There was a time when now defunct video-games developer called Cing used to publish adventure titles for companies like Nintendo. Fortunately some of its staff moved over to Arc System Works and managed to develop another similar title called Chase: Cold Case Investigations – Distant Memories.
Not that it would be difficult for fans of Cing’s cult titles to notice the fact that this new title was concocted by the minds behind the likes of Another Code: Two Memories. In fact, lead character Shounosuke Nanase bears a striking resemblance to Kyle Hyde, the main character of Cing’s detective adventure Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and its sequel. The story also follows a detective who works at a police department that works on cold cases with a colleague.
Whilst the premise of the title may seem intriguing at first, it soon becomes clear that the mystery isn’t quite as complex as those found in titles developed by Cing. The two detectives get an anonymous tip from someone regarding an incident in a hospital that claimed the life of a man five years ago. Only that the anonymous caller claims it was actually a murder and so the detectives decide to investigate it.
If the very notion of attempting to look into a case that was investigated a few years back may not seem far fetched, then the details of how the accident occurred might do the trick. It turns out that the victim apparently decided to not only light a cigarette in a supply room inside a hospital, but the same room also contained a gas stove that another staff member used to cook “beer snacks”. Who knew that gas was highly flammable, right? Unfortunately the rest of the plot isn’t any better. The interactions between the main characters usually consist of the female assistant apologising and being overly polite and the detective fully taking advantage of it by constantly questioning her abilities.
There are rare occasions where the plot does feel like it could almost reach the same level of quality found in titles such as Hotel Dusk: Room 215. These are usually found during moments where the characters set aside their quirks to truly try and figure out exactly what happened five years ago. It’s a shame that it doesn’t take long to realise just what is going on before they do. The only real challenge came from attempting to remember some of the longer character names when being asked for input at certain points of the story.
Whereas titles such as Another Code: Two Memories saw players having to actively seek clues by exploring locations and interacting with characters, Chase: Cold Case Investigations – Distant Memories is satisfied with pretty much just being a text based affair. The only rare instances where players get to directly interact with it are during sections that involve selecting objects in photos taken at the crime scene.
The fact that the case doesn’t last that longs means that it wouldn’t even be worthy of being an introductory Ace Attorney case. All that is required of players is to pay some attention to what characters say and occasionally take a look at the case files. The fact that the multiple choice sections usually consist of two choices makes it seem like there is little to do but to play along. Obviously feeling like players are mostly just reading a not particularly complex story, rather than being part of one, eventually makes it feel like a chore.
Perhaps the best aspect of the title lies in the visuals which contains some surprisingly quality animations and cut-scenes. Those found during interrogations with suspects stood out mostly because of their effective use to demonstrate the tension in the room. It’s just a shame that the title isn’t preoccupied with making its twists less obvious.
Whilst Chase: Cold Case Investigations – Distant Memories heavily implies at the chance of future sequels towards the end of its brief existence, it does so at the expense of closure for the first case. The fact that there is only one case and not a particularly difficult one also makes this a sub-par experience compared to the cult titles that Cing released.
