Another Code is a slower, moodier, puzzle point-and-click game on the Nintendo DS that I failed to notice upon release, being fixated on the console’s faster and brighter JRPGs at the time. I probably would not have appreciated the thought that went into the story upon release as much as I do now.
The player takes control of the young teen Ashley, as she searches the abandoned mansion of “Blood Edward Island” for her absent researcher father, and the answers to her mother’s death. The secondary story thread is the events that lead to the death of the island’s amnesiac ghost, “D”.
The game controls as expected; the touch screen is used to drag Ashley about the 3D environments, but you can also use the D-pad. The use of the dual screens of the DS come into play at points, as does the console’s ability to fold in on itself, and the use of the mic. I thought that the the puzzles that utilised the in-game ‘camera feature’ were unique and fun.
In regards to the art direction, the Japanese sensibilities are present in character portraits, and they look good. The environments are all well-rendered and atmospheric. I had no trouble navigating the game’s setting and finding the necessary items and puzzles to progress the game’s plot.
As far as narrative goes, I was more invested in uncovering the events that lead to D’s death, the Edward’s family trauma, and the subsequent abandonment of the Edward’s family home than I was invested in finding Ashley’s father. Overall, I feel that the darker themes of the narrative were overly simplified at times, perhaps to the ‘benefit’ of the intended child audience. I think the story could have avoided so much of the dace around death it commits to, without upsetting, or confusing the child audience that would actively seek out this type of mystery and puzzle-solving game in the first place.
It’s important to note that it is possible to complete the game without uncovering all clues to D’s death, and thus to end the game with a somewhat unsatisfactory feeling, lacking full closure. Though the game’s so short that you can complete it within a few hours!
As a first outing on the DS for Cing, it’s a good mystery adventure game for kids (and adults) that’s still worth playing if you enjoy a darker atmosphere and mystery elements in puzzle point-and-click games.
The player takes control of the young teen Ashley, as she searches the abandoned mansion of “Blood Edward Island” for her absent researcher father, and the answers to her mother’s death. The secondary story thread is the events that lead to the death of the island’s amnesiac ghost, “D”.
The game controls as expected; the touch screen is used to drag Ashley about the 3D environments, but you can also use the D-pad. The use of the dual screens of the DS come into play at points, as does the console’s ability to fold in on itself, and the use of the mic. I thought that the the puzzles that utilised the in-game ‘camera feature’ were unique and fun.
In regards to the art direction, the Japanese sensibilities are present in character portraits, and they look good. The environments are all well-rendered and atmospheric. I had no trouble navigating the game’s setting and finding the necessary items and puzzles to progress the game’s plot.
As far as narrative goes, I was more invested in uncovering the events that lead to D’s death, the Edward’s family trauma, and the subsequent abandonment of the Edward’s family home than I was invested in finding Ashley’s father. Overall, I feel that the darker themes of the narrative were overly simplified at times, perhaps to the ‘benefit’ of the intended child audience. I think the story could have avoided so much of the dace around death it commits to, without upsetting, or confusing the child audience that would actively seek out this type of mystery and puzzle-solving game in the first place.
It’s important to note that it is possible to complete the game without uncovering all clues to D’s death, and thus to end the game with a somewhat unsatisfactory feeling, lacking full closure. Though the game’s so short that you can complete it within a few hours!
As a first outing on the DS for Cing, it’s a good mystery adventure game for kids (and adults) that’s still worth playing if you enjoy a darker atmosphere and mystery elements in puzzle point-and-click games.