Chase: Cold Case Investigations - Distant Memories

Lore & Background

The game revolves around detective partners Shounosuke Nanase and Koto Amekura of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's cold case unit. They are tipped off by an anonymous caller that an explosion five years prior, previously ruled an accident, was purposely set off to mask a murder, leading to a new investigation of the case.

Reader's Guide

Chase: Cold Case Investigations - Distant Memories is notable as a digital-only title developed by Arc System Works, with former staff members from the studio Cing, including game designer Taisuke Kanasaki. It is narratively and thematically similar to Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, detective titles developed by Cing before its closure. The game's mixed reception highlights its strengths in artwork, music and story, but its short length, lack of interactivity or difficulty, and abrupt ending led critics to feel it was incomplete, like an introduction to a larger game that never materialized. Its legacy is as a brief, atmospheric detective story that evokes the style of its spiritual predecessors.

Did You Know?

• The game was developed by former staff members from the studio Cing.
• It was released in Japan as a digital-only title for the Nintendo 3DS eShop.
• The story involves an explosion five years prior that was originally ruled an accident.
• Critics felt the game ended abruptly, like an intro for a larger, nonexistent game.