Trace Memory is an adventure game for the Nintendo DS set on the fictional Blood Edward Island. Players control Ashley Mizuki Robbins, the daughter of missing researchers. Eleven years after her parents disappearance, she receives a device from her father prompting her to the island. The gameplay involves navigating 3D environments, solving puzzles utilizing the touchscreen and DS features such as the microphone.
The events of the game take place on the fictional Blood Edward Island. The game's protagonist, Ashley Mizuki Robbins, is the daughter of Richard and Sayoko Robbins, researchers of human memory. After her parents mysteriously went missing in 1994, they were presumed dead.Consequently, Ashley was raised by her father's younger sister, Jessica Robbins, in the suburbs of Seattle. Eleven years later, two days before her fourteenth birthday, Ashley receives a package from her father containing a birthday card and a device called a DAS. The DAS, programmed to respond only to Ashley's biometrics, contains a message from her father, claiming that he is waiting for her on Blood Edward Island.
Assuming control of Ashley Robbins, players navigate through 3D environments and attempt to solve puzzles. During movement, the touchscreen displays an aerial view of Ashley and her surroundings. The player can move Ashley using a point and click system, dragging the stylus across the screen, or using the D-pad. The top screen shows pre-rendered images of the player's current location. To solve puzzles encountered in the game, the player must use the touchscreen, or other DS capabilities, such as the DS microphone.