A unique puzzler that is very engaging but too short
On the eve of her fourteenth birthday, Ashely Muzuki Robbins received a package from her father (who she thought was dead) containing a mysterious gadget called DTS (which looks a lot like a DS), and an invitation to come to Blood Edward Island to meet him. She boards a boat and sets off for the island. Once she reaches the island she is befriended by a ghost named "D" who wants Ashley to help him recover his memories.
The stylus is used to very good effect in Trace Memory. You touch and hold the direction you want Ashley to run in. Accessing your inventory and other information is very easy with the stylus as well. Controls are mostly responsive; there are only a few spots here and there where if you're dragging something, you might lose your grip, so to speak, and have to touch it again to drag it further. As you progress throughout the game, you will discover that Trace Memory incorporates every single feature of the DS that you can imagine (and some that you've probably never thought of before). You can also speed up the text.
This is your basic puzzle/adventure game, but delievered in a much different way than simply pointing and clicking or using a d-pad and the A button. You will be forced to think creatively about how to solve puzzles. Sometimes you will have to remember things you just saw in a previous puzzle in order to solve the next one. Some puzzles are very basic (turn a wheel), while some are very challenging (I won't ruin the game for you, but you will certainly be thinking outside the box). The puzzles are only frustrating insofar as you will simply have never thought of using the DS in the way required. But once you figure out the solution, you will be happily surprised (and relieved!).
Both 3-D and 2-D graphics are combined using the DS's dual screens. You will navigate in 3-D environments on the bottom screen while conversations and a more detailed view of the environment will appear on the top screen in 2-D.
The storyline about Ashley finding her father and also helping D to recover his memories is pleasantly engaging. The game's ending is also very satisfactory and will not leave you hanging. Though there are a few unlockables (such as Starred Game or Bonus Mail Ending) for completing the game more than once, there is not much replay value to this title. The game itself is very short (depending on how long it takes you to figure out the puzzles). I completed it in about six hours, and I'm not the best puzzle-solver.
I would certainly recommend this game to anyone who likes a good puzzler. I would also recommend it to anyone who wants to see what the DS is capable of. Trace Memory is a very intuitive game; I just wish there was more of it.
