Trace Memory

Trace Memory
Adventure - Nintendo DS
Battery Backup - 2 slots
1 player

Ever since I saw a trailer of Another Code ~ Futatsu no Kioku, I knew I had to get this game. The atmosphere and art seemed captivating right from the trailer. And now it's come to our shores as Trace Memory!

If you've read any reviews regarding this game, there's one consistent comment being made - It's short. Yep. The game will probably take around 5 hours. But that's not a huge deal to me. It comes with the genre. I can't think of many straight-up adventure games that are longer than that anyway.

With that out of the way... Trace Memory's story begins with Ashley Mizuki Robbins heading toward Blood Edward Island to meet her father. Thing is, she thought he had been long dead. Ashley realized that most of her life has been a lie. Why is her father alive? Why did he wait over ten years to contact her? Is her mom alive as well? On top of her confusion, she's been having recurring nightmares of the past. Is there a connection?

The point of the game is to unravel all these mysteries. Trace Memory is a traditional adventure game in that you do nothing but do fetch quests and solve puzzles. As long as you don't have any illusions that it's greater than that, then read on.

The dual screen is put to good use with the top screen typically signifying Ashley's view and the bottom screen is a top-down navigation screen. As you walk around, Ashley's perspective changes to help you figure out what you can examine. It's mostly a point and click adventure in that regard.

But Trace Memory could use some work in the puzzles. There's just not nearly enough. Most of the ones that are present, are easy to solve. There were a few that stumped me. I confess: I had to look up Gamefaqs on a couple of occasions. When I looked them up, I realized that those puzzles were pretty clever - maybe too clever. The cryptic nature of the clues can be a challenge or just plain frustrating. Still, I wish there were more puzzles in the game because it would have made the game a bit more interesting. Too much of Trace Memory is spent on examining surroundings.

Some minor quibbles I have about the game: When I first saw the trailer, I thought the game would be dark in tone. But as you play, it's really light-hearted in nature. For instance, the music is very poppy and doesn't shut up. Even though you're walking through dark corridors with spooky atmosphere around you, you hear this happy bgm playing through the speaker and it kills the mood. It could have been more eerie and immersive if they used BGM more sparingly. I also didn't appreciate that you aren't able to skip text. Granted, this is a text-driven game. But when you're stuck and you examine an item (or accidentally click it) for the umpteenth time, there should be a way to bypass the description or fast-forward it.

As with many other adventure games, there really isn't much incentive to play again when you're done. There is a starred save for subsequent playthroughs. But the differences are so minor that they're not even worth mentioning.

Overall, the Trace Memory was as expected. It wasn't phenomenal. Neither was it garbage. Compared with other $30 games out there, it's hard to recommend a purchase. But if you're ever aching for an adventure game with some pretty neat visuals, it's definitely worth a rental.