Trace Memory

 DS
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 54 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 54
  3. Negative: 2 out of 54
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Eldon
    Jul 12, 2005
    6
    Decent adventure, good story, and Ashley's über-cute but being able to complete the game in just four hours with little to none replay value doesn't warrant high marks. Great as long as it lasts but one afternoon for $40 is definitely a disappointment.
  2. PaulScottodiP.
    Sep 26, 2005
    5
    It is true that this game is a pretty interesting, but please, tell NINTENDO to make a game that has a longer life. I finished this game in less than one week, and it's not really re-playable... I give it a 5, because a game that you finish that fast doesn't have a REAL potential... P.S.: I actually brought back my copy to the video game store I bought it at, and got my money It is true that this game is a pretty interesting, but please, tell NINTENDO to make a game that has a longer life. I finished this game in less than one week, and it's not really re-playable... I give it a 5, because a game that you finish that fast doesn't have a REAL potential... P.S.: I actually brought back my copy to the video game store I bought it at, and got my money back... A real STILL!… Expand
  3. Theday
    Jun 1, 2011
    6
    Not bad for a first year DS game, it uses the functions of the DS well. It's prequel, Hotel Dusk, improves upon the gameplay and story and is superior, but Trace Memory should be given a shot if you like adventure games. I will pick up Another Code R, Trace Memory's sequel... if it's ever released in North America..
  4. doodlerman
    Jun 9, 2011
    6
    I can't say I hate this game or even dislike it, but I really can't get into it. I'm sure there's something greater there, but I personally am not too fond of it. I generally like slower games where you have to really think about everything and take your time with certain things, but something about this already seems extremely predictable and unenjoyable. But that's only my personalI can't say I hate this game or even dislike it, but I really can't get into it. I'm sure there's something greater there, but I personally am not too fond of it. I generally like slower games where you have to really think about everything and take your time with certain things, but something about this already seems extremely predictable and unenjoyable. But that's only my personal opinion. As for the visuals and the art - it is simply beautiful, but besides that I'm having trouble finding anything else about this game that's really worth while.… Expand
  5. ItsRaininMen
    Jun 20, 2013
    5
    The plot is interesting, the art is good, and the characters are fairly good, if a little unmemorable. My main issue with this game is that it seems to have had a lot more cut scenes and dialogue than actual game play, and, the game play can get VERY difficult, so, it's not a good game for players who aren't very good at puzzles. It felt much more like a novel or graphic novel than a game.
  6. HelixDown
    Sep 28, 2015
    6
    I actually wanted to like this game. But really? The User score is based on emotion. I played this game after adventures such as 999, Virtues Last Reward, Hotel Dusk, Ghost Trick and some Ace Attorney games. Compared to them, this is bland.

    The premise was what made me want to play the game despite the bad reviews. I played Theresia, and I liked that. Why not this? This was not like    I actually wanted to like this game. But really? The User score is based on emotion. I played this game after adventures such as 999, Virtues Last Reward, Hotel Dusk, Ghost Trick and some Ace Attorney games. Compared to them, this is bland.

    The premise was what made me want to play the game despite the bad reviews. I played Theresia, and I liked that. Why not this? This was not like Theresia, or any other good adventure game.

    It starts off with little Ashley. She has a constant blush, and makes a cute pouting face. She's confused, hurt and mad. She's found out that her Auntie Jessica has lied to her all of her life. She was under the impression her father was dead, and Jessica reinforced that impression. But daddy was alive. She'd been sent a letter and a strange device very reminiscent of a DS console, telling her to come to an Island where he has been all of her life.
    She also remembers what happened when she was 3. Her mother was murdered right in front of her, and she doesn't know why, or whom by. She is of the belief that she very well may be alive too, despite knowing better.
    Jessica goes off to see where her brother is when nobody is there to meet them, and she doesn't come back. The captain of the boat can't stick around and is ready to sail off after giving little Ashley some candy. So, Ashley is stuck all alone on the Island, perusing it's history and it's secrets, whilst trying to piece together her past.

    Sounds alright, eh? However, between the answer to her personal turmoil and 5 hour adventure is a whole lot of backstory about the island and it's resident ghost boy. I found all of that uninspiring. Lots of talk about Trace, and memories, and blah blah blah. None of it had any depth. Any substance. I found myself getting bored and going 'whatever'.
    All of the intense set-up is generally thrown away. I won't spoil what happens in the mansion, but despite the grim backstory, the rest of the game is pretty light.

    There's a ton of puzzles. Some are fun, some are very annoying. They all utilize the DS's capabilities well in it's early life. The exploration is bland, however, and the game is very linear. Some items can't be picked up until they are needed, D is an annoying fool and... and... ugh.

    It's very boring and uninspiring after you get over the premise is what I'm trying to say. Nothing seems to happen for the majority of the game except for learning backstory that you couldn't possibly care less about. If it was an Island with a gloomy past, I might get that. But it wasn't.

    So, yeah, I was disappointed.    … Expand
  7. hector_bcn98
    Nov 7, 2022
    7
    La primera aventura gráfica que jugué en mi vida. En su día me voló la cabeza. Recién acabado estos días otra vez, me ha parecido demasiado sencillo y pocos puzzles para lo que recordaba, por no decir que te lo puedes acabar en una tarde. Lo que me parece imperdonable es que acaba el juego y deja totalmente abandonada una línea argumental. ¿Qué leches?
  8. CinzaColorido
    Aug 22, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game itself is very compelling at first sight, the art style is beautiful and the synopsis seems so interesting, so that became the reason why I decided to play Trace Memory. While playing the game though, first thing I had to say was that the graphics (even for the DS) was so bizarre, probably the worst 3D graphics I ever saw on the console. Going on through the game I felt that the game played great, the controls are intuitive (you can play it through touchscreen or gamepad input), except for some moments when you have to turn or spin something for a puzzle using the touchscreen and it feels that the commands aren't working. Speaking about the puzzles, I think that they were good for the most part, I don't think that there were too much puzzles or too little, some of them uses the console features in a very inventive way and that impressed me sometimes, and some of them are just nonsensical and the game literally hinders you not letting you interact with something unless you do in a very specific manner. I also think that the soundtrack, altought good, lack variety and can (probably will) be very repetitive when playing troughout the game. The story is indeed intriguing, but (spoiler alert) I think that the kinda-side-story of the ghost boy "D" doesn't work at all with the main plot of the game. While playing Trace Memory, you will find Ashley anxious and in a hurry to find his father, and his aunt is even kidnapped! So the game creates this feeling of urgency right at the beginning, maintains this felling troughout the entire game, and slaps you at the face with a bad ending because you weren't giving too much attention to the mistery around D, and that is the main reason I'm giving this game a 7. I loved the way the story flowed, there is so much tension, sometimes the game actually felt like a horror game, because of all that murdering background and the fact that the mansion feels completely empty, with that landscapes on the upper screen, but the lack of a richer soundtrack, the secondary plot of the ghost and the poor awful graphics makes the game feels less than a Great Game.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Best DS Game of 2005
16
#16 Most Discussed DS Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 51 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 51
  3. Negative: 1 out of 51
  1. 1UP
    65
    Less avant-garde than "Indigo Prophecy," far less self-important than "Myst V," Trace Memory is the very definition of a safe, comfortable, middle-of-the-road experience.
    Read full review
  2. NintendoWorldReport
    75
    It's involved, it's long, it's original, and it represents another milestone in console gaming history - the first time that anyone has truly made a PC-style adventure game work on a handheld.
    Read full review
  3. Total Video Games
    70
    If you’re not the biggest adventure fan in the world (like myself) then the various puzzles will often have you slamming the DS shut in frustration, but for some strange and unapparent reason I kept coming back for more.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »