So glad I discovered you as a fellow Nancy Drew obsessed detective xD Watching this kinda made me wish you had a video on your all time favorite Nancy Drew characters.. Maybe a top 10 or something. I think it would be fun to watch. (Unless you already have something like that and I totally overlooked it..in that case I apologize)
We’ve seen Nancy’s friends pop up and again in many of these games, but Alibi in Ashes allows us to play as them. Ned, Bess, and George. I love the mechanics of swapping between the three friends and when Nancy finally gets out of custody, she goes right to work and with her friends help she finds out who the real culprit of the town hall fire is.
I really love this game. Good point: we really do work more like police officers than detectives, so at some point it's pretty obvious who the culprit is and you basically just have to find enough evidence. Interesting shift from the usual scavenger hunts.
So interesting that you could sleuth out the culprit that easily!! I played this game when it came out so I don’t remember my thoughts when first playing, but I just finished playing with my partner for the first time and he was stumped until the very end!
I don't know what it was! The ways the clues were unfolding and how we didn't find anything concrete for the culprit until the last few clues made it seem like it was definitely them I think!!
Playing this one next. Love hearing this isn’t a puzzle heavy game (looking at you Trail of the Twister). Sometimes these games may not look the best on the surface, but once you get into them they become your favorites (For me Danger by Design and maybe this one also?) Also some of those that look exciting on the surface end up being big disappointments.
This is a pretty solid game. I really like how you have to use all Nancy's friends to collect evidence and progress through the mystery. The story does feel a little abrupt to me, especially how it starts so quickly, but I like all the characters and it's great to finally see River Heights and explore Nancy's hometown.
Interesting to hear your thoughts on it, though I do agree, figuring out the real culprit was pretty easy. Other than that, it was fun to see River Heights and see Chief Collig.
Just wondering, what made the culprit so obvious to you? I recently played this game and I genuinely had no idea who the culprit was until near the end of the game!
They just made a point to constantly point out how the culprit hated Nancy and they were the only one that we didn't really get definitive clues for while in jail, which made them seem "less suspicious" and therefore VERY suspicious, if that makes sense 😂
I'd rank the plot of this one lower. I just can't get past the idea that the daughter of the town's most prominent lawyer is arrested on the basis of basically no evidence at all (i.e. that she was one of five people seen coming out of the house, and had no motive for burning it down). She deserved to be a suspect, yes, but no way would an arrest have been made that early. Then, after having been arrested, she's given the run of the police station. That didn't ring true, either. Setting & Design. I didn't like that we have this enormous map of the town, but only a couple of locations are actually playable. That's more of a quibble, though. A maze of tunnels underneath River Heights that lets you get places on foot faster than you could get there by car also didn't make a lot of sense. I didn't think the culprit was as obvious as you did. Toni Scallari was a reasonable suspect too. (In fact, in the end, she was kind of a secondary culprit). If you want to talk obvious culprits, Blue Moon Canyon is a pretty big offender there. We knew that the Hardys weren't the culprit. Likewise, Charleena is a recurring character, so it can't really be her. We played White Wolf before Blue Moon, so we knew it wasn't Tino. That left only the totally nondescript John Grey, or the spoiled, colorful, amoral rich kid. We knew Lori was the culprit even before there was a crime for her to be guilty of.
Thanks for your comment! I do see your thoughts too. The plot is definitely a little silly at times. I think it has a certain amount of nostalgic charm for me, which is probably why I appreciate it. I agree about the setting and design though, I'm generally not a big fan of maps in the games! Interesting that we have different thoughts on the culprit. White Wolf is actually after Blue Moon, so Tino wasn't ruled out for me as a culprit, but you do bring up a good point about Charleena! Thanks again for your thoughts!
I've played this one again, to see if it would be better over time. If anything, it comes off worse. Here are the main problems, some mentioned earlier, some not. 1. Arresting Nancy without evidence or motive. (mentioned previously). Not just arresting SOMEONE without evidence, mind you, but arresting the daughter of a high-powered lawyer without evidence. Did the City want to be sued? There's no mention of a lawsuit at the end, it's like solving the case makes everything okay. It doesn't. Carson should still be planning to sue at the end. 2. Brenda's motivation is that Nancy is a constant thorn in her side. How can that be when Nancy is almost never in town? Maybe Nancy used to solve cases in River Heights, but she hasn't done so for quite some time. 3. River Heights is a small town, but the plot depends on the idea that traffic is so bad that it's actually quicker to travel on foot. But if that's the case, why does Brenda even need tunnels? Why not go about on foot above ground? Nobody suspects that this is how Brenda gets around so quickly. 4. The whole town seems to hate Nancy. Toni, Brenda, Deirdre, the guy who threw the rock through the window, and a lot of unnamed townspeople. That doesn't ring true. 5. There are so many places in the game where evidence simply doesn't seem to matter. Not just when Nancy is arrested, but in the endgame challenge. Nancy actually HAS THE PROOF that shows Brenda started the fire. But the idea is that if Brenda makes her broadcast before Nancy reaches Chief McGinnis, the evidence won't matter, because everyone will blindly believe Brenda's claim, and not look at the evidence, or something like that. It's not a problem that Brenda has such a big ego that she expects to be believed without question, the problem is that the game backs her up on this. 6. Libel and Slander laws don't seem to apply in River Heights either. The word "alleged" is never used. Brenda and Toni both declare Nancy guilty multiple times. Toni's popularity goes way down at the end, but no word of the Slander Suit she should be facing. 7. A problem with either Setting & Design or Character Interaction is the fact that we never get to see Ned. He just disappears when Nancy gets out of stir. If we saw him in other games, it might not be so bad, but this was really the only opportunity, and they couldn't spend the money to animate him. These problems are just so big, and so much suspension of disbelief is required, that I can't give the game better than a C, and I feel like I'm being generous there. A pity, as I wanted to like it better. A couple of more minor, but irksome problems. Deirdre loudly slurping her malt every couple of seconds. And the "You're taking me out of context" line is used twice. That's something people say when they've been nailed on something. Brenda flat out repeats back things that weren't said at all. That's not taking words out of context, it's making them up. And yet Bess insists that Brenda DIDN'T do this, just took her out of context. Infuriating.
Easily the most frustrating part...poor Ned just gets ignored and forgotten, AGAIN. At the very least there should have been a phone conversation explaining why!!
So glad I discovered you as a fellow Nancy Drew obsessed detective xD Watching this kinda made me wish you had a video on your all time favorite Nancy Drew characters.. Maybe a top 10 or something. I think it would be fun to watch. (Unless you already have something like that and I totally overlooked it..in that case I apologize)
I don't, but I love that idea! I'm going to add that to my list of video ideas! Thanks so much for the suggestion!!
We’ve seen Nancy’s friends pop up and again in many of these games, but Alibi in Ashes allows us to play as them. Ned, Bess, and George. I love the mechanics of swapping between the three friends and when Nancy finally gets out of custody, she goes right to work and with her friends help she finds out who the real culprit of the town hall fire is.
Maybe they could bring it back in a new game for Nancy Drew’s 100th anniversary
@@TwilightLink77 and feature Ned’s face for once.
I really love this game. Good point: we really do work more like police officers than detectives, so at some point it's pretty obvious who the culprit is and you basically just have to find enough evidence.
Interesting shift from the usual scavenger hunts.
That's a good way to describe it! It definitely is a unique shift from what we're used to! :)
@@WizardKittenYT I don't like The Number Box Puzzle in this Game in The Antique Shop I find that really hard even on Junior mode
@@WizardKittenYT It's still really ridiculous to know that Nancy has been 18 since 1930 is She secretly A Vampire?
So interesting that you could sleuth out the culprit that easily!! I played this game when it came out so I don’t remember my thoughts when first playing, but I just finished playing with my partner for the first time and he was stumped until the very end!
I don't know what it was! The ways the clues were unfolding and how we didn't find anything concrete for the culprit until the last few clues made it seem like it was definitely them I think!!
Playing this one next. Love hearing this isn’t a puzzle heavy game (looking at you Trail of the Twister). Sometimes these games may not look the best on the surface, but once you get into them they become your favorites (For me Danger by Design and maybe this one also?) Also some of those that look exciting on the surface end up being big disappointments.
Totally agree! I really enjoy this one for all its fun little details and less puzzle focus. It's nice to have that once in a while.
This is a pretty solid game. I really like how you have to use all Nancy's friends to collect evidence and progress through the mystery. The story does feel a little abrupt to me, especially how it starts so quickly, but I like all the characters and it's great to finally see River Heights and explore Nancy's hometown.
Good point about the abruptness, but I enjoy this one too :) It's such a good one for big ND fans!
Interesting to hear your thoughts on it, though I do agree, figuring out the real culprit was pretty easy. Other than that, it was fun to see River Heights and see Chief Collig.
I'm glad to hear that someone else felt that way too! It's still the easiest culprit reveal in the whole series for me.
Just wondering, what made the culprit so obvious to you? I recently played this game and I genuinely had no idea who the culprit was until near the end of the game!
They just made a point to constantly point out how the culprit hated Nancy and they were the only one that we didn't really get definitive clues for while in jail, which made them seem "less suspicious" and therefore VERY suspicious, if that makes sense 😂
@Schuylerville Haha! I could see that thought process though! She does act pretty sus...
I'd rank the plot of this one lower. I just can't get past the idea that the daughter of the town's most prominent lawyer is arrested on the basis of basically no evidence at all (i.e. that she was one of five people seen coming out of the house, and had no motive for burning it down). She deserved to be a suspect, yes, but no way would an arrest have been made that early. Then, after having been arrested, she's given the run of the police station. That didn't ring true, either.
Setting & Design. I didn't like that we have this enormous map of the town, but only a couple of locations are actually playable. That's more of a quibble, though.
A maze of tunnels underneath River Heights that lets you get places on foot faster than you could get there by car also didn't make a lot of sense.
I didn't think the culprit was as obvious as you did. Toni Scallari was a reasonable suspect too. (In fact, in the end, she was kind of a secondary culprit). If you want to talk obvious culprits, Blue Moon Canyon is a pretty big offender there. We knew that the Hardys weren't the culprit. Likewise, Charleena is a recurring character, so it can't really be her. We played White Wolf before Blue Moon, so we knew it wasn't Tino. That left only the totally nondescript John Grey, or the spoiled, colorful, amoral rich kid. We knew Lori was the culprit even before there was a crime for her to be guilty of.
Thanks for your comment! I do see your thoughts too. The plot is definitely a little silly at times. I think it has a certain amount of nostalgic charm for me, which is probably why I appreciate it. I agree about the setting and design though, I'm generally not a big fan of maps in the games! Interesting that we have different thoughts on the culprit. White Wolf is actually after Blue Moon, so Tino wasn't ruled out for me as a culprit, but you do bring up a good point about Charleena! Thanks again for your thoughts!
I've played this one again, to see if it would be better over time. If anything, it comes off worse. Here are the main problems, some mentioned earlier, some not.
1. Arresting Nancy without evidence or motive. (mentioned previously). Not just arresting SOMEONE without evidence, mind you, but arresting the daughter of a high-powered lawyer without evidence. Did the City want to be sued? There's no mention of a lawsuit at the end, it's like solving the case makes everything okay. It doesn't. Carson should still be planning to sue at the end.
2. Brenda's motivation is that Nancy is a constant thorn in her side. How can that be when Nancy is almost never in town? Maybe Nancy used to solve cases in River Heights, but she hasn't done so for quite some time.
3. River Heights is a small town, but the plot depends on the idea that traffic is so bad that it's actually quicker to travel on foot. But if that's the case, why does Brenda even need tunnels? Why not go about on foot above ground? Nobody suspects that this is how Brenda gets around so quickly.
4. The whole town seems to hate Nancy. Toni, Brenda, Deirdre, the guy who threw the rock through the window, and a lot of unnamed townspeople. That doesn't ring true.
5. There are so many places in the game where evidence simply doesn't seem to matter. Not just when Nancy is arrested, but in the endgame challenge. Nancy actually HAS THE PROOF that shows Brenda started the fire. But the idea is that if Brenda makes her broadcast before Nancy reaches Chief McGinnis, the evidence won't matter, because everyone will blindly believe Brenda's claim, and not look at the evidence, or something like that. It's not a problem that Brenda has such a big ego that she expects to be believed without question, the problem is that the game backs her up on this.
6. Libel and Slander laws don't seem to apply in River Heights either. The word "alleged" is never used. Brenda and Toni both declare Nancy guilty multiple times. Toni's popularity goes way down at the end, but no word of the Slander Suit she should be facing.
7. A problem with either Setting & Design or Character Interaction is the fact that we never get to see Ned. He just disappears when Nancy gets out of stir. If we saw him in other games, it might not be so bad, but this was really the only opportunity, and they couldn't spend the money to animate him.
These problems are just so big, and so much suspension of disbelief is required, that I can't give the game better than a C, and I feel like I'm being generous there. A pity, as I wanted to like it better.
A couple of more minor, but irksome problems. Deirdre loudly slurping her malt every couple of seconds. And the "You're taking me out of context" line is used twice. That's something people say when they've been nailed on something. Brenda flat out repeats back things that weren't said at all. That's not taking words out of context, it's making them up. And yet Bess insists that Brenda DIDN'T do this, just took her out of context. Infuriating.
And also, WHY DON'T WE SEE NED
Easily the most frustrating part...poor Ned just gets ignored and forgotten, AGAIN. At the very least there should have been a phone conversation explaining why!!
I think they were saving him for a game that never came, where he'd be a major character, and didn't want to use him for a minor role.
@@GraemeCree Yes if Her Interactive really does make Nancy Drew and The Seven Keys happen They need to Finally show Us what Nancy and Ned look like