Another Code: Recollection - Review
When Another Code hit the DS years ago, it was a game that I skipped over, mostly because I was starting to move away from handheld gaming. The Wii sequel never got a look in either, because it was a sequel to a game I hadn’t played, so coming into Another Code: Recollection, everything was brand new to me, but was the hype that fans had for the series return justified?
As the title suggests, this is a collection of both the games in the series, but remade for the Switch. While the overall stories appear to be the same, there were likely a few changes to accommodate the modern era of its release. One major change is that the character’s DAS now looks like a Switch, instead of a DS, which was the style at the time. While the stories are connected, they are as connected as The Fast and The Furious is to 2 Fast 2 Furious, a few returning characters and not much else. Two Memories, the first game has you take control of Ashley as she travels to an island known as Blood Edward Island, in the hopes of finding her father, who she presumed dead. Upon arrival and with no dad in sight, she begins to investigate what is going on, eventually coming to meet D, a ghost of a small boy who died somehow on the island. The sequel takes place 2 years later with Ashley spending time at a place called Lake Juliet, where mentions of her mother cause her to investigate what is going on.
Neither story is too complex to follow, the characters are small in number, so you won’t need to worry about remembering who is who. Where the story falls short for me though is that its dry, in both games. Nothing that was taking place was exciting or interesting, puzzles excluded, so hearing Ashley attempt to have a conversation with D, or her aunt or anyone else, always just had me wanting to skip over them. Fans may connect more, but for someone coming in for the first time, I was let down by the amount of story that didn’t matter. This isn’t me complaining about the lack of sex, drugs and rock & roll, but rather that nothing felt like it was in any sort of hurry. I do enjoy games that take their time to build up a story, but that growth has to feel natural and earnt, but here the pacing just didn’t feel right at all, making it hard to enjoy.
On the gameplay side of things, there were some good and not so good things going on, let us start off with the good. The locations in both games being wide open, with complete freedom of movement was welcome, as part of me was expecting those moments to be rare and the rest to be static. Once I started exploring the mansion, I did chuckle at the vibe of Resident Evil I got, exploring a mansion that is filled with puzzles and keys. There is a fair bit of backtracking to do be done, as you get keys for one door, which is on the other side of the mansion and while it can be annoying, thankfully Ashley can run. As far as puzzles go, there are some that are just a matter of finding the right items and placing them in the right spot and others that need you to take photos and line things up. They are not terribly hard, though some might take you a moment to understand exactly what the game is asking for.
The second half of the collection is a little looser in how it handles things, the open world is still present, something that the game always had, unlike the original DS entry. The puzzlers are still a delight, but some of them are sillier than they really needed to be, so just be ready for that. Where things fall apart is with the open world, as some of the locations are so big, the game has loading screens in between them. The other issue is that unlike the first game, you can’t just freely explore at any point in time, you are often locked out of exploring some sections until the game needs you to and even then you may not be allowed back in.
Something that the game does well though is its accessibility options, sadly not in terms of visual, but rather the game lets you enable or disable a guide at any point. This guide creates a ring around Ashely and on it is an arrow, point you in the direction that you need to go, with a glowing gold icon on the door or object you need to touch as well. When you are doing puzzles, you can also hit the minus button and the game will give you a hint, and if you need more there are more hints which lead to an answer. Now the game will not just provide the answer, but rather provides an easily worded answer to give it to you, which is a nice touch.
On the games presentation front, there is a lot to enjoy and a few things that are not so good, but sticking with the good, the overall look. There is no denying that this is not the best looking game on Switch, but it sure as heck ranks up there, thanks in part to its simple yet defined art style. There are of course shortcuts that were used, things like trees being a common one, but as you generally don’t need to stare up into them, it shouldn’t be something to get in the way. The character models are good, but it’s the details on them, Ashely for example has shadows baked into her clothing, which gives the illusion of depth, without needing to worry about the extra processing power. The game does not run perfectly of course, there are frame stutters and in the larger outdoor spaces, there is a bit of pop in, but neither should impact your experience.
The games audio is going to be hit or miss for some folks, the voice work is decent, but if you don’t like teenage led dramas, then its unlikely to grab you. There are times when entire scenes are fully voiced and then there are times when its just random noises from the characters and text on the screen. I wish the game would have committed to just one of those approaches, to help deliver a cohesive experience, but c'est la vie. The games music is appropriate for the setting, there are a few times when you are often locked into a creepy room and the game provides music that really heightens that.
Another Code: Recollection delivers two intriguing games that are sadly not going to be for everyone. For fans of the original releases, the updates may not be what they wanted, but a chance to experience new takes on those games might be worth it. For those who never played the games originally, it is a much harder sell to make, there are some fun puzzles and the games visual design is strong. However with some fairly weak and slow stories, characters that feel more frustrating than fun and a whole lot of teenage drama, it might be one to wait on.
The Score
7.0
Review code provided by Nintendo
The Pros
Both games in the collection should deliver a good dozen hours at least
The games accessibility for players who may struggle to proceed is welcome
The Cons
The stories in both games are not the greatest and take too long to really get going
While locations are large, they are often devoid of things to see or do within
