The first wave of new games from various publishers and developers has arrived as the new year of game releases gets underway. A number of action-packed games and role-playing titles have been available among these options; nevertheless, to kick off 2024, Nintendo and CAPCOM have released games in an otherwise neglected genre: adventure games. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy (2024) and Another Code: Recollection (2024) are remakes and compilations of earlier games in the Another Code and Ace Attorney game series. Both games have been given current gaming hardware-updated graphics and considerable marketing support.
This was astounding to see, as someone who has always loved the genre. In my early high school years, I played the original Another Code, or as it was known in North America, Trace Memory (2005). The Ace Attorney games that were released on the Nintendo DS and 3DS were some of my favorite games on both systems. I also recall that these games were not advertised in North American regions or covered by prominent gaming publications. Rather, to consistently find out about new details about upcoming adventure games and visual novels, I had to browse through online forums dedicated to these genres. It is therefore very amazing to witness the most recent game releases in these series receiving the contemporary marketing push that we so frequently take for granted as the standard for video games.
In light of this, I wanted to take a retrospective look at how the North American video game industry has evolved over the last 20 years and identify some of the games and trends that have contributed to the comeback and continued popularity of adventure games.
Since adventure games are a classification that may appear strange to people who are not familiar with the term, I think it’s necessary to take a moment to describe and define the genre before we look at them in more detail. In a nutshell, adventure games are video games in which the player advances through the game by applying objects they find, solving puzzles, exploring, and/or applying critical thinking skills. Although the amount of options available to the player differs from game to game, the nearly constant theme that unites so many titles in this genre is the emphasis on analyzing one’s surroundings and applying those observations to advance.
Japan has a long history of adventure games dating back to the early 1980s. The most famous game in this genre is The Portopia Serial Murder Case (1983) by Yuji Horii, which is considered to be the origin of all contemporary Japanese adventure games. Many Japanese developers were inspired to create their own interpretations of adventure games by the game’s expansive plot with multiple routes and shocking plot twist in the true ending. Notable developers include Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy series), Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid series), and Gōichi Suda (The Silver Case, No More Heroes). Though the genre is far more varied than most people realize, these variations would eventually lead to the birth of the subgenre we now know as visual novels, which is what many people mistakenly believe all Japanese adventure games are. Unfortunately, because each of these early games contains a large quantity of text, relatively few of them have been localized outside of Japan. However, it’s crucial to keep in mind that without the creators and authors who dedicated their lives to this specialized genre, there would be no narrative-focused games as we know them today.
The Changing Nature of Adventure Games and Nintendo
The adventure game genre faced difficulties in the 2000s, particularly in North America, despite the critically acclaimed and popular games that were launched in the 1980s and 1990s. The largest adventure game studios in the region were failing due to declining sales and a shift in the gaming industry’s culture toward action-packed games that catered specifically to the sought-after group of teenage boys and young men. As a result, popular studios like Sierra Entertainment closed their doors and games like Sam & Max: Freelance Police were canceled. It appeared as though the genre was about to die because things were going so badly for it, until help unexpectedly arrived in the form of the Nintendo DS.
When the Nintendo DS, the company’s newest portable console, was released in 2004, it was a groundbreaking piece of technology in many aspects, including marketing strategy and the use of twin displays and touch-screen gameplay. Nintendo marketed the DS at audiences who rarely, if ever, played video games, in contrast to the majority of other gaming systems that catered only to players who had years of experience with various hardware and software. Nintendo was creating and releasing games in addition to their trademark franchises, such as the educational hit Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (2005) and the pet simulator Nintendogs (2005). This risk paid off handsomely for the firm because it is today the second best-selling game system in existence and continues to be the company’s best-selling hardware.
Nintendo also published adventure games for the Nintendo DS that were distributed in foreign markets, maybe as a means of expanding into unexplored markets. These games were limited to the Japanese market, marking a new foray for the firm even though they developed and published a few titles in the genre, most notably the Famicom Detective Club series. The first of these games was Another Code: Two Memories (2005), published as Trace Memory in North America. Taisuke Kanasaki directed and designed the characters in this game, which was created by Cing and authored by seasoned adventure game creator Rika Suzuki. The story of the game centers on thirteen-year-old Japanese-American Ashley Mizuki Robbins, who had assumed her father had passed away when she was three years old, until she receives an enigmatic letter from him. Ashley goes to Blood Edward Island as instructed by the letter to meet her father, but because of unforeseen circumstances, she ends up being separated from her aunt and guardian, Jessica Robbins. Ashley meets “D,” a ghost who has forgotten his identity and the circumstances of his death, while looking for Jessica. In an effort to locate Jessica, retrieve D’s memories, and uncover the mystery of Ashley’s father’s disappearance ten years prior, the two resolve to collaborate.
The title captured the attention of both young and old gamers with its captivating plot and innovative puzzles. For my part, I still think highly of Trace Memory as one of the games that really sank my teeth into the adventure and interactive fiction genres. Another Code/Trace Memory was essential in reviving the adventure game genre even though it was not a huge hit. During an interview with The Official Nintendo Magazine, Suzuki mentioned that the “adventure corner”—a section of Japanese game stores dedicated to exhibiting adventure games—has returned in large part due to the popularity of Cing’s games. Due to the game’s popularity, Cing went on to create Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (2007), another Nintendo-published title that was well-received by both genre enthusiasts and mainstream gamers.
Sadly, it seems that the flame did not ignite in North America, even if Cing’s titles were successful in Europe and Japan. The Only Code and Hotel Dusk sequels were only available in Japan and Europe; North American fans were forced to purchase the English-language version meant for the United Kingdom or wish for an eventual release. Even worse, Cing’s good fortune would run out when, on March 1, 2010, the firm formally filed for bankruptcy, less than two months after the release of their last title. Fans of the studio and adventure games were devastated by the company’s demise since they offered a promising future for the genre.
Ace Attorney and the Turnabout in Adventure Games
Meanwhile, Shu Takumi’s adored and hugely influential adventure game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2001/2005), was making video game history at CAPCOM with a totally different title. The first game in the Ace Attorney series, which was first created for the Game Boy Advance, chronicled the exploits of the title character Phoenix Wright, or Naruhodo Ryuichi as he is known in the original Japanese, a defense lawyer who seeks to establish his client’s innocence. Phoenix makes allies with a quirky group of people along the route, including the spirit medium Maya Fey, who assists him in gathering information and discovering the real story behind each case.
Whether or not players had ever played an adventure game before, the Nintendo DS version of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney immediately won over North American players with its quirky cast of characters, compelling cases, and easy-to-understand gameplay. Since the game was an entirely unheard-of IP outside of Japan and belonged to a genre not exactly recognized for big sales, CAPCOM had modest expectations for it. Given that the demand for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games is still high, it was unexpected when the game sold out in gaming stores. In order to satisfy consumer demand and play the game, the title would need to be printed more than three times, with over 100,000 copies sold by February 2007. Owing to the game’s enormous popularity, CAPCOM released one of the spin-off games and the three sequels on the Nintendo DS in North America.
It is impossible to overestimate Ace Attorney’s influence on the adventure game genre—many people believe it to be one of the games that kept the genre alive. The game is also regarded as one of the most significant in promoting interest in Japanese adventure games and visual novels in North American markets. While JAST USA and the now-defunct Hirameki were two previous attempts to provide visual novels to a global audience, their PC-only titles were geared toward anime enthusiasts and did not have the same impact on broad markets as Ace Attorney.
The number of Japanese-made adventure games for the Nintendo DS that were translated for foreign markets is a more indirect indicator of the game’s success. Among these, the most well-known and lucrative were the Professor Layton games from Level-5, which would eventually compete with Ace Attorney in the upcoming console generation. By October 2010, they had sold 9.5 million copies worldwide, exceeding Ace Attorney’s 3.9 million sales at that time. Notable titles included BeeWorks’ Touch Detective series, Junko Kawano’s Time Hollow (2008), and Chunsoft’s 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2009).
The Ace Attorney franchise faced several obstacles even in the face of its accomplishments. According to then-CAPCOM senior vice president Christian Svensson, it was “tough to attract long-term retail support for Ace Attorney titles,” which is why the Nintendo 3DS titles Dual Destinies (2013) and Spirit of Justice (2016) were exclusively available digitally. In the meantime, spin-off games based on The Great Ace Attorney were not released outside of Japan, most likely to avoid legal issues with the Conan Doyle Estate. Nevertheless, Ace Attorney had grown to become a well-known property across the globe, with a devoted fan base that expressed their love and support for the show in no uncertain terms.
The Here and Now and an Excited Future
When we fast-forward to 2024, the adventure game industry is radically different. A ray of promise, creativity, and optimism shines down in place of a dreary and dire landscape of despair. From small, heartfelt projects that started life in game jams, like A Year of Springs, to massive, ambitious sequels like Return to Monkey Island and remakes, like the return of the 1975 classic Colossal Cave, adventure games are being developed and distributed worldwide for different gaming platforms. Japanese game enthusiasts have also profited from this, since they can now play a wider selection of recently published games with short localization turnaround times, in addition to older games and visual novels that are now finally accessible outside of Japan. Nintendo has also made a comeback to the genre with the global release of Another Code: Recollection and the remakes of Famicom Detective Club (2021). As of September 30, 2023, CAPCOM’s Ace Attorney franchise had sold 10 million units, demonstrating its continued success.
Twenty years ago, I would never have believed such triumphs, but now as I look back, I’m not surprised because the adventure game genre has proven to be so resilient. I can’t help but worry how this genre, which I adore so much, will advance as long as the industry persists in favoring narrative-focused and soothing gaming experiences.
