Amnesia: Memories Review

Platform: PS Vita, PC, Mobile
Player(s): 1
 
Otoge - short for otome game (乙女ゲーム [otome geemu] literally “maiden game”) - have recently become more prominent with the rise of anime adaptations and dating simulators. While still relatively small, the English-speaking fanbase has slowly been budding as game companies decide to spread their production overseas and independent creators garner more attention. There are few and far between to choose from when it comes to English visual novels - especially with limits to certain game systems - however, the quality of available media for English-speakers is certainly not lacking.

The cover art surprised me by actually being on par with in game drawings

Of the handful of English otoge available on PS Vita, Amnesia: Memories is one of the darker stories that can be explored by its player. While not graphically violent, elements of brutality, coercion, and humiliation occur throughout the storyline, and are especially explicit during certain bad ending routes; even a few of the good or normal endings can be quite astonishing for the newly initiated and unaware (I cannot say the same of the anime remake, as most adaptations are extremely watered-down). It would be safe to say that none of the in-game relationships are healthy at all, but such is the nature of this genre. However sinister or ominous the routes can become, there is also an equal balance of sweet, fluffy romance; the execution is marvelous and mixes paranormal well into the narrative. The official English site introduces the plot as follows:
 
“A story that takes place in a fictional world…
 
It was the 1st of August.
 
That morning, when she awoke, the heroine found herself without any memories from before August 1st...... Everything, from the sort of life she lived, to the relationships she had, was a blank......
 
A young boy named Orion appeared in front of her, referring to himself as a "spirit." Under Orion's guidance, the heroine began the struggle to regain her memories. She searched her house for clues about her everyday life, and received a message on her phone…
 
What was displayed on the screen was an unknown name to her.
 
Now, she is asked to meet with him, a boyfriend whose name and face she doesn't know. In a position where who to trust is uncertain, the heroine must move in a way that her memory loss remains undetected by her partner. Because of this, the story becomes tangled in complex ways.
 
With no memories of "him," our heroine will write a new love story starting today......”
 
This prelude does no justice to show how enticing actual game content is though - and I am keeping this review as spoiler free as I can - so it’s best to experience it yourself. One frustrating block is how much certain characters are favored by the writers. Of course, everyone will have their biases and favorites but there was potential I wanted to explore with others, so I felt a little cheated. The protagonist also felt like the usual pushover heroine that most bishounen games have, but not to the point of putting down the game. While some of the character writing was indeed annoying for my personal preference, the overall story was intriguing and some plot elements had me reeling.
 
As if the written story alone was not fascinating enough, the visuals certainly have an impact by their own right. The game is astounding in terms of visual appeal; from the moment the title screen opens to the second the ending credits roll by, the style stays consistent and strongly unified. Each character design for the love interests are based on a playing card suit, and the usual anime-style feels bold and revamped with the striking choice of colors, patterns, and textures. The small animations used with people you talk to in-game also added depth, and I found myself appreciating that having blinking eyes and moving lips helped immerse me in the world better. Even when taking breaks, it was nice to come back to a screen with some motion. From the background to the CG’s to the dialogue boxes, the art alone is worth at least a playthrough to admire the gorgeousness by.

The aesthetic appeal keeps on going beyond what the player can see, the voice-acting in both Japanese and English features experienced seiyuu from other well-received media. My usual setup with these visual novel type games is Japanese audio with English subtitles, and it stayed the same with this one so I haven’t really dug into the English dub, but there are notable names on the voice list if you pay attention to that kind of stuff with anime and such. Most of the time I read faster than the audio and I tend to skip the middle to end of the dialogue sequences, but for this game I actually found myself listening to the full lines a lot of the time since the voices were just so nice! The game opens with the usual introductory montage/music video that most modern otoge do, with a nice title sequence to the song Reverberation by Kaori Oda. There is also background music throughout the entire game, which provides an ambience while you read the story. Each location has its own tracks with regards to the atmosphere portrayed by the narrative and dialogue so you rarely get bored of it (unless you’re a particularly tedious player I guess).

Orion can give you useful suggestions like ignoring the text

This cage… ohohoho this route…

Still with me? Alright art appreciation aside, the technical parts of the game runs most like traditional dating sims with levels of affection - BUT you get to choose your route before you start. Whether or not you get the good, normal, or bad endings depends on the choices made. I found that option nice, since I could focus on getting all of the achievements for one character at a time. Obviously, having all the trophies is not mandatory but finishing certain parts of the game unlocks special side stories so of course I had to hunt down all them. Each character arc has a different story in a separate universe and some characters will act differently within them, which is sometimes hilarious when comparing side-by-side.

Your manager isn’t this crazy in all the routes, I swear

Mini games: where you can win and laugh at your fictional boyfriends...

...or lose and be mocked by their smug little faces

Choose your boyfriend: Lil’ Beezy, Brofo Craze, Nerd-sama, Ego Maniac, or Mr. Murder

Main story aside, there are two mini games available in the title menu without even having to read through anything: jankenpon (or rock-paper-scissors), and air hockey. You even get an extra trophy and CG for defeating the boys, which - again - is totally not mandatory for your enjoyment of the rest of the game (unless you’re me). I warmed myself up to each character’s personality by playing through both games first, before reading the visual novel itself.
 
Amnesia: Memories has a lot of replay value with the wild storylines, fantastic art, varying character writing, and wonderful incorporation of modern paranormal elements. Altogether, if you like mystery, romance, dating sims, or all of the above you should do yourself a favor and try out this game.
 
-Danny

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Graphics: AMAZING
Sound: GREAT
Gameplay/Story: AMAZING
Value: GREAT+
 
OVERALL: AMAZING

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Anmesia: Memories Trailer