Amnesia: Memories follows a young woman named [INSERT NAME HERE] who, as you can guess from the title, has amnesia. She’s lost her memories. This is Title Writing 101.
A:M is a game of many strengths. It’s got great characters, engaging writing, gorgeous art, some absolute bangers on the OST, and most importantly, it has a strangely copious amount of violence. Basically, it's the best otome game ever. Or, at the very least, it's what I consider to be closest to the best. I've yet to complete an otome game that I've enjoyed the entire time as much as I have with A:M. This could change if I ever decide to finish Steam Prison (I won't).
So what makes it good? Here's my review/spoiler-free thoughts on this game and why I think you need to try it.
A:M - The Characters
A quick rundown of the key pieces here:
You, the player: Your personality is essentially a blank slate thanks to the memory loss, but even when you start to reform it, you're a typical otome game protagonist. A nice girl who’s college age, a bit feisty at times but sees the good in people. Not breaking through any barriers here, but always nice.
Orion: A fairy that caused you to lose your memories by accident. He’s more or less your voice in this game, doing all the narration by means of talking at you (yes, at you, since you don't have your own set of dialogue unless you're making choices) or talking to himself.
Shin: A slightly younger, rough around the edges guy who you've been friends with since childhood. I don't think I have a favorite character in this game, but it might be him if I really had to pick.
Toma: Your technically-but-not-technically-related older brother, the amount of hoops they jump through for this is actually astonishing. Also your childhood friend along with Shin.
Ikki: The super attractive guy with his own fanclub. Have you played any other otome game before? You know what he's like, then.
Kent: Stereotypical smart guy, part time Final Fantasy character. My god, he's got belts.
Ukyo: Soft, more recluse guy at first... But he's hiding something. And he looks like N from Pokemon.
Aside from the romanceable candidates, there are a few other side characters that act as your ally or enemy.
I feel like what personally sets this cast of romanceable characters apart from other games besides such a distinct art style is A:M takes these usual tropes and cranks them up a notch on the drama scale.
It isn't exactly revolutionary that Ikki's problem is that he's too popular for his own good, but A:M makes it interesting by having his fanclub resent you to the point where your life is actively endangered by them. It isn't revolutionary to have an incest-but-not-really route, but the way they make it actively thrilling by making Toma more than just a kind older brother figure beyond the surface is great. So on and so forth.
There isn't a character I dislike in this cast either, which is a rarity. I think for every one otome game there'll be at least one guy who I dislike but will complete his route anyways, but I actually enjoyed every route I played. Even Kent, who I think is ugly as hell, I liked.
If you've played one too many Dogenzaka Labs games or you're just stepping into the otome game scene and think that everything looks too much the same, A:M would be a good choice for you to try out based on cast alone. I really can only describe it best as something similar to a Kdrama with how dramatic some characters' backstories or personal struggles are. And that's entertaining as hell. Where's the fun in being subtle?
Of course, characters definitely can't carry the whole game. This brings me to…
A:M - The Plot
[INSERT NAME HERE] has lost her memories, and her new companion (and cause of her memory loss, as he accidentally collided into her), Orion, says the best way to regain what she's lost is to stimulate her mind. This means not going to a hospital to get treated, but instead trying to act as if you have your memories intact in your everyday life and just hoping that something'll pop into your mind. It's basically the worst plan ever if you think about it for a second, but that's fine.
In all the routes, however, the amnesiac struggle is more of a B plot to the A plot of "finding out what the hell is up with the guy you're going out with", which varies greatly with each candidate so you're always surprised by what's around the bend, and "trying not to get murdered", which is a universal constant. Like I said with the characters being cranked up a notch on the drama scale, the same can be said about A:M's world itself, which feels like it's constantly out to get you. A lot of bad ends consist of either you dying a violent, painful death, or suffering something not deadly, but still pretty bad.
Combining the overdramatic characters, the literal life or death stakes you have at times, and the fact that you don't remember anything and are super worried you're going to be sent to the hospital at any moment, you can start to get a feel for why I enjoy this game so much. Sometimes things will just happen out of nowhere and make me react aloud. Sometimes there's a genuinely sweet moment to be shared between you and your character of choice. Sometimes you get fucking drowned in a lake and die. A:M in all of its wildness and even in its more slice of life moments is always engaging to me even on a replay.
The biggest bonus? Completely unique character routes as well. The only thing linking any of the stories together is the fact that you're trying to piece together your memories without anyone noticing— there aren't any other shared plot beats but that. As a result, you never feel like you're reading the same things over and over again, and the characters you pursue can shine in different ways than if they were forced on a path.
A:M - The Gameplay
The player picks which "world" they would like to go to (which character they want to date) at the start of the main game. Choices are made through varying dialogue prompts, with said choices leading to either one good end, one normal end, or several bad endings.
Going along with Orion's suggestion, the point of the game is to not draw suspicion regarding your amnesia, and you can check whether or not you're doing so in the menu during gameplay. You'll find yourself loading/reloading a lot to ensure the right choices for more difficult prompts, but a good portion of the dialogue options are easy to figure out.
- Memories, a recounting of a certain day in a certain route for each boy
- Mini Games, which are air hockey and rock-paper-scissors (yes this is a realass bonus thing they put into this otome game, I have no idea why and Steam never gave me my achievements for beating all the characters so maybe this game is garbage actually)
- Stories, side stories in a NVL format rather than the game's ADV format
This game is… actually very glitchy when it comes to its achievements. This might be the only downside to it if you're a visual novel completionist like me aka someone who is unloved.
Overall Thoughts
I can't repeat myself enough. A:M is the best otome game I've ever played. The contrast between the gorgeous graphics and darker themes, the characters, the music, the everything— I feel like A:M is this amazing bundle that we were lucky enough to get in English officially.
If I remember right, the anime aired in English on Crunchyroll before we actually got this game localized, and I remember actually liking the adaptation, which is why I purchased the game myself. If you're super against reading, I will give you the thumbs up to find the anime if it's still on there. But keep in mind it's an adaptation of a visual novel, so it's going to be lacking overall in comparison to the game.
If you're not allergic to reading for about 20 hours, I can't stress how much you need to try this game, even if otome games aren't your thing. Like drama? Like suspense? Like romance? Hell, do you like sci fi? Because this game has it. I won't say any more.
Final Score:
Amnesia: Memories: 9/10
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