"MAMIYA" Review: Good VN Storytelling?

By JT

Player(s): 1
Platform(s): PC (Via Steam)

MAMIYA is a very focused narrative about depression, human emotion, and life and death. It's a game that can have a person asking questions. One road gives you a false start, while the other gives you what seems like a branching path, yet all roads lead to a similar conclusion. The end of the world. It's refreshing to see a game like MAMIYA bring new life to visual novels. It's not ecchi, so no boobs. It's not all drama, so no love triangles. It's all about telling a story and, at least in the beginning and towards the end, bringing emotion to the reader. There is very little in the way of sound effects, and no voice acting. Instead, MAMIYA allows the person to take in their own visuals. Almost as if you are just reading a book with only character photos and backgrounds as a guide. No pit stops in this crazy, and well-told story. It's impressive and gives you the feeling of wanting more. ...but do you? Let's check it out!

There are two main paths to choose from before you begin, FallDown and DownFall. DownFall unlocked only after completion of FallDown. Any time you choose FallDown, you will begin at a funeral. Already dark in tone, but very much comes into play later. You're just looking for and gathering information. Nothing too big. At this point, it just seems like it's attempting to be different. You get some simple choices here and there, but nothing too substantial (for the moment). Either choose to ask yourself about a particular character or not, all of which leads down a different path. Soon you meet Mamiya, an entity who follows you around for a bit, making small talk and asking questions, being a catalyst for any pain you might be suffering as a result of the world around you. After DownFall, Mamiya becomes very central to the plot. Each character interpreting Mamiya in a different light and interacting in various different ways.

Throughout the story, you're given clues and various hints, yet keep questioning what Mamiya actually is. Is it a boy? Is it a girl? A man or a woman? Is Mamiya a demon or an angel? Are they there to help or to lead you to destruction? Each path also kind of interconnects with each other, giving a larger picture the further you progress. The beginning, FallDown, is supposed to connect you with any one single character, and DownFall is supposed to connect any one specific path into a central narrative. The very first path that had to be chosen, was becoming curious about everyone. Everyone meant nothing, and actually had driven the plot off the rails in FallDown. One of the very abrupt endings you may receive, leading to a great conclusion in my opinion.

​For anyone thinking of checking this game out, it's almost a must, being a good 10 to 15 hours of story the first time you run through it. The very first twist is one not seen coming, and not long afterwards everything ramps up. The story continues, with lots of talk about death. People's eventual demise. Yes, there are some tropes that couldn't even escape a game with as much potential as this one. Kid has to beat up another kid, because reasons. Then you always have the straight man, the person who is overly serious and just doesn't seem to care about much of anything. They don't get too annoying here, but it was very noticeable early on. Another point to make about this game is the way it over-extends the writing, turning simple descriptions of what's going on around you into complicated wording the serves no purpose in that context of the story. Think of being in your mid-teens and role-playing with a small group on the internet, trying to type out big words or large sentences in order to sound more intellectual. If you can get through that, you will be fine.

When you're either near or at the very end of the first part of the game, FallDown, there is an intro that plays. If this was turned into an anime at some point, if it isn't already, there is little doubt the intro would suck many people into it. The music that plays for the intro is very nice to listen to, even if the lyrics are kind of vague and bland. Other than that, as stated before, there are no real sound effects beyond the occasional "thwack" or stock sounds like with an ocean or major city. There is barely ever any ambient music either, with the soundtrack being very limited it seems. Clearly all the money for sound quality was given to that intro, and it shows.

The artwork is also very low budget, with the exception of some side characters and Mamiya himself. Again, with a higher production value, the intro is more than likely where the money was spent. Some characters have weird proportions, such as a tiny head compared to the rest of their body. Backgrounds are pretty bland and uninteresting, looking like stills taken in low light. Very grainy and rough for most all the backgrounds. Although some backgrounds do look colorful enough to mask the grain. With a larger budget, maybe upgrade the art and sound, then it would have the potential to be an absolute must buy.

With that being said, MAMIYA is not a bad game, but it's nothing you have to get either. If you're a fan of visual novels, then it might be a game worth checking out for you. Even with all the rough edges, my enjoyment was still fairly high. That's really saying something. The story is what drives the game, and it succeeds at least in that regard. That's what a visual novel is typically supposed to do though, it's supposed to give you good storytelling. The visuals are supposed to help you through that, but here it doesn't do the story too much justice. The main plot points where the visuals actually do help somewhat are where death is involved, or pain of some sort. Even then, it's a mixed bag. With multiple endings, it's fine, and doesn't take too much from the central story. In fact, it's a bit of a shock when it happens, and you really take notice the first time it does.

For $20, it's not a bad price either. 10 – 15 hours of initial story, running through from the beginning of FallDown to the end of DownFall. The fact that there was no voice acting didn't bother me, but it might bother some. It's worth the money, but only slightly. Such potential. Overall, it's a good game. Certainly happy to have played it.

MAMIYA Is Available NOW On Steam!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1394930/MAMIYA/

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Story: A-
Visuals: D
Music/Sound: C
Value: B-

Overall: B-

Pros:
+Storytelling is good.
+Intro way above the artwork and sound of main game.
+Fresh take on the visual novel medium as a whole.

Cons:
-Artwork not visually appealing for the most part.
-Little to no sound quality.
-No real music beyond the intro.
-No voice acting.

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Disclaimer: This game was provided to us by the publisher for the purpose of this review.