Hooray! Japanese escape game designer Robamimi has made the excellent decision to remake one of its early, nice-but-flawed games into a much higher quality piece of work. Even if you've played the original, Who Am I? Remake has been given a thorough enough makeover to justify another look.
Though the original Who Am I? was good-looking and contained some clever puzzles, it suffered from a lack of polish and occasionally crossed over into illogical territory. Robamimi has ameliorated these problems by reformulating (and, in numerous cases, entirely changing) the game's puzzles, cleaning up the interface and adding a save feature as well as a twinkly soundtrack. While all of the game's puzzles are well-designed, I found one in particular to be quite sly; if at some point during the game you feel as if you cannot proceed without knowledge of another language, take a step back and reconsider the information. By thinking "out of the box," as it were, you might find your answer. Oh, also, if at any point the game's super-sweet soundtrack becomes irritating, you can turn it off by clicking the square button above the inventory.
While Remake: Who Am I? still doesn't quite approach the brilliance of the very best escape games, it's nonetheless smart and skillfully executed, an enormous step up from its antecedent. If you're a fan of the genre, you'll surely be grateful for Robamimi's overachieving ways. Enjoy!
Walkthrough Guide
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Who Am I? Remake Walkthrough
Don't forget to choose English before you start (unless you can read Japanese)!
Turn left and click to the left of the plant base to look behind it. Take the screwdriver from the marionette and take note of the number on the wall, 26. Back out.
Turn right twice until you see an air vent at the base of the wall. Click on the vent for a closer look. Use the screwdriver to open the vent and take the "magic rain". Note the number on the wall, 13. Back out.
Turn left and click on the top of the umbrella to get closer. Use the "magic rain" on the umbrella. The symbols you see are clock hands corresponding to four different times: 3 o'clock, 1 o'clock, 10 o'clock, and 9 o'clock. Back out.
Turn right three times until you see a dresser with a clock on it. Note the number 45 on the wall. Click on the dresser to get closer. Click on the combination lock on the top drawer and enter the code based on the umbrella times: 3 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 9. Back up and open the drawer. Take the pliers and the clue card. Close the drawer.
Use the pliers on the wire covering the bottom drawer. The wire will go into your inventory. Open the bottom drawer and take the remote. Back out.
Now click on the picture on the wall for a closer look. You will notice that it is an overhead shot of the room. Look closely and you will realize that the areas that have numbers form a triangle with 45 at the top, 13 on the lower left, and 26 on the lower right. Pull up the remote. You need to push the buttons in the order they appear as numbers in the room. The combination is: lower left, lower right, lower left, top, top, lower right. The picture will now raise up to reveal a small alcove.
Click on the alcove for a close up. Take the crowbar and the second clue card. Note the capitalized letters in the grid: D, K, W, E. Back out.
Turn right. Use the crowbar on the recessed square in the carpet. Click on the lid to turn it over and remove the black bar (magnet). Now click on the exposed recess. Each button needs to be pushed until it shows a picture that corresponds to the capital letters behind the painting. Upper left - diamond, upper right - knife, lower left - worm, lower right - eye. Click enter then take the matches and the third clue card.
Turn right. Click on the small grey box for a closer look, then click on the bottom of the box. Use the pliers to pull out the little handle in the middle. There should now be a diagram hanging down that shows Chinese characters with numbers. Each number corresponds to the number of "closed" spaces in the character. Now look at the matchbook. Count the number of "closed" spaces in each character to get the code. Put the matches back in your inventory and enter the code 5 - 2 - 2 - 0 in the box. This will open up a new alcove.
Click on the alcove and then click on the cylinder on the left of the machine. Notice the key. Pull up your piece of wire and use the pliers to bend it. Now use the wire to remove the key from the cylinder. Back out.
Click on the alcove again and this time click on the picture on the far right. This is a diagram of how to assemble the machine. Back out.
Turn right twice and you are back at the table with the umbrella marionette. Use the key to unlock the drawer. Take the candle and hint card number four. Back out.
Turn left twice and you are back at the machine alcove. Click to get closer. Assemble the machine. The magnet goes in the little gray holder to the left, the candle goes on the little black spike next to it. Light the candle. The glass door will now open.
Click on the bars to get closer, then turn right. Look down and you will find your fifth and last clue card. Look back up. Read the clue cards to determine who you are, type the answer in the white area, and click enter.
You are a shadow!
Sweet Freedom!
Just for fun: if you go back and look behind the plant again after you've taken the screwdriver, the little warrior marionette has now "assumed the position" up against the planter. Where are the marionette police?
Posted by: grinnyp | June 18, 2009 3:16 PM