IGN writes: "So, if you couldn't tell by this point, I've come away impressed. Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles was a bit of a flop, and rather than sweep that failure under the rug and forget about it Aksys Games took a rare second chance on the same design. But Memories of the Past proves to be much more than a re-tooled reboot of Detective Chronicles -- it's a packed-to-overflowing, feature-filled product that does the introduction of Jake Hunter to America right.
The writing is spot-on, the cases are compelling and the extras are abundant. And it's a great value, priced at ten bucks less than what most DS games go for these days. Adventure gaming fans, particularly those who've enjoyed the cases of ace attorneys Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice, should introduce themselves to Jake Hunter. He's the new private eye in town".
European gamers are about to get a burst of Arc System Works games in 2010. New PAL publisher pQube will release Castle of Shikigami III, Jake Hunter, and Theresia in Europe.
Before the pQube and Zen Media partnership, 505 Games used to handle Arc System Works stuff like Guilty Gear Accent Core and the occasional JRPG. In addition to working with Arc System Works, pQube has a deal with Ertain. That Japanese publisher used to make the Gladiator games, but now focus on the "relaxing genre" with stuff like Paint Classic Masterpieces.
Imminent lung cancer aside, this is a collection of six noir-ish detective mysteries – some new, some previously released with a rather dodgy translation (now much improved). The menu-trudging investigations are a bit dull but there's certainly plenty to keep you busy. An Unleashed mode lightens the mood by breaking out a manga-ish Jake for shorter, sillier cases. This is a well-stocked game and a big improvement over Jake's previous outing, but it still feels a bit dry.
The six different cases – ranging from the simple early ones to the complex, imaginative later investigations, full of twists and food for thought – are different enough to keep the game fresh until the end, and the stories themselves are engaging noir romps that will make you feel like you're reading a real page-turner. Add to this the tons of extras and you get a thoroughly enjoyable if very lightweight game, one that will strongly appeal to any Dashiell Hammet fan and any adventurer that likes their investigations hard-boiled.
