Trace Memory

[VioletBlu]

I absolutely LOVED! LOVED! LOVED! Trace Memory...! It is my favorite game story line yet! It was too short though, but it was all good, because I wanted to play it over and over again! I loved all the little puzzles, especially the humming bird puzzle box. So much fun, and frustrating :D I just loved the whole concept, the idea of that girl being alone, then having a glimpse of the good life, than have to work for it! I just really liked the story line, with all the action and entwining things... The stamps were fun, and easy for me... Teehee...

Spoiler: Stamps

I randomly open and close my DS sometimes, when I'm thinking. When I did, I'm like, WOAH! That's cool!

I also loved the Zoetrope. I always loved animation, and it was fun to watch the birdy go round and round...<3

[Nego]

I bought a preowned copy of Trace Memory (yes, Trace Memory, not Another Code) from my local Gamestop today. I've finished the first chapter and I must say it feels really interesting. It feels like Hotel Dusk, which I don't really wonder a bit and the fact that the upper screen doesn't really show everything doesn't bother me at all.

I hope I like the rest of the game as much as I loved the beginning.

[Juzamiloon]

See, I dunno if this was my crazy imaginashun or not, but did anyone else notice that

Spoiler:

when you're in Rosa's room, and you look at the photo of her husband, he looks like the boat guy that takes you over to the island in TM?

Or am I making shit up, again?

[Leah.Ninja.]

I thought the game was awesome! Puzzles were great ,, But with some it takes awhile to figure out . And I liked that it had alot of reading to it cause ,, Reading is awesome .
The only think I didn't like was I beat it in 2 1/2 days .. They could have made it a little longer? Or had a secret ending? .. Or do they already have one?

[Nego]

I found this amazing piece of fanart today:

Spoiler:

Source: http://www.andysartwork.com/

[VioletBlu]

See, I dunno if this was my crazy imaginashun or not, but did anyone else notice that

Spoiler:

when you're in Rosa's room, and you look at the photo of her husband, he looks like the boat guy that takes you over to the island in TM?

Or am I making shit up, again?

OMFG! I knew there was something about that picture but I couldn't put my finger on it...
That's it!
He's a sailor and he looks like the guy!
Total awesome, thanks for pointing that out<3
And no, your imagination is not crazy about this, I noticed that too, just not very well xD

[Logic Sword]

I prefer this to Hotel Dusk, even though it's shorter. Hotel Dusk felt like it was trying too hard to be an adult game. I've played it through 4 times, does anyone know what the secret message is at the end?

[animepanda94]

I've heard it's pretty good. Off you Ace, no less.

Woah... Hotel Dusk 2 Confirmed? Where's the source?

I haven't heard anything my self.

But wait! Hotel Dusk one was Discontinued! O.O so why in hell would they make a second one? (Not like i wouldnt be estatic if they did make a second one)


And Trace memory is pretty good so far,
but im stuck on that Damn puzzle where you have to move the boxes around to get the silver medal.
does anyone know of any help XD
its like the kids toy with 9 or so boxes and one empty space, and u have to move them around to make a humming bird

[DramaticaXIV2]

I managed to complete the game twice on holiday. Shit, I can't believe I deleted the save file after 2 games with the same ending. Now I have to play it AGAIN!

I found some of the US - UK translations pointless.

Mom - Mum
Sweater - Jumper
DTS - DAS

I think we can get by as it is, people.

It was also too short.

[DramaticaXIV2]

I liked it. Even moreso when I saw hotel dusk and recognized the art and gameplay style to be none other than like Trace Memory. I hope they make that sequel, Another Code.

Another Code is the EU name for it, not the sequel.

[slaix223]

I prefer this to Hotel Dusk, even though it's shorter. Hotel Dusk felt like it was trying too hard to be an adult game. I've played it through 4 times, does anyone know what the secret message is at the end?

I can't remember it myself, but I remember how to solve it, just slightly close your DS so that the ribbon on the top screen gets reflected onto the bottom screen, then read the path that the ribbon makes, and the message should be clear.

I think it did have something to do with her birthday though. I can't quite remember it though. It was kinda lame that you had to play through the game twice to get it though.

[Phoenix and Maya Fan]

I love this game it's really good and I have to say my favorite character is Ashley.

[Riu]

I figured out the stamps puzzle by accident. I needed to look for something to eat, and when I came back, VOILA! Puzzle solved.

Though, there was more trouble figuring out the folding-picture-frame puzzle.

I figured the stamps puzzle out, because by the time I first played Trace Memory, I had already played Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, which has an extremly similar part of it.

As for the folding-picture-frame thing, I never solved it.

Spoiler:

I just examined the room til I found the key in the bookcase.

[Emperor Ing]

I loved Hotel Dusk.

I am wondering if this is worth the buy? It's less than $10 at the store.


I saw Contact and TM, and bought Contact the first go-through (great game, you should look into it. Then ending is WOW), but am considering going back to get TM.


Is the story any good? Puzzles challenging? An Italian loser that hits on chicks?

[Wooster]

I loved Hotel Dusk.

I am wondering if this is worth the buy? It's less than $10 at the store.


I saw Contact and TM, and bought Contact the first go-through (great game, you should look into it. Then ending is WOW), but am considering going back to get TM.


Is the story any good? Puzzles challenging? An Italian loser that hits on chicks?

Contact had a whole lot of promise. Take the Earthbound style, throw in the Legend of Zelda combat system, and add a very attractive and unique stat growth system. (Defense goes up only after you've been hit alot, evasion goes up as you evade more, HP goes up with use of HP recovery items etc...) I would like to see a sequel. (Though maybe I should beat it first. )

Trace Memory is worth your time, and I think it's perfectly priced at 10 bucks. It's an older and shorter DS game. But it's made by Cing and they're VERY good at puzzles with the DS.

[alexxx4real]

I really liked Trace Memory only I had 2 main problems that I still cant figure out:

Spoiler: Richard and Sayoko

okay maybe this one isnt really that huge of a problem but I never understood how if Richard and Bill were the top suspects in Sayoko's death how come no one ever arrested them or anything?

Spoiler: Henry and Thomas

Who shot who? Did Henry shoot Thomas to get the will money or did Thomas shoot himself?

[Wooster]

Spoiler: Richard and Sayoko

They could've been arrested, you don't know that one way or the other. The fact is there wasn't conclusive evidence in either direction for either person, or at least that's my take.

Spoiler: Henry and Thomas

Even though, I understand it, I kinda don't. From what I remember. D's Dad (I forget who was Thomas and who was Henry), walks up to the Manor to demand his inheritance. D's Dad is blinded by money and demands the inheritance. But in a twist I don't understand, D's Dad dies via gunshot.

The images we see show that the murder that took place wasn't a suicide. It was a homicide. Considering D's Dad is dead, that leaves D's Uncle as the Murder.

D's Uncle notices D was watching and see's D run off in a panic. D's uncle chases after D in concern over his heart (D had a very serious heart condition and could easily die from over excitement). This leads to the chase in the mines and D's fatal fall, where his Uncle tried to grab him at the last moment.

Everything after and before the murder suggests that the Father was in a very strong position to kill the Uncle. But come confrontation, the Father is killed by the Uncle.

Even though this doesn't make sense, it's also one of the things that gives Trace Memory its charm. A small cast of very deep characters and events that will leave you trying to piece together what went wrong where. Sure it doesn't make sense but these are the sorts of things that don't make sense that could easily happen in real life. Unexpected things happen that turn a finely crafted story into something more life like.

[Riu]

Spoiler: Henry and Thomas

Even though, I understand it, I kinda don't. From what I remember. D's Dad (I forget who was Thomas and who was Henry), walks up to the Manor to demand his inheritance. D's Dad is blinded by money and demands the inheritance. But in a twist I don't understand, D's Dad dies via gunshot.

The images we see show that the murder that took place wasn't a suicide. It was a homicide. Considering D's Dad is dead, that leaves D's Uncle as the Murder.

D's Uncle notices D was watching and see's D run off in a panic. D's uncle chases after D in concern over his heart (D had a very serious heart condition and could easily die from over excitement). This leads to the chase in the mines and D's fatal fall, where his Uncle tried to grab him at the last moment.

Everything after and before the murder suggests that the Father was in a very strong position to kill the Uncle. But come confrontation, the Father is killed by the Uncle.

Even though this doesn't make sense, it's also one of the things that gives Trace Memory its charm. A small cast of very deep characters and events that will leave you trying to piece together what went wrong where. Sure it doesn't make sense but these are the sorts of things that don't make sense that could easily happen in real life. Unexpected things happen that turn a finely crafted story into something more life like.

Thomas is d's dad and Henry is his uncle.
but what I think happened is,

Spoiler: Thomas and henry

Thomas was gonna kill Henry, but henry fought back and got the gun and accedentally shot Thomas.

[Wooster]

Spoiler: Henry and Thomas

Even though, I understand it, I kinda don't. From what I remember. D's Dad (I forget who was Thomas and who was Henry), walks up to the Manor to demand his inheritance. D's Dad is blinded by money and demands the inheritance. But in a twist I don't understand, D's Dad dies via gunshot.

The images we see show that the murder that took place wasn't a suicide. It was a homicide. Considering D's Dad is dead, that leaves D's Uncle as the Murder.

D's Uncle notices D was watching and see's D run off in a panic. D's uncle chases after D in concern over his heart (D had a very serious heart condition and could easily die from over excitement). This leads to the chase in the mines and D's fatal fall, where his Uncle tried to grab him at the last moment.

Everything after and before the murder suggests that the Father was in a very strong position to kill the Uncle. But come confrontation, the Father is killed by the Uncle.

Even though this doesn't make sense, it's also one of the things that gives Trace Memory its charm. A small cast of very deep characters and events that will leave you trying to piece together what went wrong where. Sure it doesn't make sense but these are the sorts of things that don't make sense that could easily happen in real life. Unexpected things happen that turn a finely crafted story into something more life like.

Thomas is d's dad and Henry is his uncle.
but what I think happened is,

Spoiler: Thomas and henry

Thomas was gonna kill Henry, but henry fought back and got the gun and accedentally shot Thomas.

That makes much more sense and explains away all the holes in my view in the story. But I don't recall a struggle taking place. Maybe I missed it, or maybe that's part of the fuzzy part of D's Memory.

[ILikeShinyMirrors]

I never did get the whole reflection picture frame thing with the key and the book. But I knew something was up with that bookshelf.

Spoiler:

So what did I do? I examined every square of that whole stinkin' bookshelf until I finally got her to say "This bookshelf is so big, something must be in here etc..." XD

After I finished the game I went to a walkthrough to see what exactly you were supposed to get out of that picture frame. XD When I found out, I was just like, "How the heck is anyone supposed to figure that out?"

But overall, a really fun game. I got the good ending the first time too, mainly because whenever I got stuck I just went around and clicked on EVERYTHING.

[ashogo]

ehh...It was a decent game. I was really excited to play it after I beat hotel dusk so I got it used for 11 bucks, but when I beat it in one evening I felt really unsatisfied. However I had also picked up another game that day called phoenix wright ace attorney, so I was busy starting that. It was so good I returned tm and used the $$ towards jfa and t&t.

The art style was nice, and the music (what there is of it) is fine, but the story just felt way too simple and abrupt to me. I mean, the whole ancestry story of the people on the island was intriguing but it never pulled me in.
The best part of the game was when Bill appears pretending to be your dad and you see another human in the mansion for the first time. That's the only time it really made me feel like 'woah, I want to know what happens next'.

[angelbite]

I loved the game ^_^,can't wait for the sequel

[MaimJay]

See, I dunno if this was my crazy imaginashun or not, but did anyone else notice that

Spoiler:

when you're in Rosa's room, and you look at the photo of her husband, he looks like the boat guy that takes you over to the island in TM?

Or am I making shit up, again?

AGGH I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE O:

I totally saw that cause I finished Trace Memory before HD and was like WOAH o:
I wonder if Trace Memory and Hotel Dusk are supposed to connect in any way? other than being made by the same company xD
Although Trace Memory has a totally different feel to it then Hotel Dusk.

[The Sandwich]

I played the game and let out a resounding "....Eh...". I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm not finding anything spectacular about it. :/ *raped*

[Emperor Ing]

The final confrontation was a bit weak in my view.

YOU'RE MAKING FRANNY CRY

O shit it's all over now

-dies-

[mgs2master2]

I've heard about this game. How is it and what is it about?

[Marche Tobaye]

I feel like giving this game a try since I enjoyed Hotel Dusk so much, but I don't know. How long is it? Is there any kind of replay value?

[Wooster]

General Consensus is about 4 hours, and the game does have a 'star' mode, so you will get some different experiences playing it a second time. Most of the replay value is all built upon getting D's Ending. I played it over about 4 times before I got it.

It's worth playing regardless for the great cast, even if you can count it on one hand.

[Sunshine.Malon]

Yeah, I got Trace Memory for Christmas around the time it came out! I have to say, I think it is great! Although, it only took me two days to beat, it is an awesome game (I played it non-stop >_<)

I've beaten it around 4 or 5 times, I love that it as alternative endings:)

After beating that, I bought Hotel Dusk . I recommend buying them in that order ;D I like Hotel Dusk more , though .

[Midnight Jasper]

Got this game for Christmas and have been playing it nonstop. I have Ashley's birthday :3
Although it took me a while to figure out, with those annoying American dates... >_>

[The Doctor]

I'd recommend it even if there wasn't any replay value. It's art in videogame form, in my opinion. Really just a beautiful game in terms of music, art, gameplay, story, everything.

I've never played Trace Memory (the US version), but I've played Another Code (UK version), so I don't know if the translation differences are major or detract from the game's overall feel.

[Midnight Jasper]

I played the game and let out a resounding "....Eh...". I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm not finding anything spectacular about it. :/ *raped*

Is that Zero Punctuation I hear...?

Anyway, I pretty much agree. The presentation and graphics are pretty lovely, although the top-down view does get a little confusing at times, but the story never really captivated me. After Kyle, Ashley was pretty boring and bratty for me. I ADORED D, but I still haven't unlocked all his memories yet, which is probably why I feel really unsatisfied by the ending. And the ending... I dunno, it seemed a little cliche, just to have Bill dangling off a cliff like that. I think it just tried to make you swallow too much at once - if the game was longer I probably could've gotten my head round it all.

I must say though, the part where Bill quizzes you on Sayoko's death was one of the most tense moments of my entire life. And the whole atmosphere was pretty solid, it just had that 'Layton' problem of 'You want me to do a puzzle NOW?'

I remember the folding-picture-frame thing, I just tried opening and closing the screen so many times, then went hunting around the mansion for books or apples... I did get it eventually, though. (After finding the key in the bookshelf... XP)

[denerop]

I'm still busy playing it.
I had the original game like 2 years ago, but i wasn't good enough at Enlish to understand it good enough, and it was to hard and boring, so i sold it.
A couple of days ago at some flea market i saw the game again, and at home i downloaded it.
Now i'm busy playing it. I'm still not worked by yet, 2 years ago i was further. But i'm coming close.

[Midnight Jasper]

I have some questions on the game...

Spoiler: Endgame

I thought that the big twist was that Bill really was Ashley's father - I thought he had a relationship with Sayoko until Richard came and I thought that when Richard and Sayoko "discovered she was pregnant" it was really Bill's child... is this in any way possible, or anything?

Also, who wrote the note "Bill will come" and who was intended to read it?

There also seems to me something questionable about how Sayoko and Richard actually stole Trace and we're meant to think "Oh, so that's okay then." I mean, in the flashback scene Sayoko actually shouts to Bill "You can't have Trace!" which seems pretty unreasonable to me. Later on Richard also tries to take over Trace for his own personal means... It's just all a bit iffy. They could've ended up being the bad guys if Bill hadn't gone a bit insane...

[Southern Corn]

This is a bit of a necropost, but I started (and finished) the game today.

Coming from the Kyle Hyde Duology, this was...a bit of a disappointment, admittedly.

Let me go into a bit more detail:

Spoiler: Trace Memory or Another Code or whatever the heck this game is called

The gameplay is very dull. Unlike HD or LW, the environment here was rather limited and honestly didn't intrigue me. Some of the puzzles were HD-esque, but honestly not of the same quality.

The lack of characters this game also made things a little dull. I was honestly disinterested in the entire subplot of the Edwards. Actually, what was even the point of that? I guess Bill was an Edward, but that really wasn't a part of his character. You could've removed that and he'd still be the same character. It got slightly better at the end when the focus shifted to Sayoko's death, but even then the end was pretty anticlimactic.

The music was also really dull and was strangely timed. It wasn't used well at all, especially with the finial confrontation with Bill. The music when he falls off the cliff is so bad. I can't believe they thought that was an alright choice for that scene. And the text, God. It moves at the slowest speed. The text bleeps also happen to be pretty annoying. The game was also pretty small. I finished it in a couple of hours.

Alright, alright, that's enough raving on about how much this game sucked. Let me list some positives:

•The fact that Ashley had the same birthday as me was pretty cool
•I was really liking the end segments where you're unsure who your father is and who killed your mother. There was an interesting degree of subversion there and the twists just kept me on my feet, even if it did end in a subpar fashion.
•I was honestly not even expecting the captain to return at the end there but that was also a pretty good twist. Guy might be my favourite character from this game.

I think there's a sequel to this too but from what I can see it doesn't really appear to be my type of game so ehh.

[Going for Miles]

I agree it's not on the same level as Hotel Dusk and not terribly intriguing, but nevertheless I like it. It's a neat and sweet game. I really liked the character Ashley, and her grinning when she ate the candy was sweet (it reminded me of Kyle Hyde's big grin over good food and drinks). D was sweet too. I'm a little it miffed that I didn't get the best ending though, because I looked it up and saw you got to use the stylus to make Ashley and D touch hands and that seemed like a really touching (no pun intended) moment.

[Honey Pie]

The sequel on Wii was brilliant, but couldn't get into the DS one as much.