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Another Code: Recollection
- Thread starter Peklo
- Start date
I think Another Code was the first DS game I played, certainly one of the games that made me want to get a DS. I think I bought it before the console because I was waiting for the Lite. It’s a long time since I played it, so I don’t remember it all that well, other than being very saddened by finding out how the ghost kid became a ghost towards the end of the game. I’ve played the Wii game too, also don’t remember that much of it.
It’s good to see the games come back. The trailer doesn’t remind me all that much of the DS game, which I think was one of those that tied itself closely to the platform - there’s a puzzle I sort of remember involving closing the DS or maybe reflecting one screen in the other that I’m not sure whether was in this or Hotel Dusk. That kind of thing will have to be redone, but hopefully they can make it work.
It’s good to see the games come back. The trailer doesn’t remind me all that much of the DS game, which I think was one of those that tied itself closely to the platform - there’s a puzzle I sort of remember involving closing the DS or maybe reflecting one screen in the other that I’m not sure whether was in this or Hotel Dusk. That kind of thing will have to be redone, but hopefully they can make it work.
Phantoon
I cuss you bad
I was going to buy this anyway, but now I'm buying it even harderMy hype levels for this are off the goddamn charts. CiNG's work for Nintendo is being remembered and remade! OMFG and this BOXART
There's a demo out for this now. Progress carries into the full game, so no worries on that front. It's really great! Fantastic tone in the writing, performances, aesthetic--all very melancholic and low-key. The character models are emotive and they do a lot of fun stuff with framing conversations and other "static" scenes--the hardest ones to liven up, so the 3D nature of the piece comes into play well while still being able to distinctly feel the original context of the presentation. Going to be a tough month to put this out of mind, because I really just wished I could've kept playing.
This came out Friday, and I spent all weekend playing it. I love it. Arc System Works (with the help of several CiNG veterans) captured the spirit of the defunct developer beautifully. I'm going to work on a review over the week so I'll be sharing a lot of thoughts soon, but I will say that this game exceeded my expectations on every conceivable level. Highly recommend.
If I wasn't inundated with new games from the holidays, and a severe lack of time to play them, I would be jumping on this. I really enjoyed the DS game way back when. Maybe in a few months.
Finished this. My perspective on this obviously is mostly supposition and projection, but I'm willing to go out on a limb and call this one of the best remakes in the medium despite unfamiliarity with the original material; it is that impressive in its individual context. Of course, individual preferences and priorities may sway that assessment: from observing people's memories and fondness for the first game in particular, much of it was tied to its utilization of hardware-specific input methods for puzzle design and interaction, something that was again carried over into the Wii sequel. All of that's gone, in lieu of standard modes of input and the occasional gyro integration... and for me that isn't an issue at all, because puzzles aren't what I'm playing these games for in any capacity; I was happy to expedite the ones that I had no interest in sussing out through the game's comprehensive hint system.
The originals will always have the edge in that area, but all the rest of it goes to Recollection. One of the strengths of the Kyle Hyde duology is how format-consistent the two games are, like two halves of a serial with the exact same creative team and ethos--it's almost unthinkable to leave off in the middle of them should one have access to both, and the satisfaction in witnessing the consistency between them is profound. The platform, presentational and fidelity differences between Another Code's halves in its original form did not evoke similar as strongly or cohesively, which was an aspect that kept me away from them, whether it was subconscious impression or not. With Recollection, there is a clear and deliberate intent to unify the works as a contiguous, holistic story, extending from aesthetic expression to narrative framing to mechanical design to structural theming. Absolutely everything about this story hangs together from beginning to end, not in a looking-for-plot-holes-and-disbelief-clauses way that passes muster, but as a communicated piece of fiction that has picked its medium for conveying its narrative and executes it with confidence. So many remakes dilute or misuse the character of their source material--in here, all I could see was great respect paid toward a pair of games in preserving and emphasizing their spirit over literalized adherence to form.
The writing's something to marvel at. There's a characteristic downcast mood to the overall trajectory of the narratives that is now something I've grown accustomed to from Suzuki (and however her work is being adapted here in specific), which helps contrasting the glimpses of humour that are themselves in their own way also quiet and non-intrusive. The throughline of empathy in the narrative isn't difficult to discern, but it's more difficult to be able to capture that through practical phrasing, conversation, and now voice acting performances, but Recollection pulls it off. Everything about these games possesses a warmth, and it does not come at a cost of cloying sentiment or a tendency to preach its values at the audience. Ashley has to carry the bulk of it, and her evolving depiction and performance by Kaitlyn Yott is rightfully the game's centerpiece, even among a cast of terrific, evocative performers. It's not solely a vehicle for a strong protagonist, because I don't think anyone flubs here, and the nuances of delivery and affect come to greatly contribute toward characterization across the entire cast.
There's a lot that's informed by the necessities of setting in how the characters come off: Two Memories is entirely restricted to its isolated Resident Evil send-up locale among just a few people, in very objective-driven, tense circumstances; Ashley does not have the luxury to stop to breathe and shake off the cobwebs of her immediate peril and anxiety, so impressions on her character aren't as strongly emphasized beyond the trappings she inhabits. A Journey into Lost Memories explores everything that could've been construed as neglected in Ashley's initial portrayal, by dropping her in the middle of a resort community and structuring the game's narrative arc to criss-cross through its goings-on, without literally entrapping the protagonist in a figure-out-the-puzzles escape rooms; the recontextualization of the adventure game format between the two halves of the story greatly transforms how Ashley can and is allowed to behave within it--more comfortable in indulging in her emotions, to blow off at people, to socialize with them, to take a moment to unwind and just chat the day away. Ongoing, driving mysteries still drive the plotting, but the integration of people uninvolved or tangential to those questions craft a sensation of less artificial, perfunctory storytelling, interweaving the crucial with the incidental in a way that benefits characterization, moving-the-pieces plotting and the eventual emotional resolution. There wasn't much in Two Memories that struck as affecting on its own beyond the game telling me that it was, but through extended travels in Ashley's shoes and her headspace and what the material is able to do with that embellished space, by the end of Recollection I was firmly in tears.
I am always sensitive to the deaths of women being mined for emotional dividends in fiction, and while this isn't a hard rule there is generally a divide in how charitable I'm willing to be of such narrative elements. The less keen treatment is to fridge barely or long-established women for the benefit of other characters, and the relatively more interesting option is to treat such a death and loss as fundamental to the narrative from its premise to its conclusion. Another Code is about Ashley's relationship to her absent-but-alive father and her dead-but-remembered mother, and it is not free of genre shortcuts and exploitation in framing such themes... but it is also remarkably committed to pushing through with said themes from beginning to end, never forgetting that they are what inform and shape Ashley through her literal growth across the story. Sayoko is treated as perhaps too saintly a figure to craft an image of a person in the hole she's left behind in the characters' lives, but there are enough suggestions and asides to sell an impression of something realer beyond the mandates of plotting as well. How Ashley feels about herself and the people she meets is rarely disconnected from that formative loss and retracing of a parental relationship, as ongoing texture for her growth and attitudes toward others (please regularly read the updating character relation chart, impeccably written in her voice), so whatever permutation of a "dead women make for tragedy" plot element is in effect here, it's at least delivered with purpose.
I don't think there's much more to say except to reaffirm that people should play Another Code Recollection if they want a good story. It is good in practically every way, and revisions to the original material in every instance that I've seen compare for the better--Ashley's redesigns for both games were subtle enough for someone like me to not consciously realize at first, but in direct comparison track as clear improvements: the first game eliminating her navel-exposing shirt in lieu of a comfortable hoodie, and the sequel delivering what might be the most lesbian-coded visual design I've seen for any video game protagonist who wasn't the lead of an explicitly queer work. It's like that for every change that I've been able to track: "oh, I like how they did this better in the remake." That's about as definitive an endorsement as I can think of for the experience of playing the game and considering its relationship to its source material.
The originals will always have the edge in that area, but all the rest of it goes to Recollection. One of the strengths of the Kyle Hyde duology is how format-consistent the two games are, like two halves of a serial with the exact same creative team and ethos--it's almost unthinkable to leave off in the middle of them should one have access to both, and the satisfaction in witnessing the consistency between them is profound. The platform, presentational and fidelity differences between Another Code's halves in its original form did not evoke similar as strongly or cohesively, which was an aspect that kept me away from them, whether it was subconscious impression or not. With Recollection, there is a clear and deliberate intent to unify the works as a contiguous, holistic story, extending from aesthetic expression to narrative framing to mechanical design to structural theming. Absolutely everything about this story hangs together from beginning to end, not in a looking-for-plot-holes-and-disbelief-clauses way that passes muster, but as a communicated piece of fiction that has picked its medium for conveying its narrative and executes it with confidence. So many remakes dilute or misuse the character of their source material--in here, all I could see was great respect paid toward a pair of games in preserving and emphasizing their spirit over literalized adherence to form.
The writing's something to marvel at. There's a characteristic downcast mood to the overall trajectory of the narratives that is now something I've grown accustomed to from Suzuki (and however her work is being adapted here in specific), which helps contrasting the glimpses of humour that are themselves in their own way also quiet and non-intrusive. The throughline of empathy in the narrative isn't difficult to discern, but it's more difficult to be able to capture that through practical phrasing, conversation, and now voice acting performances, but Recollection pulls it off. Everything about these games possesses a warmth, and it does not come at a cost of cloying sentiment or a tendency to preach its values at the audience. Ashley has to carry the bulk of it, and her evolving depiction and performance by Kaitlyn Yott is rightfully the game's centerpiece, even among a cast of terrific, evocative performers. It's not solely a vehicle for a strong protagonist, because I don't think anyone flubs here, and the nuances of delivery and affect come to greatly contribute toward characterization across the entire cast.
There's a lot that's informed by the necessities of setting in how the characters come off: Two Memories is entirely restricted to its isolated Resident Evil send-up locale among just a few people, in very objective-driven, tense circumstances; Ashley does not have the luxury to stop to breathe and shake off the cobwebs of her immediate peril and anxiety, so impressions on her character aren't as strongly emphasized beyond the trappings she inhabits. A Journey into Lost Memories explores everything that could've been construed as neglected in Ashley's initial portrayal, by dropping her in the middle of a resort community and structuring the game's narrative arc to criss-cross through its goings-on, without literally entrapping the protagonist in a figure-out-the-puzzles escape rooms; the recontextualization of the adventure game format between the two halves of the story greatly transforms how Ashley can and is allowed to behave within it--more comfortable in indulging in her emotions, to blow off at people, to socialize with them, to take a moment to unwind and just chat the day away. Ongoing, driving mysteries still drive the plotting, but the integration of people uninvolved or tangential to those questions craft a sensation of less artificial, perfunctory storytelling, interweaving the crucial with the incidental in a way that benefits characterization, moving-the-pieces plotting and the eventual emotional resolution. There wasn't much in Two Memories that struck as affecting on its own beyond the game telling me that it was, but through extended travels in Ashley's shoes and her headspace and what the material is able to do with that embellished space, by the end of Recollection I was firmly in tears.
I am always sensitive to the deaths of women being mined for emotional dividends in fiction, and while this isn't a hard rule there is generally a divide in how charitable I'm willing to be of such narrative elements. The less keen treatment is to fridge barely or long-established women for the benefit of other characters, and the relatively more interesting option is to treat such a death and loss as fundamental to the narrative from its premise to its conclusion. Another Code is about Ashley's relationship to her absent-but-alive father and her dead-but-remembered mother, and it is not free of genre shortcuts and exploitation in framing such themes... but it is also remarkably committed to pushing through with said themes from beginning to end, never forgetting that they are what inform and shape Ashley through her literal growth across the story. Sayoko is treated as perhaps too saintly a figure to craft an image of a person in the hole she's left behind in the characters' lives, but there are enough suggestions and asides to sell an impression of something realer beyond the mandates of plotting as well. How Ashley feels about herself and the people she meets is rarely disconnected from that formative loss and retracing of a parental relationship, as ongoing texture for her growth and attitudes toward others (please regularly read the updating character relation chart, impeccably written in her voice), so whatever permutation of a "dead women make for tragedy" plot element is in effect here, it's at least delivered with purpose.
I don't think there's much more to say except to reaffirm that people should play Another Code Recollection if they want a good story. It is good in practically every way, and revisions to the original material in every instance that I've seen compare for the better--Ashley's redesigns for both games were subtle enough for someone like me to not consciously realize at first, but in direct comparison track as clear improvements: the first game eliminating her navel-exposing shirt in lieu of a comfortable hoodie, and the sequel delivering what might be the most lesbian-coded visual design I've seen for any video game protagonist who wasn't the lead of an explicitly queer work. It's like that for every change that I've been able to track: "oh, I like how they did this better in the remake." That's about as definitive an endorsement as I can think of for the experience of playing the game and considering its relationship to its source material.
Wow that was a really lovely writeup of the game! It's one that I've had on my radar since the original release but for one reason or another never got round to playing for myself. I always loved the look of it and the vibe it seemed to have, so very exciting to read that this remake holds on to that sort of melancholic atmosphere. Very excited to give it a go myself soon.
I’d say even with the remake, if you have a DSlite and can get a copy of the original, it would be well worth your while Peklo.
I think you’d appreciate how the DS itself was used as an active part of how the story was told.
As for myself I had no idea this was happening at all till I happened to look at the e-shop and saw a banner for the demo. (Been living under a rock, for awhile now.)
Gonna have to get it.
I think you’d appreciate how the DS itself was used as an active part of how the story was told.
As for myself I had no idea this was happening at all till I happened to look at the e-shop and saw a banner for the demo. (Been living under a rock, for awhile now.)
Gonna have to get it.
They were a pair of adventure games released in a period when the perception in English-speaking circles was that the genre was long "over", and moreover were two narratively focused games released in the mid-to-late 2000s centered on a teenage girl, her perspective and her concerns. That they didn't find an audience then, and are still struggling now, doesn't really track as surprising. You can absolutely see the division even within Suzuki and Cing's own representative library: there's much more attention and relative accolades paid to the Kyle Hyde duology, to an extent that discussion of this remake is sometimes centered on it being the ostensible step toward bringing those back too, as the desired "main event." You can and probably will have individual preferences between the two series, whether in aesthetic hooks or writing voice... but fundamentally I think a grumpy and cynical noir detective guy is just going to be the easier sale for larger audiences than Ashley. It probably was for Suzuki too, as writer; detective fiction is primarily what she made her name on and so Hotel Dusk and its sequel are very much in her "mode", whereas to my knowledge Another Code is the only time she ever wrote a female protagonist in her long career.
R.R. Bigman
Coolest Guy
I finished Two Memories last night. I didn’t play the original, but I did play and enjoy Hotel Dusk. I remember some of the puzzles in Dusk stumping me for days, and the game having fail states in some parts if you made a mistake or took too long to solve a puzzle. Two Memories was much more relaxed and focused on building the history of the people and place you explore. Some of the puzzles were fun and used the DAS in clever ways, if only once. The one big downside I had was the lack of people to talk to through much of it. The second game already seems to be addressing that even in the opening, which I’m happy to see.
R.R. Bigman
Coolest Guy
I finished Journey into Lost Memories. A fitting subtitle!
Overall, it was nice.
I never figured out what the gumballs did.
It’s odd how Matthew disappears from the story ahead of the very long final chapter, despite being so central to the goings on to that point. I know his story came to its conclusion, but him and Greg walking off to see his dad and out of the plot right before things get really serious felt incomplete. That he doesn’t get a goodbye in the epilogue makes wonder if scenes were cut.
I never figured out what the gumballs did.