All too soon, it becomes nothing but a memory
But that's beside the point, really, because as a DS gamer I don't have much reason to rant about the dearth of a genre that I love. Because thanks to Nintendo, we're getting a handful of high-quality titles of this type, specifically on the DS (though it's important not to overlook Zack and Wiki, probably the most underrated Wii game to date). I've played and loved the Phoenix Wright games as anybody who knows me could likely tell you, and I've an almost unsettling interest in getting my hands on both Touch Detectives as well as Hotel Dusk. But before that, I decided to go back to where it all started for Nintendo's handheld and rent what is the birth of point-and-click titles on the DS: Trace Memory.
I'll start off on a negative note and mention that it's a damn good thing I rented it, because at any price over ten bucks, Trace Memory is a rip-off. For the most part it's a fun game (I'll get to that later, of course), but one of its biggest flaws is the fact that it's so freaking short. Despite the fact that I knew it was a short title, I was surprised when I approached the end and saw the time logged on my file: about three hours and forty five minutes. I'm sorry, but this is insane. I don't care how good your game is: it's absolutely unfair to both yourself and your potential customers that could be beaten easily in a day. Admittedly, there are some difficult puzzle sequences that may confuse those new to point-and-click titles, but anybody who knows what they're doing could easily replicate my feat.
But I'll come back to all this later when it makes more sense, because it's poor reviewing practice to launch into a rant about a game without even attempting to describe said game first. Because I've now probably used the term about five or six times in this review so far, you likely know that Trace Memory is a point-and-click action title. You step into the shoes of Ashley Mizuki Robbins as she arrives on the mysterious Blood Edward Island on the eve of her fourteenth birthday. Her father, who's been missing for most of her childhood, has mysteriously sent her a letter telling her to come to the abovementioned island, as well as a package containing a device called the DTS. (By the way, if you take the "T" out of the "DTS", you'll get "DS", the name of the system you're playing this game on! Oh, and the "DTS" even looks like a DS! Yes, this game was created way back when every DS game dev team felt they somehow had to cleverly incorporate the hardware's name into the game. Thank God that phase is over.)
Naturally there's a good bit of mystery surrounding this whole escapade, as your father, whom you're initially told is dead (it's not a spoiler, seriously) has randomly beckoned you to this really creepy, deserted island. Once there, you'll encounter a ghost by the name of D, who supposedly can only be seen by those who have no reason to distrust others. He has no memory of his past, save that his name is D and he's been wandering Blood Edward Island for 57 years (and counting, if you can't help him out). He'll enlist your help and while solving the mystery of your father, mother, and the mysterious Trace, you're also encouraged to investigate the mansion searching for items to trigger D's memories. Not only does this give you a lot of really interesting backstory on the Edwards family, whom the island is named after, but by triggering all of D's memories you'll get the game's good ending.
So, you'll wander around the island (mostly the mansion, actually) from a 3D, top-down perspective of Ashley and D. When you come into contact with something that can be examined, an icon will light up, allowing you to tap anything on the screen for more information. You'll also need to tap clues, of course, and thereby figure out how to proceed through what is a genuinely puzzling item of architecture. There are tons of locked doors, hidden keys, and secret passages, and the game does a fairly good job of taking advantage of the DS's touch screen to do so. Your DTS is one of your most important assets in the game: not only will it allow you to read DTS cards and gain backstory on your mother and father's research, but it also keeps track of your inventory and allows you to snap photos of anything you think might be helpful.
Merely wandering around the mansion trying to figure out what to do next is fun, but the real enjoyment to be had from this game comes from the title's puzzles. They're incredibly well-designed: some of them take advantage of the DS in some really unique ways, while others just challenge you to think outside the box. I don't want to give away any puzzle solutions, but you'll find yourself reflecting pictures off your DS screens, closing the system to use wood stamps, and tapping out sequences to open up doors. What's quite cool about this game, however, is that these solutions are really subtle and the game doesn't really throw many hints your way. What's even cooler is that even once you've solved a puzzle, you're not done; oftentimes, solving one puzzle just yields you a clue to solving a larger problem (like that dead end at the end of the hall…wouldn't it be great if there were a door there?). You'll have to rely on your powers of observation, creativity, and attention to detail if you want to complete Trace Memory.
Aside from the game being sadly short, which I've already mentioned to quite a degree, the game does have some other problems. Firstly, there are just too many instances where the game is immensely frustrating. Some gamers may have trouble with the puzzles, but my frustration with the game stems from other things. For example, the touch screen interaction sometimes doesn't work very well. The cursor is large in some puzzles and it's tough to manipulate certain items. For example, tapping out a path on the wall wouldn't work and I'd have to tap around a certain area over and over and over again to finally hit exactly where I was supposed to. Or, when piecing a letter together, the edges wouldn't align up perfectly and I couldn't trigger completion, even though I'd assembled the letter. Little things like this occur far too frequently (in fact, for every good puzzle there's an equally annoying problem somewhere in the game).
Another immense frustration lies in the fact that if you miss one little, unimportant item and fail to trigger some insignificant memory of D's, you'll receive the disappointingly bad ending. The key here is basically to examine every single stupid little thing in the entire freaking game, and although it's a short title the mansion is quite expansive. To go out of your way to examine items to help D remember what happened to him only to get a stupid ending because you missed a single item is indescribably infuriating. And in fact, that irritating situation is the only possible way you'd likely replay this game: since all the puzzles are easy to complete once you've already beaten them, the only reason you might subject yourself to a second romp through the Edwards' mansion is to try and find that one little item that you forgot to examine and thereby hopefully gain the good ending.
I hate to go on like this, but more problems remain: for one, the visuals are disappointing, as is the music. The game looks nice in the examination scenes, but the game lacks a single cutscene -- everything plays out with heads and word bubbles, and a few occasional full-screen drawings. There's no voice acting either -- at all -- though the music itself is pretty good. Finally, the writing is surprisingly weak for a game that relies so heavily on plot. The story itself was intriguing and well-done, but the writing itself is shallow and all but one character (D himself, actually) are sadly one-dimensional. Compared to the likes of Phoenix Wright, which features some of the funniest scripted scenes I've ever encountered, Trace Memory is fairly bland.
So, is it worth playing? (I would say "buying", but I've already recommended against that, due to the game's pathetic length). Though the flaws I've mentioned may seem to outweigh the title's merits, Trace Memory actually is a pretty good game. It's certainly better than the sum of its parts, and searching for clues and solving complex puzzles is a surprisingly satisfying experience. If you can find Trace Memory cheap or just borrow it from a friend, it's good for a few short hours of great atmospheric exploration and some really creative puzzles, though you will find yourself running into a wall with some trivial parts of the game. However, shelling out a lot of money for a title that's just not very well-developed is foolish, so while fun, it's not worth shelling out full retail for Trace Memory.