(Review contributed by Misya Danielle)

Amnesia: Memories is an otome game which was originally released on August 18th, 2011 in Japan and has been localized to North America as of August 25th, 2015 on Steam and PlayStation Network. The Steam version features Steam cards with beautiful graphics matching the art from the game as well as 26 unlockable achievements.

The game’s main menu has seven choices including a new game, continue and options. The other choices are Album, mini games, and two mystery options which have to be unlocked somehow. Pictures, movies, and endings in the gallery are unlocked as you play the game. You can choose to replay events in the picture gallery and even make different choices to see how it plays out. Mini Games are also unlocked as you progress through each story line and are based on in game events.

 

When choosing to start a new game the character begins by speaking with a spirit named Orion. Orion explains to the heroine how he got lodged into her consciousness after colliding into her, due to the incident the heroine loses all of her memories and Orion gets trapped where her memories are supposed to be. During the conversation with Orion, there are a few responses to choose from and each one will cause a different reaction from Orion, the heroine’s name can also be created during the conversation. After the conversation ends Orion sends the heroine back to the chosen world which can be the heart world, spade world, clover world, or diamond world. Although it’s easier to choose the romantic interest at the start it might have been better if it played out more like other otome games but this way at least makes it unique. In each world the heroine will have a different romantic partner and different trials to overcome. With many choices to make in each world there is a possibility of getting 1 good, 1 normal ending, and many bad endings for each world and there also appears to be a secret romantic option.

The worlds all have a unique manga-like art style. Although simple it has a charm to it and makes the characters stand out more than they already do, it might have been better if the backgrounds had a bit more color but most of the focus is supposed to be on the characters anyways considering the genre. The characters themselves are beautifully drawn and unique in style, the outfits are unusual in a good way and their colorful eyes bring attention upward from their outfits to their faces. As with most games it has some flaws in the art, in particular it was a bit strange to see the lines for the heroine’s ears through her hair but I think I can see the reasoning behind it. The character’s movements were very natural looking and the art stayed consistent. The mouth movements matched the text very well most of the time. Unfortunately some of the text was done incorrectly due to errors such as missing words or mixed up words, the character’s actions and mouth movements still managed to stay consistent although there were noticeable text errors.

The game is interesting in its own way and has many secrets to unlock both in game and in the main menu. The plot is interesting and it’s fun to see how the choices affect the end result considering all the possible endings. Although it would be interesting to see it play out like most other otome games choosing the romantic partner at the beginning does simplify things. The background art is also simple yet unique but not very colorful, however it brings focus to characters. And although the art and character’s mouth movements are consistent it doesn’t cover the errors in the text. Putting all aspects of the game into consideration, I highly recommend otome fans to purchase Amnesia right away.

PROS – Good Art, Great Story, Intriguing Characters

CONS – Poor Translation, Mediocre Soundtrack 

SCORE – 80%

This review is based on a digital copy of Amnesia: Memories on Steam provided by Idea Factory International

Pin It