Chase: Cold Case Investigations - Distant Memories (Nintendo 3DS) Review

Chase: Cold Case Investigations begins with two Japanese detectives, Shounosuke Nanase and Koto Amekura, who head up the Cold Case unit of the precinct, a department that investigates new leads on previously solved crimes. Via an anonymous phone call, the pair look into an accidental death a number of years ago that may have actually been deliberate. By calling witnesses, establishing the environmental dangers of the time, and looking into motives, the duo unravels exactly what happened.

As far as detective yarns go, this one is fairly standard, but retains the design motif from the Hotel Dusk/Last Window games, with a little extra flair: moving portraits that give off a livelier feel more akin to Another Code: R - A Journey into Memories on Wii, although there is a lack of voice acting in the narrative. The backing tunes are a big help in conveying a sense of wonder and secrecy during interrogations and brainstorming, as well, with the same composer form CiNG's previous titles seemingly being back, bringing along the same feel as in the past.

Although this is basically a straightforward text adventure, there are key moments of interaction needed, particularly in the searching sections; for instance, from a picture of the crime scene, plenty of tapping of the touch screen in the right places is required for progression. Even if these sections lack a compelling drive, they do help the investigative nature of the story - as does the multiple choice selections during interrogations, yet these are incredibly straightforward and difficult to make a mistake on for anyone paying attention. The game's narrative goes from A to B with very little player influence.

Chase: Cold Case Investigations is not a lengthy game by any means, with most play-throughs reaching up to an hour or slightly more, and the non-divergent narrative leading to only one ending. Luckily, the low price reflects that race to the finish, with a tantalising glimpse of things to come if the ending is anything to go by. However, it is a difficult game to recommend due to the lack of real interaction in the story.