Sometimes, remakes and remasters just make sense. Resurrecting games like Dead Space, Last of Us, Halo and even Grand Theft Auto are no brainers. However, every so often a game gets the re-treatment that just catches you off guard. A game that may not have been a smash hit, but instead is seen as a cult classic. Another Code: Recollection is very much an example of this.

Recollection combines both 2005’s DS title Another Code: Two Memories and 2009’s Wii sequel Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories into one complete package.

Re-Traced Memories

And you can expect more than just a straight port from both of these point-and-click adventures. Almost every aspect of the games having some work done to them for Another Code: Recollection.

Japanese studio Arc System Works – the team behind fighting titles like Guilty Gear and BlazBlue took the helm, and put their talents to work bringing Another Code: Two Memories and Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories up to date for a whole new generation.

Memories New and Old

You play as Ashley Robins who gets a letter just before her 14th birthday from her estranged father. This letter tells you to go to Blood Edward Island, which you do in the hope of meeting him for the first time in 11 years.

You also get a real McGuffin of a device called the DAS. This is a jack of all trades object that you’ll use to make your way through the game.

So, you head to the island with your auntie Jessica but shortly after getting there she goes missing. So, it’s up to you to find out what’s happening and while exploring the island, you encounter the ghost of a boy named D. As you do.

Another Code R Recollection value adventure Robins

Together, the pair team up to search for clues to Jessica and your father’s whereabouts. All while trying to restore D’s memories in the Edward mansion.

Whereas the sequel sees a now 16-year-old Ashley heading to Lake Juliet to meet her father again. However, shortly after she arrives, she starts having flashbacks of her mother, Sayoko, from 13 years ago at the same lake.

Another Code: Recollection Ashley Robins Island

As you search for clues to uncover your past, you run into a 13-year-old lad named Matthew. Coincidentally, Matthew is a runaway and is searching for his father. And, inevitably, the pair team up.

Divergence and Convergence

Both games tell different tales in terms of tone and vibe. Another Code: Two Memories‘ is game laden with isolation and tragedy. Whereas, Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories has a more light-hearted feel and cosy feeling. R‘s pacing is also a fair bit more easy going.

New Memories trace memory test Nintendo Switch

Gameplay in both titles of Another Code: Recollection is all about exploring and solving puzzles while talking to a bunch of different locals. Though these are far from a thrill a minute adventures and are very much laid-back journeys.

To their credit Arc System Works have done a very good job welding together a DS and Wii title and then getting it all going on the Switch. Graphically things are the most changed and look great, though there are a few rough edges.

Stuff like low-res textured backgrounds and texture blur will catch your eye from time to time. And these deficiencies are especially noticeable during outdoor sections.

Music and sound effects have also been reworked for Another Code: Recollection. The primary addition is a lovely synth-fueled sound to the game, and its world. And the whole audio package sets the perfect mood and tone at every moment.

Beyond that, fans will also spot a few tweaks to the core tales of Another Code: Recollection. There are also a few puzzles from the original pair that have been changed, or cut completely. You’ll only spot this if you have played the original builds of the games, of course. And you might just give these changes a pass since the games reimagine various other parts of the experience.

Another Code: Recollection brings two cult classics bang up to date, creating an atmospheric tale with likeable and interesting characters, while also delivering a laid-back easy-going adventure. Recollection is perfect for those damp and wet Sunday afternoons.