Operation Backlog Completion 2025

Another Code: Recollection Demo Available Now

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Dec 152023
 

With all the exciting game news we’ve had this year, you might have forgotten about Another Code: Recollection.

Set to be released on January 19, Another Code: Recollection is a remake of the DS adventure game Trace Memory (here using its original name, Another Code: Two Memories) and its Wii sequel, Another Code R.

Those are games I never thought we’d see again. Between the games being somewhat obscure and the developer filing for bankruptcy in 2010, I assumed they were lost to time until Recollection was announced.

It’s even getting a physical release!

Another Code R was never released in North America, so I’m excited to finally get a chance to try that even though it got mixed reviews, and the remake also looks fantastic in general. I’m still shocked that they took a game as niche as Trace Memory and gave it a full remake.

For comparison, the original DS game looked like this.

Of course, this has led to hopes that Hotel Dusk and its sequel will receive similar treatment.

Anyway, a demo for Another Code: Recollection is now available. It covers the first chapter of the first game, and you’ll be able to transfer your progress to the full game.

I just hope it sells well despite when it’s coming out. While its audience might not overlap as much with the JRPGs coming out in the first two months of the year, it’s also being released just a few days ahead of the Apollo Justice Trilogy, which probably does have decent overlap. Trace Memory was a great game, and I want to see revivals like this succeed.

Are you planning to play Another Code: Recollection?

Capcom is Aware of the Demand for AAI2 Localization

 Video games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Dec 132023
 

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been blogging about wanting an Ace Attorney Investigations 2 localization for over a decade now.

(Yeah, that was back when my blog posts were sometimes just walls of text.)

After all this time, there’s still no official way to play Ace Attorney Investigations 2, or Gyakuten Kenji 2, in English, although the fan translation is quite good.

Well, some of us are still asking for it despite the amount of time that’s passed. More importantly, Capcom is aware that we want it.

In a recent interview with Siliconera about the upcoming Apollo Justice Trilogy, producer Kenichi Hashimoto was asked about the possibility of an Investigations duology including an official translation of the second game, to which he responded:

The development team is aware that fans are hoping for this. Unfortunately, we have no announcements at this time.”

I know, that’s a complete non-answer. The good old “no announcements at this time” response would be given even if they intended to announce it next week, and probably if they never intended to release it at all. But the fact that he said they’re aware of demand for it feels like an encouraging sign.

I still think the Ace Attorney series is in one of the best positions it has been in a long time. The interview also revealed that development of the Apollo Justice Trilogy began in 2021, which threw me for a loop since most of my theories were based on the success of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles leading to it being greenlit, but that means they already considered it worthwhile by then. And as I’ve said before, even localizing The Great Ace Attorney at all is a promising sign for the future.

(That interview just says 2021, but I saw another one that specified spring 2021, which would mean it was before Chronicles even came out.)

So, what about Investigations 2?

Investigations 2 has come up more lately than it has in years. It was included in the Capcom Museum’s special exhibit about the Investigations duology. An official Capcom survey had it as an option when asking what Ace Attorney games you’ve played, even listing it as Ace Attorney Investigations 2 instead of calling it Gyakuten Kenji 2. Now this interview acknowledged that fans in the west want it.

You know what? I think it’s going to happen.

Ace Attorney 7 should still be next. With this many years having passed since the last new game and the Apollo Justice Trilogy bridging the gap for new players, it would be a shame to have another collection come out before the next game. However, I have new hope that we might see Investigations after that.

For the first time in years, an official Ace Attorney Investigations 2 localization feels like something we can realistically hope for once again.

New Details Revealed About Metaphor: ReFantazio

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Dec 112023
 

We were just talking about Metaphor: ReFantazio because of the Game Awards, and now we have even more to discuss.

Atlus shared a bunch of details during an end-of-year broadcast, and Gematsu translated the information here.

The setting, already showcased during the Game Awards trailer, is a kingdom thrown into chaos when the king is assassinated (and the prince is cursed). The world has eight tribes, each with unique physical characteristics like wings or beast ears.

There are also twisted monsters that Gematsu has translated as “humans,” which at first made me wonder if a different translation would be used in the game, but I looked back at the E3 reveal trailer and there’s a point in there where the characters react to seeing a “human,” so it seems like that’s what it is.

I found the story details a little difficult to follow, because the protagonist sets out on a quest to break the death curse on the prince, but then it says he joins the magical race for the throne, so I’m not entirely sure if the protagonist is actually trying to get the throne or if he just gets mixed up in it while trying to save the prince.

Anyway, the new information also covers the combat we saw in the trailer. The core combat system is turn-based, but you’ll be able to defeat weak enemies on the field with action gameplay.

(Which sounds similar to what Trails Through Daybreak did, so expect to see that comparison a lot.)

Metaphor: ReFantazio will include daily life mechanics that are said to be evolved compared to those in Persona and will create a “realistic daily life experience as if you were actually planning a journey,” as well as multiple bases across the world to travel between. I’m not quite sure what that first part means, but I’m curious.

I have to admit, when they showed this game at E3, I thought it was a lot closer to Persona than it is. I’m really intrigued by the world and story now! It still seems like the real world has some connection – maybe with the “humans”? – but the fantasy setting is a lot more pronounced.

Anyway, it’s still a fair way off, set for a fall 2024 release, but I’m looking forward to Metaphor Re:Fantazio. What do you think about the latest details?

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