StarTopic Another Code: Recollection |ST| Remember Ashley Mizuki Robbins

[kirbyfan407]

I've played the first three chapters of Two Memories so far. I'm greatly enjoying the feeling of playing a game from this era of game design (it feels like a 00s game, if that makes sense) and with graphics that are nice but nothing AAA, all packaged into something with a good level of polish. I'd love more of these types of games. I worry some of the game's upcoming twists are pretty obvious, but I've also been impressed by how quickly the story is moving and hope what I anticipate will be revealed soon. When I'm done, I'm interested in looking all the changes that were made for this remake.

Having played what I've played, I think the demo maybe should have gone through Chapter 2. I wasn't super engaged by the story after the first chapter, but I was definitely interested in continuing after the second one. You learn so much more about the story in the second chapter, while I somewhat doubt the first chapter sets up enough to hook many people. The first chapter also had that chair motion puzzle that put me off due to control struggles and made me worry the game would be filled with them, but the second chapter shows they aren't that common.

 

[Apopheniac]

Finished the first game yesterday. Kinda underwhelmed by it.

Spoiler

Felt like it was hard to get invested in the Edwards backstory because of how disconnected it is from Ashley's goals. You'd think they'd go in the direction of D's memory loss somehow tying back into the ANOTHER experiments, but nah, he just goes "boo im a ghost" to spook Bill. Feels like the type of thing where the devs start from "okay we need some kind of companion here" and then worked backwards to try and justify what he's for.

The whole thing with Bill pretending to be her dad is very obvious, which wouldn't be that annoying to me in context if it wasn't the only real plot point going for Act 2. It's not bad characterization for Ashley, though in some sense it's a little disappointing narratively to be all "oh your real father is actually good and kind and everything you wanted."

One thing I will give props for is the mansion layout feels relatively believable, which is sometimes a shortcoming of this kind of game. The old guy's room being way up in the tower is very funny, but the floor plan doesn't feel too unreasonable or anything otherwise.

 

[Dekuman]

Finished the first game yesterday. Kinda underwhelmed by it.

Spoiler

Felt like it was hard to get invested in the Edwards backstory because of how disconnected it is from Ashley's goals. You'd think they'd go in the direction of D's memory loss somehow tying back into the ANOTHER experiments, but nah, he just goes "boo im a ghost" to spook Bill. Feels like the type of thing where the devs start from "okay we need some kind of companion here" and then worked backwards to try and justify what he's for.

The whole thing with Bill pretending to be her dad is very obvious, which wouldn't be that annoying to me in context if it wasn't the only real plot point going for Act 2. It's not bad characterization for Ashley, though in some sense it's a little disappointing narratively to be all "oh your real father is actually good and kind and everything you wanted."

One thing I will give props for is the mansion layout feels relatively believable, which is sometimes a shortcoming of this kind of game. The old guy's room being way up in the tower is very funny, but the floor plan doesn't feel too unreasonable or anything otherwise.

Spoiler

the story was also rejigged. You meet Bill earlier In this version. In the DS original you meet him a bit later so you spend more time exploring an empty Mansion which does highten the atmosphere.

Also not a fan of the engine they used for this game where you need to load into every room. Feels like a huge engine limitation or this game was originally designed for the 3DS and they never went back and rebuild how the content is loaded

 

[Shadow]

Chapter 4 is one confusing mess, so you start not being able to enter the garden, then you have to enter two completely unrelated rooms before Ashley suddenly feels like entering the garden for no real reason and there's no indication that you can. I walked through the mansion two rounds before I could continue and I'm legit confused what the exact trigger was that allowed me to continue. So far, overall, I quite enjoy the game, but the translation from the more 'simplistic' DS version to Switch is rough...

 

[soundchaser]

I'm kind of shocked at how clunky this game feels. I know it's built on top of a DS game, but given the amount of rejigging it already had, it could definitely have stood a few more QoL upgrades.

Made it through the first game, so it's not like I'm having a miserable time. But I definitely understand why it scored the way it did.

 

[BassForever]

I'm kind of shocked at how clunky this game feels. I know it's built on top of a DS game, but given the amount of rejigging it already had, it could definitely have stood a few more QoL upgrades.

Made it through the first game, so it's not like I'm having a miserable time. But I definitely understand why it scored the way it did.

Did you improve the camera speed? Made a huge difference to how it feels to play the game

 

[Linkstrikesback]

Feels like a huge engine limitation or this game was originally designed for the 3DS and they never went back and rebuild how the content is loaded

That's probably the wrong way around, if it was a 3ds game it'd have likely been seamless Vs the reality of trying to store and stream all the hd assets making loading breaks more necessary.

 

[Dekuman]

That's probably the wrong way around, if it was a 3ds game it'd have likely been seamless Vs the reality of trying to store and stream all the hd assets making loading breaks more necessary.

Honestly the texture quality is next on my list of gripes. The game has a lot or blurry or low quality textures. Only the characters look good plus select textures. It really does feel to me this was designed for a weaker platform then ported. The limitations of the engine and texture work become really apparent in the 2nd game.

There are indie walking Sims on Switch that load in far larger areas or that stream content and have higher quality textures than Another Code Recollection.

 

[Shadow]

I'm not sure if the issue is the fact that it was originally produced for a weaker consoles (especially considering how old the Switch is at this point) as much as there barely being a budget. The actual art direction is solid, you can see what they went for and the characters absolutely nail that esthetic, but the rest is just lacking graphically. But considering it's a Unity game, I have no doubt that it won't take too long before at least one person attempts to change something about the game.

 

[Tye]

The game was very clearly a low budget passion project (which makes since; it’s kind of a miracle that this remake even exists in the first place), so I can forgive its shortcomings in presentation and all. But despite that, I really like the style of the game. It even has a very similar filter as Skyward Sword where objects in the distance look as if they’re painted (though it can be hard to notice since it doesn’t seem to trigger for many things for some reason), which I love!

 

[Tye]

Does anyone know exactly how the empty can collecting and gum ball machine stuff works in Journey into Lost Memories? Like, are there a set amount of cans at set locations in the game, and is what you get from the gum ball machine predetermined or is it an actual random drop gacha thing? I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to do with the gum balls or if there’s a certain special one I need to get to unlock something or what. Whatever the case, I wanna know what it is and when I have to make sure to do it by before the point of no return, whenever and wherever that is.

I’m on Chapter 5 right now and so far I’ve found 6 cans (in addition to the 3 that you can buy at the beginning, so 9 total), but they’re really hard to see. The camera being how it is certainly doesn’t help, but they’re also similarly sized and colored to the little rocks that you see all over in the ground texture, which makes them especially easy to miss. And, of course, there doesn’t seem to be any guide online for this element of the game yet…

I saw one comment online claiming there’s a rainbow one, and that it apparently unlocks something if you get it, but I haven’t seen anything else to corroborate that or give any further context. I just don’t want to miss out on an unlockable thing if it does exist.

Okay, so I guess I may as well explain the empty cans and gumball machine stuff here since I’ve figured it out now and no one else has bothered to post this information online yet from what I’ve seen…

In Journey into Lost Memories, there are a total of 10 empty cans that you can find; 7 of which are found lying on the ground outside at locations around the lake, and the other 3 seem to be entirely optional and can be received by buying the three cans of soda from the guesthouse at the beginning and then drinking them. You can crush these cans at the can recycling machines to receive Lake Juliet Tokens in exchange, for up to 10 of these silver tokens in total. These tokens can be used in the gumball machines to get gumballs, which serve no purpose other than being able to eat them and see Ashley comment on their flavors.

However, if you trade in all the empty cans available to you to for tokens—that is, all 7 of the empty cans lying around outside, plus the cans from the guesthouse if you had gotten any of those as well (though I believe they’re likely not required if you didn’t get them)—you’ll also get a Gold Lake Juliet Token. This one can’t be used in the gumball machine, but it’s basically a commemorative token for finding all the empty cans. In addition to that, if you spend all 7–10 available tokens in the gumball machines, you’ll get Rainbow-Colored Gum with your last token. This can be shown to Tommy at the guesthouse for the Eco-Master Badge, another commemorative item to show that you’ve spent all the available tokens.

I currently just started Chapter 7, and I’m unsure if there’s a point of no return at which you’re unable to go back and find any empty cans you may be missing, spend any tokens you have at a gumball machine, or show the Rainbow-Colored Gum to Tommy for the Eco-Master Badge, but I was able to find all 7 of the scattered empty cans and do all of that before entering J.C. Valley in Chapter 6. To be on the safe side, though, I’d recommend getting it all done before you jump down off the side of the bridge in Chapter 6, which is what I did. EDIT: Having reached the end now, I can confirm that there’s still another chance to finish up stuff later at the end of the game—including buying any souvenirs from the guesthouse that you didn’t buy before!—if you missed out before the part in Chapter 6 that I mentioned above.

I had thought that I read something about the rainbow gumball unlocking something else, but it seems I’ve gotten that mixed up with another thing that I read online; I haven’t verified this myself yet since I’ve yet to beat the game, but supposedly once you finished the entire game, you unlock a “vintage” outfit for Ashley in Two Memories, which resembles her outfit from the original DS version of Another Code/Trace Memory. EDIT: Okay, after beating the game, I can confirm this is true!

 

[Racalia]

After about 18 hours, I have played both Another Code games. I find Ashley an interesting protagonist: she is very relatable. I found the story engaging, although I'm not entirely satisfied with the conclusions of both games.

I think it's good to see that Nintendo is still interested in its older franchises. Another Code Recollection is clearly a passion project from the original creators and you can see that in everything. The overall package is very charming and atmospheric, despite the low budget. There are also many good Quality of Life additions that were not found in the original games.

Still, I find many of the puzzles to be lackluster. The original games made heavy use of the unique features of the DS and Wii, but that is not the case in the remake. There is barely any noteworthy use of the Switch's features such as the touchscreen and motion controls, not to mention HD Rumble and the infrared camera in the Joy-Con. Instead, we get some puzzles where we only have to press a few buttons in certain order. That's a missed opportunity.

 

[FutureFunkPepsi]

I have a feeling this may be a game that may not be so simple to find a physical copy of later on, so I’m probably gonna pick it up next week or so. I enjoyed what I played of the demo, too.

 

[SirArthur]

I am cursed with ST lol. I've gotten sick after posting both of them, making my progress slow down. But I finished Two Memories yesterday.

I really liked it. The story was interesting and the characters had purpose, mostly Ashley felt like a real tean (reminds me of my little sister). My favorite aspect of the game was the atmosphere, the story told by the mansion, the live of the Edwards, etc. I do wish like the Cranes, we would have gotten something that gave us more flavor text from either Henry or Thomas life. There were still some questions lingering regarding D, but I think it was a really chill and fun adventure. Complaints, Ill wait till I finish the entire thing to sum it up.

Once done I was expecting to be brought to the main menu, but no it just transitions to Journey into Lost Memories. I liked that, it makes it feel like one story. As for that game, looking forward to beating it during the week.

 

[Hauke_von_Arding]

I didn't found this topic in this thread, but can we talk about one thing I HIGHELY appreciate? They did indeed redesigned a lot of characters in the second part of the game but they really improved on racial diversity while at it, the whole place in the second game is not a 100% Caucasian North American place anymore. Look at this glow ups of this two (old on the left, new on the right):

Spoiler

 

[Tye]

Yeah, I was just looking up what characters looked like in the original games versus Recollection, and I’m impressed that most characters got a significant glow up, and the added diversity is especially nice to see! Though I do prefer how Matthew looked in the original. I’m guessing they changed him to make him look less like D? I also don’t care for what they did to Michael and Greg (especially since they look almost identical in Recollection), but I think everyone else was either improved or stayed more or less the same.

Having beaten the game now, though, I have to say that while I enjoyed it for what it is, it was pretty underwhelming and not exactly what I was expecting, and I have plenty of nitpicks, lol. For one, there’s hardly any meaningful gameplay, and the puzzles are far too few and too obvious. Normally I can look past that if the story and characters are compelling enough, but even those were pretty subdued until around the end of Journey into Lost Memories. To be clear, it’s not that I disliked the story or characters at all…but they weren’t exactly fantastic, either, just kinda…there. Most of the emotional moments in the game fell flat for me too, given the absurdity of the characters’ reactions surrounding them. Like, at the end of Two Memories, when it’s discovered that Bill was the one who killed Sayoko, and then when he falls off the cliff and dies…none of the characters’ reactions to these events are realistic at all given the context! And at the end of Journey into Lost Memories, when there’s a fucking active shooter in the building, again, none of the characters’ reactions make any sense! Why wouldn’t everyone be running for their lives and leaving the building to call emergency services ASAP?

To top it all off, both times Ashley just kinda shrugs off what should be fairly traumatic events and just goes “phew, what a day” like she didn’t just see a man get killed or could have nearly been killed herself. It’s especially weird when the game deals with trauma elsewhere and takes it far more seriously there. The writing just doesn’t feel realistic at all in that sense, and I’m surprised that so many people seem to think the characters feel realistic, especially Ashley. Like, yeah, there are times when that may be the case, but I can’t overlook all the times when it’s very much the opposite. Aside from that, Ashley comes across as a genuine teen character well enough, I guess, but there were still plenty of times where I couldn’t help but feel like she’s just a tool for the story, along with other characters. Like, these weird terms like “ANOTHER”, “DAS”, and “RAS” are just automatically accepted and not questioned or anything? That may be the least realistic thing that a teen character does in this game, lol. A real kid would be asking all sorts of questions, and Ashley asks far too few. Hell, the game itself never even explains what the hell is up with the name “ANOTHER”! Why is it called that?? And what does the “R” in “RAS” stand for?

Speaking of questions that are never answered, what exactly happened in Two Memories between Thomas and Henry? We clearly don’t see the whole picture because it doesn’t really add up. The game gives a motivation (and weapon) for Thomas to shoot Henry, but not the other way around, which is what actually happened. Also, in Journey into Lost Memories, how and why is Princess at Lake Juliet?! I kept expecting there to be some reveal that Kate had returned with her, but that never happened, and instead Princess is just…there, for some reason?? I feel like there are more things left unanswered that I’m forgetting at the moment, too, but those are the ones that stick out to me right now.

Also…what the hell is up with all the fat shaming with Ian?? It’s like, “this character is fat, so we have to take every opportunity to point out how they’re a slob and eat too much!” I’m honestly shocked that Nintendo allowed that to make the cut. Makes me wonder how much worse it was in the original game…

Also, there was some comment along the lines of “a fisherman would never hurt the environment!” which got a major eye-roll from me. Yes, fishing, the number one source of plastic pollution in the ocean—not to mention the vast cruelty that comes with it as well—can’t possibly be related to environmental disasters! This game was weirdly full of fishing propaganda, actually, though I suppose that’s to be expected, unfortunately. It’s not like a significant enough amount of people are gonna reject to it, anyway, sadly…

Anyway, I know I have a lot of nitpicks here, but again, I didn’t dislike the game, and I did enjoy it for what it is. By the end, I had grown fond of the characters and the setting, but I guess I just wish more could have been done with them in the game. I’m just…confused about it, more than anything. Regardless, I’m glad that these games could get remade like this, against all odds, and hopefully that means we’ll be seeing the same treatment given to the Kyle Hyde games someday, too. Though I guess I should dial back my expectations for those now, given my experience with Another Code…

 

[Hauke_von_Arding]

Speaking of questions that are never answered, what exactly happened in Two Memories between Thomas and Henry? We clearly don’t see the whole picture because it doesn’t really add up. The game gives a motivation (and weapon) for Thomas to shoot Henry, but not the other way around, which is what actually happened. Also, in Journey into Lost Memories, how and why is Princess at Lake Juliet?! I kept expecting there to be some reveal that Kate had returned with her, but that never happened, and instead Princess is just…there, for some reason?? I feel like there are more things left unanswered that I’m forgetting at the moment, too, but those are the ones that stick out to me right now.

Two Memories:

Spoiler

The whole stuff between Thomas and Henry is mostly just implied. I think the original game had some other hints (but they also added new hints in the remake instead. Basically what happened is most likely that Thomas tried to fake the testament and Henry confronted him about it. Thomas had the gun and threatened Henry. For some reason the fight ended with Henry shooting Thomas accidentally or in the heat of the moment, likely in self defense. He either had a own gun or just got Thomas gun in a struggle. D saw it but since he was only 12 years old he misinterpreted what he saw and only noticed that Henry killed Thomas. That's why he wanted to run away and Henry wanted to stop him and explain to him what happened, but he fall of the cliff. In the result of it Henry becomes depressive, locked himself in his room and his wife left him with their daughter. Henry very, very likely comitted suicide because of all that, this one is sadly only hinted at in the original where you could find Henry's last letter at the typewritter in the room below Lawrence room and before the Lab. The typewritter is still there so I guess the letter was cut last minute?

 

[Shadow]

Finished Two Memories just now after six and a half hours, and my thoughts are a bit mixed. The translation of the original DS version to this is rather... Rough? I will admit, it's been a while since I last played the original game. The overall story beats are there and the core is as great and solid as it always was, but it seem that they've retooled and shoveled around a bit and things are placed in a super weird location story wise and a number of locations are redesigned seemingly for no real reason. The puzzles are rather easy, yet it occasionally requires the use of the DAS camera, but the game never really draws attention to the fact that you can, nor should, use it. Same with one of the later puzzles where you have to use the selfie mode it's fun that the option is there, but the game never really tells you that it's something you can do and that you might need to use it at some point in the story. Then towards the end, there's suddenly a moment where you go over one of your memories, a core mechanic in the original, just completely removed outside of this odd one off that's genuinely unneeded unless you're genuinely extremely dense and somehow can't keep up with the plot. And some of the story moments are just... Did Ashley and Jessica at a certain moment never thought to mention Bill/Richard or ask what they look like? Let alone the actual ending is just kind of shrugged off with what has happened.

But the positive things, the mansion has a much more realistic layout and it works perfectly fine to go from one location to another without having to retrace your steps to another part of the previous layout. The art style, while absolutely average by (presumably) budgetary limitations, looks great and the characters are wonderfully realised. I do miss that hard contrast style of the original, but the new style genuinely looks good. And the soundtrack is wonderfully updated and sound terrific. Hearing some of those themes, especially during the ending was just pure nostalgia in the best way I can think of.

Excited to start Journey into Lost Memories, my memories of that game are way less vivid and I haven't replayed it anywhere near as much as Two Memories, which at some point I had no issue speed running in 110 minutes. So I'm up for it!

 

[Tye]

Two Memories:

Spoiler

The whole stuff between Thomas and Henry is mostly just implied. I think the original game had some other hints (but they also added new hints in the remake instead. Basically what happened is most likely that Thomas tried to fake the testament and Henry confronted him about it. Thomas had the gun and threatened Henry. For some reason the fight ended with Henry shooting Thomas accidentally or in the heat of the moment, likely in self defense. He either had an own gun or just got Thomas gun in a struggle. D saw it but since he was only 12 years old he misinterpreted what he saw and only noticed that Henry killed Thomas. That's why he wanted to run away and Henry wanted to stop him and explain to him what happened, but he fall of the cliff. In the result of it Henry becomes depressive, locked himself in his room and his wife left him with their daughter. Henry very, very likely comitted suicide because of all that, this one is sadly only hinted at in the original where you could find Henry's last letter at the typewritter in the room below Lawrence room and before the Lab. The typewritter is still there so I guess the letter was cut last minute?

Huh, it’s weird that they excluded those details in Recollection. Like, why make it even more vague than it already was?? I don’t understand that decision…

 

[Irene]

Saddened to say it, but progress is really slow now on the second game and I’m afraid that it will have to be buried beneath other stuff to play.

But I love what I’ve played so far of it, seems different than the first game, but just as good.

 

[AllEchse]

Chapter 4 is one confusing mess, so you start not being able to enter the garden, then you have to enter two completely unrelated rooms before Ashley suddenly feels like entering the garden for no real reason and there's no indication that you can. I walked through the mansion two rounds before I could continue and I'm legit confused what the exact trigger was that allowed me to continue. So far, overall, I quite enjoy the game, but the translation from the more 'simplistic' DS version to Switch is rough...

Having just played through Two Memories in one sitting:
She doesn't want to go into the garden because she is mad at being lower priority than the Another-machine.

She needs into get to the silver bird room to get to D, for that she needs the silver sprout key cause the golden one doesn't work.
The game gives you a hint that you should look at what you have in your inventory, but that doesn't mean just the keys.
Earlier you found a letter by Henrys wife that mentions that he threw they key into the well.
So I think it triggers that isn't hesitant to go into the garden anymore cause inuniverse she rereads that latter and realises that there's no way around going there now.

 

[kirbyfan407]

After beating the first game, I find myself with Two Memories:

1. I'm hearing "This is..." in Ashley's voice at random and when I use the phrase myself. The way the line was delivered in 95% of its uses was so distinct, and now it's stuck with me.
2. Wow, she really loves to evaluate furniture.

On a different note, the game at some point mentions that Kyle Hyde is a fictional character. Does anyone know if Hotel Dusk presents him that way?

 

[Clov]

After beating the first game, I find myself with Two Memories:

1. I'm hearing "This is..." in Ashley's voice at random and when I use the phrase myself. The way the line was delivered in 95% of its uses was so distinct, and now it's stuck with me.
2. Wow, she really loves to evaluate furniture.

On a different note, the game at some point mentions that Kyle Hyde is a fictional character. Does anyone know if Hotel Dusk presents him that way?

Spoiler

Nope! In the world of Hotel Dusk, Kyle Hyde is a real person.

 

[SirArthur]

I am slowing going through Journey, and the side characters are fun. Also, so far, Ashely is a really likable protagonist, not to mention her VA work is great. Her facial expressions are gold . I have a number of screenshots

 

[kirbyfan407]

Spoiler

Nope! In the world of Hotel Dusk, Kyle Hyde is a real person.

Spoiler: Two Memories side detail spoiler

What I think is interesting is I'm now looking at Hotel Dusk's drawn artstyle as a potential subtle indication of him being a character from a book. If that book reveal was already in the original DS Another Code game, then perhaps players were already primed to look at the art that way. But if not, I suppose the 2024 release is adding that angle.

I am slowing going through Journey, and the side characters are fun. Also, so far, Ashely is a really likable protagonist, not to mention her VA work is great. Her facial expressions are gold . I have a number of screenshots

I just started, and I find Ashley is a lot of fun in Journey. I didn't realize I wanted to play as an angsty teen, but I guess I did! Going from Two Memories to this makes for an amusing contrast that I find really endearing. We get to watch her grow up.

 

[SirArthur]

I just started, and I find Ashley is a lot of fun in Journey. I didn't realize I wanted to play as an angsty teen, but I guess I did! Going from Two Memories to this makes for an amusing contrast that I find really endearing. We get to watch her grow up.

I think that's part of it. After all she's been through, it is endearing watching that growth. One of my favorite angsty teen protagonist

 

[TheQuietone]

Ashley is awesome! Give me another with her in her 20s as a musician who solves mysteries!

 

[Apopheniac]

Finished up the second game.

Spoiler

Ashley getting to talk to more people is definitely a plus. She's a good character and she's fleshed out very well. It's pretty jarring to go from the first 80% where she's wandering around chatting about kid stuff to the last segment in the sea lake lab and they start getting into the artificial consciousness and hallucination stuff.

I still don't get how the lakefront is supposed to work. They set it up in the beginning like they're on a camping trip and there's a tent there, but then everyone just has fully furnished cabins they go back to right in front of the research lab? There's a forest ranger so it seems like public land, except a bunch of it is owned by private companies who can set up electronic gates and security cameras? What was the point of the gatehouse by the bus stop if people can just drive in around the other end? Was the Lawrence mine with the fancy rock supposed to connect it to the first game, what was up with that? How does the lake cleaning itself work, is the assumption that it turns the liquid memory back into regular water, because otherwise I don't think that'd kill Ryan.

The part where they end Matthew's arc by going "oh Matthew's dad is in a coma... and he just woke up wow!!!" got big laughs out of both myself and the missus. Like they just shove all the stuff you were doing before out of the way so you can do the part that connects up the first game. I dunno, I get what they're going for, but it's one of those things where it feels like they couldn't figure out what direction they were trying to take with it.

 

[BGBW]

Decided to pop in my Wii copy to compare and even within the first chapter there's a lot of changes. Different person steals Ashley's bag, there's a building that was burnt down which was removed in the Switch version, the rest of the JC Valley teams isn't at the campsite...

I will say that if there's one reason to call the Switch versions the definitive versions to play it's the VA work. It adds so much to the game.

Also I'm glad they cut out all the moments Ashley stares into space remembering something causing the game to go DUH DUN as the other NPC asks if she's alright. It's a bit overplayed.

 

[Clov]

Decided to pop in my Wii copy to compare and even within the first chapter there's a lot of changes. Different person steals Ashley's bag, there's a building that was burnt down which was removed in the Switch version, the rest of the JC Valley teams isn't at the campsite...

I will say that if there's one reason to call the Switch versions the definitive versions to play it's the VA work. It adds so much to the game.

Also I'm glad they cut out all the moments Ashley stares into space remembering something causing the game to go DUH DUN as the other NPC asks if she's alright. It's a bit overplayed.

It's really interesting how much they changed the second game. There's a moment near the end of the Wii version that... I'm really happy they ended up changing because it honestly wasn't great. It's a lot stronger of a story overall this time, I think.

 

[kirbyfan407]

I just finished the full game. I'm unsure what the spoiler policy is, so to be safe, I'll spoiler some thoughts that aren't super heavy on story stuff.

Spoiler

I saw the earlier conversation in this thread about Ashley being queer. I could definitely see something between Janet and Ashley happening if given some time. I forget their ages, but I think they were all pretty similar in age except the guitarist who was maybe a couple years older, right? I remember Elizabeth being her same age, and I want to say Janet was around the same age as Elizabeth.

After finishing this game, it's easy for me to imagine a world in which this game was massively successful and got a WiiWare city builder spin-off set a year or two in the future where you played as Michael/Matthew making decisions about how to finish the Crusoe Resort project while also doing everything you can to preserve and improve the environmental health of the area. Perhaps you'd even hire JC Valley for initiatives to help clean up things.

It's really interesting how much they changed the second game. There's a moment near the end of the Wii version that... I'm really happy they ended up changing because it honestly wasn't great. It's a lot stronger of a story overall this time, I think.

I'm going to have to review a wiki or something to figure out what was changed. This was my first time playing both games to completion after playing a tiny bit of the DS original and none of the Wii game, so I'm curious what the differences are. There were surprising elements in the second game towards the end, so I'm wondering how much was there from the start.

 

[Supreme Bum 01]

I beat it too. I didn't like the ending of the second game but still enjoyed the package.

 

[Clov]

I just finished the full game. I'm unsure what the spoiler policy is, so to be safe, I'll spoiler some thoughts that aren't super heavy on story stuff.

Spoiler

I saw the earlier conversation in this thread about Ashley being queer. I could definitely see something between Janet and Ashley happening if given some time. I forget their ages, but I think they were all pretty similar in age except the guitarist who was maybe a couple years older, right? I remember Elizabeth being her same age, and I want to say Janet was around the same age as Elizabeth.

After finishing this game, it's easy for me to imagine a world in which this game was massively successful and got a WiiWare city builder spin-off set a year or two in the future where you played as Michael/Matthew making decisions about how to finish the Crusoe Resort project while also doing everything you can to preserve and improve the environmental health of the area. Perhaps you'd even hire JC Valley for initiatives to help clean up things.

I'm going to have to review a wiki or something to figure out what was changed. This was my first time playing both games to completion after playing a tiny bit of the DS original and none of the Wii game, so I'm curious what the differences are. There were surprising elements in the second game towards the end, so I'm wondering how much was there from the start.

If I'm remembering right, one of the biggest differences is that in the Wii original,

Spoiler

Ryan is still alive. His memories were wiped by his father. He still does the plan to try and have Sayoko's memories overtake Ashley's, but when it fails he runs off to the island you go to at the end of the game. Cornered, he tries to kill himself by throwing himself off a cliff, but Ashley's Dad stops him and tells him that "suicide is for the weak" and since Ryan hates the weak, he has to live to face punishment.

It's something that really left a bad taste in my mouth. I really like the weirder, more sci-fi angle that the remake took over it.

 

[kirbyfan407]

If I'm remembering right, one of the biggest differences is that in the Wii original,

Spoiler

Ryan is still alive. His memories were wiped by his father. He still does the plan to try and have Sayoko's memories overtake Ashley's, but when it fails he runs off to the island you go to at the end of the game. Cornered, he tries to kill himself by throwing himself off a cliff, but Ashley's Dad stops him and tells him that "suicide is for the weak" and since Ryan hates the weak, he has to live to face punishment.

It's something that really left a bad taste in my mouth. I really like the weirder, more sci-fi angle that the remake took over it.

Spoiler

Whoa, interesting. Having Ryan be a weird tech consciousness that's using ANOTHER to basically create hallucinations in people via a security camera made the "why ANOTHER is dangerous" argument much stronger for me. Without it, it seems like a pretty limited technology. That suicide messaging does sound...messy.

 

[SirArthur]

I finished the game, there are stuff that Ill put in spoiler tags. But overall I had a really good time. I played the game in short sections (an hour or so before bed) and I feel like that enhance my experience versus other games where I would spend hours in a day playing.

I think I like Two Memories story more, but I loved the characters in Journey. Ashley is a fantastic protagonist and seeing her growth due to her experiences in both game was a joy too see. Not to mention her expressions were hilarious. I was curious about the VA work so I did some digging and a lot of them dont have extensive va work but they did a great job. Some more than others but solid overall. Funny enough Ashley's va mentioned she did the recording in 2022, which could give a timeline of the games development. Side note over half the actors also appeared in the ubisoft Avatar game.

Character models and art on the DAS was 10/10. Environmental was a bit more mixed but I liked the overall style. Puzzles were fun and made sense in the context of the story, I would have liked a bit more in Journey, but I understand why they did not. The soundtrack was a vibe, the Lake Juliet was hilarious (in japanese is pretty good) I assume the sing was Bob right lol.

The ending song and sequence made me teary eyed. And what a great credit scene man. If you are in the mood for a heartwarming mysterious adventure, if you can check it out, highly recommended it.

Spoiler

This is mostly about the ending sequence and a book from Two Memories. So Kyle Hyde is mentioned in a book that was written by Daniel Dad under a pseudonym. There is a theory I saw that given the date for this book, it has a cult following and maybe Kyle parents were fans and named him after that detective.

Spoiler

Next is the ending sequence cameo. I jumped when I saw that lol. Like the other I assume this is an epilogue shot, and that brings a bunch of questions to mind lol. But also the entire art from of the ending is interesting because its sorta what I would have expected from a HD version of the style from Hotel Dusk. Not saying this is any indication but at the very least it could be done.

 

[Krusiv]

To be up front, I haven't played the originals. I finished Two Memories this morning and had a lovely time. At first I was a little put off by how subdued the character reactions are to some of the story's twist. In hindsight it was a nice change of pace from the bombastic, crazy adventure games/VNs that I usually play (999 and the like). It was a cozy, quiet, heartfelt experience made even better by the stellar voice cast.

My only wish is that the camera wasn't so close to Ashley during the walking/exploring bits. It made it difficult to parse out the areas despite how small most of them were. This is a very very minor nitpick, but it was a thought I had frequently so figured it's worth mentioning.

Now onto Journey! Ashley is a great protagonist and I'm excited to see her progression into & throughout the next game.

 

[AllEchse]

Having finished the games now I really enjoyed the story, but I felt this version is lacking in the gameplay department.
I never played the originals but I'm coming off of the Kyle Hyde series with Hotel Dusk and Last Window.
It could just be them overly trying to rely on the "You have a touch screen!!!"-Gimmick back then so you even did rather mundane stuff with, but it felt more interactive which they seemingly couldn't do here to accomodate for people playing in different modes of the Switch.

Looking things up online there used to be more gameplay in the originals, so I am happy I actually got them before this remake was announced.
Especially after reading up on the differences and seeing that Another Code R clocks in around the same playtime of around 15 hours as this Remake.

Overly I really enjoyed it, it would be cool if this meant a Sequel to this or a Sequel or another remake of the Kyle Hyde game.
Not really holding my breath though? Unless this really gets blessed with enough sales.

 

[SirArthur]

Some of the preorder bonus overseas are so cool, South Korea in this case. I did not get anything lol

 

[SirArthur]

 

[komicer]

Just completed the stories last night and I have some thoughts.

Part of me think that they should just do away with the arbitrary 'gameplay' moments and just go all-in on the visual novel format. Most of the time, the puzzle gameplay are so simple that there's no real satisfaction in completing them. They merely force a break to the story flow. The puzzles don't even come at you at a consistent rate. I think that the devs should either go full visual-novel route or go the Professor Layton route and give us significantly more puzzles (both qualitative and quantitative). The current weak 'middle-ground' approach is just not satisfying enough.

I generally enjoy the story with its weird, sci-fi and supernatural elements that Ashley doesn't even bat an eyelid for. There's enough twists and turns, even some which do end up surprising me. Or the occasional 'twist' which DID NOT come because it would be way too obvious. For example, in Lost Memories, I thought for the longest time that Greg Davis really is Matthew's dad in disguise. His 'secret agent' shtick did fit the playful impression I got from how others describe the dad and the portraits are so similar. Guess they played it straight this time. While I figured out that the 'dad' in Two Memories was fake almost immediately.

Some of the plot elements can really take some time to cook. From Two Memories, Richard had memories (probably implanted by Bill) of murdering Sayoko and was doubting himself. Then Ashley discovers those memories. The tension and drama was almost immediately undercut by Ashley immediately doing the hard reset to restore the proper memories in Richard. That plot point had some potential. Should have let it cook.

And like Apopheniac stated, in Lost Memories, Greg reveals that Matthew's dad is in a coma. And then coincidentally, just woke up from a coma there and then. That plot point might had some potential... but here, it doesn't even matter. I think 'Greg is really Matthew's dad snooping around for the truth' would be a much better twist. Felt like an excuse to totally take Matthew out of the story. My shipping heart is slightly sore about that.

Ashley can easily turn up in future installments with more memory shenanigans. Though that will really make her a very unlucky person. If that happens, I hope the story writers take a wee bit more time to deal with the story. I don't love but I can deal with the odd (too simple) puzzle in between story beats. The dropping random important plot points that just get swept away within a couple of dialogue is more annoying.

Otherwise, I really do like this game and if there's more to come, I'll get them (preferably secondhand at a discounted price point). Helps that it's short!

 

[~okapi]

Reviving this thread because I finally started playing this a week ago (after buying it at launch lol), and last night I wrapped up the Two Memories side of the story! I had no experience with the original whatsoever and mostly got the game out of sheer curiosity for why Nintendo would revive such an obscure IP. Definitely makes a little more sense after finishing the first half; this vibe and atmosphere of this game really makes it feel unique among Nintendo’s usual lineup, and it’s clear how passionate the developers were about telling this story again.

Anyway, Two Memories was cool! The plot itself never completely blew me away, I felt some of the elements at the end were a little rushed, and the biggest twist was obvious almost immediately imo but like I said, the atmosphere of the game is palpable and really kept me engaged throughout! It also helps that Ashley is incredibly endearing as a protagonist (though I read that she was moodier and a little hot-headed in the original DS localization which I maybe would’ve liked more of here?), her VA did a great job. The puzzles were pretty simple, but being someone who isn’t well-versed in these types of games I still found them enjoyable to solve, and slightly impressed with myself for never having to resort to the hint feature. I do wish more of them had unique controller gimmicks like the one with the stool at the beginning, but oh well. Starting on Journey into Lost Memories tonight

 

[Dekuman]

Reviving this thread because I finally started playing this a week ago (after buying it at launch lol), and last night I wrapped up the Two Memories side of the story! I had no experience with the original whatsoever and mostly got the game out of sheer curiosity for why Nintendo would revive such an obscure IP. Definitely makes a little more sense after finishing the first half; this vibe and atmosphere of this game really makes it feel unique among Nintendo’s usual lineup, and it’s clear how passionate the developers were about telling this story again.

Anyway, Two Memories was cool! The plot itself never completely blew me away, I felt some of the elements at the end were a little rushed, and the biggest twist was obvious almost immediately imo but like I said, the atmosphere of the game is palpable and really kept me engaged throughout! It also helps that Ashley is incredibly endearing as a protagonist (though I read that she was moodier and a little hot-headed in the original DS localization which I maybe would’ve liked more of here?), her VA did a great job. The puzzles were pretty simple, but being someone who isn’t well-versed in these types of games I still found them enjoyable to solve, and slightly impressed with myself for never having to resort to the hint feature. I do wish more of them had unique controller gimmicks like the one with the stool at the beginning, but oh well. Starting on Journey into Lost Memories tonight

Yes, it's the best part of the collection for me. I didn't wanmt it to end. The original DS game was even more atmospheric, because there was less loading between rooms and certain story beats occured later so you're left alone exploring solo longer. The puzzles are completely different so worth playing the DS game if you can find it.

 

[~okapi]

Reviving again because I just finished the game and I have… so many thoughts. Journey into Lost Memories has a very different vibe from the first half of Recollection, but once I got settled in I really, really enjoyed it! I already liked Ashely as a character, but giving her a more expanded cast to interact with and really let her personality out around made her even more endearing!

I was definitely not expecting how incredibly sci-fi the story gets in the final act, but it was a fun ride the whole way through.

 

[Maronic03]

My thoughts while playing the game: This is really nice, but I don't think I'll end up particularly attached to these characters once it ends.

Me during the credits:

Jokes aside, it may sounds weird to focus on the credits of all things, but it was so well made! Going all out on the 2D art by Taisuke Kanasaki made it so heartfelt.

EDIT: The singer was originally contacted than 4 years ago:



"On their youtube" I think she is a little confused and believes this channel is official. Not like it's a problem, I just think it's kind of funny.

 

[SirArthur]

EDIT: The singer was originally contacted than 4 years ago:



"On their youtube" I think she is a little confused and believes this channel is official. Not like it's a problem, I just think it's kind of funny.

That is interesting because (I dont remember where I posted it) Ashley's VA, Kaitlyn Yott, said on her instagram she got to do the gig in 2022. So its kinda interesting how they had a theme song way in advance.