Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories

Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories
Developer(s)	Cing
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Shigeru Komine
Designer(s)	Rika Suzuki
Platform(s)	Wii
Release date(s)	‹See Tfd› JP: February 5, 2009 EU: June 26, 2009[1]
Genre(s)	Point-and-click adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories (アナザーコード：Ｒ 記憶の扉, Anazā Kōdo: R – Kioku no Tobira, lit. "Another Code: R – Memory's Door"), known as simply Another Code: R, and also known by the working title Trace Memory: R, Gateway of Memory,^[2] is a point-and-click adventure game for the Wii console. It is the sequel to Another Code: Two Memories (known as Trace Memory in North America). Unlike its predecessor, the game has not been officially released outside Japan and Europe, although the Wii's region coding system means that the European version of the game will run on all PAL Wii consoles worldwide.

Plot

At the end of her summer holiday 16-year-old Ashley, now an aspiring musician, receives an invitation from her father Richard, who has always been curiously distant towards his daughter. He has been absent as he took over from Ashley’s mother to work tirelessly on a memory control system known only as “Another,” the cause of her mother’s death.

In an effort to cement their bond following his protracted disappearance – Richard left Ashley to be brought up by her aunt – father and daughter are to spend a weekend together at Lake Juliet, a camping resort. But, as the game begins to unfold, Ashley discovers that there are a series of mysteries surrounding Lake Juliet. The intrigue deepens as she realises she has been to this resort before … she has a dim memory of being here just before her mother died 13 years ago.

Gameplay

Players must help Ashley solve a series of clues and puzzles, journeying back into her earliest memories to unlock the past.

The story is played as if in the pages of a mystery novel. Ashley must engage with the other characters to follow up the myriad different trails and clues in order to solve the mystery. Journeying through the story’s digital pages, she will encounter people who clearly know more than they are letting on about the events leading up to her mother’s death, who she will have to interrogate to glean the information she needs.

Players use the Wii Remote to point and click items and characters in the game’s watercolour backgrounds, interacting with them as she travels. Ashley is guided through the game’s world by clicking the arrows that tell players where she is able to go. Ashley is assisted in her puzzle solving by her DAS, a portable device with which she can take pictures during the game.

By exploring every corner of the world created by the game, collecting items from across it and by combining their intuition and skills in deduction, players will feel like they are themselves characters in a mystery novel as they unravel the secrets of Lake Juliet, Ashley’s family and ultimately, of Project Another itself.

Characters

• Ashley Mizuki Robbins (アシュレイ・ミズキ・ロビンズ, Ashurei Mizuki Robinzu): The protagonist, a 16-year-old meek and sensitive girl who aspires to become a musician. She has been living with her father for the past two years, though she is emotionally distant from him due to their long-time separation. She travels to Lake Juliet after being invited by her father. She has dim memories of being there with her mother.
• Richard Robbins (リチャード・ロビンズ, Richādo Robinzu): Ashley's father, a scientist who works for JC Valley. Following the death of his wife Sayoko, he isolated himself to Blood Edward Island for eleven years to work on the Dual Another System until he was reunited with his daughter.
• Sayoko Robbins (サヨコ・ロビンズ, Sayoko Robinzu): Ashley's deceased mother, who died when Ashley was only three years old. A strong-willed Japanese scientist who specialized in researching memories, she met her husband Richard when they were both working for MJ Labs.
• Jessica Robbins (ジェシカ・ロビンズ, Jeshika Robinzu): Richard's younger sister and Ashley's aunt. A high school chemistry teacher, she is Richard's only other living relative. She took in and raised Ashley as her own when Richard went to Blood Edward Island thirteen years ago and understands her better than anyone else.
• Dan Maxwell (タン・マクスェル, Dan Makusuweru): A diligent forest ranger who works everyday without rest protecting the fauna of Lake Juliet. He befriends Ashley after she arrives at Lake Juliet to meet her father.
• Matthew Crusoe (マシュー・クルーソー, Mashū Kurūsō): A runaway boy who finds himself at Lake Juliet, searching for his father who has been missing for five years. He meets Ashley and eventually allies himself with her to help each other meet their individual objectives.
• Ryan Gray (ライアン・グレイ, Raian Gurei): A scientist employed by JC Valley. A scientific prodigy who has been working since his teenage years, he was a colleague of Richard and Sayoko when they were working at MJ Labs.
• Agent John Smith (謎の男, Nazo no Otoko): A man in a black suit and sunglasses who is investigating the pollution at Lake Juliet.
• Greg Davis (グレーグ・デイヴィス, Gurēgu Deivisu): A journalist researching the happenings at Lake Juliet and Matthew's father 5 years ago.

Development

The game was first shown at Nintendo's autumn conference in October 2008.^[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 66/100[4] Review scores Publication Score Adventure Gamers [5] Edge 4/10[6] Eurogamer 6/10[7] Famitsu 28/40[8] GamesMaster 70%[9] GameSpot 6.5/10[10] IGN 8/10[11] NGamer 70%[12] Nintendo Life [2] ONM 84%[13] The Daily Telegraph 8/10[14]

The game received a score of all four sevens for a total of 28 out of 40 from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu.^[8] Elsewhere, it received a bit more mixed reviews than the original Another Code according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[4] It was the 11th best-selling game in Japan during the week of its release, selling fewer than 15,000 copies.^[15]

References

External links

• Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories at MobyGames
• Official European site
• Official Japanese site (Japanese)