choices such as choosing that particular starting point before going back to the very beginning doesn’t make much sense, but we do get to see the early machinations of Goda and SSB’s relationship. There is more to come, and hopefully that can expand and improve on what we have so far.
Huge thanks go out to TokyoPop for providing us access to Watch Dogs Tokyo Volume 1. You can grab a copy for yourself through TokyoPop or the likes of Amazon.
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