The DS and Wii were hugely successful in the mid-2000s, not only thanks to Nintendo’s evergreen franchises, but also, in the case of the former, a fantastic catalog that spanned almost every genre and even some experimental projects. They hit an important mainstream target by betting on the so-called “touch generation”, with games suitable for all audiences, taking advantage of the more intuitive controls offered by the system for a more laid-back experience. One of the leading exponents of this approach is Another Code, which released Two Memories for the DS in 2005 and R: A Journey Into Lost Memories for the Wii in 2009 on both systems.
The games were created by now-defunct studio CiNG by combining two genres: the very Japanese visual novel and the traditional point-and-click adventure we’re more used to in the West. The fact that both games (again, mostly the former) have amassed huge cult followings among gamers and new players has little to do with their exciting plots or well-crafted puzzles – let’s be honest Say, neither are they. The key to their success lies mostly in tone, art, the interesting way they use the controls, and most importantly, Ashley Mizuki Robbins.
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Another Code: Recollection is coming to Nintendo Switch as a high-definition remaster/compilation of these two titles, trying to both satisfy older fans and possibly spark some interest among old-school adventure enthusiasts, much like Famicom Detective Club tried (and failed) not too long ago Same way.
This means you get cleaner, prettier graphics and a combined experience of both stories, but at the same time, you lose most of the original puzzles or see them heavily modified. This may be a shame for fans of the original, but it makes sense when you think of the new game’s approach. The Nintendo Switch is designed to be played on a TV or as a handheld device, as it is not suitable for dual-screen types and does not include a microphone. What about “touch” and pointer functions? Well, it does occasionally use the device or its controller’s tilt sensor, but for some reason the developers didn’t want to use the touchscreen or the hardware’s cursor functionality.
So this is very much pure buttons and sticks, which takes away a lot of the “hardware magic” that the original had. In terms of presentation and exploration, for those playing on the Wii, think of it as very similar to the third-person perspective the game uses indoors, but now everywhere and with full 3D camera movement.
Now, camera movement happens to be one of the biggest issues here. Perhaps to make it easier to get started, it’s so slow by default that we recommend setting it to at least 60 when you first start the game. Even there, it feels a little sluggish… The same can be said about the sluggish menu and overall performance of the game, as well as some poor textures and geometry, which obviously makes it look like a very small and Limited projects.
Instead, I appreciate the additional writing and expanded collections that actually add to the lore in interesting and even exciting ways (you fans won’t be expecting some of the twists and turns there). Even though I missed some of the puzzles for nostalgia reasons (and let’s face it: they were pretty easy anyway), some of the newly added puzzles are clearly fresh and get better, and you don’t collect as many of them anymore Useless items.
Aside from the lazy camera, there are a few newcomers features worth mentioning: Navigation Assist and Puzzle Hints. The former tells you where to go next or what to check, while the latter first gives you some suggestions and then more obviously solves the puzzle at hand. This is great for journalists who have already played the original and want to learn about the genre in a very easy way.
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Elsewhere, high-definition graphics elevate the art, highlighting Taisuke Kanazaki’s character designs, so if you fell in love with graphic Ashley as a 14- and 16-year-old as a teenager, it’s probably going to be even more so with today’s teens. Because she pretty much sustains the entire experience alone, as other characters, including D., who was endearing at first, eventually become shallow or uninteresting, despite the aforementioned extra writing.
When you compare the two games, it’s the same effect it had years ago: the first film’s six hours feel tighter and tighter than the sequel’s three-part affair. The stories are decent, dealing with your typical coming-of-age tropes, subtopics like addiction, and an overall mild sci-fi mystery.
One could see Another Code as something of a precursor to the genre Life is Strange that was popular a few years ago, with its slow-paced narrative, contemplative perspective, artistic touch, lovable teenage protagonist, and supernatural twist to the story, but with the 2000’s The hardware tricks of the era are gone, and not even the added voice acting (only in English or Japanese, sadly) manages to make the experience more appealing to today’s audiences, as everything feels a bit too dull, lo-fi, predictable and Too crude.
For now, I’d recommend this game to fans of the original simply for nostalgia and fan service, with a few caveats. If you’re looking for a more complex and engaging anime story that deals with the mind, you have a great choice between the two AI: The Somnium Files games on the same platform. Having said that, I can’t help but wish now that CiNG’s own Kyle Hyde saga (Hotel Dusk and Last Window) would get the Switch HD treatment, just with a little more care and polish.
