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DEJA VU (NES)
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a.k.a. Deja Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!
Publisher: Kemco. Developer: ICOM Simulations. Released: 1990 (US); 1988 (JP). Genre: Point 'n' Click. Other versions: PC; ST; AMI; C64. Posted 14th August 2024. By Tom Clare © 2024 |
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As the nineties unfolded, there was a tendency in some quarters to dismiss console point ‘n’ click adventures out of hand. In part, this could be attributed to the burgeoning quality of home computer games and their PC successors, and because the genre has always seemed a more natural habitat for the mouse than a controller. Déjà Vu delivered a strong, early rebuttal to this notion: an indicator that gamers mightn’t have had cause to be so negative. This adaptation of ICOM’s 1985 Mac game is adapted intelligently to Nintendo’s system, with tweaks to the user interface helping make for a gripping adventure that plays without impediment.
The console version was first released in 1988 and localised for the US market in 1990. For NES gamers, Déjà Vu would offer an uncommonly mature subject matter. It positively delights in its seedy, 1940s hard-boiled crime setting. You play as Ace Harding, a private detective who awakens, sans memory and with some suspicious puncture wounds in his arm, in the back of a deserted bar. He needs to regain his memory and work out why he’s encountering a trail of bodies, ransom notes and incriminating files, before clearing his name. There’s danger everywhere, with players needing to be mindful of deadly traps, whilst surviving encounters with drunks, muggers, shifty cab drivers and would-be assassins. This is film noir personified, so don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Ace has a raft of options at his disposal and there’s nothing to stop him punching or shooting his way out of a bind. Surprisingly, this is often a productive avenue, though sometimes rashness is met with fatal consequences. Beware: poor decision-making will result in a Game Over and Ace’s iconic gravestone screen.
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The game revels in its 1940s Chicago setting and film nor theme, whilst logical puzzles and exploration make it really immersive
This colourised edition of the eighties MacVenture point ‘n’ click drips with atmosphere, its vibe something straight from the pages of a Raymond Chandler novel. Bluesy music serves as a marvellous accompaniment, with an ominous undercurrent lending the investigation a feeling of suspense. The graphics are underwhelming, however. Its colour palette is disappointingly limited, whilst the locations look simplistic and lack finesse. That said, the notepad-themed text box is a lovely touch and, whilst perhaps a little dry looking, the text options and features are uncommonly well-signposted. It’s refreshing, for once, not to have to guess at the function of half a dozen obscure-looking images. Déjà Vu is unquestionably a case of utility over style.
A key part of Déjà Vu’s success is that it marries a sense of depth with accessibility and sound logic. In the years that followed the game’s release, point ‘n’ click adventures became more elaborate, but also started to see a breakdown in the plausibility of methods expected to solve puzzles. In retrospect, we can award ICOM’s adventure greater credit in this regard than it might have received on its release. Not only are there precious few leaps of credulity required of the player in solving puzzles, but the nature of the investigation plays out as a perfect fit with the behaviour of a cinema-inspired, private detective lead. Skulking around alleys, digging through files, rifling through desks and discovering addresses within diaries. There’s a real sense of satisfaction to finding items-within-items: such as money, within a wallet, within a coat. Thoroughness is a prerequisite, but the player must also deduce which items are merely for show.
A key part of Déjà Vu’s success is that it marries a sense of depth with accessibility and sound logic. In the years that followed the game’s release, point ‘n’ click adventures became more elaborate, but also started to see a breakdown in the plausibility of methods expected to solve puzzles. In retrospect, we can award ICOM’s adventure greater credit in this regard than it might have received on its release. Not only are there precious few leaps of credulity required of the player in solving puzzles, but the nature of the investigation plays out as a perfect fit with the behaviour of a cinema-inspired, private detective lead. Skulking around alleys, digging through files, rifling through desks and discovering addresses within diaries. There’s a real sense of satisfaction to finding items-within-items: such as money, within a wallet, within a coat. Thoroughness is a prerequisite, but the player must also deduce which items are merely for show.
FOCAL POINT: THE CASEBOOKS OF ACE HARDING
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Deja Vu I & II: The Casebooks of Ace Harding (1999, Game Boy Color)
Déjà Vu took an eternity to make it to Europe, and when the game did eventually cross the pond in 1992, it surfaced only in the form of a Swedish language version. UK Nintendo fans would have to wait a further seven years to sample Ace’s adventure in the guise of Déjà Vu I & II: The Casebooks of Ace Harding for the Game Boy Color. Released in 1999, the compilation was met with a lukewarm reception. The series was by this point 14 years old, and this portable outing was, in essence, an 8-bit redux of an 8-bit original. Nevertheless, it remains an interesting package. Firstly, you get a reworked version of the original with icons replacing text features to fit the smaller screen, a new notebook layout and more detailed graphics. Better still, you got Déjà Vu’s sequel (Lost in Las Vegas) as part of the deal, a game that ultimately never saw the light of day on the NES.
Options to examine, hit, use, open, close and speak make for a solid basis, as players can get a decent overview of their surroundings and again, there are rarely any ill-fitting moments where progression lies in obscure logic. The examination choice is perfect for letting the game’s quality writing come to the fore, as we get to enjoy a mix of classic-era Hollywood responses, useful tidbits, and humorous asides, such as Ace’s near-complete disdain for any form food you try to feed him.
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Cumulatively, these instances make combing over surroundings a real pleasure. You’ll encounter numerous notes that lend the game weight. Safe combinations, explanations of the side effects of various medicines and, most significantly, the details of a conspiracy to involve Ace in a crime that he must disentangle himself. These serve to expand the intrigue around the case, which at the beginning appears mysterious as to its motives and direction. It’s a level of narrative subtlety gamers were wholly unused to in 1990, and the game’s coup de grâce lies in its resolution. Not only must Ace collect three key pieces of incriminating evidence to put away the perpetrators, but he must also find a means of discarding every carried item that may implicate him. This is tricky to work out, but it’s a very satisfying conceit.
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The five years Déjà Vu had to wait for a Western console localisation could have seen it trampled by the progress of 16-bit adventures. The magic of gaming however is not in its realism but its ability to stimulate the imagination, to enchant a player with its setting. For a few hours escapism, it’s like being in the shoes of Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum, an outsider detective embroiled in a dangerous plot. Consequently, despite it not being the longest of adventures, it is one I’ve returned to down the years. Thanks to its superb setting, neatly-organised inventory and pleasing clarity of logic, Déjà Vu is a top-notch adventure, and one nightmare you’ll happily revisit.
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VERDICT
"...like being in the shoes of Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum. Déjà Vu revels in its atmospheric 1940s Chicago setting, delivering an enthralling cinematic point 'n' click adventure." OVERALL: 9/10 |
OTHER POINT 'N' CLICK ADVENTURE GAMES REVIEWED
Discworld (1995, PlayStation)
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Born Punk (2022, PC)
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