Words cannot emphasize how happy I am to see one of my all top favorite video games get a remake. I was fairly certain this game would never get a remake or remaster, and if it did, not as soon as it did!

Another Code is a must have for your Nintendo game library. Not just so a Cing title can get huge support to release more remasters/remakes from the now defunct developer Cing, but also because the story and art style of this game is absolutely wonderful. The near water paint aesthetic of the world combined with the modest 6th gen looking graphics reminds me of a simpler time; which is funny because the original game reminded me a lot of 5th gen graphics like the PS1 but smoother.

The story itself still has the same short but satisfactory pacing and original plot. No unnecessary modifications to the story which Im glad to see; also the game is treated to cinematic cutscenes that are voiced out and very well blocked out! I'd like to note that the voice actor for Ashley does an incredible job voicing her. You get the bits of angst and existentialism from a teenager from her voice acting. Im just really happy to see Ashley come to life as I think she's an excellent example of good writing for a teenage girl. Multifaceted and honest.

I will admit however, as with any remake, this game is not 1:1. As this is a remake of a DS game, some gameplay mechanics do not translate all that well to the switch, but the story and design is still genuine and authentic to the game. It's just disappointing how uninspired some of the puzzles are. The whole appeal of the original game was the intuitive and literal outside of the box thinking the game required out of the player, so to not see much of that with the switch was a bummer. Still though, I'll take a near perfect remake of a perfect video game than a perfect video game fading to obscurity.

I cannot thank Nintendo and Arc System Works for giving this title life again. Its truly a great privilege seeing some form of preservation made to an important game like Another Code.

"A person will experiences two deaths. The first is when a soul leaves their body. And the second is when the memories of that person fade from everyone's hearts."
- Sayoko Robbins

"Because you remember her, my mom lives on. And thanks to that, I got to see her."
- Ashley Robbins

Been thinking a lot about remakes. What is the value of a remake? What is lost in returning to an older work to "fix" things? All these meta-commentaries and adaptations are interesting in theory, but why is it so hard to simply release the old games?

Another Code is a messy example in that so much of its foundation is built on hardware that no longer exists. Cing used every aspect of the DS and the Wii to build its narratives and these clever methods of interaction are a crucial beating heart. Losing a majority of that puzzle interaction in the Recollection's format does... hurt. But there's still so much love here that its a compromise I understand.

The game undeniably provides two key features: ease and access. The game is easier to navigate, dialogue easier to skip through, backtracking and surplus content is snipped off for a more pleasant experience. Running around the mansion in Two Memories is really fun! The sensation of interacting with a tiny video game map to unravel, rather than an exhausting open world, feels like something that's been lost in a lot of modern game design. It felt amazing to return to it and even more amazing that its so easy to acquire this game. People can play and experience these games in one complete package. It'd certainly wish people to at least seek out emulators, but I'm choosing to be happy for the people experiencing this narrative for the first time.

But I think what really won me over on this game was the director's cut feel of it. Head Writer Rika Suzuki and Director Taisuke Kanasaki returned for Recollection and you can feel that sense of time permeate their approach to this game, especially in the Journey Into Lost Memories section. One character in the Wii game was a character I often found frustrating and boring to engage with. Recollection completely changes the final climax of the story and alters his journey into something full of tragedy, misunderstanding, and existentialism. It ties up loose ends and closes the book on a series that never continued. It says goodbye, but with peace and joy rather than misery.

In 2022, Rika Suzuki became an honorary member of the Game Preservation Society. Her interview after Cing's closure can be found here. Cing's closure was the first time I understood as a child that a company closing meant something could be lost that wouldn't be filled. That something would change. And from there, an understanding that when an uncaring company fires its workers, its throwing away the talents and efforts of so many dedicated people. That lesson influences how I think about... a lot of things into the present.

Games are built through the hard-work and care of many different individuals we will never know. Their names passing us by on a credits screen symbolizes days and weeks and months of work. I can feel the love pouring from the screen. I can feel the passion for creativity and joy. If you don't feel it for this game, and I would never demand that you have to, feel that passion in your own favorite games. Find a favorite moment or scene or piece of art and look up who was in charge of art design or script or lighting or any piece of visual scenery that you adored. Someone made that. Remember them, if just for a little while. And if you don't want to do that for games, do that for your fridge, your coat, your wallet. Someone made that. We're all connected by work we'll never see. Remember them.

Another Code helped teach me that a decade ago and its still reminding me that now.

This is regarding Two Memories. I have not finished the 2nd game yet, but I have a few comments on it. I played it with my partner, since I had already played it back in the day so she could have the full experience, now, did she?

- Pros: the game looks really nice. I don't mind some lower textures here and there, it looks pretty in some spots, especially some of the rooms, and it highlights some of the game's emotional scenes.

- Cons: they butchered some really important details about the Edward family. There's no way around it, they are important since their conflict is half of the game and this iteration removes information about them. The core conflict isn't clear or nuanced enough for a first time player and it downplays some of its emotional moments like the Thomas-Henry fight, finding D's shoes or the ending itself.

Couple this with a few dissapointing puzzles and no, you don't get the same experience of playing the original. A similar one, yeah, but not the same.

It is ironic that a game series with themes of the importance of memory – to the point where it makes sure you remember every story detail at the end of each chapter – gets a remake that deceives you with a twisted version of events.
My misgivings already took shape, knowing that at the very beginning of the game you don't get candy from the captain, and it only got worse from there.
The DS part was serviceable at best. The Wii portion, on the other hand, left a bad taste in my mouth.
I won't go into all the changes, but I will say that from the character redesigns that stripped them of their 2007 aesthetic, to the toned down BGM, to the environments that looked better on the Wii, to the progression that's more railroaded than the original that was literally on rails, to the most important thing; the creative puzzles, of which there are none. Everything feels like a cheap downgrade. A 16 hour game cut in half. The one positive being the end credits showing Taisuke Kanasaki's lovely art.
There is a part of me that still hopes for a Hotel Dusk revival, but it's obvious that it could never fulfil any expectations. I mean, what would they even do? Turn the iconic sprites into dull 3D models? It certainly won't look like that one a-ha music video.
I wasn't interested in getting Persona 3 Reload because I was doubtful of its quality. In fact, most of what I heard second-hand only confirmed this suspicion, but I still gave this one a chance, and I got my fingers burned. There are of course exceptions, but all in all, remakes are worthless.

+ Intriguing story
+ Great aesthetic and lighting
+ Fun traversal
+ Enhancing music and score

- Mundane fetch quests
- Anticlimactic ending