Shadow at the Water's Edge



Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water's Edge is the 23rd game in Her Interactive's Nancy Drew game series. It was released October 19th, 2010. SAW is "the scariest Nancy Drew Adventure ever!" according to the back of the game's packaging.

Plot
Nancy accepted P. T. Krolmeister's invitation for a vacation to Kyoto, Japan, which included a stay at the Ryokan Hiei (a traditional Japanese inn) and a Summer job with the International Teacher's Exchange. Friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne accompanied her, wanting to visit the Technology Expo that was being held in Matsue.

Upon first arriving in the Ryokan Hiei, a portrait of the inn's late owner, Kasumi Shimizu, fell off of the wall, which prompted Kasumi's elderly mother, Takae, to insist that "She [Nancy] is not wanted here!" Takae's granddaughter and Kasumi's youngest daughter, Miwako, who works the front desk, insisted that it only fell. Despite her grandmother's pleadings, she allowed Nancy to check in.

On the first night, Nancy was quite startled to see the silhouette of a young woman pass by the screen door that led out on her balcony. By the time Nancy had looked outside, the figure was gone. Later, while in the baths, Nancy saw the reflection of a corpse-like girl standing behind in her in the mirror. When Nancy looked over her shoulder, she was completely alone in the room. Looking back at the mirror, the figure flashed closer before disappearing and the mirror shattering. Nancy also discovered a set of wet foot prints in her room, which lead strait through her wall. Also, while going down a hallway, all the doors on the floor began to slam, one after the other. Despite these bizarre incidents, Miwako and the inn's handyman, Rentaro, continued to reassure Nancy that there was nothing to fear and it had only been her imagination.

After talking with Bess and George, Nancy was surprised to learn that her two friends had met Yumi Shimizu, Takae's eldest granddaughter. Despite the tradition of the eldest daughter inheriting the Ryokan, Yumi was living in the city, operating a bento shop in Matsue. Seeing that Bess and George had made good friends with the young woman, Nancy went to meet her, hoping to find more answers. Yumi had Nancy visit her apartment while to pick up more Bento boxes. While there, Nancy discovers a book by ghost hunter Savannah Woodham, which lists a chapter on the Ryokan Hiei, but the pages have been torn out.

Nancy contacted Savannah, and after some difficulty of getting past her receptionist, Logan (which included setting him up on a date with Bess), Nancy was able to secure a full copy of the book. Savannah continued to help Nancy throughout the investigation, but warned her that there were truly unseen forces at work within the Ryokan. Savannah's assistance eventually led Nancy to the discovery of a hidden passageway that led to a second set of baths. The main entrance had been walled up with bricks, and the waters in the pool had turned murky black.

Though Yumi was at first almost as tight-lipped as her family members, she sent Nancy photos of her, Bess and George all at picture booths. The photos had all been decorated with a number of digital stamps, but Nancy eventually realized that there was something odd about the photos. Though Yumi refused to say what exactly they were for, she did admit that they had been a test to see if Nancy was smart and clever enough to help her. She "accidentally" kept Nancy too late, causing her to miss the last train back to the Ryokan. Yumi offered for Nancy to stay in her apartment while she stayed with a friend. Late that night, Nancy heard some strange sounds outside of her window. She opened it up, and was surprised to see that excerpts from several of Kasumi's personal letters were appearing on the window. They eventually fading, leaving only a few words, which rearranged themselves to say "Yumi I know your secret". When told about this, Yumi at first refused to believe it, but said that "Takae was right", referring to her grandmother's firm belief that Kasumi's ghost was residing within the Ryokan.

Nancy returned to the secret baths in the Hiei, and solved a large nonogram puzzle that she had found numbers for. Inside was a samurai sword and Kasumi's will, which clearly stated that Yumi and Miwako could choose to live out their lives however they wished. After finding these things, Nancy was attacked by Kasumi's ghost and forced into the bath and held under with a net. Nancy used the sword to cut the ropes and free herself. She was surprised to see that the "ghost" was actually a simple robot.

Nancy confronted Takae, demanding to know the truth, Takae admitted that she had involuntarily led to Kasumi's death, and that she had kept the will from her granddaughters because she was afraid they would abandon her. Takae promised Nancy that she would tell her granddaughters the truth.

After leaving Takae, Nancy looked for Rentaro, now believing him to be the one behind the so-called hauntings. Using the remote he had used to make the doors open and close, she gained access to the room he was in and locked him inside, demanding the truth. He angrily confessed, but wasn't aware until after he was finished that Nancy had recorded the whole thing. She threatened to send the whole recording to Yumi and Miwako's phones. Rentaro pleaded with her to let him tell them the truth.

'''Note that at this point the player has the choice to send the recording, which leads Miwako to permanently break up with Rentaro and throw him out of the Ryokan, never to be heard from again. If the player chooses to instead allow Rentaro to tell everyone what had been going on, Miwako allows him to stay as long as he promises to help make some "Takae-approved" modernization to the Ryokan.'''

After the situation calmed down and the rumors of haunting lessened, business for the Ryokan improved and they were able to keep their doors open. Miwako gladly took over the Ryokan Hiei as its official owner, and Yumi agreed to help, no longer feeling the wait of the obligation to take over.

Cast

 * Nancy Drew - Lani Minella
 * George Fayne - Chiara Motley
 * Bess Marvin - Jennifer Pratt
 * Rentaro Aihara - Marc Biagi
 * Miwako Shimizu - Mikano Fukaya
 * Yumi Shimizu - Kira Lauren
 * Takae Nagai - Waylayn Sharples
 * Savannah Woodham - Adrienne Maclain
 * Logan Mitchell - Ryan Demerick
 * Additional Characters - Chris Maxfield, Naoko Nibu-Butler, Akika Tanaka, Adrienne Maclain, and Sana Watterson

Reception
Critics and players had a generally positive response to the game. While the graphics, characters, and plot of the game were hailed as polished and intriguing, some of the puzzles were thought to be too difficult. The game is also considered one of the scariest in the series.

Quotes

 * "Just because you want to help, doesn't mean you can." - Yumi refusing Nancy's assistance
 * "Considering everything that has happened here, why would anyone want to stay?" - Rentaro to Nancy, discussing all of the guest that have been leaving.
 * "Believing in something; that makes it real. A ghost doesn't need to be real to haunt you."