ARLES V. FELNOIR: Arles is the current reigning King of the Wolves, and former captain of the Royal Guard. Gentle-natured, kind and beloved by his men and the town’s people, he was appointed to his position after saving the life of King Garibaldi VI. His unparalleled skill in combat combined with his popularity outside of the battlefield, leads to rumours of his potential to claim the throne. However, Arles dismisses these claims as he believes he does not possess the intellect nor aptitude to make the decisions required to lead a country.
He soon falls in love with Elvira Galland, a woman with status that would normally be considered an unreachable dream for a man of his position. Despite his better judgement, he is unable to suppress his feelings which would inevitably lead to the events that would change his life forever.
After the loss of Elvira, Arles’ personality takes on a complete change. Any hints of his former kindness and gentle nature dissipate; jaded by his tragic experiences and his disillusionment with the royal family whom he had unwaveringly served. He escapes with his family from Weblin, and changes his name in order to avoid detection. However, no one can escape the wrath of Mejojo and they’re all slaughtered save for his younger brother, Rath Vogart.
Mejojo rules that the wolves must be eradicated as they are the direct causes and carriers of Zodiva; they inflict it upon humans and other animals whilst remaining immune to the side effect themselves. This leads to the mass genocide of the wolves, as the people blindly believe Mejojo’s lies and deception.
For the sake of his revenge and fellow brethren, Arles takes on the mantle of Wolf King. He vows to seek justice for his people and save them from Zodiva. Effectively destroying Mejojo would rid the land of his tyranny, and settle the darkness within his heart. He comes to the realisation from drinking Elvira’s blood that only by consuming a Lobeira, can Zodiva be cured for the wolves. As an act of retaliation against humans who blindly killed the wolves and to cure his people, Arles commands them to destroy their villages and consume every person; leaving no survivors.
Although Arles’ motivation for revenge and his actions are more so understandable and empathetic in comparison to Mejojo; he is by no means the ‘good’ guy. He is the lesser of two evils so to speak, as he has committed his fair share of bloodshed and mindless killing of thousands of people over the past decade. In majority of the routes, Arles is eventually killed in battle due to the cat’s cunning and underhanded tactics; as in a fair fight they could never hope to defeat Arles due to his immense strength and skill.
I actually really liked Arles’ character and his route in Black Wolves Saga. He is a tragic and noble hero, stained by the past and suffering that he has experienced in his life. He is an irreplaceable leader and family to the wolves, whom he deeply cares for and spares no expense in order to ensure their survival. With those whom he views as family, he reverts back to the Arles of the past; a kind-hearted, gentle and understanding protector who continually places their needs before his own.
He is extremely patient and thoughtful towards the heroine, due to her courage and determination in reaching out to him for the sake of peace. She is also the spitting image of Elvira, which stirs within him emotions and memories of the past that he has long wished to forget. Arles is respectful towards the heroine and allows her the freedom of choice with her faction; something which I really liked about his character.
The heroine throughout the game is constantly belittled as not knowing any better, and her decisions are always made for her by others who view that ‘it’s what’s best for her’. They never take into consideration her desires, and only concedes to them with extreme reluctance or if Fiona leaves them with no choice otherwise. This is in stark contrast to Arles who withholds any judgement regardless of her decisions, and gives her the power to take hold of her own future.
Arles welcomes the heroine as part of the Wolf Family, and during her stay he places the utmost effort in ensuring she feels a sense of belonging and an irreplaceable member of their group. Although he is slain in many of the endings, he does everything he can to ensure that even with his passing; the heroine remains safe and has a means of escape.
His good ending with Fiona was really touching and sweet; a futuristic ending that I felt very satisfied with and provided a wholesome conclusion to their relationship. However, as I mentioned in the storyline above I found that his route lacked a lot of content, length and development between the two characters. I understand that it’s all meant to be covered in Last Hope; but as a stand alone game it felt extremely dissatisfying as a reader if you compare the amount of content and time devoted to the cats.
Arles and Fiona lacked a lot of romance and build up necessary for a proper relationship, and it felt as though their time together was all too fleeting. It’s immediately cut short before it even begins, leading into the final battle with the cats and then straight into the epilogue ending. I felt that their interactions were platonic at best, as although Arles is gentle and considerate of Fiona; I wouldn’t say I felt any romantic feelings between the two or intense attraction.
It’s really disappointing because he had such great dynamic with Fiona, and played an interesting and integral role to the plot as the opposing faction to the cats. Although they’re deeply in love by the ending of the story, it didn’t feel believable as a reader. Prior to that, they hadn’t even confessed or had any semblance of romantic interaction. It was also never explained whether his attraction to Fiona was genuine, or just remnants of his love for Elvira.
Was he just imprinting on her and using her as a replacement? Is his love for her merely based on the feelings of the past? Although he protects and respects Fiona, it didn’t quite seem like ‘love’ just yet. It felt like a lot of his actions towards her were out of obligation, as for her to join the wolves as family she must ‘marry’ into their coven. If the game had developed their relationship with one another more, it would’ve made for a significantly better route; rather than leaving the readers with questions regarding the legitimacy of their feelings for one another.
RATH VOGART: The younger brother of Arles V. Felnoir, and the poster boy of Black Wolves Saga. After their family is slaughtered by the hands of Mejojo, they are separated in the ensuing turmoil; where Rath endures many years of immense suffering. They reunite many years later, and he is considered second-in-command amongst the Wolves along with Guillan. Due to his experiences, Rath is extremely apathetic towards the world. He is resentful of his own pathetic existence as a wolf, living life in constant fear of being hunted and with no choice but to constantly flee for their own survival.
Rath resents and distrusts humans due to the suffering that he and others have experienced, and views achieving peace and co-existence amongst the races as an impossible dream. Above all else, he despises himself: he is powerless to seize control of his own future and fate. He lacks the will, determination and leadership to invoke change like Arles, and continually protected and treated like a child; whilst unable to do anything in return for his kindness.
To add salt to injury, Rath is suffering from Zodiva that is rapidly consuming his body and already completely blinded him in one eye. It further increases his burden on the pack and Arles; and does nothing but elevate his self-loathing at his own futility. Even if Rath wanted to change for the better, his time was running out with his deteriorating body. Seeing Fiona’s kindness, determination and will to change the future of the world moves his cold heart, and causes him to reevaluate his own situation.
In spite of her obvious powerlessness to invoke change, she stands by her own convictions and beliefs. She willingly joins the wolf pack despite having to abandon her own family in the process, all for the sake of peace. Not to mention that at the end of the day, she is still a Lobeira and exposing herself to such harsh conditions with the wolves would inevitably infect her with incurable Zodiva.
He cannot fathom as to why she would go so far, as she had been ostracised and outcasted by her own people for witchcraft. Rath eventually warms up to Fiona’s kindness, and slowly changes his opinion of humans; and that perhaps, what he once considered the impossible is now no longer a far-off dream.
Considering Rath is the poster-boy for Black Wolves Saga, I was exceptionally disappointed by his route as I had high expectations from the beginning of the game. From what I’ve read, he finally gets his spotlight in Last Hope as the game revolves around his side of the story. As a result, it left Bloody Nightmare with little to no content dedicated to Rath. It’s a shame considering he actually had what Arles’ route lacked; which was the romantic intimacy and build up between him and Fiona.
They actually had some really cute and meaningful moments together, as well as some of the best CGs in the game. The scene where Fiona allows Rath to drink from her neck in order to see whether it would cure his blindness had so much muted passion and desire. The voice acting, tension and build up was amazing; and I read with bated breath wondering what would happen next. It felt like a major turning point in their relationship, so I was really excited to see how they would progress in the events following after.
To my shock and dismay, the story essentially all ends immediately afterwards. After escaping from Mejojo and Auger, Rath finally decides to take action in what he wants for the future. Although Arles and Guillan’s fate is unknown, they cannot return to rescue them as that is not what Arles would’ve wanted. They had made a promise to continue living, and spread the Wolves’ story; as with no survivors, their tale and suffering would become lost to the history of the world.
No one would ever come to know the truth, and the lives forsaken and sacrificed for the cause would all be forgotten. Fiona agrees, and they walk hand in hand towards their future together. I remember just staring at my computer screen for a few solid minutes trying to convince myself that it couldn’t possibly just end then and there without any sort of epilogue or conclusion tying up their story.
To my complete and utter disappointment, that actually was the ending. It felt like there was so much build up in their relationship and potential for the future; setting the reader up for expectation, and then having it all crumble before their very eyes. It’s knowing how much promise the story had to be amazing, that makes the ending altogether even more dissatisfying.
Especially because Rath is always the focal target of their promotional advertisements on Black Wolves Saga, it really does set up the audience in believing his route would offer a lot more than it actually did. I guess in a way it’s effective marketing by Idea Factory, as out of frustration with the lack of content for the wolves you’d undoubtedly purchase Last Hope for a more satisfying conclusion to the series (laughs).
On that note when I was discussing the game with my SO, we agreed that almost every single emotionally traumatised male character or lead wears what we call an ’emo scarf’. You know the black tattered scarf that is all together way too long and impractical, but it’s a must have accessory in order to show how ‘edgy’ of an ‘edge lord’ they are. It’s always the cold, hard to approach and disillusioned character that wears it as though their life depends on it.
All jokes aside, I did really like Rath’s character and design; and I actually don’t mind the scarf trend. It’s popular because clearly a lot of people are a fan of the look, and it suits the character type. I will most likely play Last Hope and take Idea Factory’s bait, simply because my curiosity is unable to accept the conclusion of his story.
GUILLAN GUINOR: Secondin command to Arles and his most devoted follower, Guillan obeys his orders without question and supports him with unwavering loyalty. He lives and feeds off receiving Arles’ praise, and he is the only one who can keep his dysfunctional personality in check. Guillan has quite a blood-thirsty and sadistic streak, openly expressing his desire to torture and murder humans for what they have suffered the past decade. He has no qualms with staining his hands with blood, and finds enjoyment and euphoria from it.
Guillan is a major tsundere, despite initially coming across as cruel, blunt and sarcastic. As we come to know and unravel his character, we realise that he has a gentle side to those whom he cares about. He does not hesitate to place his life on the line for Arles, and when he meets his demise during the Castle Siege in many of the routes; he uses his own body to prevent the soldiers from discovering Rath’s escape. In spite of his continual insults and belittling of Rath’s gentle nature, he treats him akin to a younger sibling whom he constantly looks out for.
I had no idea what to expect going into Guillan’s route. Initially I dreaded it since he had an extremely obnoxious voice throughout all of the stories, and his eyes just spelled insane when he was inflicting torture and espionage on helpless enemy soldiers. To my surprise, his route was a lot sweeter than I expected and had a more satisfying ending than Rath’s story — which I found hilarious. It just goes to show how lacking Rath’s story was, that the poster boy of the game was upstaged by a side character’s route.
Guillan quickly opens up to the heroine when she joins the wolf pack, and surprises her with his courtesy, consideration and willingness to accommodate to her needs. Initially, he is unsure how to respond to the heroine’s kindness as he had never been treated with such honesty and gentleness from another person before. I found it so cute when he requests Fiona to call him ‘Lord Guillan’ and when she obliges; immediately becomes embarrassed by the name and retracts his previous statement. Although he claimed that was his rightful name to everyone he met, no one had actually ever entertained his request before.
However, similar to the other wolf faction character stories he suffers from severe lack of development and substance to his story and persona. His shift in attitude towards the heroine was altogether poorly written, as it was in such stark contrast to what we had seen from him until that point. Prior to that, he had been ravenous in his desire for carnage with little regard for the morality of his actions. And yet, from the moment he meets Fiona he reverts to being shy and embarrassed around her.
All of a sudden without invitation, he then requests blood from the heroine and bites her neck — a symbolic act within wolf culture as a sign of pledging oneself and belonging solely to another. The sequence of events and development happened so abruptly, I honestly could not understand at what point his feelings towards Fiona had transgressed to love and romance.
It was like at one stage they were both on friendly, familial terms with one another and then immediately afterwards Guillan is possessive of the heroine and no longer wishes to share her with anyone else. Although Arles and Rath had very little content devoted to their story, at the very least we did receive some background information in regards to their past and what has shaped who they are in the present timeline.
However, in regards to Guillan then we know little to nothing about his past and his motives towards the wolf pack. It’s never delved upon as to why he was so devotedly loyal to Arles to the point of worship, his desire for bloodlust and carnage, and what led to him joining the coven in the first place. Just what was his past history with the two brothers? Where was the rest of his family? What made him the character he is today?
As the wolves prepare for their final attack against the cats, Guillan promises Fiona that no matter what he would return for her. She agrees, and escapes with the remaining wolves that are ill-fitted for combat and still recuperating from Zodiva. They spend many months within a hidden cave near a small town, and Fiona has settled into a daily life of at least some normalcy.
She is content with her life with the wolves, as she feels finally has a purpose and is useful to others. She regularly provides blood to the remaining wolves, and in the past couple of months they’ve more or less made a complete recovery. As they’re now able to revert to their human forms, everyday is lively and Fiona isn’t lonely with their companionship. As she is the only human, she is tasked with visiting the village markets every month to trade goods such as knitted and handmade items she creates out of wolf fur for items that they’re unable to forage from the forest.
Eventually, Guillan fulfils his promise and comes for Fiona. In his good ending, he carries Fiona off to travel the world on a journey with just the two of them as it was Arles’ final request of him. To make the most of his remaining life in creating meaningful memories. To explore the many things that other countries have to offer on a bright adventure with his beloved. In the true ending, Guillan returns with the only remaining piece of Arles — his sword arm along with his weapon that he had been gifted when dubbed the title ‘Knight of Salvation’.
Guillan consumes the arm as a symbolic act of pledging himself to Arles and taking upon the mantle as the next Wolf King. The wolves howl in celebration of their new leader, as he vows to protect them all and enable them to have a life of peace; just as Arles had always wanted. Although the scene was quite disturbing to read along with the CG, I felt it was quite befitting as the ‘true ending’ of Guillan’s story. Although his good ending was light hearted and sweet, it felt strange for him and Fiona to completely abandon the remaining wolves for the sake of their own happiness.
Considering what Arles had meant to them both, disregarding his cause and life devotion to the wolves just didn’t sit right with what we have seen from both their characters so far. My main criticism is that it honestly felt Guillan’s true ending would have made a lot more sense for Rath’s story. It would have been monumental for his character development, to seize the future with his own hands and finally have the courage to invoke change; just like what he had always admired and respected Arles for when he was alive.
Although Guillan’s story was cute and a nice addition to the game, I didn’t truly feel he necessarily needed his own route in the story; especially if they weren’t going to delve upon his past or beyond just the superficial details about his character. I would’ve definitely preferred if they devoted the writing and time to the other characters of the story, as they play a much more significant role to the overarching plot.
ZARA SKEENS: Zarais the heroine’s dearest childhood friend, and only other companion along with Nesso. He is a war orphan after the rabbits were mass-murdered due to their advanced medical knowledge. Their skills would have revealed the cure to Zodiva, and unveiled its true nature in regards to the wolves; effectively foiling the plans that Mejojo and Auger were to set in motion. As a result, the entire race was destroyed and left only an extremely rare few that had been unable to escape Weblin.
Zara is captured by humans and enslaved to horrible cruelty during his stay with them. As a result, he becomes cold and distrusting of others — having lost everything dear to him at a very young age. Fiona’s father places a gold offer that no one can refuse for a rabbit to serve in his household, due to the rumours of their superior medical knowledge for the sake of his daughter’s health. Zara is immediately sold, and initially does not assimilate well to his new household.
Due to his distrust of humans, he is cold to the family despite the warm welcome he receives; as he believed it would only be a matter of time before they would show their true faces and he would be betrayed once again. He views Fiona as a nuisance with her clingy, irrational and child-like behaviour; constantly asking him to play and spoil her. Zara can never take his eyes off the young lady without her getting into some sort of trouble.
He is confronted by her kindness and treatment as part of the family, and as a result he is unsure as to how to respond to her affections. Overtime, he grows to genuinely care for her and the Galland family; realising that they’re truly kind people who have offered him a home and a sense of family that he had long lost. With his talents and superior medical knowledge, Zara could have easily climbed the social ladder and achieved a great deal more within society.
For example: he had the opportunity to join Nesso in the Royal Castle in order to train as a squire, effectively rising in the ranks of the social hierarchy. However, he chooses to remain by Fiona’s side as he cannot bear to see her crying face begging him not to leave and out of genuine love for her. To him, she provides him with a reason for living in his darkest moments and someone whom he needs to protect no matter the cost.
Zara’s route was actually so cute, the kind of story that just gives you such a warm feeling reading and a sense of deep contentment. I really liked it because it provided such a nice breather from the drama and complexities of the other routes. In terms of actual storyline and relationship development however, then there really wasn’t much to it. The human’s side of the story is prevalent throughout all the routes due to Fiona’s involvement, and their relationship was already established to begin with.
The childhood flashbacks of young Zara and Fiona was just too adorable, and provided that extra depth to their past; and it was clear they had a very loving connection to one another. Zara is like the emotional pillar that Fiona can always depend on — pulling her out of even the toughest situations. He is the voice of reason that keeps Fiona in line, and is the biggest factor as to why she has stayed alive for so long with his medical prowess.
His bad ending actually made me so incredibly sad, because it felt as though a hole had been torn through your heart. Everyone had made it and crossed the finish line – except for Zara. Their family would never be complete again, and it’s like that one integral piece of the puzzle is now missing. Whilst Zara’s route is nowhere near as immersive, detailed or integral to the storyline as the others; I still loved the pacing and tone of his route.
NESSO GALLAND: Nesso is the older, half-brother to Fiona and has fiercely protected her since birth. Both their mother’s died young, and as a result growing up they only had each other and their father for the most part. Nesso is considered to be immensely talented, skilled, popular amongst the people and directs his own special platoon within the army. He is Weblin’s finest swordsman, and has yet to be defeated on the battlefield.
However, normally as part of the Galland family a man of Nesso’s ability and lineage would have easily reached the status of Captain within the Royal army itself. Fiona learns to her dismay that it is due to their family’s refusal of Mejojo’s advances and his resentment towards knights that leads to Nesso taking on many tasks that one would expect of low rank-and-file soldier.
He assures her that he is unaffected by his predicament, so long as his precious little sister is untouched by those devious cat’s hands. After all, the main motivation and drive behind his desire for strength and the ability to wield the sword with such skill was all for the sake of protecting Fiona.
We soon learn that it is due to Nesso’s request rather than their father’s decision to lock Fiona away inside the tower. Although her weak body is partially the reason, for the most part it is due to Nesso’s desire to always have Fiona within his line of sight. Even though Nesso is able to protect her within the castle grounds, due to the nature of his work he is often sent to the front lines of battle. As a result, Nesso reasons to himself that he needs a place to keep her safe when he is not close by; a place out of reach from the hands of others.
In reality however, we realise from the very beginning of the game that rather than out of familial love for Fiona; Nesso in fact has a major sister complex. His actions towards Fiona border on incestuous for most of the game, and becomes insanely jealous at any male who comes close to her. Although it is comical for the most part, you can just tell from the underlying tone that Nesso is actually dead serious.
He continually expresses his desire to marry Fiona, as it is not entirely uncommon for half-members of the family to wed amongst one another. Nesso claims that he is the only man suitable and truly worthy of Fiona. To my dismay, I can’t exactly refute that point. Nesso is the perfect character that tends to Fiona’s every need: he’s handsome, talented, has the strength to protect her, and everything he does is for her sake. His love for her borders on obsession, but he does indeed try to keep her best interests at heart.
At least everything would be perfect about him considering Fiona’s circumstances… except for the fact that he is still her sibling at the end of the day. I actually dreaded and left his route for last on purpose, because although I know some people are fans of incest; it really just doesn’t sit well for me personally. I just wanted to leave my personal impression of Nesso as the caring older brother doting on his sister, rather than finding out any dark, twisted love he may secretly have on the inside.
What really irked me about Nesso’s character is his blatant disregard for Fiona’s opinions and his constant projection on her that she is still a helpless child who knows nothing about reality. He continually rejects her decisions on what she wishes to do for the future, and leaves her no choice but to take action on her own accord. Otherwise, he only gives in when she is extremely adamant on what she wants to do, or leaves him with no choice on the matter. For example: she’s not leaving Weblin, and his only option is to leave without her or stay with her.
Also, his confinement of her within the tower was what led to her complete disconnect with reality to begin with. It wasn’t certain whether or not her solitary confinement was the sole reason as to why she was able to stay alive for so long, as she remained perfectly fine when residing in the Castle Gardens within Mejojo’s Kingdom. He had taken away her freedom without her knowledge, and he reasons that it’s all for her sake rather than his own selfish desires being projected onto her.
That in itself is already a very unhealthy relationship to have. If she hadn’t been confined to the tower all her life, she would’ve grown up to have a better understanding of the world and some semblance of common sense. I just found myself uncomfortable reading the romantic scenes with Nesso, because for some unknown reason they had the most passionate and physically intimate moments with one another; even greater than Mejojo or Auger.
It honestly just felt as though he was preying on her, and confusing her feelings for him as a brother. When they shared a kiss, to me it felt like Fiona was more so shocked and surprised by it all; rather than actually reciprocating his desires for her. Even she herself is unsure of the act, as he always evades her when she questions whether or not it is appropriate behaviour for siblings to engage in.
His good ending actually left me with a deep sense of despair hilariously enough. Due to Nesso taking the brunt of their fall from the cliff and shielding Fiona, he has become crippled by his injuries. Fiona feels an extreme sense of guilt over the situation, as it was because of her that he is now confined to his bed; and their positions towards one another had become reversed. Fiona is now his caretaker, and Nesso is (a little too) content with his newfound predicament.
After all, every waking moment they have now is spent with each other. She continually dotes on and spoils him, attending to his every need and whim. It’s heavily implied they are now regularly engaging in a physically sexual relationship, as Nesso reasons that it ‘helps him feel better’. Fiona who is deeply saddened that her once talented brother is now a crippled invalid unable to ever wield a sword again; obliges him willingly with his embarrassing demands.
To me, what Fiona felt towards him wasn’t romantic love; but the love of a sibling stained by guilt and manipulated by Nesso. Nesso projects onto her his obsessive love, and Fiona is all too clueless about men due to her complete social disconnection from the world. I’m unable to see their relationship as being genuine in any sort of form, due to the nature of the events that transpired.
I admit I was also incredibly salty because Nesso and Fiona had so many romantic moments together, whilst many of the other characters were left out to dry in comparison. If I could choose, then I would prefer Nesso’s route to not be in the game since I felt it would be better used to develop the other storylines. The human faction storyline within BWS doesn’t really contribute much to the overarching plot, as they play the role of by-stander in the main conflict between the wolves and cats.
Their role in the story is revealed in the main linear storyline, and their relationship to Fiona is already established from the beginning. As a result, it doesn’t leave very much substance to work with and the writers decided to focus their routes on the more romantic aspect of the game rather than actual storyline. As I dislike Nesso this was considered a tragedy to me, as I would’ve preferred it with essentially any other character but him (laughs).
Toshiaki Kijima is the executive of the accounting/finance department, and regularly dubbed ‘the Evil Executive’ or the ‘Data Devil’ within the office. He often reduces newcomers to tears with his high expectations, critical eye towards work and pushes them to their limits in order to produce the results he desires.
This leaves a less than stellar impression on many of the workers outside of his department, and his cold, abrasive personality doesn’t exactly help alleviate that picture. Toshiaki is extremely passionate about his work, and doesn’t let negative opinions phase him; as he views that his reasons for working aren’t to socialise or befriend others.
However, what Toshiaki says and what he genuinely feels are two completely different ends of the spectrum. Although he comes across as withdrawn and aloof, he actually shows great care and consideration for both the heroine and others through his actions. His criticisms towards work are hardly ever wrong, and he never blatantly dismisses the ideas of others.
Rather, he gives constructive advice and forethought in order to improve their work. Toshiaki even chooses not to attend company social parties out of consideration, due to his knowledge that his presence may be seen as discomforting for most people; something which the heroine views as incredibly sad.
Initially, the MC is shocked at the realisation that her mystery partner whom she slept with from the company party is in fact Toshiaki Kijima—The Devil Executive from Hell. From the glimpses of her fragmented memories, the man from last night had been unbearably sweet, gentle; and yet a sense of sadness glistened in his eyes and actions.
To contrast that experience with the image she had of him within the workplace, it simply didn’t add up at all. On top of that, after meeting at the bar to discuss the events that happened last night; the heroine reluctantly admits that she only has vague memories of what had transpired between them.
She apologises for her unruly behaviour, and Toshiaki’s expression hardens at this revelation. He immediately dismisses her attempts to discuss the matter, and states that it would be best for them both to forget the event had ever occurred and abruptly leaves. The MC is taken aback by his actions, but concedes that there is no point in fretting over the matter; if he wasn’t willing to talk about it, then it would be best to do as he said and write it off as a one-night stand.
After all, it wouldn’t do her any good to further lament over the issue; especially because he was still her executive from work. Thankfully as they were allocated to separate departments, the heroine reasons that she would have very little interaction with him during work hours. It was another reason as to why her impression of him was based on what she had heard from co-workers. She had never seen with her own eyes how he approached work and interacted with others.
However to her dismay, soon after she is placed on a joint project with Yuiko and Toshiaki as her direct supervisor. She is to produce a commercial for the famous Mira Black: a canned coffee well known for its bitter and dark taste. Due to the newfound opportunity and their past history, the heroine is spurred on by her desire to finally get to know the real Toshiaki. The disconnect between the face Toshiaki shows at work, and the gentle man he was when touching her that night… just where does the blurred line distinguishing the two end?
Why did he look so sad that night, and what was the meaning behind that melancholic smile? Thus, begins the complicated romance with a man burdened by his past and belief that he could never fall in love again.
Character Development
I had no idea what to expect going into Toshiaki Kijima’s route, and I had keen interest in him prior to his release since I really liked his character design. I went into his story expecting something similar to what we saw in Shunichiro Tachibana’s route, and oh how extremely wrong I was in that assumption. In comparison to Shunichiro’s route, Toshiaki’s couldn’t be anymore different.
I suppose thinking back on it now with hindsight, it makes sense as they’re in essence two completely different characters. Where Shunichiro is suave, charismatic, passionate and well-accustomed to handling women; Toshiaki is awkward, incredibly sweet, soft and struggles to convey how he truly feels. His story isn’t so much about a whirlwind romance or a heated office tryst, but two people deeply connecting in eventual emotional understanding, and helping him come to terms with his past in order to look towards the future.
For Shunichiro and the MC, they already had prior familiarity as both work partners and as her inspiration for joining the company. It’s no wonder their route takes on a more heated and sensual tone, as their barely contained attraction for one another was already present from the very beginning. Between Toshiaki and the heroine however, then outside of knowing each other’s names and capabilities at work; they essentially knew nothing about one other.
Their relationship development and understanding of one another is gradual, slow, sentimental and bittersweet; the kind that leaves warm feelings of tenderness throughout reading the story. He continually helps the MC when she is having troubles with the project such as taking her to Shimane to visit the origins of Mira Black for inspiration, and gifted her sweepstakes stickers when she had mentioned collecting them.
Toshiaki accompanies her to purchase bingo gifts for the company party, and exhibits his consideration for what others would like through his choice of items; despite them being the very same co-workers who spoke spitefully about him behind his back. He always shows concern for the little nuances and changes in the heroine’s personality, with him being the first to notice she was ill and carrying her to the infirmary.
Before long, she realises that she has fallen in love with him; and wished to know more about him not as a superior or a work colleague — but as a man whom she wanted to be with. She doesn’t want to view that night as a regret, or just a one-night stand. However, she knows that a future between them wouldn’t be possible unless she truly comes to understand the root of his suffering; and why he continued to push her away.
With the help of Shunichiro, the MC learns the truth of his past and the sadness behind his smile that night. Five years ago, his long-term girlfriend had passed away due to terminal cancer. He used to be the type of man who put his all into work, just to make time to fly to Shimane every weekend to visit her.
Toshiaki had never been the same since the incident, and rather than being the person most upset about her passing; he was rendered emotionless and dispassionate to everything. He threw himself further into his work, and despite being so in love with her; he had not shed a single tear at her funeral.
The heroine recalls his pained expression whenever he glances at Tokyo Tower, and decides that it is the place that they need to go to together in order to confront his past. He reluctantly agrees, and when they’re viewing the beautiful Tokyo night sky; he finally reveals to her what happened within his past. His work had been the only thing left for him after she had passed away, and what kept him going through day to day life.
Initially he had been proud of his work, but after she disappeared from his life; he grew to view it as the only remaining good thing about himself. After all, he was the type of cold, heartless man who could not even shed tears for his girlfriend’s death, so did he really deserve happiness? Did he even have the right to love another person? After all, due to his childish wish to see Tokyo Tower when she was better; he decided not to take her. The idea that it would most likely be the last and only time that they could go… he was afraid to accept it, and because of that he was never able to fulfil her last dream.
If only he had taken her, then she could’ve at least been happy and smiled at him one last time. The heroine begins to cry out of sadness and pain for his sake, to see how much he has bottled up inside over the past five years. She cannot even begin to comprehend the sheer loss and yearning he must have felt all alone. She admits that she had already heard the partial truth from Shunichiro, and deduced that Tokyo Tower had some special significance to him. She wanted to provide him with some solace and closure in order to confront his past, and face his inner demons.
She explains that it’s because he feels so much and has such kind consideration for others, that it wasn’t possible for him to truly be cold and unemotional. It’s because of his nature that he simply wasn’t able to face his own grief and the reality of her own death. In order to escape the cruel, painful truth he had immersed himself in his work to forget the past and his remaining regrets.
What I really loved about the heroine was not only was she passionate about her work, but she truly got to know Toshiaki and fall in love with everything about him, both the good and bad. She is tenacious, approaches everything with the utmost enthusiasm and never falls to any set backs that occur. It’s why no matter how many times he pushes her away, she stays true to her own beliefs and convictions about his character; and continues to persist in getting to know the real Toshiaki.
Out of genuine love for him does she go to such lengths in order to mend his heart; for his own sake and happiness rather than her own. To me, that is the most genuine and pure form of love that you could ever show someone else. Likewise, in Toshiaki’s POV story we see that every action he does for the heroine is due to his consideration of her own feelings and happiness.
He doesn’t want to associate with her for her own sake, as he doesn’t want to drag her down with his feelings and past burdens. He doesn’t view that he deserves her or to be loved, due to his past actions with his deceased girlfriend. It was really refreshing to see his inner turmoil over the one-night stand, and that he had fretted over the dilemma even more than the MC.
I highly recommend his POV story in conjunction with the main route since Voltage really did an incredible job with them. It gives so much more dimension to his character and the overarching story, providing more insight on what exactly happened that night and how conflicting his true feelings and actions really are.
The complete opposite of unemotional, it is revealed how much restrained passion he felt for the heroine and his respect of her work ethic, bright personality, determination, and kindness. The final chapter of his POV during his conversation with his girlfriend at her grave was truly befitting with the bittersweet theme of his story. He finally comes to terms with his own emotions regarding her death and can now let go of the past. Although he could never forget her, he hopes that she would continue to watch over him as he finally allows himself to seek happiness.
The fact that he could ultimately shed tears, and release the emotions he had built up for so many years is a testament to how much the heroine had impacted his life for the better. It is because of her that he can now look towards the future, and his life has finally started moving again rather than being forever stuck in the same place.
I really liked how their relationship in comparison to Shunichiro’s route didn’t revolve around the one-night stand. Although it was the beginning of their connection to one another, it didn’t define what transpired between them afterwards. It wouldn’t have fit with the tone of Toshiaki’s route nor his personality. His story ending was so satisfying and sweet, as he finally is able to give in to his passions and love for the heroine.
The common motif throughout his story is the comparison of Toshiaki’s personality to the coffee Mira Black, which the heroine ironically gets hooked on and begins drinking excessively during her work on the project. It’s dark, bitter and leaves a strong aftertaste initially; an acquired taste that not everyone would like. And yet once you get used to it, you notice the rich subtleties of the flavour that no other coffee can compare to.
I felt that perfectly described Toshiaki’s character throughout the route, as he really does grow on you and left a very warm impression on me by the end of his story. Not to mention it represents the heroine’s own growing feelings towards Toshiaki as well. The coffee eventually becomes her staple drink, and she learns to love the subtle sweet and warm nuances of flavour that comes after the initially bitter taste. I recommend his route if you’re after a more romantic and bittersweet story, rather than a sexually charged and dramatic route like Shunichiro’s.
Shunichiro Tachibana is the Creative Director of Addison & Rhodes, and by extension the heroine’s boss and head of her department. He inspired the heroine to pursue commercial advertising and marketing, after viewing his first commercial during a difficult heartbreak at a young age. It touched the heroine’s heart and gave her the encouragement to move forward with her life; to some day create a commercial that could touch the lives of others. The heroine works hard and manages to be accepted into the same company he works at.
After six years at Addison & Rhodes, the protagonist is still very much so passionate about her work. It’s to the point where her closest co-workers Natsume and Yuiko always tease her about her undeterred determination, and constantly force her to attend lunch with them otherwise she’d lose track of time and forget to eat.
Shunichiro Tachibana has since risen in the ranks of the company, and is on the fast-track to being promoted to Director. He is the CEO’s right hand man, talented, ambitious, all-around perfect and considered out of reach by all the women in the company.
At a company party celebrating his recipiency of another award, the heroine has one too many drinks and reveals to him her long harboured feelings of admiration for his work. He is surprised and touched by her words, as he had almost forgotten his rookie days at the company.
It was a commercial that had been panned by his superiors for its weak delivery, and after hours of hard work refining it; he finally managed to receive their approval. It is an elementary work at best, but to the young Shunichiro it had been his greatest achievement at the time and the fruits of his labour.
To hear that his work from so long ago had been able to touch someone’s heart gives him a deep sense of nostalgia and happiness. The protagonist reminds him of his younger self; brimming with passion, devotion and genuine love for advertising – something which he has long lost and become jaded to after working in the field for so long. When Yukihisa Maki (the company Doctor) suggests to take the heroine home as his responsibility as a Doctor, Shunichiro refuses – stating he would take care of her instead.
As long time childhood friends, Yukihisa is surprised as normally Shunichiro doesn’t bother taking care of drunk girls but eventually relents to his insistence. He takes her to a hotel, and changes her out of her wet clothes due to the heavy rain on their way there.
He dresses her in a bath robe, and says he should be leaving now; but the heroine in her drunken state holds onto his arm. She rectifies that she admires him as both her inspiration, and as her boss. Shunichiro struggles holding himself back in her currently defenceless state, and attempts to draw a line between them due to their work place relationship.
The heroine then expresses that she loves him, and although Shunichiro knows she probably means it out of admiration for him; he is unable to hold himself back any longer. He is undeniably attracted to her, and she willingly accepts his advances. They sleep together and the heroine flees the next morning without learning who her partner was.
This was due to both embarrassment and because she had originally intended to come into work early that day. It is then announced that she has been placed on an elite team from the company to produce an advertisement for the Olympic Games and it is against their number one rival CL, who in prior years has had this exclusive privilege.
This year however, it is an open competition to all advertising companies on who can create the best campaign to be chosen by a panel of judges. The team will be lead by Shunichiro, and the whole company’s future will be riding on this event. If they emerge victorious, it would create history and Shunichiro’s promotion as Director would undoubtedly occur. The heroine is extremely excited by the opportunity, as she had never participated in such a major project before.
To her dismay, she is unable to fully enjoy the news due to her realisation that the mystery man she slept with is one of her co-workers that are all currently working with her on the project. She decides to return to the bar from the party last night in hopes of finding any clues in discerning who the prospect is. To her absolute shock, it was Shunichiro Tachibana after receiving a text from him saying he wants to see her again that night. Thus, this begins their whirlwind romance and office tryst.
Character Development
What I really liked about his route was that the foundations for their attraction was already clear from the beginning. He is her long admired superior and inspiration for her work, whereas he respects her passion and dedication as his subordinate. They already have a connection and point of interest from her love of his first commercial, and their similar devotion and pride for their job.
It is only natural then that attraction would bloom, because they’re like-minded individuals and are physically compatible. Shunichiro Tachibana gives her the opportunity to work for the Olympic Games Advertisement out of recognition for the hard work she has put in during her six years with the company.
He sees her potential and talent, and continually helps and encourages her development progress with it. Shunichiro is always helpful with his advice, and leads her onto the right path to figure it out herself with her own strength. He pushes her to her limits and works her extremely hard because he genuinely believes that she can do it. It is through these interactions that the heroine begins to see the sides of him that she never saw before from afar; the Shunichiro Tachibana that wasn’t her boss or employer, but Shunichiro Tachibana himself.
Although she knows it’s wrong and never thought she would have a purely physical relationship with someone; she is unable to hold herself back and continues to sleep with him. So long as she can continue this connection with him, she can accept the consequences. However, as she falls more deeply in love with him; she realises she can no longer sustain this relationship in shades of grey.
She knows it’s selfish to desire more, because to begin with their relationship had never ‘started’. There was never anything more to expect out of this predicament other than heartbreak, and so she has only herself to blame. If only she could enjoy the physical pleasures of it, then they could’ve continued as they were – but her morals and values couldn’t bring herself to see it through. She knows it’s wrong with his impending arranged engagement, and breaks up with him.
This is what I really liked about the heroine. No matter what happened in her personal life, she never let it interfere with her work life. She always put her utmost effort into creating the foundations for the commercial, pouring her everything into making it a success. She knows what she wants, and takes decisive action on it; even though she knows the inevitable heartbreak in the end. She knows when to draw the line, and decide what is best for herself. Even until the end, she doesn’t tell Shunichiro Tachibana she loves him; because it wouldn’t lead to anything until Shunichiro decides exactly where she stands to him.
I really liked the scenes where they made love whenever it rained. It was just so passionate and the palpable attraction and dynamic between the couple was well written. Especially the last scene when they say goodbye after their final date before ending their relationship, you could clearly see the agony and heartbreak of both characters struggling to decide what to do with their emotions.
Shunichiro is the typical type of guy where in order to maintain his strong, masculine persona; he never reveals his true emotions in order to protect himself. He had originally decided to end the engagement after the advertisement presentation in fear of it impacting the judge’s verdict.
This is because the arranged engagement is to the governor’s daughter, someone who has massive bearings over the competition and had allowed them to participate if Shunchiro agreed to attend the omiai (marriage meeting) in the first place. However, faced with the prospect of losing the heroine and what he always wanted most; he decides to throw it all away and cancel the engagement.
He wanted the heroine to fall for him so badly without him revealing his true feelings and winning the competition to fulfill his promise at the same time; that his indecision between the two led to him losing her. With their eventual advertisement victory with the judges touched by it’s impactful message, he bares his complete heart to the heroine. He apologises for his selfishness, and that he knew he couldn’t win her heart with the way he was going; but he couldn’t bear to let her go.
She reminds him of the parts of himself he has long forgotten; his passion, drive, and enjoyment for the job. She inspires him to better himself as a person, and deeply respects her talent and ambition – it was why he helped her to begin with for the advertisement, rather than taking the reigns himself. He had always been serious about her from the beginning, and that was why he slept with her.
It was more than just physical attraction, or merely a one-night stand. However, due to the circumstances and his inability to cope with his newfound feelings; he was unable to fully come to terms with himself and what he wanted to do until faced with the prospect of losing her. They finally confess their love for each other, and become a real couple.
What I really liked was the incorporation of their work dynamic in the game, and the feeling that they were truly equals. The heroine is talented in her own right, and Shunichiro continually helps her better both her skills in the workplace and herself as a person. Vice versa, the heroine shows Shunichiro sides of himself that he has since forgotten, and challenges him in a way that no one else does. They’re both willing recipients in the events after their one-night stand; it’s a choice that both of them consent to due to their intense attraction to one another both mentally and physically.
Of course, when their feelings deepen that’s when the complications occur. I highly recommend reading Shunichiro Tachibana’s POV story, since it gives a lot more insight in his thought process throughout the whole affair; and paints a better picture of his true feelings.
What I thought could be improved on was a lot of aspects weren’t explained clearly or delved upon in the main story. For example: what is the nature of this ‘promise’ he made to the previous CEO of Addison & Rhodes? What about it was so important that he simply couldn’t give up the competition? Just why is he so desperate as to make it his life’s purpose?
It’s been hinted that his father is a member of the Diet, and as such he is highly ranked in Parliament. This makes Shunichiro his son and direct successor, as well as a future member of the Diet. What made Shunichiro pursue a career in advertising instead? What is his relationship to his father and family? Perhaps it might be delved upon in the season two arcs or the sequel stories. Regardless, it left much to be desired because it felt like there was so much more to Shunichiro’s character that just wasn’t explored.
Overall, I really did enjoy Shunichiro Tachibana’s story. It was refreshing to see such an interesting and passionate dynamic between the two lead characters; battling their attraction for one another whilst balancing their office life. The writing was much better than Voltage Inc’s previous works, which I was pretty surprised about.
However, he is the main bachelor of the game so I did expect his story to be the best out of all the potential characters you can choose. Voltage is quite inconsistent in that aspect, since their routes tend to differ greatly in writing quality. They’ll have one or two good routes, with the others being very average or lacking in many aspects.
The first five episodes of Shunichiro Tachibana’s route is free to play right now as part of their promotional campaign for the game, so I recommend checking the game out whilst it’s free to play.
RELEASE DATE: 2017 PUBLISHER: Voltage Inc. PLATFORMS AVAILABLE: iOS/Android (English)
So, I know in my release post of the game I mentioned a review would most likely come out in a few days. But considering I unexpectedly enjoyed the game a lot more than I initially anticipated, and while it is still fresh in my mind; I decided why not just write it now? I was very excited about this game, because it is very different from the recent titles that the company has released. A mature protagonist in a more adult setting it always a welcomed change, and I really liked all the bachelor designs this time round.
Normally, I usually only purchase between 1-3 character routes and rarely will buy the sequels or sub stories. If I do, it would usually only be for characters I enjoyed or 1-2 sub stories with an interesting premise. As such, I won’t be giving ratings for this review as I feel I can’t properly score the game if I have yet to see all the content it has to offer. This review will mostly be based on the gameplay seen in the prologue and currently released character route.
Storyline
-The Story-
I should never have done that… He was a total stranger. I didn’t even know his name. But we spent the night together…! It was just a huge mistake. There could never be anything between us! Or so I thought…
“I want to see you again tonight…”
That simple text from him was just the beginning of an incredible love affair…
The heroine is a young and passionate office worker, currently working for an advertisement and commercial marketing agency called Addison & Rhodes. She has worked for the company for six years, and enjoys her work immensely. She was inspired to enter the career field many years ago after viewing an advertisement designed by Shunichiro Tachibana (the main bachelor). Since then, he has risen up the corporate ladder and acts as the current creative director and by extension, head of her department. She admires his ambition, artistic flair and work ethic as her superior; and that his commercials have the ability to touch people’s hearts.
It is her dream to be able to create a commercial of the same calibre, as his first commercial she viewed many years ago helped her through a difficult heartbreak in the past. At a company party celebrating his recent award for a large advertisement, she carelessly underestimates her alcohol intake and drinks herself away into a drunken stupor.
The next morning, she wakes up in bed at an unfamiliar hotel with clothes strewn everywhere and the shadow of a man currently in the shower. In her embarrassment and shock at her actions, as well as having no memories of the night prior; she quickly dresses herself and escapes as she still has work to attend to. At work, she laments her actions as she had never had a one-night stand before and she does not even know the face of the man she slept with.
After receiving more information about the night before from her two closest co-workers: Natsume and Yuiko, she realises to her dismay it could be potentially one of five bachelors that all happen to be part of her workplace. However, as there is no possible method of discerning who it is without complete embarrassment on her end; she decides that perhaps some things are better off forgetting.
Unable to resist temptation, the heroine decides as a last ditch effort to visit the bar from last night’s party to perhaps find the missing clue that would lead to the identity of her bachelor. As she despairs over the futility of the situation, and receives her drink from the handsome bartender: she receives a text.
It is signed with the name of her mystery bachelor from last night, and the words: “I want to see you again tonight…”
The writing in this game is a lot better than many of Voltage’s recent releases, to my pleasant surprise. I really do enjoy their more mature-themed games, and this gives similar vibes to ‘In Your Arms Tonight’. So if you loved that game, I’m sure you’ll definitely enjoy this title as well. It is more sexually explicit than their previous works, so that is something to keep in mind about the game (it is has a recommended rating for 17+ in the application store).
The heroine is definitely the selling point for me. She is kind, earnest, passionate, career-driven, realistic yet still has a refreshing sense of innocence with her character. She assumes just as much responsibility in the one-night stand as the bachelor, which I really liked.
She’s mature enough to understand it was a two-way street: there’s no such thing as one-way seduction. She is flawed, multi-faceted and has a strong enough personality to own up to her mistakes and take action. At the end of the day the bachelor and heroine are just two characters deeply attracted to one another, but the circumstances of their work life and beginnings create complications in their relationship.
Inevitably what begins as a passionate tryst deriving from physical compatibility and admiration in their work lives, evolves into something more. The heroine must decide whether to continue their relationship within the shades of grey, or turn it into concrete black or white: to end whatever connection they have to one another and return to their normal lives, or the potential of rejection for a wholesome relationship.
Character Development
I will be covering the individual character routes in separate posts, and add to the list here when new characters come out. If you need any help with clocking the game, I have the walkthroughs here.
The art in Irresistible Mistakes is gorgeous for Voltage and mobile game standards. It’s probably their best title in terms of art quality. The MC is really pretty, and I do like how she is finally not faceless. I understand that mobile games do like to have faceless heroines, just so the reader can more easily ‘self-input’ themselves as her character. To me however, it just ruins a perfectly good CG since it just seems so out of place. The background art is significantly improved in comparison to their previous games, and overall the art is very clean in their new title.
It’s vibrant, detailed and the character proportions and poses are much better. I do like how they incorporated more animations into the game, such as when the character walks closer to you; it zooms up on their profile on the screen and the raining cinematic.
Music and Voice Acting
I’m really glad Voltage decided to go back to their forte for BGMs in this game. Some of their best soundtracks have mainly been soft piano instrumentals, such as ‘My Forged Wedding’ and ‘Office Secrets’. Irresistible Mistakes used the same concept, incorporating mainly soft instrumentals and piano soundtracks. My favourite song of the game was definitely the main theme, as I felt it suited the mood and tone perfectly. A major improvement was that the looping wasn’t as noticeable in this game, in comparison to their other titles.
As with all Voltage Inc’s games, it does not include voice acting.
System
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The system is pretty basic Voltage standard layout, but I do like the theme image a lot more in this game. It includes all the basic functions such as character profile, story/chapter select, and image gallery. It does not include save slots, but the game is easy enough to get both endings with the help of the likability gauge. I still don’t understand how to this day, Voltage still doesn’t have the function to adjust the text speed settings to show ALL; it’s a lot more straining on my eyes personally to read the moving text.
One thing I really liked was the new character introduction animation during the prologue. It was refreshing to see a new change, and it helped make the characters more memorable when deciding which route to choose.
Conclusion
The game is one of Voltage Inc’s best releases, at least from what I have seen so far. It’s nice to see that they’ve improved on a lot of the areas of criticism that they’ve received in their past games. The heroine is refreshing to read, and it’s just as much her story as the bachelor’s. They play equal roles in both the plot development and as character’s; something which a lot of Visual Novels neglect actually. A lot of writers tunnel vision into creating and weaving an interesting character that encourages the flow of their own story; whilst neglecting the fact that the playable character themselves is equally as important.
I do like how the heroine isn’t perfect, but she’s mature enough to understand her shortcomings and address her problems without shying away from reality. The bachelors themselves aren’t as ideal as they’re made out to be; but that’s how they progress in their relationship, bettering themselves through the conflicts that they face together. The driving force behind their passions, ambitions and attraction to one another is their love for their job; and that to me makes for a more immersive storyline.
I enjoyed the game a lot to finish the first route in one sitting, and highly recommend to give it a go at the moment due to the promotional release campaign. You can read the first five episodes of Shunichiro Tachibana’s route for free.So if you’d like to sample the game, now is the time to do so!
Amnesia: Memories is the second Idea Factory localised title I played after Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (which I will also be reviewing). I purchased a PSVita just to play the game, as I loved the artwork and the game is very popular in Japan. The PSVita is the main platform for a lot of visual novel releases, so there would be plenty of current and to be released titles for me to play.
Needless to say, it is one of my favourite otome games that I have revisited and played many times. My ultimate bias is Kent, as he is undoubtedly best boy in my eyes and agreed upon by many other players. I own the game both on the PSVita, and the steam platform port. It’s one of the few Visual Novels that regularly goes on sale on steam from $29.99USD to $2.99USD, a whopping -90% off which in my opinion is absolutely nuts.
I don’t usually purchase multiple ports of the same game, but who can say no to a $2.99USD game? You won’t find any visual novel of this quality and length for that price anywhere else. Majority of mobile phone games cost $4 or $5 for a single character route alone.
If you haven’t played the game yet, I highly recommend waiting for the steam -90% or -75% sale ($7.49USD) as it does happen fairly frequently and is an amazing steal. For this post I actually created the custom header using previously released idea factory official artwork so I am quite proud of myself!
Storyline ★★★★
-The Story-
A story that takes place in a fictional world…
It was the 1st of August.
That morning, when she awoke, the heroine found herself without any memories from before August 1st…… Everything, from the sort of life she lived, to the relationships she had, was a blank……
A young boy named Orion appeared in front of her, referring to himself as a “spirit.” Under Orion’s guidance, the heroine began the struggle to regain her memories. She searched her house for clues about her everyday life, and received a message on her phone…
What was displayed on the screen was an unknown name to her.
Now, she is asked to meet with him, a boyfriend whose name and face she doesn’t know. In a position where who to trust is uncertain, the heroine must move in a way that her memory loss remains undetected by her partner. Because of this, the story becomes tangled in complex ways.
With no memories of “him,” our heroine will write a new love story starting today…… (Official English Website)
The story of Amnesia: Memories has a very strong and interesting premise. From the very beginning, you select a ‘world’ of your choice based on the symbols on a deck of cards: Clover, Spade, Heart or Diamond World. This locks you into your character route from the get go, rather than the usual dating-sim format where you attain a certain level of affection with the bachelors through varying decision points to eventually access and branch off onto their story path.
The story routes are universally different since you live in ‘different worlds’ so to speak, and as a result there is no general common story. From the very beginning in each world, it is new and unread content.
The heroine has lost all her memories prior to August 1st, and finds herself very alone and lost with her predicament, as her family in all the routes are living far away. Not to mention she has a young boy spirit named Orion taking up residence in her mind where her memories used to be. Orion cautions the heroine that due to her amnesia not being medically related but rather because of his spiritual existence; that her condition cannot be known to others.
A prolonged hospital stay would inevitably lead to her mental state deteriorating, as she is not suffering from amnesia caused by physical trauma or natural means. If she remains bound to Orion for too long, his mental state would eventually encroach upon hers – Orion would never be able to separate from her mind, and the heroine would completely lose her sense of self and the means of regaining her memories.
Her only method of recovery is to regain her memories through interacting with those around her, and living her everyday life undetected in order to avoid questions or suspicions of her unusual supernatural predicament. However, can she really trust those around her? How does she know whether or not they’re genuine and honest? Or will they end up taking advantage of her impaired state upon discovering the truth?
The game involves the use of three parameters: the heroine’s affection towards the chosen bachelor, his affection for her and his suspicion of her condition – if the suspicion meter is too high or affection too low, it can lead to the many bad endings.
I really enjoyed the storyline of Amnesia: Memories, as I found it to be incredibly refreshing and different. Rather than getting to know your bachelor and falling in love through regular means; you’re thrust into a situation where you have to juggle part-time work, relearn about your friendships with people and date essentially a stranger whom you know nothing about; but cannot let know that you’re anything but in love with him and play the role of a happy couple in a wholesome relationship.
What I especially liked was not only learning about your surroundings, but the heroine as a person before her memory loss. It created a very immersive game experience where you’re constantly putting together the pieces of the puzzle, and figuring out exactly who you were before the accident; and the true nature of those around you.
Not to mention in every world you choose, the character roles are quite different each time. For example: in Heart World Shin and Toma are your closest childhood friends, whereas in others they’re your university acquaintances or co-workers at Meido no Hitsuji (The Maid Café where you work). In Clover World, Kent is your boyfriend from another university and Ikki an acquaintance; in Diamond they’re both your co-workers.
It feels like you’re reading a completely different storyline every time, and forced to adapt as a player to a completely different scenario whilst taking into account your amnesia and parameters. It honestly feels like you’re suffering from amnesia all over again, despite being on your second playthrough of the game due to the differences between the routes. You feel a sense of empathy and connection to the protagonist, as you too are fumbling around with the pieces of the storyline.
It creates a very complex plot and rewarding game experience, as you’re not just revisiting the same content over and over. Not to mention the fact that every character in every route treats you differently depending on their relationship to you in that world. As a result, certain characters whom can be considered trustworthy in one route; actually aren’t in another.
The overarching plot line that culminated with the true ending in the Joker Route was very well done, and was truly heart-wrenching. I did not expect that twist whatsoever, and was shocked when everything was revealed in the end. If anything, I do wish they spent more time explaining the scenario in greater detail such as the nature of Gods and wishes etc. I felt that although the explanation was good, it could’ve been a lot better since there were still many questions unanswered despite it being the true ending. I also disliked the writing of a particular route, which I will elaborate on in further detail in the character development section.
The game translation and writing were very good, with very little grammatical errors and typos throughout. Amnesia: Memories is medium-length in terms of game time, and would take approximately 20-30 hrs total to complete. It uses a calendar format beginning on August 1st, and the routes finish near the end of August. The player plays through the heroine’s life on a day-to-day basis, culminating to a month worth of in-game content.
Character Development ★★★★
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!
Orion is an important character to touch upon, as he essentially acts as both our guide and narrator in the game; as well as replacing the heroine’s subconscious for majority of the game until she regains her memories. I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews on Orion, with many arguing that his jubilant and excessively-cheery tone of voice became extremely irritating as the game wore on. I can understand that perspective, as his voice and character isn’t for everyone. I personally enjoyed his presence very much as it was something very different and refreshing in the game; something which I had never seen before.
I welcomed his character because he provided entertaining dialogue and comic relief that set a very light-hearted tone to the game, and made the story more interesting to read on a daily basis. Other readers have argued that it is due to his presence, that takes away from the protagonist’s own personality – since he’s always talking over the top of her; and we’re essentially always seeing his opinions, and his reactions and decisions to many of the scenarios that the heroine encounters.
How I see it is: imagine the whole story without Orion in it. The overarching storyline would no longer make any sense, and the heroine would become even more persona-less without his guidance and humorous banter. She is suffering from severe and abnormal amnesia; having to relearn everything about herself without any help. She doesn’t even know who she is, or what she looks like; how is it possible then to have a personality?
She wouldn’t even know where to start in order to regain her memories. Imagine playing in the perspective of a protagonist grasping at straws to regain some normality and understanding of her life, and it takes all her mental effort and willpower to take in her surroundings and relearn everything about herself. Hard to have a personality then, right?
What I liked about having Orion was his significance to the overarching storyline, and that the heroine essentially becomes a huge puzzle herself that we must solve. As her memories return and we slowly put together the picture of who she used to be; her personality does begin to return. Orion’s voice and narration also painted a better picture of the storyline, making it easier to follow as a reader in his perspective.
Playing in the heroine’s perspective would’ve filled day-to-day dialogue with her monotonous thoughts and anxieties, without a clue on how to go about her condition (as we saw her extreme reliance on Orion in explaining to her the logical course of action to take, and his understanding of the human world).
SHIN [HEART WORLD]: The poster boy of Amnesia: Memories, and in his world plays the role of your boyfriend and close childhood friend. You begin the game in a hospital room, as you are recovering from an accident. He quickly notices you’re acting strangely, and begins his interrogation of you as well as immediately going in for a kiss! A girl really can’t catch a break, can she? The heroine ultimately fails his test, agreeing that they had been dating for three months when in reality, they had only begun dating recently for around a month.
Shin then takes it upon himself to do everything in his power to help the protagonist regain her memories. However, there are strange circumstances involved in how the heroine sustained her head injury… perhaps, it was even intended murder? Is Shin truly looking out for her best interests, or was he in fact the culprit attempting to hide his tracks and salvage their relationship? With her amnesia, can the heroine ever truly find out what really happened that night?
From the very beginning, the audience is given a clear picture of Shin’s personality – cold, extremely blunt, forceful and pushy. He is a tsundere through and through, and the heroine is clearly his weak spot. Despite his insistent denials, he often becomes embarrassed and blushes around her. This makes for some very adorable character moments between the two, as the heroine slowly begins to regain her memories and fall in love with him all over again.
Although he isn’t anywhere near as gentle to her as Toma (her close childhood friend along with Shin in this route) nor does he spoil her as much, Shin genuinely cares for the heroine and does everything he can to help her through her amnesia. For example: regular visitations to her house to check up on her, and taking her to places that had meaningful importance to her in the past.
Everything he does is shown through his actions, and always in the best interest of the heroine. To me, this was both what I liked and disliked about Shin. Although it showcases his head-strong, determined and caring personality, at the same time he never asked or considered what the heroine herself wanted. He always went ahead and decided what was best for her, based on his own opinion and decisions.
Although there was plenty of romance in the route, it overall did have a darker and more tense mood than the other stories. The romance played a backseat to the murder mystery in Shin’s story, as he stops at nothing to uncover the culprit to ensure the heroine’s safety. As a result, the reader is always left wondering “whodunnit?” and even Shin at times seemed like the forerunner as the real perpetrator due to the fragmented nature of the heroine’s memories.
Shin himself didn’t exactly do himself any favours to clear his innocence either, as the heroine is constantly kept in the dark about what he is truly up to. However, I did really like how the mystery unfolded and how it was all answered in the end. The scene where he confronts the real culprit was done particularly well, in terms of how it was written and the voice acting. To be honest, I should’ve seen hints of the culprit’s twisted nature already from Shin’s route but I wanted to believe it was only exclusive to this route…oh, how entirely wrong I was (laughs).
Shin had one of the best ending CGs in the game, it was honestly just too cute and I loved the consistent flashbacks throughout his story of their childhood together along with Toma. It gave significantly more depth and history to their relationship, and how Shin knows the heroine better than she knows herself. Besides, who doesn’t want to see how the characters looked as children?
KENT [CLOVER WORLD]:My ultimate bias in the game, and when I mentioned replaying Amnesia many times; I actually meant majority of the time I just replay his route alone (laughs). It’s quite interesting because out of all the characters, Kent actually was the least appealing to me and didn’t really leave much of a favourable impression in any of the other character routes. As a result, I came into his route not expecting much at all and played it just to access the Joker Route.
The heroine begins the route in the comforts of her room, and explores for any clues about herself. Soon enough, she receives a text from Kent demanding to see her at a costume café which Orion remarks is a very strange choice for a meeting (little does the heroine know she actually works there). Due to the contents of her phone and the nature of their previous texts, the only possible conclusion is that Kent is her boyfriend.
Orion frets from the get-go that they’re thrust into an extremely unfavourable situation; if they potentially break up due to the heroine’s amnesia, it would be detrimental to lose someone so important to her once she regains her memories. Yet, avoiding the situation isn’t an option either as they could break up without even talking it through, and lose a valuable source of information to curing her amnesia in the process. From first impressions alone, Kent is condescending, logical to the point of being overbearing, blunt and confrontational.
Both Orion and the heroine lament how they possibly could’ve been in a happy relationship, but apologise in order to salvage whatever they had prior to her amnesia. Kent is shocked at the heroine’s change of heart, but accepts the favourable outcome – with him too apologising for his actions, and expressing his willingness to accept any complaints or opinions she may have towards their relationship.
We soon learn that they had only been dating 3 days prior to August 1st, and as a result were in the very early tentative stages of dating. What I really liked about Kent’s route was because of the heroine’s amnesia, she was able to become more patient and understanding with Kent’s shortcomings and get to know him for who he truly is. Prior to that both parties would be too stubborn to give in, leaving their relationship in a cycle of turmoil and constant fighting; there wouldn’t be a day that passed without the two engaging in a pointless argument.
Out of all the bachelors, only in Kent’s route do we get to meet his parents; to which ensued a hilarious scene. Orion comments that although they had found Kent’s stubborn logic bad initially, it was nothing in comparison to his parents. The heroine realises that he has been raised with the drilled notion that everything must follow a sequence of logical conclusions; and as a result, Kent approaches everything in life in the same manner.
Although Kent is exceptionally intelligent with a bright future ahead of him, he genuinely does not understand scenarios that require the application of common sense and human interaction – looking at everything as though it is a maths equation with logical set steps.
It is not that Kent purposefully wishes to anger the heroine, but he genuinely does not understand her ‘illogical’ thinking process; and as a result he doesn’t know how to appease her, or make her happy. He constantly sets his pride aside to consult Ikki (his best friend in the route) for girl advice. Kent is nothing but earnest and genuine in approaching the heroine, doing everything he can to maintain their current happiness together as a couple.
For example: showing up to the heroine’s workplace with a half-month anniversary cake, sprinting to the train station to see the festival together and creating a math exercise workbook for the heroine which is just so Kent. I absolutely love his character and the writing for his dialogue; it’s actually so hilarious to read yet so incredibly well written. It’s consistent throughout the game, and adds so much dynamic to his personality.
He is also the only route to properly communicate and come to know of Orion’s existence and the true nature of the heroine’s amnesia. This to me was a very unique aspect of his route, and a true turning point in both their relationship and as characters. Rather than him sending her to the nearest hospital, he is accepting of her situation due to the mutual trust they’ve built together – despite the scenario denying all forms of logic.
It was a very cute and meaningful scene, because if it was Kent in the past; he would have never been able to accept such reasoning or adhere to her wishes. The moment when he finally confesses to the heroine at the swimming pool as well as exhibiting clear signs of male jealousy was just all too adorable for me. It is without a doubt my favourite CG in the game.
When he rushes to the heroine’s side during her accident near the conclusion of the game, and gives up on his presentation that heavily weighs on his future; I felt was truly the defining point of their relationship and extremely satisfying to read as a reader. Kent is finally able to see eye to eye with the heroine, agreeing that his actions are altogether too irrational and illogical; and that he had been incorrect about his assumptions on love.
To me, Kent’s route represented what a realistic and healthy relationship should be – despite it being fictional. Kent retains his sense of self throughout the game, but by the end of the story is more than willing to compromise and change aspects of himself to be a better person for the heroine. He prioritises her happiness above all else, and truly loves her both in actions and words.
They both empower and encourage one another to be betterand truly reach a mutual understanding. For example: he helps the heroine raise her university grades in order for them not only to be together studying abroad in London, but to have a bright future with one another.
IKKI [SPADE WORLD]:Your co-worker and current boyfriend in Spade World, Ikki is considered incredibly handsome and popular amongst the girls; enough to invoke the creation of a long-standing fan club. Accustomed to the affections of women, he is always courteous, kind, and overly flirtatious; essentially both the enemy and ideal man of every woman. Ikki always knows exactly what to say in order to charm a girl’s heart, and as a result the heroine constantly has her guard up around him. She is uncertain as to how she should respond to his affections, as he is very forward in his intentions towards her.
We soon learn that they have been dating for two months, and their relationship ends by the end of August. This is due to the heroine uncovering the sinister nature of Ikki’s fan-club prior to her amnesia; fans are only allowed to date Ikki for a span of three months before inevitably breaking up with him. They are also to provide daily reports of their activities with Ikki, because no one can ‘own’ him; he must be shared by everyone. If they do not obey these rules, the fan-club will enact severe punishment; and these aren’t just idle threats.
Ikki and the heroine had never been in love to begin with, as she had joined the fan club out of curiosity of his unnatural popularity and to oversee their daily operations. He had agreed to date the protagonist as he could not fathom as to why she was the only woman whom his mystical eyes did not work upon; the eyes that could make any woman fall in love with him at first sight.
Of course, as they get to know one another they begin to inevitably fall in love. What I disliked about Ikki’s route was due to the disingenuous nature of their beginnings and his flirtatious nature, it was difficult for most of the route to decipher whether or not he truly loved the protagonist. It felt like he was just playing a game with the heroine, and constantly using his physical wiles in attempting to charm her.
It took him so long to finally work up the courage to confront his fan-club, and for the most part the heroine endures the severe bullying alone with her amnesia. It’s why his route had some of the darker bad endings, due to how serious these fan-club girls really are in their threats.
Ikki was far too passive in the whole ordeal, never once questioning as to why his relationships only ever lasted for three months. The explanation behind his eyes I felt was very poor, as they just attributed it to him making a wish upon a star and magically, he’s had them ever since. Done. End of Story. You’d think that for such a crucial part of his character and history, they would dedicate a lot more time into the writing and fleshing out his story.
As a result, it leaves very little dimension to his character. What you essentially see in all the other stories is what you get in his route. Only difference is his flirtatiousness in the beginning transforms from a ploy in his experiment with the heroine, to being genuine when he falls in love with her by the end of the route.
What I did like about his route was that he helped the heroine confront her father in her desires on what she wants to do in her life, and her strive for independence. It’s the only story route where we see a part of her family, and a little bit more about her personal life before her amnesia.
TOMA [DIAMOND WORLD]:Surprisingly he is actually one of the most popular characters in Amnesia and often places very highly, if not topping their character polls. For the life of me I cannot even begin to understand this, but to each their own I suppose. Admittedly I did quite like his character design at first glance and I played his route second after Shin’s, as in terms of spoilers and story flow; it made the most sense. Boy, was I in for a wild rollercoaster ride in his story.
Similar to Heart World, in Diamond both Shin and Toma are the heroine’s closest childhood friends. However, rather than falling for Shin; the heroine has always been in love with Toma, but believes that he has never seen her as anything other than a little sister. As a result, prior to her amnesia she never managed to confess her feelings.
In his route, the heroine doesn’t see too much of the rest of the cast outside of Toma and Shin. Upon discovering the bullying inflicted upon the heroine at her apartment due to her close friendship with Ikki, and his suspicions of her amnesia; Toma suggests for her to stay at his place, as he claims he was her boyfriend and naturally would be the best course of action to take.
As the route progresses, their friends begin to express their concerns that they rarely ever see the heroine anymore; and even Shin shows up multiple times at Toma’s home and disapproves of the living circumstances as they’re not actually dating. This causes Toma to fly into a panic, as he is conflicted with having his lie exposed and being hated by the heroine or keeping her trapped by his side in blissful ignorance.
His obsession proves to be the overwhelming deciding factor; as he drugs the MC and purchases a cage to prevent her from escaping and discovering the truth. To me, his relationship with the MC can in no way shape or form be considered love. It is an unhealthy obsession, where he wants to possess her for his own selfish desires.
He distorts and justifies his obsession by veiling it beneath the facade of concern and out of affection, when in reality he has shown to be extremely manipulative and malicious; destroying any evidence for the MC to regain her memories, and fabricating the truth countless of times.
In one of his bad endings, the worst case scenario that Orion warned the heroine about from the beginning occurs. Due to the prolonged confinement, Orion has completely encroached upon the heroine’s mental state and she has been reduced to being nothing more than a lifeless doll; the unwilling reciprocal for Toma’s dark desires, and caged in his home for the rest of her life.
It’s so incredibly ironic because all of these events could have been avoided, as it was all based on a misunderstanding. Toma couldn’t bear to let the heroine go because he thought she was in love with Ikki, when she was actually in love with Toma the whole entire time. When he discovers her diary entailing the truth of her feelings before her amnesia, suddenly all is well and they have a happy ending together. To me, that made no sense whatsoever as how could she possibly still be in love with someone who deliberately put her in harms way and blatantly lied for his own selfishness?
How on earth does he still deserve a happy ending, and end up with the heroine regardless of his previous actions? I suppose I can see the aspects which people like about him, because at the end of the day he is still a fictional character. His actions can be interpreted as an out of control passion, the kind of love that ignites oneself into the flames of self-destruction. And I suppose that is what makes for an interesting and different story; of the good guy corrupted by sin and the dark side of loving someone too much.
He had a lot of cute and romantic moments with the heroine due to their seclusion together, and it is shown prior to his crazed cage frenzy that he had genuinely been a positive figure in the MC’s life. Although I still can’t bring myself to like him due to the trespassing of moral boundaries, I can see why many people still do.
UKYO [JOKER WORLD]: The most mysterious character out of the cast, and his route can only be unlocked upon the completion of the other four worlds. He makes appearances in all the stories, with varying screen times. Due to the unveiling of the overarching storyline and Ukyo’s role in each of them, I felt the game routes were best played in the order of Shin → Toma → Kent → Ikki. Ukyo is known as a talented and famous photographer, who often visits Meido no Hitsuji to observe and talk to the heroine.
Although he appears kind and gentle initially throughout the routes, from progressing with the story and bad endings; we come to realise that there is something amiss with his character. He has periods of lapses in judgement and changes in personality. Ukyo turns sinister with continually increasing threats to taking the MC’s life and succeeding in some of the endings.
As players progressing through the story and putting together the pieces of the puzzle from the other routes; we come to realise the grand picture. The other four routes represent parallel worlds on the same timeline continuum, hence why Orion assured the heroine that choosing any world was perfectly acceptable at the beginning of the game. Although she exists in all of them and would not disrupt the timeline by returning to any of the worlds, they may not necessarily be the world she originally came from prior to her memory loss.
Her original place was in the Joker World, where she was Ukyo’s beloved girlfriend. They had met during Spring beneath the cherry blossoms, and shared a loving and blissful relationship together for several months. However, at the beginning of August she attended university where a fatal accident occurred; causing a mass explosion in the classroom the heroine was in. Although she survived the initial incident, she passed away during her prolonged hospital stay near the end of August.
Ukyo unable to cope with the loss of the tragedy, makes a heartfelt wish to turn back time and prevent the accident from occurring; and create a future where he and the heroine are able to be together. A benevolent and powerful God decides to grant his wish, in order to restore their powers. The greater the wish within the heart of a person, the greater the power that returns to the God upon its success.
This leads to the God residing within Ukyo’s body and subconscious, in order to sustain time travelling and the ability to move between the parallel dimensions. This explains Ukyo’s appearances throughout all the routes. However, they soon come to a daunting realisation after countless times of living the same month of August over and over and failing in their attempts.
The heroine’s fate is to die by the end of August, and as a result accidents occur to ensure this event goes through in order to maintain the balance of the world. In Ukyo’s attempts to prevent her death in the different worlds, he perishes in her place. By the same logic, in order to maintain balance within the world; Ukyo’s foreign existence offsets the equilibrium and must be eliminated.
As a result, Ukyo and the God are stuck in a continually looping time paradox due to the wish that binds them together. Until it is granted, they are unable to escape from the time loop. It is an extremely difficult realisation from his painful experiences that even fate itself is against his dearest wish. It is fated and written in the law of the world that he and the heroine cannot exist together.
Countless times he saves the heroine only for her to end up with the bachelor she was meant to be with in that world, and he dies excruciatingly alone by the end of August. If he is able to survive the end of August, the heroine herself meets her own end; leaving Ukyo with the pain of mourning and losing her multiple times over. He then would commit suicide in order to reset the time paradox and reattempt the task in another world.
It is no wonder he becomes so twisted, having met with horrible deaths of both himself and the heroine an unimaginable number of times. He is forced to look on as whilst he’s working so painfully hard for the MC’s sake, she falls in love with another and has no memory of his existence. As a result of the time loop and Ukyo unable to bear with the heartache; his personality splits and forms a new entity within himself: Dark Ukyo. Dark Ukyo represents his sinister thoughts, and murderous intentions.
Why was he trying so hard for her sake, when she would never look his way? She leaves him to die blissfully ignorant, and has the happy ending that he would never be able to have. Why should he continue to love someone, who inevitably falls for another without any semblance of recognition for him? Whilst she has died many times over, she would never remember the pain of reliving death. The scars that Ukyo has been embedded with would never heal; and he has experienced what no human should ever experience more than once in a lifetime.
His story honestly made me so sad, with the knowing realisation that whilst we had our happy ending with literally every guy prior; Ukyo would appear and disappear in the routes. Now we know it was because he met extremely painful ends; whether by tragic accidents or he was unable to wait until the time limit and ended his life by his own hands.
The amount of love and dedication he had towards the heroine and her happiness is unfathomable; the kind of love that lasts a lifetime. The writing in his route was beautiful, and it’s the route where we see the most out of the heroine’s personality due to uncovering the truth and it is where she truly belongs.
When the God and Ukyo realises that he has exhausted all his powers to reset time and travel between the worlds, they decide as a last resort to return to the heroine’s original world with Ukyo and prevent her death. Although she was alive in the other worlds, she was not fated to be with him. The suspense, adrenaline and tension conveyed with the stakes at hand truly made the storyline a rollercoaster from beginning to end.
It was their last chance at being together, and to defy the very hands of fate with their everlasting love. It was incredibly dramatic and heartfelt, and the feels were really too much. It had the most ‘complete’ and ‘satisfying’ ending because it revealed all the mysteries behind Ukyo’s character and the heroine’s true past, as well as Orion’s origins.
However, I still felt they could’ve definitely gone into better detail with Orion and the God; as well as the explanation for the time travel paradox. It is quite a hefty read that the writer unloaded all at once, and I remember the first time reading it I did have to read it several times to fully understand what exactly happened. Although I do really love the time travel paradox twist, it should’ve been explained in greater detail and more clearly. I still felt the whole wish concept and God story could’ve been fleshed out much better, especially as his story is the true ending.
Design ★★★★
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The art in Amnesia: Memories is absolutely gorgeous! Everything is just so crisp and vivid, and it’s without a doubt the main selling point of the game. I loved all the bachelor’s character designs, especially the heroine herself. She has one of the best designs for a protagonist, and I overall really do love everything about her look. I’m a big fan of the hair and beret.
The multiple perspectives where you could see the back of the bachelor was a very nice touch to the game. The CGs are one of the best that I’ve seen, and all the characters just have so many great scenes. I really loved the colouring, shading, and line art as they suited the tone of the game perfectly.
The artist for Amnesia: Memories (Hanamura Mai – 花邑 まい) also did the art for an upcoming to-be-released in english otome game called Collar x Malice. I talked about the game in my anticipated 2017 releases, which for more information you can read about here.
My only criticism as a personal preference would be the bachelor outfits. I found them very odd initially to look at, as they just seemed so out of place and whacky. Although there are fantasy elements to the story; it is still a daily life type of game. For example: all the buckles and straps on Kent’s outfit really just doesn’t make any sense. I’m not entirely sure what the aim of the game producers were in the design, but if it was to stand out and give a different type of appeal; then yes they definitely achieved their target.
Music and Voice Acting ★★★★★
The music and voice acting was yet another stand out point of the game. It is composed by Manyo, who is one of my all time favourite Visual Novel music artists. The BGMs were just so soothing and lovely; they suited the mood and scenes of the game wonderfully. The other Visual Novel OST composed by him that I am a big fan of is for the Kara no Shoujo series. The opening theme of Amnesia: Memories is quite popular, and the different ending songs of each bachelor route were a nice touch.
The voice acting cast is very famous, and all solid veterans. Needless to say it was no surprise that they were all top notch, and perfectly emulated their character roles.
Kent | VA: Ishida Akira | 石田 彰 | Narutoseries as Gaara, Danganronpa series as Byakuya Togami and Black Wolves Saga series as Zara Skeens
Shin | VA: Kakihara Tetsuya| 柿原 徹也 | Code Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ as Viktor Frankenstein
Toma | VA: Hino Satoshi |日野 聡 | Naruto series as Sai, and The Disastrous Life of Saiki K as Kineshi Hairo
Ikki | VA: Taniyama Kishō | 谷山 紀章 | Yo-Jin-Bo as Kasumimaru Fuuma, and Black Wolves Saga series as Guillan Guinor
Ukyo | VA: Miyata Kouki | 宮田 幸季 | Danganronpa series as Chihiro Fujisaki, and Nightshade as Ieyasu Tokugawa
System ★★★★★
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I really liked the design interface and system of Amnesia: Memories. It was clean, crisp, easy to navigate and suited the theme of the game. You can just see the attentiveness to detail in the design and ease of use. It incorporated a gallery, music record, opening and ending select, and access to several short stories and extra content. You can even play cute mini-games with your favourite bachelors, and attempt to beat them for some interesting interactions!
What I particularly liked was the art transitions in between chapters and scenes, the chibi illustrations were very cute and matched the events of the storyline. My favourite would be the one of Orion struggling in the day-to-day duties of the Maid Café.
Another strong point was the inbuilt mobile system in the game, as it is one of your main sources of information and communication due to your amnesia. You often receive texts and calls from the characters that progress the storyline, and it added that extra dynamic to the game.
Conclusion
Overall, Amnesia: Memories is a great and solid game. It’s different, refreshing and interesting in comparison to the other otome games on the market. Besides, how often do you see a game of this quality writing, art, music and voice acting on sale for $2.99USD? I personally bought it full price when it came out on the PSVita, and I don’t regret it one bit.
Although Orion’s presence over the heroine is not for everyone, it added dynamic to the overall storyline and created a more complex protagonist for the players to discover. One of my personal enjoyments of the game was the presence of the heroine’s female friends, which actually doesn’t occur too often in otome games. They proved to be very supportive of the heroine’s condition in many routes, and were friends she could rely on in times of need.
The girl talk session they had in Kent’s route was hilarious, and it was nice to see there was at least some normality in the heroine’s life. Sawa and Mina are the types of girlfriends whom anyone would love to have in real life. My only criticisms of the game would be that some routes definitely felt more lacking in certain respects in comparison to others.
For example: although Ikki and Kent shared similar routes to one another, Ikki lacked a lot of the character depth and progression that Kent’s route had. In Toma and Shin’s routes, then they were the complete opposite of one another despite having prominent roles in both worlds. Although the game’s strong point were the different storylines, not all of them were executed to the same level of quality.
Ukyo’s route had amazing promise from beginning to end; but slightly fell flat in it’s concluding explanation on the fantasy elements of the game. However, in spite of my mixed feelings on some of the routes; I was still satisfied with all their good endings.
I definitely recommend the game (be on the lookout for those steam sales!) and would love to see Amnesia: Crowd, Amnesia: Later or Amnesia: World localised. I personally would like Amnesia: Crowd out of the three, because it gives a more concrete, holistic future ending and complete tying up of the Amnesia series.
I remember playing this game initially when it was released and localised in 2015 by Aksys Games in English. Recently, I decided to replay the game out of nostalgia as I haven’t touched the game since clocking it two years ago. Besides, I might as well write a review on one of my all-time favourite otome games, am I right? I purchased a PS Vita initially to play Amnesia: Memories that was released a month prior. To my surprise and delight, this title was released soon after.
What initially caught my attention was the gorgeous art, impressive soundtrack, strong voice cast line up and the character designs. Not to mention I am a sucker for historical-based Visual Novels, since it gives a more three-dimensional take on the storyline and feels more authentic to read as a reader. It’s always interesting to see how writers incorporate real life events and places to further fuel their own writing.
Needless to say, I felt this was undoubtedly the best otome game released in english for 2015. At the price of $29.99 USD, it is well worth the purchase and I highly recommend to all otome game lovers to play.
Storyline ★★★★★
-The Story-
Restricted to an abandoned mansion on the outskirts of London in fulfillment of a promise to her father, lonely Cardia lives day to day isolated from the world. Her body carries a deadly poison that rots or melts anything her skin touches, prompting the locals to call her a “monster.” Her last conversation with her father two years ago, telling her to stay out of sight and never fall in love, is the furthest back she can remember. One day, her quiet solitude is interrupted as the Royal Guards break in to capture her. It is then that Cardia meets Arsène Lupin, a chivalrous thief, who helps her escape the soldiers’ clutches. She soon finds herself on a journey with Lupin to locate her father, who holds the answers to her mysterious condition. The two are soon joined by four more interesting and handsome gentlemen…
The story is based in 19th Century London, Britain during the technological age of revolution. It heavily uses the genre of steampunk and many of the characters are based on famous historical figures or fiction of the era. Isaac Beckford, the protagonist’s father is considered the equivalent of a “modern prometheus”. He is the main forerunner behind Britain’s staggering technological advancement for its time and fortified defence famously known as Steel London.
However, he has since disappeared without a trace in the peak of his career and brilliance to the shock of the world. It is the search for his whereabouts that joins all the characters by fate in meeting one another, and they become a team in order to further their own personal goals. Cardia (the protagonist) decides to accompany them on a journey of self-discovery, seeking the answers to her own past, origin and cure for her condition to fulfil her desire to touch another human being.
The story premise immediately draws the reader in with its interesting concept and twist on real world history. It is executed excellently with good story pacing, and every route is wrapped up nicely. The reader isn’t left dissatisfied or with questions unanswered and the routes go into incredible detail about the character’s struggles, past, origin, and reasons for searching for Isaac Beckford. One of the greatest points about Code: Realize is that none of the routes felt lacking in content and depth. Usually many Visual Novels struggle with consistency and it is obvious in the writing that some routes are written better than others. This was not the case for this game.
Every route played a crucial factor in the overarching plot, each connecting to one another beautifully in the grand scheme of painting the picture for the story. Every route essentially was a different perspective and piece of the overall plot. When the dots all lined up in the end, I was left with a feeling of awe and satisfaction at how well planned out the whole storyline was.
The writing and translation was decent, with very little grammatical errors throughout. I noticed only a handful of typos over the course of the game, which could have been corrected with more thorough proofreading. The game is quite lengthy, and would take approximately30-50hrs to complete. The common route spans from Chapter 1-8 of the game, and takes around 5-6 hrs to finish. From Chapter 9-13 is the character route of the chosen bachelor that you selected, which takes around 5-10 hrsto finish depending on your read speed.
The game covers a lot of content and is very text heavy. If you’re not a fan of content-heavy games with slow developing storylines, this game can be quite the lengthy read and a struggle to finish. It is also an otome game so the romance aspect does play a significant role in furthering the plot. Overall, there is very little I can fault about the story and writing itself. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and playing the game, and it definitely left a strong impression on me.
Character Development ★★★★
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!
CARDIA BECKFORD: One of the strongest points of the game is the writing for the heroine herself, Cardia Beckford. Playing as Cardia was an incredibly refreshing and rewarding experience, as she develops fantastically as a character over the course of the game. She begins as a doll-like girl with no will to live, unwilling to change and without a single desire or purpose other than to wait for the return of her father. Throughout her journey with the bachelors she transforms into someone who deeply cares for her friends and others around her, and does not hesitate to protect what she holds dear.
She shows the capacity for human thoughts and emotions, and a moral compass that distinguishes her from being a “monster”. Cardia constantly tries her best not to hold her friends back and excels in the skills that they’ve taught her such as Lupin’s escape tactics, Van Helsing’s combat lessons and techniques, and Viktor’s use and understanding of chemical properties. Unlike many otome game heroines who fulfil the damsel-in-distress role, Cardia has shown time and time again that she can very well hold her own ground in a fair fight—even against the elite soldiers, Twilight.
She has escaped and overcome many situations that would’ve normally been deemed hopeless, through sheer willpower and wit. It is also understandable as to how she ends up falling for each of the bachelors and doesn’t fall for them initially at first sight. There is build up and development with every character, as she slowly opens her heart to them about her deepest fears and past.
The game requires all 4 bachelor routes to be completed (Van Helsing, Saint-Germain, Viktor Frankenstein and Impey Barbicane) before it unlocks Lupin’s Route (The True Ending). I personally recommend playing them in the above order due to the later routes revealing more information about the true ending. However, it’s not extremely important to play in that specific order and you can easily choose whomever you would like to play first.
ABRAHAM VAN HELSING:Van Helsing is the infamous Vampire Hunter, who eradicated the vampires and their king during the Vampire War. He initially opens fire on the group when they are attending a fair and demands that Cardia accompany him as she may be the key to finding the man he must kill. Van Helsing reluctantly joins the group after seeing their display of skill and that their goals all essentially align to one man—Isaac Beckford.
He is cold, callous, and remains distant from the rest of the group—having only a single-minded focus on killing Finis, the source of his life’s despair and misery. Van Helsing is willing to throw away everything, so long as his role as an avenger comes to an end, and agrees to die at the hands of Delacroix II to atone for his sins.
I thoroughly enjoyed Van Helsing’s route, as it was very emotionally vexing and well written. Seeing the transition from a cold-blooded killer into a man conflicted by his sense of duty and the foreign emotions of love truly played on my heartstrings. The pivotal moment when he confesses his longing for the heroine and his frustrations at her recklessness precisely because he loves her was so wonderfully written. His voice actor (Suwabe Junichi) did a fantastic job at conveying his pain, despair and love—the raw emotion was evident in every word punctuated.
I felt that he had significant character development throughout the story and a great relationship dynamic with Cardia. Every moment between the two was electrifying, as Cardia consistently displays the fruits of his efforts in honing her admirable combat skills.
I felt their mutual respect and trust with one another’s lives formed the crux of their relationship and it inevitably led to them falling in love. The twist of his route was all too heart-wrenching and completely justified his inner torment and turmoil. I loved the pacing, development and his good ending CG with Cardia was just all too cute.
SAINT-GERMAIN:The most mysterious out of all the characters, not much is known about the whimsical Count other than his immense generosity in allowing the cast to stay at his mansion and entertaining their grand schemes in searching for Isaac Beckford. Originating in France, Saint-Germain is always calm, well-mannered and eloquent—the picture perfect definition of a gentleman.
In spite of his distaste for violence, all the characters have expressed that he is a force to be reckoned with and encompasses immense skill in combat—demonstrating on multiple occasions that he even exceeds Van Helsing in strength. Saint-Germain in my opinion had by far the best storyline out of all the bachelors in the sheer complexity of the plot and how well the pieces all came together in the end.
I don’t think any reader would have anticipated that Saint-Germain is in fact hundreds of years old, and an Apostle of Idea—The Guides of History throughout all of mankind. It just all suddenly clicked as to how they were able to evade detection for so long in the Count’s mansion, his combat skill through centuries of honing, immense world knowledge and how all the characters capable of altering history came to meet at his intervention behind the scenes.
I really liked the concept of the Apostles due to the strong religious allusions and historical references used to strengthen the storyline itself. It addresses yet another dimension of Cardia’s character and existence—the morality of mankind obtaining infinite power and trespassing on the realm of God in the creation of a human being.
Power given to human hands throughout history has inevitably led to death and destruction, a path that bars mankind from returning to Eternal Paradise (The Garden of Eden)—a goal that Omnibus (Eve), the Leader of the Apostles has dedicated her whole life to. Through consuming the forbidden fruit, Omnibus has the power to predict human disaster, and steer mankind onto the path of salvation. Cardia’s very own existence as a result, is undoubtedly considered sin in God’s eyes—a poor imitation at creating a human being, a doll unable to touch or love another person without planting the seeds of despair.
And yet, this very imitation has shown the capacity to love and care for another, not hesitating to place her life on the line to save someone else. She laughs, cries and smiles just like any other human being—so where is the line that distinguishes man from beast?It is no wonder that Saint-Germain becomes immensely conflicted in his judgement, as he is unable to come to a decision regarding her existence. For the first time in a millennia, his cold heart has been thawed and moved by a girl fighting against fate in her search for meaning.
As a warning, his route is significantly darker than the other bachelors and can be considered disturbing to many. He displays ‘yandere-like’ tendencies such as kidnapping the heroine, attempting to strangle her, and she does die at his hands brutally in several of the bad ends. It is understandable however, as his role in history does not allow him to disobey orders. The only order he disobeyed led to an incredibly traumatic past that wiped out a large portion of humanity, leaving his hands permanently bloodstained. Cardia continuing to live would bring about a calamity far greater than any in the past that humankind has committed.
The raw undiluted passion that the Count showed when single-handedly going against the 12 Apostles, and begging Omnibus to spare Cardia’s life touched me. It was completely unlike his character, and truly demonstrated how much he loved her and how important her existence was to him. Saint-Germain’s route is crucial to Cardia, since it further develops her as a character and addresses her existentialist existence. I was a little disappointed at his ending, since I felt that the happiness gifted to them could only be temporary and didn’t truly resolve Cardia’s underlying problems.
VIKTOR FRANKENSTEIN:A famous alchemist in London and part of the prestigious Royal Alchemist Society, well-respected and renowned for his scientific discoveries. Cardia encounters Viktor when he assists her escape from some thugs on her first day in London, and offers the group his cooperation for their quests regarding Isaac Beckford in return for safety from the government.
He has been branded a wanted criminal and terrorist for treason, although it is unknown to the group the true nature of these accusations. Always kind-hearted, soft-spoken and gentle, he primarily serves as the group’s medic and makes up for his physical shortcomings through his use and knowledge of chemically-filled test tubes for both offence and defence.
It was quite amusing for a time of Cardia’s dilemma as Viktor potentially being her father, obviously alluding to the original tale of Frankenstein creating a monster whom he then abandoned. Initially I didn’t expect too much coming into Viktor’s route as his character isn’t usually my type, but his route was undoubtedly very sweet.
His route is refreshing in comparison to the first two, who are completely and utterly at the mercy of their past. Although he does have a traumatic past of his own, the overall mood and tone of the story is significantly more light-hearted. I particularly enjoyed his moments of shyness and consideration for Cardia that were vacant from the other two, and the fumbling of two people in love for the first time.
I enjoyed his route particularly due to his hand in creating the element ‘Zicterium’, the pre-cursor to the Philosopher’s Stone and his contribution to the heroine’s past was more significant than any of us would expect. I felt he developed wonderfully as a character because it is through his meeting and interactions with the heroine that he is finally able to confront the demons of his past, and look forward to creating a better future. It is Cardia’s courage and headstrong personality that enables Viktor to find the strength and determination to atone for his actions.
What I also liked was that it explored Queen Victoria’s character and her past, giving greater insight into a very interesting character in her own right. Viktor’s route paints her in her darkest hour as a ruthless, tyrant-like ruler who would sacrifice a whole city of civilians for the benefit of Great Britain—essentially the end justifying the means.
By the end of his route however, we realise that she is in fact a genuinely kind and benevolent Queen, giving up her own morality and sense of self for the sake of her people. Everything she has done has always been for the benefit of her own country, no matter how many pieces of herself she would lose in the process. I felt the scene where Leonhardt for the first time in his life disobeyed the Queen’s orders in response to Viktor’s brave actions of standing up to him and refusing to employ Victoria’s tactics, was a true demonstration of both the character’s development over the story.
IMPEY BARBICANE: A self-proclaimed genius engineer who partners up with Arsène Lupin from the beginning of the game to rescue Cardia from her home in Wales. The ‘comic-relief’ character out of all the bachelors, Impey is an incredibly cheerful and energetic personality—much to the ire of the others and consistently used as the butt of their jokes.
Despite their constant insults at his lack of trustworthiness and questionable morals when it comes to women, they deeply respect his abilities as both a cook and an engineer—fully relying on him and trusting in his skill to get them out of tricky situations, which Impey always delivers. He is the only character who falls in love with Cardia at first sight, and expresses disappointment in all the routes when she ends up falling in love with another bachelor; although he always wishes for her happiness in the end.
I felt Impey although an enjoyable route to read, was a lot weaker than the others due to the fact that he had very little character development over the course of the story. He is more or less the same from beginning to end and doesn’t differ much from what we see in the other storylines—essentially what you see is what you get.
An interesting revelation about him was his origins as a vampire, which explains his incredible strength and durability in combat. However, this was only mentioned in his route and not delved upon fully to my disappointment. I felt the nature of his origins could’ve been expanded on and his past felt lacking in comparison to the others. His route is the most light-hearted out of the bunch and not as heavy of a read, which was a nice contrast.
His route delves into the character of Nemo, another genius mad-scientist who claims that both Viktor and Impey are his greatest rivals. This is important as Nemo is actually a significant character in the grand overarching plot, due to his contributions to Twilight—the organisation seeking for the capture of Cardia. Impey by far had the best CGs in the game with the heroine, almost unfairly so in comparison to the other bachelors. Overall, I still really liked Impey as a character due to the dynamic he added to the group and the balance he brought to everyone’s more serious personalities.
ARSÈNE LUPIN:The true ending only unlockable upon the completion of every other route, and as a result the most controversial in terms of audience reception. A world renowned ‘gentlemen-thief’ who has stolen from the most elite-organisations whether it be money, top-secret information or treasures that have never been revealed to the public eye. A modern-day Robin Hood, he steals only from the rich and gives back to the poor—a rather warped sense of self-justice that he has instilled upon himself.
Lupin is responsible for planning the heist to rescue Cardia at the beginning of the game and pledges to her that he can steal anything in the world—including women’s hearts. He makes a promise to grant her wish of being able to touch another human being, and ridding her body of the poison that permeates it. Lupin has a strong distaste for violence as he finds the behaviour ungentlemanly, and as a result all his skills lie in the art of deception and escape.
I felt that although his route was good, it didn’t truly live up to the hype and build up it had from playing all the other routes. A consistent theme throughout the game is that all the bachelors mention that they aren’t right for the heroine, and choosing someone like Lupin would truly ensure her salvation and happiness. They all emphasise that Lupin is the only one who can cure her and grant Cardia the wish that she is seeking.
As a result, the bulk of Lupin’s story is dedicated to revealing and answering all the questions hinted at in the previous routes. Although his past is touched upon as to how he became a gentleman thief and acquired his skills, it was nowhere near as impactful or in-depth as the others. I felt his reasoning for saving the heroine and life purpose was quite weak overall and didn’t leave a lasting impression.
All of his route essentially revolved around Cardia, her past and how to rid her of the poison without much focus on Lupin at all—despite it being his route. He doesn’t develop much as a character either, despite having such significant roles in every single other bachelor route. He is the same from beginning to end, and when a character is too perfect in every way then that is also a flaw in the writing.
What I do commend is that the route does wrap up the overarching story nicely and the questions that culminated throughout the plot were all answered in one grand sweep. It is the only route where Isaac Beckford finally makes his appearance and delves into his purpose for creating the cursed children, as well as his reasoning for it all.
Lupin’s route is the most romantic and has the most ‘canon ending’ out of all the bachelors. As he is the true ending, he naturally has all the best moments in the game as a character. He truly plays the ‘golden-hearted hero with an unparalleled sense of justice that rescues the princess time and time again’ role perfectly.
What I liked about his route was that out of all the characters, he had the most noble intentions towards Cardia and was truly working only for her best interests. Every other character had their own demons to take care of, and as a result could never truly solve and take upon Cardia’s burdens as well. Lupin is the one to truly ‘save’ Cardia and grant her wish as without his initial rescue, she would have never known the world outside her cage and experienced happiness.
Design ★★★★★
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One of the highlights of the game is the absolutely gorgeous art. There is very little to fault the art upon at all. It looks super vibrant and crisp on the PSVita, with a wide assortment of CGs for every character and backgrounds. It also incorporates a bonus extra scene CG that unlocks when you complete their route (a fan-service scenario/picture). If anything, I wish there would be more CGs to look at simply because they’re so beautiful. They look like something that could come out of a painting, and there’s just so much attention and attentiveness to detail.
The proportions and body positions are also done particularly well, a struggle that many Visual Novel artists I’ve noticed have. You could choose to toggle on/off the portrait of the heroine, but I personally liked having it on due to the sprite of the heroine encompassing varying expressions depending on the scenario. I liked how the CGs were distributed evenly with every bachelor, so it didn’t feel like some had more or less than others. The quality of the images are maintained throughout the game, and consistency I find is the most crucial factor when it comes to Visual Novels.
If you want to check out other games that the artist illustrated for, Miko also did the popular Idea Factory games Beast Master and Prince (Moujuutsukai to Ouji-sama) and Bond of Ten Demons (Toki no Kizuna Sekigahara Kitan). The first is only playable in Japanese, and the second has been localised in the form of a mobile game.
Music and Voice Acting ★★★★
The music in Code: Realize was very well done. It had a large assortment of tracks, and the looping was subtle but not incredibly noticeable. They all suited the mood and theme of the game perfectly and had some of my favourite tracks out of any Visual Novel I’ve played. I particularly enjoyed the piano instrumental for the ‘romantic/emotional’ moments, since they definitely contributed to the overall gameplay experience. The voice acting cast was superb as well, with a solid and famous line up.
Van Helsing | VA: Suwabe Junichi | 諏訪部 順一 | Fate/Stay Night as Archer, YURII!!! On Ice as Victor, Black Butler as Undertaker
Viktor Frankenstein | VA: Kakihara Tetsuya | 柿原 徹也 | Amnesia: Series as Shin
Impey Barbicane | VA: Morikubo Shotaro | 森久保 祥太郎 | Hakuoki: Series as Okita Souji, Persona 4 as Yosuke Hanamura, Naruto as Shikamaru Nara
Every voice actor suited their character perfectly, bringing them to life through emulating their lively personalities. One thing I did note from playing the game, was that Lupin’s voice audio was the quietest out of all the characters despite being on the same volume. It took me quite a while to adjust and figure out exactly how to balance all the audios of the voices, in order for them to speak at the same volume. This task proved to be more difficult than I would’ve thought, as I also had to adjust the background music and sound effects to match the voice volume.
System ★★★★★
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The system user interface (UI) and graphics layout were nicely designed and suited the theme of the game. The recurring motif of ‘clock-work cogs’ was prevalent throughout the game, as a symbol of time being of the essence in curing the heroine as well as the era of technological advancement in London.
I liked the in-built encyclopaedia very much as it gave extra insight into the historical aspect of the game, backing it up with real-life factual information and explaining terms that the average player may not be familiar with. It was a nice touch how the background of the title screen alternates between day and night depending on the time you play the game.
Code: Realize has an option called ‘Path of Genesis’ that unlocks when you complete your first playthrough. This allows you to select which chapter you would like to play from afterwards, and locks you into the character route you desire no matter what choices you make.
It’s a very nifty option especially for first time Visual Novel players playing without a walkthrough, as it allows you to easily get onto your desired bachelor path and experiment with the varying endings of the game. The gallery allows you to replay event CGs without replaying the game again, and the chibi sprites when selecting the extra scene were adorable.
Conclusion
Overall, Code Realize: ~Guardian of Rebirth~ is a very good game. With its interesting storyline, solid characters, beautiful artwork, strong voice acting line up and great execution—there is very little to fault it about. However, Code: Realize may not be for everyone. It employs the niche steampunk genre, has a very slow developing storyline and quite content-heavy for the average player. It is also an otome game, which means the romance plays a pivotal role in the advancement of the plot.
I’ve read many reviews where some readers absolutely loved the game, but others found themselves struggling to finish it due to how much reading was involved in comparison to the action and gameplay. For me personally, then I loved the game and I highly recommend it.
If you love in-depth storylines, beautiful artwork and otome then this is definitely the game for you. In my opinion, it is without a doubt one of the best localised otome games out there and well worth purchasing a Vita for—especially as majority of English Visual Novel releases are on the platform.
My main qualm about the game was Lupin’s Route. Despite him being my favourite character and thoroughly enjoying the route itself, there were definitely glaring faults about it. As his path is the ‘true ending’ of the game, it essentially resolves all the problems that arose in the previous storylines and answers any remaining questions the player has.
This is great in the sense that we have a ‘wholesome ending’ that doesn’t feel lacking in those respects. However, it leaves a bad taste for readers where Lupin isn’t their favourite character. Because his route is so ‘perfect’ and resolves every problem, it really does render every other character’s path obsolete.
Despite their significant contribution to the overall plot line, the writers intentionally made it so none of them could fully save Cardia. This because only Lupin could have that role as the true character you’re meant to end up with. They purposefully created holes in the other character’s routes, only so Lupin could solve it all in the end. If everyone’s problems could be solved in Lupin’s ending regardless, what was the real point of their routes?
Everyone more or less ends up in the same place as their ending with Cardia in Lupin’s Route, so regardless of whether or not Cardia chooses to end up with them—nothing truly changes. In every story route ending, Cardia’s poison is still a work-in-progress and their life together although happy, isn’t fully resolved. In Lupin’s Route, everyone gets a happy complete ending.
The whole plot revolves around the concept that you need to choose Lupin, you need him in order to find the answers and wish you seek, driving the audience into a corner where you’re essentially forced to like Lupin the most because he gives you the best ending. As a result, Lupin essentially emulates your perfect prince: noble, courageous and with a heart of justice—only working for your sake and for you to attain happiness. He doesn’t change or deviate much from this role or personality, with very little character development overall. Honestly, all the other bachelors were more multi-faceted and had better dimensions to their character.
I was expecting Lupin to have a dark side to him, or something that changed him so dramatically to become the person he is now. I was convinced at one point that he had been an ex-Twilight member, which would explain his stealth skills and escape tactics reminiscent of the elite organisation. It would’ve been such a great angle and made an even better storyline if executed correctly, so you can imagine my disappointment when that wasn’t the case at all.
I mean, how dramatic would it have been upon realising that the organisation after Cardia’s life and her saviour were both one in the same? That this whole entire time rather than saving her out of good will, it was all part of Finis’ master plan to gain her trust? That is just one example of how many possibilities Lupin’s route could’ve had to go from good to great or amazing.
Overall, Idea Factory did an amazing job with the game and Aksys Games really did choose a solid title to localise. Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ has undoubtedly been a commercial success, as it’s fan disk sequel Code: Realize ~Future Blessings~ has been announced for localisation and released in 2018.
I believe the fan disk Idea Factory usually releases aren’t as content heavy as the original games, as they’re ‘after-story’ events to appease readers with more romantic stories with their favourite bachelor. I will definitely be reviewing it and playing it myself when the game releases!
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
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