Cing a Song for Chase: Unsolved Cases Investigation Division
It was a tragic day when CING closed shop years ago, for multiple reasons. Nintendo didn’t own the company, but both cooperated to provide some enjoyable adventure games for their last-generation platforms. This relationship started on DS with Another Code: Two Memories (Trace Memory in North America) and continued with Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for the same system, two adventure games which took advantage of the dual-screened format in presentation and gameplay. Both seemingly sold well worldwide through appealing to the core gaming audience who wanted handheld adventure games. With that, you’d think the companies would have a long-lasting relationship, but fate has a funny way of screwing with expectations.
The relationship got a little rocky when Nintendo of America refused to publish two of their games here, despite them being localized in English. This happened during the phase where they were ignoring their dedicated audience for their far more profitable casual one, which hurt them when the latter left for Apple. We missed out on getting official versions of Another Code R: A Journey into Lost Memories and Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (a sequel to Hotel Dusk) from NoA, though they were still playable on American systems after importing the European versions (the former through hacking the Wii, but the latter was on the region-free DS). Thankfully, NoA is a little smarter these days, though they could be better — and I’m not referring to the current insipid localization issue regarding Fire Emblem Fates and some crazies.
None of the above games were huge sellers, though, especially compared to Nintendo’s flagship titles. That’s sadly why Nintendo didn’t swoop in to save Cing after being burdened with financial issues. Development for Again, created in cooperation with Tecmo, ended up being a severe money sink. Nintendo’s inaction was best for their business despite being somewhat cold, but it left a severe void that was never filled in any dedicated platform’s software lineup for some of us. But those dark days may be coming to an end if one particular project turns out well.
Cing has been dead for a hair over six years, but some former staffers have finally reunited for a new adventure game: Chase: Unsolved Cases Investigation Division — Distant Memories. It’s coming to the 3DS eShop in Japan this spring from Arc System Works, who’s published a number of low-budget titles for the service over the last few years.
Anyone familiar with Cing’s library only needs to give one quick glance to Chase’s screens to get serious Hotel Dusk vibes, which perhaps insinuates this title’s status as a spiritual successor. Heck, the main character even resembles Kyle Hyde, and I’d be surprised if his personality didn’t match. It’s also following in Hotel Dusk’s footsteps in being a deep and hardboiled detective adventure rife with adult intrigue and mystery. The solemn piano track on its teaser website also evokes that title’s soundtrack. Unfortunately, not many story details have been provided at the moment, but given the game’s nature, it would be best if they kept that to a minimum.
The art style isn’t as detailed as those which accompanied Cing’s titles, though its current screens show how it’s clearly being made on a low budget. That also means you shouldn’t expect the beautiful rotoscoping animations which accompanied Hotel Dusk and its sequel’s dialogue and cinematic sequences. Despite these limitations, I hope the developers can still create the experience they want.
While details are early, I’m sad that Rika Suzuki’s involvement hasn’t been confirmed. She worked as primary writer and game designer for Cing’s best titles, and was the most influential individual behind making them tick. Following their bankruptcy, she started writing digital novels through Bellwood, which she founded in 2009. She was also interviewed by the also-defunct Official Nintendo Magazine regarding Cing’s final days, where she explained some ideas she had for future titles. If she’s involved, this should have been one of the first details known; that nothing was said about her is an ominous sign. That said, it would be great if this turns out well regardless.
Given that Chase is due this spring, Arc System Works should have more details in the near future. Meanwhile, their western arm has localized some of those aforementioned small eShop titles, so hopefully this one is being considered given the buzz it’s already generating at multiple internet corners. If they can’t, handing it over to their friends at Aksys Games would also be fine, with the fantastic job they’ve done with the Zero Escape games and other visual novels. But before that, let’s hope it’s good, and that this team can subsequently stick around making adventure games for a while.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
