Song of Memories is a visual novel for the PlayStation 4. A port to the Nintendo Switch was attempted but ultimately aborted due to difficulties, which is interesting since as a visual novel, the game doesn't exactly tax the system's hardware. The portraits used for the characters are actual models, therefore they have more idle animation such as swaying. It seems weird at first but you get used to it. As a visual novel, the gameplay is limited and the story is the focus. Unfortunately, there are typos and spacing issues in even the earliest sections. While this is sloppy for an official translation, it doesn't detract from the meaning and enjoyment of the game. All the dialogue is voiced in Japanese and as expected in a visual novel, branching points are a major focus as each of the heroines have their own routes.
However, there is a surprise in the game and that is the main character engages in battle. Thus, Song of Memories has its own battle system which boils down to a rhythm minigame. The main character has HP and will result in a game over if it reaches zero. Experience points are gained from battles and there is a weakness system. However, this gameplay element is undermined by the fact that you can skip these battles with no repercussions if you want to just enjoy the story. You still gain the experience and it is much quicker to skip than waste time fumbling around in the clunky battle mechanics. The battles are pretty boring anything and the rhythm gameplay do not have tight controls.
The story starts with a fairly typical opening half. The main character is attending high school and it takes place in October. His childhood friend Kanon used to be hospitalized due to her illness but has gotten better and is able to attend the academy again. Thus begins the main character's school life of getting to know Kanon again, as well as interacting with other female characters who each has ta fairly standard personality. This situation is complete with his best friend Makoto who is a pervert and crosses the line to creepiness at times.
Nonetheless, as hinted by the cover art, the typical school life changes in the second half of the story, which is also the point that the routes split off depending on your choices. The situation that the characters find themselves in are completely different which has more of an apocalyptic styled disaster. It gets interesting in how it depicts the stress of living in such a danger zone. The characters have to deal with the anxiousness of running out of food to the danger of having to scavenge for it.
The story forces some hard decisions for the main character. This is especially so since things happen to his friends and only his has the power to stop them, but not in a good way. Thrown into the mix for good measure is the Dream 4 U unit which takes the form of a device that houses five AIs. They are severely underdeveloped as characters yet they become the ones that are key to reversing the situation the characters find themselves in.
While the common route obviously shares a lot of the same story, the dedicated routes also tend to share a significant first portion. It likes to repeat the same plot points since the background to how things ended up this way are the same no matter which route you end up in. While you can skip text, either ones you've read before or all text, if you set it to the ones you've already read, it doesn't recognize the same text used in separate routes as read, even though it is the exact same text.
There are six main route sin total, one for each of the heroines, plus one for the main character's best friend and a bunch of smaller branches. Each route deals with the same situation but with some different events involving the heroine of choice. It makes for a slightly different story each time but each ends in a similar way. The routes aren't that long, only lasting around 4-6 hours for the first route depending on how fast you read. Once you do the different routes, they tend to shorten to one to three hours long. This also means that while the premise is interesting and it manages to wrap up any questions it raised, at the same time, it cannot go into that much depth with the characters and scenario.
There are quick save and quick load options as well as a game flowchart to show how the dialogue branches. All these quality of life inclusions make Song of Memories easy to navigate and get the most out of the game without wasting the player's time. The background music is good enough at times that you'll occasionally notice it and stop to listen.
In addition to the main story there is actually a decent amount of additional content. You have the usual gallery feature where you can peruse all the CG scenes, play music and check out the character models, which includes all their expressions and costumes. The biggest chunk of content is in the form of additional story content involving events that happen after the true endings, and side stories which are filled with humor, albeit a bit cliched.
Overall, Song of Memories isn't a stellar visual novel, nor will it stick in your mind after you've completed the game. However, the premise is interesting and it tries to lure you in with a cliched first half as a typical high school student, and then throws in an apocalyptic second half that doesn't quite gel. The amount of similar plot threads can make it tedious to go through all six of the heroines' routes but Song of Memories is a solid visual novel that's worth playing.
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