Come for the Tokyo tour, stay for the mystery
Bitter that you can’t make it to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics? Me too.
Let’s commiserate together by exploring the port of Tokyo Dark: Remembrance to Switch.
Originally released in 2017 for PC following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Cherrymochi have remastered Tokyo Dark as Tokyo Dark: Remembrance for Switch. A PS4 port is also on the horizon.
I have a deep love for unreliable narrators and Lovecraft-ian hooks, and Tokyo Dark: Remembrance has a hearty helping of both. I can also report that, unlike Switcher 3, the Switch is the definitive way to play.
A new “spin” on Tokyo
Tokyo Dark: Remembrance follows the noir misfortunes of Ayami Itō, a cop struggling to maintain her sanity while on searching for her missing partner on the streets of Tokyo. Things quickly take a turn for the murderous, creepy and, well, pretty weird.
Cherrymochi are an independent games studio based in Tokyo (so you know they know what they’re talking about). The influence of the international team at Cherrymochi is obvious in its blend of Western style point and click adventure and anime-style animation with heavy use of visual novel mechanics.
Tokyo Dark: Remembrance also boasts what it calls the S.P.I.N mechanic – a stats building feature that monitors the effects of your in-game choices on your sanity, professionalism, investigation and neurosis.
As a pretty avid visual novel player, the mix of game elements is a refreshing change. The visual novel/stats building mix is by no means new, Exhibit A being a good chunk of Japanese dating sims. But being able to walk around and select what to investigate created a heightened sense of playing an active role in the investigation.
The past can hurt, but you can either run from it… or learn from it
I usually role-play my characters as upstanding, sensible citizens. However, my determination to uncover the mystery of Tokyo Dark: Remembrance had me brandishing a firearm, setting off fire alarms at police stations, and flirting with a really gross guy in a host bar for information.
Seriously, he was really, really gross.
Where Tokyo Dark: Remembrance wildly succeeds is that it makes you actively choose to do these (gross) things, while giving you a cold-sweat about the possible consequences of those decisions (particularly during the auto-save-only first play through). And there are definitely consequences. NPCs will react to your decisions, your S.P.I.N stats will be affected, and future possible actions can be locked or unlocked, in turn affecting the ending you get.
Most of the endings leave a ton of unanswered questions. I often put down the Switch not with a feeling of “Hot damn, what a cool ending”; but rather, “Is that all?”
That said, the journey itself is sufficiently compelling that I wasn’t really bothered.
Supernatural tour
Japan is a hot place to visit at the moment, and a drawcard for many will be the chance to explore Tokyo via an anime aesthetic with supernatural overtones (no spoilers). While Tokyo Dark: Remembrance can look a little basic at times, especially for a point-and-click adventure, the environments are varied and innovatively designed. The cut scenes by Graphnica (Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles X) are also of a predictably high calibre.
But is it scary?
While Tokyo Dark: Remembrance markets itself as a horror, be prepared for psychological thriller more than anything. The music is gratingly tension-building, and there are some pretty disturbing themes explored, including child abuse, sexual harassment and gangs. And a few murders, of course.
Tokyo Dark: Remembrance also has a pretty poor representation of mental health, with the player having to choose between taking medication to build the sanity stat, which loses points in investigation. It doesn’t help that every time you take the medication you’re subjected to an image of Ayami looking horrifically sad and defeated.
These heavy elements aren’t sustained throughout however, with almost jarringly cute scenes peppered throughout – like a visit to a maid café. When it comes down to it, the freakiest part of Tokyo Dark: Remembrance is a traditional Japanese mask that likes to pop up on screen. Truly, I’m feeling uncomfortable just thinking about it.
A good switch to Switch
If you haven’t played the original release but can’t decide between PC and Switch, there’s no real reason why you shouldn’t buy the Switch version. This is more than just a console port; it’s a remaster and a system rebuild, with the Switch version featuring both new art and new endings.
While games based around a point and click mechanic usually work better in their native PC environment, Tokyo Dark: Remembrance isn’t so complex that the speed and accuracy of a mouse is ever really required. Besides, the visual novel/Switch combination has always been a natural match.
Personally, I preferred playing undocked. The basic look of the game and at times lack of interactive detail was most effective when played on a smaller screen, as opposed to feeling empty on a big one.
Did I mention there were cats?
The developers are obviously fascinated with the grittier side of Japan. Anyone who has spent any time in Tokyo will be able to nod their head in self-satisfied recognition at how various areas in Tokyo are represented: the aging traditional beauty of Kamakura; yakuza-affiliated bars in Kabukicho; the bright yet suspect streets of Akiba.
Much like how the real Tokyo has a seedy underbelly of crime yet remains one of the safest cities on the planet, this is a horror game that will pull you in and creep you out; but never downright scare you. The mechanics are a natural fit for the Switch, with new art and endings to seal the deal.
Oh yeah – Tokyo Dark: Remembrance also has a great subplot involving a cat café. If that doesn’t convince you to play, well then, there’s not much more I can do.
- Overall