Another game by CiNG - Again: Eye of Providence

[Wooster]

I've heard of Wooster College, but imagine my surprise when I discovered a Wooster's Pizza restaurant a town or so over from where I live?

[L~A]

Ok, I'm in Day 9 (I think!), and I've found something that quite irritated me... not something big, but I found the following passage very tedious...

Spoiler:

When you're trying to get the names of the people in the photograph... and you just go to see people, who only say 2 lines to you, then you have to go and find someone else, only to get two lines as an answer, etc... especially the part with the 'other names' of some of the people in the pic.

I dunno if the writers were really so uninspired for this part... hopefully, I'm (almost?) done with it, so I don't mind too much anymore... especially since the story is becoming even more interesting

Spoiler:

with the Baslock case... I really wonder how it fits with the Providence murders... I understand the people on the picture are probably the one who did the robbery, but... is Providence getting his revenge on them? Is the policer who 'died' (?) during that case linked to the murders? Maybe he's providence himself? Of course, I don't want you to tell me whether I'm right, or wrong :p Anyway, I'm really looking forward to be told why the police hushed this man's death like they did. Something's definitely fishy here. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually was an accomplice, that would explain why they tried to keep his death quiet.

Anyway, I really praise the writers for keeping me interested, even though the plot can get quite a bit predictable at some point... but they always manage to surprise you in the end, hopefully! I really want to get to the bottom of this affair, and I'm pretty sure the writers have got some nice revelations up in their sleeve.

[L~A]

So, I've finally finished the game, and it's high time for me to give my final thoughts on the game.
I won't repeat what I've already said though (about the art style, the music, etc...), except that everything keeps on getting better as days go on. It took me 13h to complete it, though I would have finished it under 13h, if I hadn't been stuck at the freaking puzzle

Spoiler:

ya know, the gutter one... with the badge.

Too bad the game wasn't as long as HD though. The music gets really nice towards the end, and some tracks really conveys the sense of urgency and tension of some situations wonderfully well.

Anyway, I would really recommend the game to anybody who loves adventure games, but please, don't start making comparisons with HD, you really wouldn't do Again any justice at all. Again is not perfect, but it's a great game nonetheless. Not the GOTY, but still a game you'll probably enjoy, just like I did.

My favorite characters are definitely:
- J (when he's angry... like after the big revelation of Day 10, or 11. I love when he starts shouting!
- Maureen... I mean, her song theme is really nice, comforting and soothing. And come on, she's so nice, always cheerful, and her smile is simply wonderful. And man, she's really useful. Not a certain snackoo-eating detective I know :p
- Lane, when he's being a jerk.
- Roger... I mean, this guy is just made of plain awesomeness. Not only he's one of the most useful character of the game (with Maureen, and Hugo), but his "sprites" are definitely my favorites in the game. Wooster, if you're ever gonna rip Again's content, please rip Roger's sprites first, I want some of his as my next avatars :p
I'm gonna write to Capcom, and force them to swap Larry Butz with Roger in GS5/GK2!

As for the ending,

Spoiler:

I really liked it. Of course, Gordon's confessions were very cliché, if not utterly cliché, but it really didn't bother me. I was just fascinated by his whole 'oh, that was an experiment of mine'... I really like that kind of character, however cliché they are. At least, he was a perfect cliché! :p

As for the 'cliffhanger', well, I've got my theories. First of all, I'm DEAD CERTAIN the guy's on the phone is Danny. First of all, because J was just thinking about him when his phone rang. Secondly, because it wouldn't be surprised if Gordon's experiment with him didn't lead him to become a serial killer, a psychopath... just like Gordon himself. The fact that the latter explained that was the reason he took him after killing J's parents. Thirdly, the fact that the man on the phone knew Gordon, but also that he was the original Providence, is the proof Danny is the next Providence? The thing is, now, I really want to know what Gordon did to Danny for him to become the next Providence. My guess is that he somewhat 'brainwashed' him into believing his parents' murder was J's fault... why not carried out by J himself? And I dunno why, but I believe his murders would get even crazier than the original Providence's. Somehow, this new Providence seems to be even more 'psychopathic' than Gordon. Too bad there probably will never be a sequel. Even if Cing was to be saved, there would be little chance they decided to do a sequel, since this one probably won't sell much.

Anyway, the story really gets better and better. I had quite a few ZOMGGGFFFLRRRZORGL!!!! moments,

Spoiler:

like when you learn Henry is the current Providence, and is heading for your father's house. I had suspected him for a long time, but I had always hoped he would not be the current providence... And man, J's face when he's angry is awesome.

.

I'll probably replay this game in the future, though I don't know when exactly. Probably after Last Window, if it ever come out in the US/EU.
And oh, I finally got an answer for the questions I had about this game. Yep, Cing really did develop the whole game, Tecmo just gave the money to produce it, and did no more. The story wasn't written by Rika Suzuki (HD, Another Code: R and LW), though she did supervise the whole thing. And Satoshi Okubo may not have composed the music, the composers nonetheless did a good job with the soundtrack.
And I compared the game, with the very first screens of the game... my god! What a change! Actually, I'm pretty sure they did a complete reboot in late 2008, which explains why the game was delayed until 2010. And frankly, that wasn't a bad idea at all. The final product may not be perfect, it's much much better as it is right now.

If Again turned out to be Cing's last game in the US/EU, I could say that even if they didn't get to leave with a MEGA-BOOOOMABAGABOOOM-BAMBAMABAM, at least they've given their most loyal fans a pretty nice game I really enjoyed playing. But of course, I want LW, so please NOE, and NOA, please localise the game for us!

So long, Cing...

[Jesswee]

I have a new theory about the cliffhanger.

Spoiler:

The game isn't fresh in my mind anymore, but was Henry's death ever
completely confirmed? I imagined him getting out of his hospital bed as soon as he's conscious to call J and tell him something only he knows, like maybe Danny was indeed raised to be a serial killer and that's why the murders aren't goingt o stop. I really do think it would be Danny, but J wouldn't have been able to recognize his voice after all of these years. He believes Henry to be dead, which is why he was so shocked to hear his voice on the phone!

:D? :D?

[Wooster]

Alrighty L~A, after college is over, and after I've had my fun poking around in Another Code: R, I'll take a stab at looking for DS ripping items.

Honestly, I may have been looking into DS ripping tools anways. I don't think there's a good collection of Dusk or Trace Memory Sprites at all. And Again isn't popular enough for the general fandom to do it. It's up to us. But, if what Defufuf(?) has said holds any weight, then ripping animations out of the game would likely be beyond my skill set. Animated sprites tend to be compressed, and without something that can decompress for me, I'd be basically posting a jigsaw puzzle, Might have an easier time getting the backgrounds though. Again no promises.

... MAN, now I can't use the word 'again' without thinking of Again. CiNNNNNNG! (Shakes fist)

[L~A]

Well, I was hoping that, maybe you could find some 'picture' of the characters, not necessarily their 'sprites' (I understand it may be a bit too difficult for you, and I'm not gonna ask for the impossible). I checked on Google, there wasn't a single screenshot of Roger at all. Grr. Hope you can find some backgrounds.;; which makes me wonder, where did they take all those pictures for the background? I think the University is actually in Japan, but as for the rest... one that particularly puzzle me is the one with 'Farmacia' in it... why in Spanish?

And yeah, I agree. Haven't seen much HD or TM sprites at all, except a few ones as avatars (mainly HD).

... MAN, now I can't use the word 'again' without thinking of Again. CiNNNNNNG! (Shakes fist)

Ha ha, I know what you mean. :D

***

@Jesswee:

Spoiler:

Funnily enough, I don't remember either... but still, even if he's in the hospital, you'd be sure there'd be some policemen to guard him. So I don't think they'd leave him alone, so he could escape whenever he fancied taking a stroll outside. So, either's he's in prison, dead, or in the hospital, heavily guarded. I doubt he could ever call anyone, let alone someone from the FBI, the one who 'caught' him.

[Wooster]

The hotel dusk sprites were stolen from the official websites; pre-animated and all for us. There's not a rip on the net to my knowledge.

[rydus65]

I liked this game. It had a good story. Some of the twists were well done.

Spoiler: Providence

Edward was a psychopath. He was clearly insane. Remind me of Kristoph a lot. Except I liked Kristoph's design.

Maybe this is just me, but I HATED having to open the cabinet door in the 1st crime scene. It was extremely annoying.

[Cravat of Doom]

I'd like to take this moment to say that:

Spoiler: END! Do not read if you haven't finished the game yet.

I'm such a genius. Maybe it was kind of obvious, maybe it wasn't, but as soon as I saw Edward Gordon (Rickman... Haha, I always think of my favourite actor when I read that. Alan Rickman.), I was like: IT'S YOU! YOU'RE GUILTY! He just looked so suspicious that I would have actually been more surprised if it wasn't him all along. I was so pleased with myself whenever it was revealed that Gordon was in fact the original Providence that I screamed and nearly gave my sister a heart attack.

Spoiler: Final scenes

It was 2 in the morning whenever I played the part with Gordon pointing the gun at me. Pretty creepy, to say the least. I was about to fall asleep when he did that. It immediately woke me up.

The ending...Oh, the ending. If Cing doesn't somehow win the lottery and make me a sequel, there will be blood tears.

Spoiler: Music

The music was awesome, especially the music whenever you're viewing the past. Whenever J was investigating a crime scene that was recent, the music was even cooler (I just set my DS down and listened to it for a very long time. ^^). The music in the warehouse was just so freaking epic that I nearly started crying.

ts;dr (too spoilery; didn't read): I loved this game. And I agree with the rest of you, basically every time I say "again", I think of this game. Pretty sad...

And I can finally say Edward again (AGAIN! LOL!) without thinking of Twilight. Thank you, Cing.

[backlot]

I have a new theory about the cliffhanger.

Spoiler:

The game isn't fresh in my mind anymore, but was Henry's death ever
completely confirmed? I imagined him getting out of his hospital bed as soon as he's conscious to call J and tell him something only he knows, like maybe Danny was indeed raised to be a serial killer and that's why the murders aren't goingt o stop. I really do think it would be Danny, but J wouldn't have been able to recognize his voice after all of these years. He believes Henry to be dead, which is why he was so shocked to hear his voice on the phone!

:D? :D?

Spoiler:

No, Henry was pretty dead. You can even see his sheet covered corpse in that one crime scene. Later on, J realizes that he can't see the faces of living people in his visions and he does see Henry's face in one of his visions after he's dead.

[Jesswee]

Oh damn, I forgot about that limitation on his visions. Everything else I was ready to just hand wave xD

[Phoenix Soul]

Spoiler: Please don't read unless you've completed.

Regarding the ending.....anyone think Ed may have just left Danny at the Orphanage where he was raised?

[L~A]

Hum, that's a possibility, indeed. Though I personally think he would have tried to

Spoiler:

turn him into a psychopath too, maybe the new Providence for a possible sequel

though, the two theories don't necessarily exclude each other. Guess we'll never know unfortunately.

[TheRedPriest]

Bought the game about two weeks ago and just got to it. Reading over the thread thus far, it seems my impressions are pretty close to Woosters. I can only assume that most reviewers didn't play it all, weren't adventure gamers or have some form of learning disability. While probably the "worst" of Cing's games, I thoroughly enjoyed AGAIN all in all.

Though I wish I'd checked in earlier to see someone had done a rip of the music, it would have saved me the effort of recording it myself via the DS. Though it does look like it's via the DS sound format, which I've noticed doesn't sound quite right for some tracks on some games so maybe I'll still finish my own recordings...

If we don't get Last Window, AGAIN will sure be a bittersweet swan song for Cing over here...

[Virus973]

Glad to see people enjoyed the game.
I finished it a few weeks ago.

Oh that piano puzzle.. I got it just by trying different permutations
of the keys... (knew which ones to hit, but not the order )

I just hate it when people slam the game because "it's not hotel dusk"..
...well duh!
It's NOT hotel dusk
it's AGAIN!

The art style is not my favorite, but I feel it's perfect for this kind of game
(many police dramas use a style like that, no?)
And the music is good too

The game reminds me so much of J.B. Harold's Murder Club
for the Turbo Graphx CD-ROM (I still can't believe we didn't get the remake for it
they made for the DS)

[L~A]

I really wonder why people had so much problems with the piano puzzle?
I personally didn't find it really difficult... at least, it became pretty obvious (and rather quickly, I should add), that the solution was

Spoiler:

in the paintings

Personally, I found the answer on my second try, but only after I had done what is in the spoiler tags :p
I had much more trouble with the grate thingy

Spoiler:

in the warehouse, at the very end.

Man, what a dumb puzzle xD

[TheRedPriest]

Ok, I've played through the game 3 times now and I'm still missing 2 pieces of music that were in Bolt Storm's 2DS rip, specifically AGAIN2-001a and AGAIN2-000a. Does anyone recall where these play? I like the game and it's music, but I don't think I can play through it a 4th time straight... Could those tracks be unused music that is still in the code but didn't make it into the game? Any assistance on this would be most appreciated.

Even missing those I have 4 more tracks than the 2DS rip, and if I add in the cutscenes and visions I have close to 50... But those two missing tracks are driving me insane.

[L~A]

I'm pretty sure the second track you're mentioning IS in the game, though I can't say where exactly, I don't remember precisely... Yet, I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that song at one point in the game. As for the first one, I'm not as sure as for the second one, but I'm pretty sure it's also used in the game. Unfortunately, I don't remember when you hear it.

Sorry for not being of much help... Wooster and me have been trying to find some names for the tracks, and I can tell you it's not very easy with some of the songs being used only once in the game, and you can't remember when exactly... especially with the tracks you simply don't remember ever hearing in the game :p

[TheRedPriest]

That's me. I swear the 2nd one playes in the game, and the 1st one seems real familiar too... I may just use the 2DS files to grab those two for the time being. It's not like I can't go back in and grab them if we can find where they are...

What have you guys come up for with names? I'm not real happy with most of what I've used for them myself.

[TheRedPriest]

Ok, so the final preliminary recording and editing are done, and everything is tagged. I've given L~A and Wooster a copy of what I have so far to look over as far as the naming since they're probably better at that than I and after all that's decided on I'll be releasing the soundtrack.

Anyway, more as it develops.

[iddqd]

i don't think we'll be seeing more of cing as the company filed bankruptcy.

Any other games that follow what they produced (ex: again 2) won't nearly have the same effect as if it was done by cing, which was one of the few companys to fully exploit a console potentials (not to mention other stuff).

[TheRedPriest]

Ok, I think I've done as much as I can do. Here is the final release of the soundtrack.



01) Eye of Providence
02) Intro Movie
03) Lobby of Hotel Miranda
04) Character Jingle
05) J's Observations
06) Investigate the Past - Normal
07) Investigate the Past - Pressing
08) FBI Field Office
09) Save Game
10) Clockford City Map
11) Cutscene - The First Dream
12) Urgent Conversation
13) Cutscene - First Murder
14) Hugo Watt - Ace Reporter
15) Lane Martinez - Lead Detective
16) Maureen Yashima - Forensic Scientist
17) Witness Interview - Moderato
18) J's Dreams
19) Witness Interview - Allegro
20) Witness Interview - Allegro (Variation)
21) Reviewing the Facts
22) Chapter Break
23) Witness Interview - Presto
24) Charles' Song - Happy Time
25) Request Station
26) Another Murder
27) Cold Sweat
28) Fragment of Past Visions
29) Cutscene - The Fourth Murder
30) Investigate the Past - Urgent
31) Cutscene - Rushing to the Scene
32) Cutscene - It Was Him.
33) The Awful Truth
34) Mom's Song - Ave Marie
35) Cutscene - In Front of the Old Warehouse
36) Danger Ahead
37) Investigate the Past - Imperative
38) Providence Appears
39) Witness Interview - Providence
40) Cutscene - The Final Act
41) Cutscene - This Is An Intermission
42) Investigate the Past - Closure
43) Memories
44) With Gratitude
45) Cutscene - The End
46) Staff Roll
47) BONUS - Investigation 01 Visions
48) BONUS - Investigation 02 Visions
49) BONUS - Investigation 03 Visions
50) BONUS - Investigation 04 Visions
51) BONUS - Investigation 05 Visions
52) BONUS - Investigation 06 Visions
53) BONUS - Investigation 07 Visions
54) BONUS - Investigation 08 Visions
55) BONUS - Investigation 09 Visions
56) BONUS - Investigation 10 Visions

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b1fgh2b ... NEStra.rar

Thanks to Wooster for helping with some of the name tweeking. I hope it's acceptable!

[Kayyy]

I've played this game <3
It is truly brilliant. I love it.

[Dawn]

I just finished playing this and while replaying Again, I realized something.

Spoiler:

In the beginning of the game, there was some foreshadowing as to who Not Providence was, when you first talk to Edward. He says that the murderer may likely be 'a white male who has been harboring the idea of taking a human life for quite a time.' That fits Not Providence pretty well, actually...

Anyways, I liked this game and the music. ^^

[Rov]

So I FINALLY got/beat this game. I loved it, even if it wasn't as interactive as some other visual novels I like. I play VN's for their story, and Again satisfied very sufficiently.

Spoiler:

Damn cliffhanger ending, though. CiNG WHY! WHY MUST IT BE THIS WAY!

Also, does anyone know what model of phone J's is (based off)? I'm considering getting a cell and his looks really awesome.

[L~A]

I really don't know about the model of the cellphone... not sure it's a real one, even though they did use real 'actors' for the characters, and real items for the items. But I'm pretty sure they would not have the money to get the authorization to use a real cell phone in the game, so they used a fake one instead.
Maybe if we could dig in the game files, and find the mobile phone stuff in it, we could try to identify, but I doubt we could do that...

Personally, I don't quite remember what the cell phone looked like, so I'd need a picture to see if I can guess which phone it is, though I really don't know much about them, actually...

And glad to hear someone else liked this game. Come one everyone, let's give Cing some more love! (especially since it looks like it's gonna be their last game... )

[Dark Coffee Drinker]

Just got it yesterday at Nintendo World. I love it so far. The story is very intriguing and the characters are likable. I went into this game unenthusiastic and I quickly started loving it.

[Bad Player]

Just got it yesterday at Nintendo World. I love it so far. The story is very intriguing and the characters are likable. I went into this game unenthusiastic and I quickly started loving it.

...Wow. If the beginning was able to draw you in, then you are gonna go crazy when it gets good xD

[Cravat of Doom]

Just got it yesterday at Nintendo World. I love it so far. The story is very intriguing and the characters are likable. I went into this game unenthusiastic and I quickly started loving it.

Agreed. XD Most of the first part of the game was slow and unnecessary. Many of the text boxes were just "Yeah." and "Alright."

[Dark Coffee Drinker]

Just got it yesterday at Nintendo World. I love it so far. The story is very intriguing and the characters are likable. I went into this game unenthusiastic and I quickly started loving it.

...Wow. If the beginning was able to draw you in, then you are gonna go crazy when it gets good xD

What drew me in was the first encounter with an Eye of Providence (I'm sure that part is what drew everyone else in too). But yeah, I'm on the 5th day of investigation. I am stuck and refuse to use a walkthrough. I hate Isabella's piano at the moment.

Just got it yesterday at Nintendo World. I love it so far. The story is very intriguing and the characters are likable. I went into this game unenthusiastic and I quickly started loving it.

Agreed. XD Most of the first part of the game was slow and unnecessary. Many of the text boxes were just "Yeah." and "Alright."

I know. XD The only things I hate about the dialogue right now is when J talks to Maureen and says "Nope. We don't have to talk to you." or whatever. Also, when he thinks "Somethings missing, we need more info." Then Kate says "Find anything?" and J says the exact same thing that he just thought.

[Bad Player]

Just got it yesterday at Nintendo World. I love it so far. The story is very intriguing and the characters are likable. I went into this game unenthusiastic and I quickly started loving it.

...Wow. If the beginning was able to draw you in, then you are gonna go crazy when it gets good xD

What drew me in was the first encounter with an Eye of Providence (I'm sure that part is what drew everyone else in too). But yeah, I'm on the 5th day of investigation. I am stuck and refuse to use a walkthrough. I hate Isabella's piano at the moment.

...That puzzle was supposedly so difficult that beta-testers had to ask Tecmo for the answer. Iunno why, it was pretty simple for me....

Spoiler: just a hint, if you want it

The solution is in the house, you don't need to go around asking people for the answer. Keep your eyes peeled around the house for the solution ;)

[Cravat of Doom]

Spoiler: Piano Puzzle

I got the general concept of the puzzle, I just got confused at which part of the paintings applied to which keys... So I'm only half stupid XD

[Dark Coffee Drinker]

Man I am stuck on the piano puzzle. I figured out the painting thing thanks to Cravat, but I can't figure out which order I need to put the notes in.

[Bad Player]

It's there; look harder.

[L~A]

I agree with Bad Player, this puzzle isn't difficult at all. You just have to observe very very carefully, and give it a lot of thought... then the solution should reveal itself.

Spoiler:

If you've got the concept of the paintings, then you're really close to finding the solution. Really close.

[Dark Coffee Drinker]

I finished the piano puzzle earlier today.

Spoiler: Puzzle

I am stupid for not noticing the leaves.

[Jesswee]

Ah, don't feel bad. It stumps a lot of people. I think someone in this thread was saying that a lot of people had to call Tecmo for help or something. It took me awhile to notice the leaves myself! I think I may have even guessed it randomly before I saw them.

[Bad Player]

Yeah, same for me.

Spoiler: Again

I noticed the keys pretty easily (seeing the arrangement of black and white, and which keys were actually playable on the piano). When I got the keys I played around with them randomly a bit, then looked at the paintings agains and noticed the leaves

[Ash]

Finally finished Again today. As it took me 3 months just to finish a 7 hour game, you can probably guess how much I got into it. Not much.

The biggest problem to me was the horrible, horrible placement of story-advancing events, combined with an enigmatic movement system. As you move, you first move to a place "near the place you want to go", then J en Kate talk about going to the place you were going, then you enter, you talk, exit and go just outside the place you just went, talk again, and you get to move to the next place. And at times, you'd have to talk to almost everybody on the list. Who'd tell you one sentence of importance.

Didn't really like the Visions either. In the beginning it was really, really boring. Near the end, it was slightly less boring. The biggest problem I had was that the puzzles themselves weren't hard at all and the double vision just felt as a gimmick to me. It was mostly a nuisance I had to endure to advance the story.

Which was quite entertaining though. The first plot-twist was quite indeed surprising, afterwards it kinda paced on in a way you'd expect it to go and having read too much detectives, my intuition had already correctly identified Providence (of course, as Poirot would say, intuition of specialists is not some weird mumbo-jumbo, but feeling that sprouts from one's years of experience and knowledge). Nonetheless, it's the one redeeming factor of this game IMHO.

Kinda too bad I played Again after Last Window :(

[Nicii306]

Hey, I'm from Germany so i wonder if it will be released here, too?
Does anyone know?
Because i love Hotel Dusk and Last Window (: