I love that most Nancy Drew adventures are so different from each other while still retaining elements that make them distinctly 'nancy drew.' Some ND games set around homes or castles etc end up being quite alike and rely on different plot or puzzles to be different, although they are good. This feels different from the people being widely dispersed - two on phone, one elsewhere and three within the Ryokan. There is a theme in this game and it's very strong throughout - Japanese culture from modern to traditional and I thought how they did this was excellent. Even the puzzles are mostly Japanese or are well known in Japan, little things like that make this a very well-thought out game. Sometimes ND games are more adventure with only a couple of puzzles, here there are a lot and as usual you can't skip them. The puzzles you have are - suduko (quite a few) nonogram renogram memory skills origami cryptogram type tangram bento boxes (picture puzzle) couple of timed puzzles Pachinko In ND games you always get a couple of games that you can play as much as you want - here it was pachinko which is an arcade/pinball type game and bento boxes which if you don't like the picture you get just back out and go in again and it gives you a different configuration. If you don't like suduko, nonogram, and renogram puzzles I found out after playing that if you get an easter egg in the game (there are 4) you can actually skip those that are given by one person (although you will have to do a couple later in the game.) There is one timed colour in type puzzle near the end and thankfully I got it on the third try or would have got frustrated as I don't like timed things. I love learning things and learned quite a bit about Japanese culture by doing a couple of puzzles and by reading things in the game. There were a good variety of locations and sometimes it's just set in one place - here you go to an arcade parlour, a mall (I think) an a

I have a large collection of Nancy Drew games, both physically and those from Big Fish. My daughter and I love playing the games and she especially was excited to see Nancy Drew in Japan. One thing I like about ND is that when she travels the world, she becomes immersed in the local culture. Shadow at the Water's Edge was no different. You travel around Japan and the puzzles are also Japanese-based. If you love Soduko, Renograms, and Nanograms, then you'll love the minigames here. Of course, Nancy always has to have a job, and in this case, she tutors kids in English, so you'll have papers to correct. There is a level of creepiness to the game and there was one time where I heard my daughter let out a small scream when a ghost jumped out at her. I will admit, I also jumped when I came across the same scene. However, some of the scenes and even the ghost itself reminded me of the movies "The Grudge" and "The Ring," which were originally Japanese horror movies before being remade in America. Some of the puzzles were difficult, but otherwise challenging. Any fan of ND will know that there has never been a skip button for puzzles. That's usually found in Hidden Object Games, never point-and-click adventure games, which is what ND is. So, if you require a 'skip' button, then this game is definitely not for you. In my opinion, the culprit was a lovable character, but their motive was a bit weak. I was also disappointed that Nancy didn't fight off the culprit, instead just gave the person a slap on the wrist and a choice. So the ending, while there were two different ones, was a bit disappointing. Overall, this game was a great one and I would recommend it to anyone who is a Nancy Drew fan as well as anyone who's been curious about Nancy Drew or is a fan of the Japanese culture.

I absolutely loved this game! The graphics were fabulous and you really felt like you were there in Japan. Even though it is a murder mystery type, there is a lot of fun elements to this game, like riding the train, playing arcade games and helping the one character prepare 'Bento' food packages-a puzzle. I really didn't want this game to end but it had a satisfying conclusion.

I've played almost all of the Nancy Drew games and this one is my favorite, mainly because I loved the puzzles. I love Sudoku and nonograms and I wish I could find more of the renogram type puzzles out there now that I've finished this game. It was long, but I was kind of trying to draw it out so I could play all of the puzzles, but there is a lot of running around talking to everyone. I liked the spooky atmosphere and I really enjoyed figuring out the map, but I did like that you only have to do it once for each location. Great game!

I love the thrill of the game. It was fun to have my skin crawl,

This game is suspenseful, fun, skin crawling out of your body, hard/fun, hard on the dialog fun! this game will take you the little experience in Japan. this game will also have very detailed graphics, and that means more jumping off of your computer. this game is about a confusing no explanation murder. Now that person is now a Japanese ghost! and you don't want to mess with her if your up for the challenge. due to the recent events in the place that you are staying at, killed peoples spirit to ghost hunt. ill recommend for people to play this game, if you wont be scared. plus this game story log is really twisted, so ill say its for people who are 14 and up. (the puzzles are really!!! hard!!!) Dislike: i did not like it when you are being scared all the time at the unexpected time and place,

This game was delightfully creepy. Some of the mini-games were really fun. My 8 year old daughter was hooked on one that was a touch too hard and I got to do it over and over with her. I'm sure I'm smarter for it. As usual, the graphics are great and the story is fun. The grandmother's accent is completely unlike any Japanese accent I've ever heard, but all else is great.

If I hadn't have played "Ghost Of Thorton Hall", I think this would be one of the scariest!! The riding the train part got kind of annoying, but once you figure out the map and where your going, it gets better. The puzzles were tricky even in Junior mode!! I usually finish games in 1-2 days, but this took me a week!(Mainly because I got frustrated and had to take a break, lol) Overall, this was a really good, keep you at the edge of your seat game (:

This game is scary! Music is very creepy and sad. Graphic is excellent. Fun characters, puzzles, and activities. It was sometimes funny, too. I'm so hooked on ND games.

The quality is epic, the graphics are great, and the scariness turned up to a ten!!!!! This game is rated by many as the most terrifying Nancy Drew game ever...they weren't exaggerating! If you are below 12 or 13 years of age I do not recommend this game. (Or if you do not like being terrified out of your seat.) HOWEVER, if you liked to be scared then this will be the perfect game for you, I know of some 30 year olds who screamed while playing this game. The only thing I can find wrong with this are the Sudoku puzzles , I had to use a walkthrough to solve them. This game has plenty of horrific animation sections, much more than other Nancy Drew games, which is always a bonus. (The first ones just had a five second animation at the end!) There are lots of locations to go and really fun games, lovable characters, and some really funny moments. Oh, and another plus, is that at the end there is an INTERACTIVE ANIMATION SEQUENCE!