Amnesia: Memories (PS Vita) Review

By Luna Eriksson 08.09.2015

Review for Amnesia: Memories on PS Vita

Amnesia: Memories looks very much like an average otome game on the surface, and users would be forgiven for initially feeling doubtful when playing through it. As the game progresses and multiple routes are finished, though, it is obvious that this sweet gem of a visual novel hides more than the eye might witness at first. A wonderful and complex love story unfolds itself for the reader as they go on in this addictive and interesting Idea Factory title, but only if they can keep their attention focused on it for that long...

Amnesia: Memories starts when the protagonist wakes up one morning just to realise that all of her memories are gone and that she now has to find someone to trust to help her regain them during the time frame of a month. The one she should trust is, predictably for the genre, the boy the player chooses to have as their "romantic interest," and thus far it seems to play out much like an ordinary otome game. Decision trees are presented throughout, and depending on the heroine's answers, the relationship between her and the love interest changes, as well as the story, and will, hopefully, lead to a "good ending."

The guys fulfil different tropes in the genre to a T, and are therefore wonderful to date and get to know. There are guys ranging from the typical "playboy," who is surrounded by ladies, to the overprotective "big brother" stereotype. Each is almost comically overplayed in all the right ways and in the style of which Idea Factory is known and beloved for, making this a title fans of the genre are going to fall deeply in love with.

This is, however, the point where Amnesia: Memories separates itself from most others in its genre. Like similar visual novels, the game starts over again once beaten, and the player is free to enjoy another story. The difference is that all stories are somehow linked, offering hints to the other story trees in a similar style to how Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward operates. This might cause confusion on the first playthrough, as the player-character might end up getting killed out of nowhere for no understandable reason, and for taking the "logical" options presented, making it a weird and unpredictable experience. As more storylines are played through, though, more and more of the story becomes clearer, and avoiding certain weird pitfalls becomes second nature.

Screenshot for Amnesia: Memories on PS Vita

The problem is that this intervention of the story is barely hinted at if playing through a single storyline, which might make some lose interest before even starting to scratch the surface of Amnesia: Memories. It is certainly easy to believe that once a story is played through with the guy of their choice, many will put game down again. It's sad to people may stop playing before finding out the true beauty of this gem.

Another issue is the fact that there is no convenient way to go through the story to a significant point from an earlier playthrough to get different endings, which is fundamental to games of this nature, and makes it drag out for far longer than most people are comfortable with. A decision-tree style, like the one found in Virtue's Last Reward, would have been hugely welcome to make replaying through the story to view the various endings easier and quicker.

At this point, though, the complexity of the story deepens far more than expected early on, and some plot rules and secrets are revealed that add further depth to the experience, creating a beautiful game for those who stay for the entire ride. This romance game takes a quick turn into more of a mystery genre in a style similar to the When They Cry series. It is beautiful how macabre it is at times, strongly enhanced by the cheerful shell of an otome game this story is living in, making for lovely contrasts.

Amnesia: Memories is definitely a title for any otome fan looking for something extra and unique in the genre, while still feeling homely and familiar. The beautifully deep and complex story initially sleeps in the background, giving the sense of playing just another otome game, until the plot starts striking at full force, leaving the player more and more curious for each passing playthrough...but only if they are able to stick with it that long, and understand that it is the way this title is meant to be played. Amnesia: Memories should be approached with a completionist's mentality, and might, therefore, not widen up as much as it could to the majority, but it is a wonderful visual novel that any fan of the genre would be doing a disservice to if they dismiss it.

Screenshot for Amnesia: Memories on PS Vita

Cubed3 Rating

8/10
Rated 8 out of 10

Great - Silver Award

Rated 8 out of 10

Amnesia: Memories is a real gem in the otome genre, and taps wonderfully into the supernatural and mystery themes to further expand its potential as a visual novel and beyond that of many similar titles. It is a game that keeps giving, even when the player thinks that it has given all it has, throwing curveballs 20 hours into the game. While there is a lot of good to say about Amnesia: Memories, there are a couple of small issues that prevent it from showing off its full potential. The way the story is forced to be played through in full each time to get to each different ending might become tedious after a while, and especially as "good endings" may be missed by said curveballs appearing from nowhere that can be of very weird and seeming random nature. This, mixed with a low initiative to keep exploring after playing through with the love interest of choice, leaves a game ultimately designed for the completionist - but due to that, it risks leaving others outside. A fantastic game that demands time to grow, and even if not further exploring the mystery aspect, Amnesia: Memories is still a wonderful otome title in itself, with sweet boys and a protagonist that is easy to relate to, justifying a purchase for fans of visual novels.

Developer

Idea Factory

Publisher

Idea Factory

Genre

Adventure

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  8/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

Comments

Comments are currently disabled

Subscribe to this topic Subscribe to this topic

If you are a registered member and logged in, you can also subscribe to topics by email.
Sign up today for blogs, games collections, reader reviews and much more
Site Feed
Who's Online?
jesusraz

There are 1 members online at the moment.