Article

Review: Amnesia ~Memories~

August 31, 2015

Kent and Ikki

Game: Amnesia: Memories

Developer: Idea Factory’s Otomate

Summary from publisher: On the 1st of August, you awake as the Heroine, with previous memories of who you are somehow snatched away from you. In your confusion, a mysterious spirit named Orion appears to help you regain your memories. You’ll explore your own world as a complete stranger, trying to understand what was once familiar all while hiding your condition from the five men close to you. Because, as Orion warns, you may jeopardize any chance of recovering your memories if anyone finds out. It’s now up to you recover the past to rewrite your future love story!

Release date: August 25, 2015

Official website: www.ideafintl.com/amnesia

Platforms: digital-only releases on PS Vita and Steam (Windows only); Soon to be released on iOS and Android

The heroine

Characters:

Heroine: As she investigates her room and the people connected to her, she comes to know various information about herself, such as her life as a student, or that she has a part-time job. However…

Shin: A young man who abruptly gives a kiss to the heroine after she wakes up in a hospital bed. He is apparently her childhood friend and lover. Having had others distance themselves because his father had committed murder, Shin is colder

than is normal for his age. It’s rare for him to become emotional, but he shows a deep affection towards those he considers close.

Kent: The heroine’s rather brusque boyfriend, a mathematics graduate student who always tries to take a bird’s-eye view of matters. He has a tendency to take amusement in phenomena that can’t be clearly explained by logic. The people around him, along with their emotions, are subjects of his observation. For Kent, even love is something that needs to be explained with logic.

Ikki: A young man with an idol-like popularity, who is also the heroine’s lover. Ikki has a unique condition that makes women fall in love with him when they look into his eyes. Having given up on having a true relationship,he lives life as a playboy college student, indulging himself in transient pleasures. His interest in the heroine is largely due to his “eyes” not working on her.

Toma: When the heroine wakes, she finds herself collapsed on an unfamiliar road. She sees Toma beside her as he whispers, “I will protect you.” Toma has been steadily watching the Heroine from a close distance in an older brother-like fashion. His desire to protect and love the heroine are extremely strong, to the point that his mental state sometimes becomes unstable……

Ukyo: A strange young man who unexpectedly appears everywhere. He gives the heroine mysterious warnings, then vanishes.Whether he wants to protect the heroine or harm her is unclear.

CG with Kent and the heroine

Story and gameplay: For this game, I used the Steam version on Parallels for Mac. So that’s a tip for any Mac-only people out there who want to play this game. You can use a software like Parallels or Apple’s own Bootcamp to run the game. I played Kent’s route, as he wears glasses and I was attracted to his logical personality.

The game takes a minute to get really interesting since the heroine has no memories and she’s relearning her place in the world she is in. Despite the slow introduction, the game is very immersive and the choices the game gives you aren’t always obvious in terms of choosing the “best” answer. In fact, I had a choice of whether to study the work manual or do 10 math questions and I chose the 10 math questions. I was surprised as I wasn’t expecting literally 10 questions. Although they were basic math questions they do require effort to find the right answer. I’m not sure if how many I got correct or wrong affected the outcome of the game. The game boasts 20+ endings, so who knows?

Despite trying to make the best choices that would help build their relationship, I got the normal ending instead of the good ending. At least I didn’t get any of the bad endings! Helpful hint: When you right-click for the settings and click on “parameters” you can see how your relationship is doing based on your choices. I like the element of surprise so I didn’t use it during the course of my gameplay.

I liked watching Kent and the heroine’s development and watching them change based on the choices I made. You got to meet other characters, including the mysterious Ukyo. I’m sure once I complete all the routes the mystery surrounding Ukyo will be unveiled. He was a bit creepy, giving off scary vibes at some points making an otherwise light-hearted game serious. There were cute moments with other characters besides Kent, which gave the game a deeper feeling — such as the heroine’s relationship with Mine, another female character.

This is a great game and I plan to replay Kent’s routes to see the other endings, or just to see what happens if I pick different choices. The game also has two mini-games you can play. I plan to do a 100 percent completion of the game because it’s just that fun. It’s got a little bit of everything: humor, scariness, suspense, seriousness, and sadness.

Sawa, left, and Orion at the cafe with the heroine

Music/voices: There is a variety of music in the game to match the mood of that part of the game you are playing. For example, if the heroine is in a scary situation, the music will change to a suspenseful sound. The music that plays throughout the game is relaxing. The voices are great and I love a voiced game (the heroine is not voiced though). All of this combined makes the game an immersive experience.

Art: Gorgeous, gorgeous art. Beautiful men and lovely CGs. This is top-notch quality. The game let’s you look at, replay and listen to certain scenes in the gallery based on the CGs you unlocked.

Replay value: Lot’s of replay value, especially if you want to discover all of the many endings. There are also mini-games.

Audience: This is a good introductory game for those who want to play otome games. This is also released on many platforms (or will be once the mobile version is released), giving people a choice of how they want to play.

Heart of Manga

Article

Review: Amnesia ~Memories~

August 31, 2015

Heart of Manga Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Review: Amnesia ~Memories~

August 31, 2015

Heart of Manga Rating: ♥♥♥♥

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