Gallery Fake [PSP/JPN]

NCS Product Synopsis 
Original Update: October 4, 2005
«©NCSX» Reiji Fujita once worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art as an administrative director but because of dastardly circumstances, he was fired. Since his termination, Reiji has started his own gallery in a pedestrian part of town. Known as Gallery Fake, the squat building sits in an industrial district near a pier in Tokyo and is named appropriately for the reproductions of masterpieces that Reiji purveys. The business would be entirely humdrum were it not for the curator of Takada Museum's accusations against Gallery Fake. Sayako Mitamura asserts that Reiji deals in the resale of stolen paintings and uses Gallery Fake as a clever cover-up to hide illicit transactions.

   Assisting Reiji at the gallery is Ms Sara Halifa who learns about the art world under Reiji's tutelage and auspicious umbrella.

   The PSP Gallery Fake game starts off in a gallery where two silhouetted figures are discussing Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting that was purchased by Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Company, Ltd for $39 million in March 1987. One is a policeman and the other is Sayoko Mitamura. The art appreciation continues until Sayoko notices something amiss in the painting...

Some background information: In the second episode of the Gallery Fake animation, there's a flashback where lead Fujita helps Sayoko Mitamura determine that her newly acquired "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh is a fake but eventually gives her the real painting in exchange for the fake which was owned by assistant Sara's family before they were killed.

Some more background information: The Yasuda Sunflowers painting has been described as a fake by journalist Geraldine Norman and author Martin Bailey, among others. Countering their assertions are art professor Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov and Van-Gogh scholar Walter Feilchenfeldt, among others.

   The action begins and the scene shifts to Sara walking into Gallery Fake. The game is played in interactive flick-screen style where text is read on the bottom of the screen and flick screen artwork flashes on the main portion of the screen. Fujita greets Sara and the two banter. Spot animations are featured along with simple sound effects. Fujita recollects a bit of his past when co-worker Max Watson had him fired from the Met because Fujita uncovered his attribution scheme where authentic works were swapped for fakes and sold to the a collector named Bill Travers.

   Later on, the policeman from the gallery shows up at Gallery Fake. The game proper begins at this point where various statements may be posed to the policeman to gather clues as to what he knows and the current state of the Sunflowers investigation.

   The aim of the scenarios in Gallery Gake is to "Break a Fake" or interrupt a normal conversation when a questionable statement or assertion is spouted by the counterparty. Japanese language comprehension is a must in this game and trial and error won't work in some particularly intensive sequences.

   When speaking to the policeman, the point at which to intercept the action with the "TRIANGLE" button is when he appears to be in a state of consternation. Watch his facial expression for the cue since he'll frown and his brows will furrow deeply when it's time to break in.

1st Break a Fake
Select the 4th option

2nd Break a Fake
Select the 1st option

3rd Break a Fake
Select the 2nd option

   Successful choices will be met with a "Break" screen where hero smiles in a devilish self-satisfied manner. When the interrogation is over, a CLEAR screen appears which tallies up what was learned. After each scene is cleared, the option is given to save the data.

   The next scene starts immediately afterwards at the police station. The same policeman asks Fujita about the Sunflowers painting and what he knows about it. Information culled from the first interaction will prove useful in clearing this scene as Fujita works towards proving of disproving the authenticity of the Sunflowers painting.