Amnesia: Memories (PS Vita) Review

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.

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.