Take a trip back in time with me to the year 2005. I bought my Nintendo DS with Another Code: Two Memories at my local toy store. For reference, I was 14 then and not knowledgeable about Visual Novels/Puzzle games. Still, Another Code awakened something special in me, making me a big-time fan of the genre, followed by the Phoenix Wright and Layton games. So when I found out (Wii Era) that I missed out on the sequel in Europe, I was pretty bumped. Fast forward to 2024 – and we get both games remastered on the Nintendo Switch. I felt like that little (well, not that little) boy again in my local toy store – and dived right back into the mystery of Another Code.
Another Code: Two Memories
Another Code: Two Memories, or Trace Memory, if you’re reading this outside of Europe, is the first entry in the Another Code franchise. I’ll quickly discuss the story and move on to the gameplay afterward. I’ll discuss the sequel in the next paragraph. It contains a minor spoiler (but most of you should know this by now).
The events of the game take place on the fictional Blood Edward Island. The game’s protagonist, Ashley Mizuki Robbins, is the daughter of Richard and Sayoko Robbins, researchers of human memory. After her parents mysteriously went missing in 1994, they were presumed dead. Consequently, Ashley was raised by her father’s younger sister, Jessica Robbins, in the suburbs of Seattle. Around this time, Ashley begins to suffer from a recurring nightmare in which she is hiding inside a closet as a child and witnesses someone getting shot. Eleven years later, two days before her fourteenth birthday, Ashley receives a package from her father containing a birthday card and a DAS device. The DAS, programmed to respond only to Ashley’s biometrics, includes a message from her father, claiming that he is waiting for her on Blood Edward Island.
Blood Edward Island is located off the coast of Washington in the United States. The next day, the day before her birthday, Jessica and Ashley ride over to Blood Edward Island on a boat, but Ashley’s father is not there to greet them. Jessica looks for him, but Ashley searches for both of them when she doesn’t return. While exploring the island, Ashley befriends D, a ghost who has lost his memories. D is only visible to Ashley and wants to learn the truth behind his death. Together, they enter the Edward Mansion, each looking for answers to their questions. As they explore Edward Mansion, Ashley and D learn the history behind the Edward family, who are rumored to have all died one after the other, resulting in the island’s name. At the same time, they begin to unravel the mystery surrounding Ashley’s father, Richard, and their invitation to the island.
Gameplay
In the game’s original version, we assumed control of Ashley Mizuki Robbins, navigated through 3D environments, and attempted to solve puzzles. Since this was an original DS, the touchscreen displayed an aerial view of Ashley and her surroundings during movement. You could move Ashley using a point-and-click system, dragging the stylus across the screen, or using the D-pad. The top screen showed pre-rendered images of the player’s current location. The player must use the touchscreen or other DS capabilities, such as the DS microphone, to solve puzzles encountered in the game. With the remake on the Nintendo Switch, we see the island in all its 3D goodness. Instead of the stylus movement, we can move Ashley around the island and house, check out different things, and solve puzzles with the D-pad. They reworked this entire system from the DS to Switch, which makes me long for an Ace Attorney game in this style (like the Miles Edgeworth game on the DS).
The DAS (renamed DTS in the North American release) allows the player to save and load, read messages in the form of DAS data cards, and examine photographs. The photographs come from the player’s in-game camera, which can simultaneously take up to 36 pictures. An inventory list is also available to store items for later use. The player will sometimes encounter non-player characters, which can be discussed through the standard Visual Novel-style gameplay. You get primarily a long string of investigation-style puzzles, hopping back and forth between locations, putting pieces together, and helping restore some memories of D in the process. The 3D environment helps solve puzzles and makes the game more enjoyable for first-time players.
Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories
After completing the first game, the story seamlessly rolls into Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories. The story takes place two years after the events of the first game on the fictional Lake Juliet. At the end of the summer holiday, Ashley Mizuki Robbins, now 16 years old and an aspiring musician, receives an invitation with a package of newly modeled “DAS,” containing a message from her father that he wants to bond with the two on a camping trip at Lake Juliet. Ashley arrives but is frustrated as her bag gets stolen. After a brief argument with her father, Richard, he reveals that he came to the lake to know why her mother, Sayoko, was doing here 13 years ago, which, much to her surprise, Ashley’s been having brief flashbacks as soon as she arrived. He gives Ashley a “TAS,” which Sayoko had built before death.
After camping, she meets a 13-year-old boy named Matthew Crusoe, a runaway who came to search for his missing father, Michael, in Lake Juliet. The two explore the lake as they recover the lost items in Ashley’s bag and learn what happened to Michael: He was framed by the real culprits behind the lake’s pollution and has been followed ever since. I’ll let you figure out the rest yourself.
Gameplay
In the original, players controlled Ashley Mizuki Robbins via the Wii Remote to explore and solve puzzles across Lake Juliet. A new function in this title was the exploration gameplay, split into two distinct sections: exterior and interior exploration. During map exploration of exterior locations, the player moves Ashley along set routes within 3D environments. During the exploration of most interior areas, Ashley is fixed to a set spot, and the player can rotate her perspective of the room and move from room to room by selecting a doorway when it is within their view. During exterior and interior exploration, the player can highlight select portions of the environment within the environment to examine them closer and look at specific things of interest. The player can enter certain items into their inventory by interacting with the environment. The player can also take photos of the environment, which can be used to solve various puzzles. Just like in the prequel, the interactions with non-player characters take the form of visual novel-style segments, in which the player progresses through Ashley’s conversation with the characters and is occasionally prompted to pick a specific response. The player may also be required to present an item to someone, which felt like it was taken from the Ace Attorney series.
New features
The remake comes with a handy new navigation and hint system, which makes the game easier for fans of the original but also a bit too easy for newcomers to the franchise. Yes, I almost tried to throw my DS across the room back in the day since I was stuck and the guides weren’t as extensive as they are now, but the new hint system solves that problem very quickly. However, holding your hand every step makes the game a tad more accessible and less challenging than it was initially intended. Skipping out on the touchscreen functionality is a big miss, in my opinion, since I love to play Visual Novel style games in handheld mode with a good cup of coffee on my couch.
Conclusion
So, to conclude! Another Code: Recollection is a delightful and relaxing adventure that is not too challenging but charming. I love the ambitiousness and effort that Arc System Works has put into modernizing these two puzzle games despite their niche appeal (play them already). Although the plot can be a bit predictable, the storytelling can be frustrating, and the puzzle design is middling, the game’s revamped presentation and atmosphere make up for it. The main character, Ashley, is endearing, and her quest to regain her lost memories is unforgettable.
8/10
Tested on the Nintendo Switch.
