If you walked into a GameStop in 2005, you might have seen a weird, moody-looking box art featuring a girl with short white hair and a device that looked suspiciously like a chunky Nintendo DS. That was Another Code: Two Memories. For years, it was this cult classic fossil, a relic of the "Touch Generations" era that most people forgot about while they were busy playing Nintendogs or Brain Age. But then Nintendo did something unexpected last year—they brought it back.
Honestly, it's a miracle it happened. Another Code: Recollection isn't just a port; it’s a complete fundamental reimagining of Ashley Mizuki Robbins’ story. It combines Two Memories (the DS game) and A Journey into Lost Memories (the Wii sequel that never even came out in North America) into one seamless experience. It’s a slow burn. It’s quiet. It’s occasionally frustrating. But if you're looking for a game that actually understands how grief and memory work, this is basically the gold standard.
The DS Legacy and the Shift to Switch
The original Another Code: Two Memories was a tech demo masquerading as a gothic mystery. It used every single gimmick the DS had. You had to blow into the microphone to clear dust off a virtual painting. You had to close the DS lid to "stamp" a puzzle piece. It was tactile in a way games rarely are now.
When Cing, the original developer, went bankrupt in 2010, fans figured the series was dead. Seeing it resurrected on the Switch was a shock. But here’s the thing: they had to change everything. You can't blow into a Switch. You can't fold it in half. So, the developers at Arc System Works had to figure out how to keep the soul of the mystery alive without the hardware gimmicks. They shifted to a full 3D environment, which honestly makes Blood Edward Island feel way more claustrophobic and atmospheric than the original top-down view ever did.
What Actually Happens on Blood Edward Island?
The premise is simple but heavy. Ashley gets a letter from her father, Richard. The problem? She thought he died when she was three. He tells her to meet him on Blood Edward Island. She goes, accompanied by her aunt Jessica, but things go sideways immediately. Jessica disappears. Ashley meets a ghost named D.
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It sounds like a standard ghost story, but it isn't. D isn't some scary entity; he’s a kid who lost his memories. The core of Another Code: Two Memories is this dual investigation: Ashley is trying to find her father and the truth about her mother’s death, while D is trying to remember how he died fifty years ago.
The writing is surprisingly grounded. Ashley isn't a superhero. she's a grumpy, confused fourteen-year-old. She reacts to things like a kid would—with a mix of curiosity and genuine fear. The game doesn't rush you. You spend a lot of time just walking through old hallways, looking at dusty portraits, and solving puzzles that feel like they belong in a 90s point-and-click adventure.
The Puzzles: A Mixed Bag of Brilliance and Tedium
If you’re coming from Resident Evil, these puzzles will feel like a cakewalk. If you’re coming from Call of Duty, you might lose your mind. Another Code: Two Memories relies heavily on environmental storytelling. You’ll find a broken sign, a weirdly shaped key, or a series of dolls that need to be arranged in a specific order.
Some people hate this. I get it. It’s slow. But there’s a specific rhythm to it. The game uses a device called the DAS (or the Dual Another System), which looks like a Switch in the remake. You use it to take photos of clues and overlay them. It makes you feel like an actual investigator rather than just a player clicking on things until they work.
Why the Remake Feels Different
- Movement: In the original, you moved on a 2D plane or via a map. Now, you’re exploring a fully realized 3D mansion. It changes the scale.
- Voice Acting: The remake added full voice acting. It makes the emotional beats, especially between Ashley and her father, hit way harder.
- The "A" Plot vs. the "B" Plot: The remake weaves the DS and Wii stories together. In the original Two Memories, the ending felt a bit abrupt. Now, it leads directly into the Lake Juliet arc, making the whole thing feel like a 15-20 hour prestige TV series.
Addressing the "Walking Simulator" Accusations
There’s a segment of the gaming community that calls anything without a combat loop a "walking simulator." Another Code: Two Memories definitely falls into that trap for some. But that’s missing the point. The "gameplay" isn't the walking; it’s the synthesis of information.
You’re reading journals. You’re looking at the architecture of the Edward Mansion to figure out the family’s tragic history. It’s a tragedy. That’s what it is. It’s a story about a family that was destroyed by their own ambition and a machine—the "Another" system—designed to rewrite human memory.
The ethical questions the game raises are actually pretty sophisticated. Should we be able to delete traumatic memories? If you remove the pain, do you also remove the person? It’s sci-fi, but it’s intimate sci-fi.
Dealing With the Pacing Issues
Let’s be real: the middle of the game drags. Once you get into the mansion, there’s a lot of "go to the north wing, find out the door is locked, go to the south wing to find the key, go back to the north wing." It’s classic adventure game logic.
However, the remake added a navigation system. If you get stuck, a little dot shows you where to go. Some purists think this ruins the "exploration," but honestly, it saves the game from becoming a chore. You can turn it off if you want the "authentic" 2005 experience of wandering aimlessly for forty minutes because you didn't see a tiny sparkling item in the corner of the room.
The Connection to "Hotel Dusk"
You can't talk about Another Code without mentioning Hotel Dusk: Room 215. Both were made by Cing. Both have that distinct, sketchy, rotoscoped art style. While Another Code leans more into sci-fi and ghosts, it shares that "hardboiled mystery for kids" vibe.
If you like one, you’ll love the other. There’s a specific DNA in these games—a melancholy that most modern titles are too afraid to touch. They aren't trying to be "fun" in the traditional sense. They’re trying to make you feel something specific: the quietness of an empty house, the weight of a secret kept for decades.
Is It Worth Playing Today?
Yes. Especially if you have a Switch and a long flight ahead of you. It’s the perfect "rainy day" game.
But don't go in expecting The Legend of Zelda. Expect a visual novel that occasionally asks you to solve a puzzle. The real draw is Ashley. Watching her grow from this bitter kid who feels abandoned to someone who understands the complexity of her parents' lives is a great arc.
The game also handles the concept of "D" and his lost childhood with a lot of grace. It’s not a horror game, but the implications of D’s death—which I won’t spoil here—are genuinely chilling once you piece the timeline together.
Actionable Steps for New Players
If you're ready to dive into the mystery of Blood Edward Island, here is how to get the most out of the experience without getting frustrated.
Start with the Demo
Nintendo has a fairly beefy demo on the eShop. It covers the opening chapter. The progress carries over to the full game. It's the best way to see if the "slow" pacing works for you before dropping the cash.
Pay Attention to the Photos
The DAS system isn't just a gimmick. You can take photos of basically anything. If you see a weird pattern on a wall or a list of names, snap a photo. You’ll frequently need to reference these for puzzles three rooms away, and backtracking just to look at a painting is a pain.
Don't Rush the Dialogue
This is a narrative-heavy game. If you skip through the dialogue to get to the "action," you will be bored. The action is the dialogue. Read the notes. Check the character profiles in the menu. The game rewards you for being thorough, not for being fast.
Toggle the Assist Features
If you find yourself getting annoyed by the "where do I go" aspect, turn on the Hint and Navigation systems in the settings. There is no shame in it. The story is the priority here, and getting stuck on a vague environmental clue for an hour isn't "playing the game right," it's just a waste of your evening.
Explore the "Recollection" Content
Once you finish the Two Memories portion, don't stop. The Journey into Lost Memories section (the second half of the Switch remake) is actually where the story gets much deeper. It introduces new characters and explores Ashley's teenage years, which provides a much more satisfying conclusion to her story than the original DS game did.