| “ | I was Alastor even before Giulietta came along! Society never accepted me, you see. Poor awkward Archie Rochester, no social graces, no friends! They never came to my parties, but when I created Mr. Alastor, they suddenly flocked to me! Their strings were so easy to pull! When Giulietta appeared, I knew she was meant for me! She, too, was an outcast! But I understood her! I had to do something special to her, a girl who's used to violence! | „ |
| ~ Archie explaining his reasons for becoming Mr. Alastor and orchestrating the murders in his parties |
| “ | Archie: You have held a grudge against my family for too long. But here we are now, forced to find a way to work together. When you look inside yourself, Deputy Mayor, you might find you're not as different from us Rochesters as you think! Lawson: If you are insinuating that I can be bought, then- |
„ |
| ~ Archie mockingly telling Lawson he and the Rochesters have similar goals |
| “ | Archie: Old claim? Oh, you sure have a funny brain! My family never lost control over Concordia! Haven't you ever noticed that we hold the majority of power over this city? The Senate, City Hall, Wolf Street... it's all ours! Just like Concordia is ours. Always has been. Always will. Isaac: This city doesn't belong to you, it belongs to the people of Concordia. |
„ |
| ~ Archie regarding his family's control over Concordia, as well as his final dialogue. |
Archibald Rochester, also commonly known as Archie Rochester, and later as Mr. Alastor, is a major antagonist in the 2016 point-and-click game Criminal Case: Mysteries of The Past, the fourth installment in the Criminal Case franchise. He acts as the main antagonist of the Elysium Fields district, a minor character in the Wolf Street district, and a supporting antagonist in the Ivory Hill destrict.
He is the second member of the Rochester family to appear in the game, and at first he appears as a reserved, socially awkward boy who suffers from asthma. However, later on in the final case of the district, it's revealed that he was Mr. Alastor, a mysterious socialite who secretly orchestrated six murders in his recent parties in order to woo Giulietta Capecchi, the daughter of Italian mob boss Vittorio Capecchi. However, despite his apparent involvement in instigating the murders, he manages to avoid imprisonment and instead go into exile in Switzerland.
Some time later, he would return from Switzerland and would occasionally pester with the Concordian Flying Squad, as well as anyone he encounters; effectively being regarded as more of an annoying nuisance rather than a genuine threat. Additionally, he would continue to annoy the Judge-turned-Deputy Mayor Justin Lawson for constantly opposing him and his family.
Appearance[]
Archie appears to be a 19-year old young adult with light brown skin, chocolate brown hair that is styled and swept up, and brown eyes. During his debut in Sweet Revenge, he wears a black tuxedo suit with red lapels and a left breast pocket, a white undershirt with gray buttons and a straight collar, a red bowtie, a red poinsettia flower in his right chest area, and wears gray rectangular glasses. In both Behind The Mask and The Heart of the Matter, he retains his clothing from Sweet Revenge, but he also wears an additional gold and green brooch in his left chest area.
In Get Off Your High Horse, he wears a dark gray suit with light gray lapels, a light beige undershirt with a light blue-and-white striped tie, and a dark gray top hat adorned with orange feathers. Throughout his appearances in Ivory Hill, he retains his gray suit, though his top hat would be absent. Additionally, when he was murdered in Tipping The Scales, he is revealed to wear black pants, black socks, and brown shoes.
Personality[]
Initially, Archie was seen as a reserved, yet socially awkward boy who has trouble making friends, with his only "friend" being a boy named Jack Goodwin, who would later abandon him to pursue the social life. According to him, he's not interested in drinking and partying which may have further driven home his awkwardness. He is also shown to suffer from asthma; needing his valet Elmer Wentworth to constantly watch over him and hand him his inhaler, especially in stressful situations such as when he began ranting about how Jack left him.
However, underneath this seemingly pathetic façade is a charismatic yet calculating mind with a penchant for blood and violence, as secretly he was a mysterious socialite known as Mr. Alastor who was famous among Concordia's social elite for his lavish parties, as well as his enigmatic nature as he never shows up in his own parties. He noted that he became Alastor long before meeting Giulietta which shows that he was cunning enough to hide his secret from the public for a while. He also appears to be egotistical as when confronted about being Mr. Alastor, he brags about how easy it was to manipulate the wealthy populace into attending his parties despite his apparent lack of social graces, and the various murders occuring in his parties.
Speaking of murders, he is shown to be knowledgable of the wealthy populace and his guests' petty problems, secrets, and emotions enough that he can accurately predict and calculate which of them will be murdered and by who. He uses this to orchestrate a series of murders in order to impress Giulietta and eventually become her fiance. However, despite his apparent intelligence and deceptive nature, he seems to be ignorant of the fact that Giulietta would hate him due to him orchestrating her sister's death in his first party; foolishly believing that she will fall for his advances.
Following his return from Switzerland, he is shown to be more openly hostile and arrogant, constantly bragging about his "greatness" and dismissing anyone that didn't meet his expectations, such as when he mocked a party planner named Eliza Melody over her parties being boring, and when he complained about Deputy Mayor Sandra Hwang rejecting his proposal to install a clock tower with his likeness. Additionally, his views towards women seemed to have devolved as originally he never had much to say about Giulietta outside of him foolishly believing she will love him, but after his return he actively rejects women from a lower societal rank, prefering to target more wealthy and noble women such as foreign princess Eliza Rheinberg. He is even willing to leave them behind such as when returning from Switzerland, he brought with her his girlfriend Heidi Muller only to break up with her and even buy a ship ticket for her to return to Switzerland.
But despite his more rude and jerkish behavior, his intelligence never really diminished as seen when Diego Del Lobo inspected his law degree from Geneva University for potential forgery, and found that not only was it legitimate, it was an accelerated degree which explains how he was able to graduate despite spending only a few months in Switzerland. He also enjoys trying to get under Lawson's skin as he constantly tries to annoy him and even proclaimed that Lawson wasn't so different from the Rochesters; a proclamation which would unfortunately end up true.
History[]
Background[]
Archie Rochester was the only child of Concordian senator Malcolm Rochester and businesswoman Veronica Rochester, and as such he is a member of the prestigious and powerful Rochester family. Growing up, he was very awkward and had trouble socializing with people, which led to him having almost no friends. The closest people he had to a friend were a boy named Jack Goodwin and his valet Elmer Wenthworth. It's also shown that his father Malcolm would whip his own son with a belt in order to "discipline" him whenever he misbehaves or does something that tarnishes the Rochesters' reputation. He also suffers from asthma and he carries with him a nebulizer or inhaler for when he feels like his asthma is acting up.
As he became older, he became more annoyed and resentful at the fact that no one visited his parties due to his lack of social charm. So, he decided to create a secret identity known as Mr. Alastor, a charismatic yet mysterious individual, in order to lure the wealthy populace into attending his parties. Whenever a new year starts, he would host six special soirees; each requiring either exclusive tickets, solving riddles, or explicit approval from Alastor himself in order to attend; he also seems to host his soirees in what people could consider some of the most bizarre and unusual places with even more unusual themes.
As expected, people began flocking to his parties, intrigued by his charming yet weird persona; all while remaining unaware of the true person behind the mask. During one of his parties, he would meet the daughter of a mobster named Giulietta Capecchi and soon after falling in love with her, began researching on her relations. Finding about how most of the nobility mocked or even swindled her, Archie would have the idea to impress Giulietta by orchestrating a series of murders in each of his six parties in order to impress her and have her fall for him. He began making plans and calculations to track and eliminate every person that wronged Giulietta.
Mysteries of The Past[]
Elysium Fields[]
In Let Me Down Gently, after the player exposes corrupt police officer Edward Whimple for running an immigrant slavery scheme and murdering Father Donovan, Archie as Alastor would send them and the Concordian Flying Squad invites to his lighthouse party which acts as his first soiree of the year, though he himself would not attend. During the party, Giulietta's sister Lucrezia would be pushed out of the lighthouse and to her death. After a long investigation, her killer turned out to be Jordan Wilson who confessed that he killed her by accident after she tricked him that she was Giulietta, and when they met face-to-face, she refused to let him leave after being disgusted by her.
Later after the party, the Flying Squad would track down a gentleman thief named Diego Del Lobo and learn that he plans to attend Mr. Alastor's second party. At first, Isaac and the player initially planned to ask their chief Arthur Wright for an invitation due to his connections with the Concordian nobility, but would hit a roadblock when Arthur reveals that he never actually met Alastor as he was never seen in public; he never even attends his own parties. Though after learning that his second soiree would be in the Concordia Museum of Art, he would contact the museum's curator to grant them access and they were allowed to visit Alastor's second party.
In The Talking Dead, when Madeline and the player arrive to attend Alastor's second party which was a soiree, they find the body of Philomena Highmore strung up a statue with her throat slit. Eventually, the player would incriminate Ignatius Cottingley for the murder as Philomena threatened to expose his fraudulent scheme as a fake medium.
Later, both Madeline and the player would be contacted by Philomena's aunt Lady Minerva Highmore, expressing worry about another incident that will happen in Mr. Alastor's four remaining parties. They would then make plans to infiltrate Alastor's third party when they found Philomena's ledger which revealed the third party will take place in a chocolate factory owned by one of Archie Rochester's relatives, Rockley Rochester. Though they found a diamond ticket they can use to access the party, it's rendered useless as the ticket has Philomena's name imprinted on it. At that point, they decided to allow a recently imprisoned Diego to forge tickets for them in exchange for his freedom. Following this, they began to attend Alastor's third party.
In Sweet Revenge, Archie Rochester makes his first physical appearance during the investigation of Jack Goodwin's murder after Isaac asks the former about a notebook given by Jack, with a message that states Archie should be "more like him." Archie initially appeared to be distraught upon hearing about Jack's death, claiming he was his only friend. But later on, Isaac and the player would find that Archie spiked the victim's drink with his asthma medication. When confronted about it, he began ranting about how Jack left him when he found out he wasn't interested in partying and that he spiked his drink in order to make a fool of himself from the medicine's side effects, before Wentworth came in and requested his master to take his medication out of concern for the boy's safety. Once Archie began inhaling his nebulizer, Wentworth would have Archie leave and prevent Isaac and the player from continuing to interrogate him.
Archie would later be found "innocent" of the murder when Jack's former friend Violetta Blue was incriminated for the murder, and later contacted a party planner named Eliza Melody to host his fourth party in Prospect Gardens. Meanwhile, the Flying Squad would investigate the chocolate party again and find Alastor's guest list and after Evie Holloway analyzed the papers, they found that Alastor had calculated and predicted which of his guests will be murdered and by who. They would later ask both Violetta and Seamus O'Neill for clues on Alastor's next party, with the latter revealing that it will be held at Prospect Gardens, and after discussing with Chief Wright, Madeline and the player went to attend Alastor's fourth party.
In Let Her Eat Cake, when they attended his fourth party which turned out to be a picnic party for Concordia's highest-ranking nobility, they find the body of Countess Georgina Upperton who was poisoned. Later, Eliza would approach the Flying Squad and notify them that Alastor has contacted her to end the party immediately. After a thorough investigation, they would arrest a poet named Ernest Swanswaddle for the murder, with the latter explaining that initially, he asked her out, only to be rejected for being poor, and even after he spent his life amassing his wealth and learning poetry, she still cruelly rejected him.
Later after the arrest, District Attorney Justin Lawson would come with the player to inquire Eliza about where Alastor's fifth party will be held. She told them that she kept her letters and instructions from Alastor in her purple notebook, but lost it during the investigation. She also told them she won't be involved in planning Alastor's fifth party, with the latter expressing how dull her paper invitations were and that for his next party, he'll imprint them on something "unusual." Lawson would find her notebook and hand it to Evie for analyzing. She stated that while searching through the papers, she noticed pen pressure marks which when combined form the phrase "Every sinner punished for hurting h" which reveals that the victims of each murder were killed because they had wronged someone. Madeline and the player then went to ask Lady Highmore about what sort of connection the victims had, but she states she has no idea which person could even match, before allowing them to investigate her late niece's belongings for any clues. They find a locket with both Philomena and Giulietta's pictures on it, and after some additional talking with Lady Highmore, found that Giulietta was the person referred to by Alastor. Later in the gardens, they find a broken machine which after repairing it, sent to Charlie Dupont for analyzing. He states it's a machine for mixing drinks and dispensing sherry cobblers, as well as finding a coin lodged in it's mechanisms, stating someone believed the machine was coin-operated. Upon closer inspection, he states the coin beared an imprint of the Gigantic ship as well as the message, "Be my guest on board", meaning this was the unusual invitation Alastor cited in his letter to Eliza. After gathering in the airship, Madeline and the player made plans to board the Gigantic for Alastor's fifth party before it's maiden voyage.
In That Sinking Feeling, Madeline and the player would find famed artist Theo Vergeer dead with his head bashed with a horse-shaped ice block. Additionally, they saw Giulietta attend the party, whom they constantly accused of being Alastor due to her ties to the Italian mob and the fact her victims had wronged her; even finding out Theo forced Giulietta to take part in a scandalous life drawing session. But despite all this, it's revealed the victim's assistant Reńee Daucourt was the murderer, who stated that Theo stole credit for her artworks and passed it off as his own, even planning to leave her behind when they planned to leave Concordia for Paris.
Later, the Squad interrogated Giulietta again, and despite her continuing to insist that she is not Alastor, she does tell them that she kept receiving letters from a mysterious person, whom she states could be Alastor. After retrieving the letters they sent it to Evie to analyze who wrote them, and with assistance from Diego, found that they were sent and written by media tycoon George Buchanan. While initially Buchanan claimed that he was Alastor, he immediately recanted upon hearing that the latter orchestrated a series of murders, much to the annoyance of Madeline who would put Buchanan under arrest. Somehow, Archie would hear that the Flying Squad incriminated Buchanan for being Mr. Alastor and decided to send his personal driver Percival Gordon to the docks to notify the Squad of their mistake, before inviting them to his final soiree which will he held in his own mansion.
In Behind The Mask, Archie makes his second in-game appearance when Isaac and the player asked him about his connections with Mr. Alastor upon hearing from his valet Wentworth that his master had loaned his mansion to Alastor for the party. Archie claimed that this was his first time loaning his mansion which was offered to him by his deceased uncle Monty Rochester, later citing how good it feels to have so many guests attend his party like he has many friends, before expressing disdain at Buchanan's death in his own party. Later, Archie would be inquired again after the detectives found a newspaper clipping detailing how Buchanan sued a Rochester. He claims that he never sued anyone as he "wasn't interested in his family's petty grievances", noting that while Buchanan did dig up some dirt on his uncle Monty, he stated that everyone else did, before ranting how people like them shouldn't stoop down to Buchanan's level and then leaving to find his valet's snuff box.
Wolf Street[]
Following his exile from Concordia to Switzerland, he would attend the University of Geneva where he obtained his law degree after studying there for a few months; he also invested in studying clockwork mechanisms. Soon, he would meet with a woman named Heidi Muller and they would become seemingly close. After a while, Archie would return to Concordia, bringing Heidi with her. Though after they arrived, Archie seemed to have become more brash and arrogant, openly antagonizing anyone he doesn't like.
In Get Off Your High Horse, Archie smugly appears near Isaac and the player during their investigation on the murder of a jockey named Anna Jewell. He remarks on how him being sent to Switzerland was the best possible thing his parents could've done, and being annoyed that Isaac brough up his past actions in Elysium Fields. Upon being asked about Anna Jewell, he stated that he saw her roaming around his family's department store before her murder, before "requesting" that the detectives order some macaroons for him. Later, Isaac would inquire Archie about Anna's advances towards him, citing he didn't feel the same about "common girls" following the Elysium Fields murders; that only someone from a higher societal position could be fit for him, before leaving to locate Princess Eliza Rheinberg.
He would be found innocent after they apprehended Princess Eliza, or at least a flower girl known as Eliza Fairfax posing as a foreign princess. Though, Diego would press Archie regarding some endorsement bonds for the Concordia Telephone Company. Initially, the latter was busy dealing with his asthma, though after some convincing, Archie says that the bonds were being sold all around the Grand Enclosure before going on to rant about his "greatness."
In The Heart of The Matter, Archie would attend a masked ball hosted by his great-uncle Horatio Rochester. He would encounter Isaac and the player for a fourth time when they grilled him about his notebook which had a horrific paraphrasing of Edgar Allan Poe, asking if he saw Deputy Mayor Sandra Hwang. Archie coldly says he hasn't seen her as it was a masked ball, before grumbling how Hwang was able to secure her position as Deputy Mayor.
Later, outside the building where the masked ball was being held, Elisa Melody would get into an argument with Archie and tried to throw a cake at him, but missed and hit Isaac instead which got the detectives' attention. Archie mocked that Elisa's parties were lame, before she punched him in the cheek. Isaac attempts to de-escalate the situation, but Archie cites she won't press any charges against her before leaving to his mansion. Shortly after, he would be approached by Isaac about plans for a clock tower that has a statue of himself as it's centerpiece. Archie smugly states he had learned clockworks during his time in Switzerland, and proposed that the city build a tower with his image in it, but Hwang would turn it down after stating the city has no need for such a building, with Archie mocking her shortly after. Though, he would be found innocent again after the player arrests his cousin Larry Rochester as the killer.
Ivory Hill[]
In The Machiavellian Candidate, Lawson who now became Deputy Mayor, would cite that Malcolm had sent his son Archie to apply for a job as his assistant, with the latter claiming that he has a law degree. Though Lawson would scoff at the idea in his face, and now requests that the player help him in finding his diploma. Upon finding the diploma which apoeared to be issued by the University of Geneva, Lawson was initially distraught that he's stuck with Archie as his assistant, though he would realize that Archie hasn't spent enough time in Swotzerland to finish law school. So they had Diego analyze the paper for seals assocoated with the University of Geneva, and he found that not only was the diploma legitimate, it was actually an accelereated degree. Now truly dismayed, Lawson has no choice but to accept Archie as his assistant. The latter would smugly remark that he came crawling back, before citing that Lawson held a massive grudge against the Rochesters for a long time, but Archie notices that both Lawson and his family may not be so different after all. Lawson initially believes that Archie's saying he can be bribed, but the latter claims he's only pointing out that they have more common ground and saying he's reliable. He then gives the player a gift as a mark for potential future cooperation.
In The Swan Song, Isaac and the player would ask Archie about an old model of Concordia, puzzled about the Rochesters' old claim of Concordia. However, Archie would mock them for calling it an old claim as in his words, the Rochesters never really lost their power over Concordia; that for the past decades, they have maintained control over Concordia's important assets such as the Senate, City Hall, Wolf Street, before remarking that the entire city will always be theirs. Isaac scoffs at the prospect, claiming that Concordia belongs to the people, not the Rochesters, though Archie merely ignores the statement, sarcastically telling the player he's sure they know what's best before telling them to look sharp for whatever the future brings.
Though, this would end up being his last conversation with them as a few moments later, Archie would be drugged unconscious and sliced in half by education lobbyist Samson Drake in order to ruin his father Malcolm Rochester after finding out the Rochesters planned to convert Concordia into a dictatorship. Drake would then drag the bisected corpse and display both halves in the scales of a large statue of Lady Justice, before later being sentenced to life in prison after a thorough investigation by Madeline and the player. Later, his father would be exposed for making out with several women that isn't his wife Veronica despite recently losing his son and soon, would be forced to step down as senator.
Though, even after his death, Archie would unfortunately end up having the last laugh since as he accurately alluded to with Lawson being the same as the Rochester family in The Machiavellian Candidate, the latter would be elected as Mayor of Concordia in the wake of Cornelius Castletown's death, before slowly converting Concordia into a dystopian nightmare and devolving into a dictator; essentially taking the Rochester's dream of turning Concordia into their own personal republic and making it his own.
Victims[]
Despite never having actually killed anyone, his actions have negatively affected several people and anyone related to him or his victims.
- Lucrezia Capecchi: Instigated her being murdered by Jordan Wilson when she constantly attended social gatherings, much to Giulietta's dismay and humiliation.
- Jordan Wilson: Was imprisoned for murdering Lucrezia by accidentally pushing her off the lighthouse after she catfished him and refused to let him leave.
- Philomena Highmore: Instigated her murder at the hands of Ignatius Cottingley when she abandoned her childhood friendship with Giulietta.
- Ignatius Cottingley: Was imprisoned for murdering Philomena after she threatened to expose him as a phony medium and being unable to summon spirits.
- Jack Goodwin: Instigated him being killed by his former friend Violetta Blue; both for borrowing money from Giulietta only to never pay it back, and also presumably for abandoning their friendship.
- Violetta Blue: Was imprisoned for the murder of Jack Goodwin when he tried to "steal" her crush Veruschka Coldwell away from her.
- Georgina Upperton: Instigated her getting killed by Ernest Swanswaddle when she openly criticized Giulietta for coming from a mob family and even banning her from a flower arranging contest.
- Ernest Swanswaddle: Jailed for poisoning Lady Upperton with a frog-shaped cake after she cruelly rejected him.
- Theo Vergeer: Orchestrated his death at the hands of his assistant Reńee Daucourt for forcing Giulietta to take part in a scandalous sketching session.
- Reńee Daucourt: Imprisoned for killing Theo Vergeer when he stole the credit for her paintings and threatened to leave her behind in the voyage to Paris.
- George Buchanan: Was murdered by his own assistant Wentworth for constantly making advances towards Giulietta despite his old age.
- Elmer Wentworth: Killed himself with poison in order to avoid interrogation from the Flying Squad and to protect his master's secret.
- Giulietta Capecchi: Was his entire reason for orchestrating the Alastor murders, as well as causing her sister's death, which would be the first of her continuous misery moving forward.
- Sarah Brown: Fired from her job as a governess due to the scandal of her being the sister of Archie's valet, Elmer Wentworth.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- According to his profile, his height is around 5'6", he weighs 130 lbs (58 kgs), and his blood type is A+.
- At 19 years old, he is considered the youngest member of the Rochester family.
- He is the only major antagonist in Mysteries of the Past to avoid being imprisoned or killed for his crimes. And while does get murdered in the Ivory Hill district, that was less because of Archie himself and more to do with his father Malcolm.
- Archie seems to be based on Tom Buchanan from the 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. Both are aristocrats who attempt to woo a woman into becoming their fiancé (Archie with Giulietta and Tom with Daisy Buchanan), both also orchestrated a murder by someone else's hands during their own party, the murderers would commit suicide to prevent interrogation, and both were able to escape any form of punishment for their crimes despite being revealed.
- Despite Archie accurately predicting that Philomena will be murdered in his second party, he still gave her a diamond ticket to access his third party like she would remain alive long enough to attend it. It's likely he did it for both Isaac and the player to find a way to access his third party just to taunt them.
External Links[]
- Archie Rochester on the Criminal Case Wiki.
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 Villains
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