The Memories Off series from MAGES is back with SINce Memories: Off The Starry Sky. This newly localized visual novel is set 10 years after the original and tells the story of Junya Mizumoto, a young adult with a soft heart that is trying to recover from the tragic loss of his older brother. And Junya’s tale of grief, friendship, and mystery is tied to the women around him. To that end, the game centers heavily around building relationships with characters and helping solve their problems.
For those unfamiliar, the Memories Off series started in 1999 with the game of the same name from Japan-based developer KID (Kindle Imagine Develop). KID would be most famous for the Infinity visual novel series, which began a year later with Never 7: The End of Infinity, but in the early 2000s KID developed nearly yearly releases for Memories Off until they filed for bankruptcy in 2006. The Memories Off IP now sits with MAGES, who took over production with some of the development team from KID.
As the resident visual novel fan, I was the obvious choice to cover this game, although even I didn’t know about the Memories Off series to begin with. My experience playing through the opening hours of SINce Memories: Off The Starry Sky is a standalone one and that’s how I will share my thoughts here. If you are a longtime fan of the series and are looking to find out how this new one holds up to its predecessors, then you sadly won’t find the answer here.
The most striking thing about Off the Starry Sky is its presentation. It starts off with an animated intro reminiscent of an anime opening and that sets the stage for the type of narrative you’re about to experience. I’ve played enough visual novels recently to state that Off the Starry Sky has the production quality of the best of them, featuring full Japanese voice acting for all characters except Junya and a clean art style that highlights the great character art and backgrounds.
The story features “scenario writing” from Tsukasa Tsuchiya, Hiro Akizuki, Rio Izumi, Decocool, Moe Gungu, and Chiyo Yakaku, whose credits include Steins;Gate 0, Fate/Zero, and the Atelier series. There are some interesting mysteries established in the first two chapters alone that make me curious to see where the story will go and how Junya’s brother’s death is linked to the little girl who blames Junya for the tragedy.
You might be wondering then, why I haven’t finished the game yet if the setup is so intriguing. Which brings me to my counterpoints. These are not only the reasons I have not yet finished the game but also why this isn’t a formally scored review. Despite the scenarios, Off the Starry Sky has the type of narrative writing that did not work for me. Its protagonist is like a local Wikipedia page who can’t help but recite the history of every character and location he comes across. Visual novels often struggle with the “show don’t tell” aspect of good writing and while the writing isn’t terrible, its overwritten internal dialogue made it hard for me to keep reading enthusiastically.
The second point has to do with pacing. If you’re new to the series like me, it might take a while for you to get into the story. The game sort of just drops you into the narrative, which isn’t too bad because the aforementioned plotlines and the first episode cliffhanger are enough to get you engaged. However, I would still describe Off the Starry Sky as a slow burn. The story takes its time to really get going and the rate at which you move through it will depend on your investment into the narrative.
And that’s the reason I’m not yet done with the game. The plot has me curious enough to keep picking up my Steam Deck but its expository writing and occasionally mistranslated dialogue hamper the gameplay. That being said, if you can work past that, you will be treated to some great art, nice music (from Takeshi Abo), and a strong presentation that elevates the rest of the experience as a whole. SINce Memories: Off The Starry Sky is available now on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. A code was provided by the publisher for coverage.
