Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, whilst also taking the time to include some lengthy gameplay, to give you the reader, the chance to shape your own impressions and views whilst watching and reading.
In this explanatory review, we’re covering the Another Code: Recollection by developer Arc System Works:
Another Code: Recollection (The Explanation)
Another Code: Recollection is finally here, bringing two of Nintendo’s underrated titles to the Nintendo Switch with improved visuals, voice acting, and an explorable world to dive into. It bundles together Another Code: Two Memories (DS) and Another Code R (Wii), with the latter never being released in North America before now. Having previously covered the demo of the game (feel free to check it out here), I won’t go into rehashing the details of the story and the characters again but I will summarize a few of the details for you.
Another Code: Recollection follows young teenager Ashley Mizuki Robins, In Two Memories, Ashley is thirteen years old and searching for her father. She travels to Blood Edward Island with her aunt Jessica in order to meet up with her father, long believed dead, who has suddenly contacted her after 11 years. Upon reaching the island, Jessica goes to find her brother (Ashley’s father), leaving Ashley with waiting at the docks where they were supposed to meet her father. After a while, Jessica disappears and Ashley decides to go look for her as well as her absent father.
As for the second part of the collection, Ashley is now a few years older and experiences flashbacks of her mother whilst on a camping trip to Lake Juliet. While on the trip, she encounters a runaway who has left home and learns that the lake has a not too pleasant past and that an incident occured there some time ago and Ashley sets out to seek the truth of what happened at Lake Juliet and learn of her mother’s past.
If you haven’t checked out our EXPlay of the Another Code: Recollection Demo, then just to catch you up, after the events of the demo, Ashley and the mysterious ghost, a boy named “D”, enter the mansion owned previously by the Edward family. Blood Edward Island is the backdrop for the game and so far in my time, during the first seven chapters, I have been mostly on the grounds in and around the mansion. Upon entering the mansion, you and D, will need to explore the house and its many rooms for clues. The clues you uncover lead you to finding Ashley’s aunt, Jessica, her father, and more of D’s memories. The game can be summed up in three primary forms of gameplay: storied cutscenes, puzzles, and walking around room to room.
The cutscenes consist of comic book-style panels with characters animating and full voice-acted dialogue. These scenes help to move the story along, include clues to where to go next, and the important history of the Edward family. I don’t want to go into too many details and spoil things for you, the present day scenes are in full 3D while D’s backstory and Ashley’s past playing out in 2D artwork.
Walking around Blood Edward Island’s mansion and outer grounds can be a bit jilted. I had to go into the settings and bump up the cameras vertical and horizontal speed after another reviewer mentioned the setting. Once I did that the game was a bit easier to move around in. And you will move around a lot. Walking from room to room, as well as, searching for items to interact with is a huge part of the game. When you enter a new space you will want to walk up to every desk, chair, shelf, stack of books, and more. From time to time items will be interactive and may even include a puzzle element.
Puzzles in Another Code: Recollection come in the basic variety. There were only a few puzzles that had me scratching my head, mostly because I forgot some subtle details or missed an interactive element. The puzzles usually required some spatial understanding and combining items you find in the puzzle to solve it. One puzzle required that I placed some dolls I found on a pedestal in a certain order. Another one made me play a piece of piano music which had a unique twist. From time to time you will need to take photos of things you see and overlay them within the puzzles. These overlaid photo puzzles are unique and I only wish there were more of them.
Speaking of the camera and taking photos, Another Code: Recollection, also has you scouring the rooms for small origami birds that contain notes left by your father. These notes give you an insight into Ashley’s father and what he has learned about the Another system he and your mom had been working on, his feelings towards missing Ashley, and what he has discovered while living on Blood Edward Island.
The biggest take away I want you to have regarding Another Code: Recollection is that I enjoyed the game and the story, though puzzle fans may find the game a slog. There isn’t that much in terms of difficulty when it comes to the games puzzles which could be seen as a disappointment to some since you mostly move from room to room in a linear fashion. There isn’t much replayability to speak of either. Getting through the story and feeling some intensity towards completing the puzzles helps to stress you out, but there isn’t a fail state for Another Code: Recollection, so you just keep going until you get it right. It is hard for me to recommend this game whole-heartedly at full price since it is rather on the short side in terms of length and the overall gameplay didn’t appeal to me as much as I thought it would but am still glad to see that it managed to get another lease of life on Nintendo Switch.
Another Code: Recollection (The Gameplay)
Game Specifications:
Developer: Arc System Works
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Category: Adventure, Puzzle
No. of Players: 1 (Single System)
Release Date: NA| EU: January 19, 2024
Price: $59.99
File Size: 5.2 GB
Nintendo.com Listing
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