Time Hollow is Full of It (But in a Good Way)

The pen is allegedly mightier than the sword, but in Time Hollow for the Nintendo DS, a pen has the same powers as Doc Brown’s DeLorean or Bill & Ted’s phone booth. Even if the Back to the Future and Bill & Ted series are the only authorities you know on time travel, you should have no trouble with this game. Kiddies, it’s time to put away your flux capacitors and start practicing drawing time holes.

If you loved Capcom’s Ace Attorney series, then you may have heard of Konami’s answer to it. Time Hollow follows the story of Ethan Kairos and his magical pen that can open portals to the past. Using this ability, Ethan can alter the past and change the present by removing and placing objects at scenes, alter scenarios, and even pull people from the past into the present.

Time Hollow is another one of those more-like-a-book-than-a-game kind of games, which means plenty of reading. In comparison, the Ace Attorney titles offer more non-reading activities for you to do throughout the game. However, with these type of games, it’s the story that grabs your attention, and Time Hollow has the ability to grab you by the throat.

With anime-style portraits and cut scenes, Time Hollow is a treat for the eyes and especially the ears, particularly its opening song. As a post-Halloween treat, here’s the opening video:

The voice acting is also top-notch, with a cast of very talented stars, including veteran Power Ranger and anime voice actor Johhny Young Bosch.

If you can ignore some extremely lousy name puns, having to keep asking the same question(s) and poking around until something happens, you’ll enjoy this game. It can be a little difficult to figure out at times…(okay, I admit it…I had to look online for a walkthrough at one point early in the game, but after that I swear it was all me).

I didn’t like this title as much as the Ace Attorney games, but it was a welcome addition to the more-like-a-book-than-a-game genre I’m growing to love. That being said, Time Hollow may or may not be for you, but if you crave a good mystery and time travel doesn’t make your head spin, you should give it a whirl.

As for a numerical rating, I’d give this game:

3 1/2 Gs out of 5

I dropped the score 1/2 a point for the “Ben” character in the game. He’s a pathetic character who always ends up either beaten up, broken-hearted, or killing someone, and is usually missing his beloved dog. That’s cold, Konami.