Time travel is a cool concept. No, it doesn’t require “geek status” to actually get into it. I mean, I was about 10 years old when the role-playing game masterpiece Chrono Trigger was released, and I devoured it. Who wouldn’t love to travel through time and correct the mistakes of the past — and perhaps even cause things to occur the way they were supposed to occur? Well, Konami has released an adventure game for the Nintendo DS: Time Hollow. So how does it stand up as a DS game? Read on to learn more.
In Time Hollow you follow 17-year-old Ethan Kairos. He lives with his parents until he goes to sleep one night and has a horrible dream that his parents disappear in a fire. He then wakes up and discovers he lives with his uncle Derek. Yet he clearly remembers living with his parents for 16 years. He also notices that morning that he has a pen (known as the Hollow Pen). This pen is not some ordinary pen. No, this pen allows the user to access things at previous times when all the proper information is in place. And when the past is changed, it allows the wielder to obtain impressions (flashbacks) of important events that have transpired. Thus, with pen in hand, Ethan sets out to discover what happened to his parents and help his friends stay alive over a course of several days.
Graphically, the game is anime-inspired while remaining realistic. This is a great game to look at, and the movies on the cartridge look great. The top screen holds all the dialogue and part of the scenery, while the touchscreen is where you interact with everything. Characters’ portraits emote (statically) as they speak. My main complaint is that the game falls into the same traps as every other adventure game: It does not show characters moving, it doesn’t try to push the graphics engine past what it intends to do — tell a story. You never see a character walk across the screen. Instead the character’s picture fades into the background. You never see Ethan draw a circle or place an item some place. Instead, you read about him placing it. Thus, if the presentation was stronger it would definitely absorb the player into its world much better.
As previously written, this is an adventure game. Thus, you’ll use the stylus like a mouse — hunting for that perfect clue that will move things forward. You’ll also use the control pad to move the camera around; that way, you can see everything in the area. What sets this game apart from other adventure games is time digging. This is accomplished by filling out all of the blanks of Ethan’s flashbacks — images of the past that has been changed. Thus, once a title, time, location and the proper details are in place, Ethan can create a time warp and manipulate something in the past. Most of the time you’re changing things, adding or removing items from the past. But be warned, Ethan can make only so many mistakes or else it’s game over (the time hollow drains years off the wielder!). It’s a pretty intriguing idea because each time you dig, something changes. And the plot is intriguing enough that it keeps you playing to find all the little changes that occur. However, just like any adventure game, there’s always the chance that you might wonder around aimlessly for a while.
As avid readers of this Web site know, I am not an adventure genre kind of guy. But, I didn’t have many problems with this game. Like most adventure games, you explore each thread of conversation to its conclusion so you have all the proper information. You will sometimes — but not often — hunt and peck for the proper item or information. As such, you’ll look everywhere for that right piece of information that allows you to move forward. Sometimes I knew things before Ethan and wanted to tell him what I knew (I do have about seven more years of experience living). Other times, he wouldn’t let me leave an area until I found what we were looking for. However, it was rare that I was frustrated with it. Even if I did not have enough information to know what to do, just being persistent enough to stick with it was more than enough to move things forward. Even better, the game 95 percent of the time gives you clues of what you’re looking for through the flashbacks. And during digging events, the flashback scene is on the top screen, so you have a strong idea of what you’re supposed to do. As such, there were only two times I hunted for information: once looking for a pair of pliers, and the other trying to find a certain locker. These, of course, took place during the digging phases.
Sound wise, the game is pretty solid. You’ll hear the traditional exploring sounds: steps, things getting clipped and the neat sound of the pen glowing. There’s also an annoying rock theme song, and the rest of the music can get annoying because the few tracks are played over and over again. But, Konami has learned one thing from its hit horror franchise: The music fits the mood. So provided it doesn’t annoy you, it fits the mood perfectly. Also, as previously mentioned, there are some movies to watch. As such, there is some voice acting in the game. And, it is surprisingly solid and fits each character very well.
Overall, this game is a tad mixed. On the one hand, it is one of the most accessible adventure games to be released in a long time. It is not that difficult and never has you dealing with some form of insane logic. And yet on the other hand, this is not the strongest DS game out there because it does not take full advantage of the system. Yet, I found myself sucked into its world after I completed the prologue. No matter how hard I tried to resist, I found myself playing it for an hour or two a day. One night, I started playing at around 9:30 and stopped playing at 11 p.m. because I was tired. Furthermore, the game is short. Six hours short to be exact. And once you know what you’re doing, it is even shorter.
So who is this game for, one wonders. This game is for the novice adventurer because of its intuitive nature and accessibility. Hardcore adventurers will probably be even more content with it because they can now take a strong adventure game with them on the go. And people looking for a unique mystery, check this out because the plot just sucks you in. While it doesn’t push the envelope of the adventure genre, it accomplishes what it sets out to do: tell a story. This game is a rental. It does not belong in every gamers’ library nor would I want this in everyone’s library. Try it and see if it belongs in yours. While it does not belong in mine, I would not mind visiting its world every now and then.
