Memory’s Dogma CODE:01 – PC Review – by DarkLunarDude

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DarkLunarDude
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Genre: Adventure Casual Indie Mystery Visual Novel
Developer: Liz-Arts
Publisher: Sekai Project
Release Date: Nov 04, 2016

“Sometimes trying to find the truth reveals new allies in the process, it all depends on if you are willing to open to that possibility” While this line does not have a explanation per se, it does describe what I feel summarizes Memory’s Dogma CODE:01. Memory’s Dogma CODE:01 is a Sci-Fi adventure visual novel that was developed by Liz-Arts, and later published by Sekai Project, that while it has a very slow startup story-wise, has one of the more unique stories and art assets  to match it.
Getting scanned into our tale, Memory’s Dogma CODE:01 holds a unique and interesting premise behind it, one that might be missed due to its absurdly slow pacing. We, the reader, read through the eyes of Hiroki Kusuhara, a college student who, along side his best friend Kakeru Amamiya, are mourning the loss of a dear friend, Sorano Mizunashi. However, in this novel’s society, they have discovered a way to record the memories of the dead and allow people to speak to them through buildings called connect centers. Upon Hiroki and Kakeru going to the connect center in tokyo, however, they realize that Sorano’s memories seem altered in some way, and after collecting the data needed – and being caught red handed – the two make a break for it to escape the center. During this break out, Hiroki meets a young girl, and when they escape, the plan begins to recover Sorano’s memories before they get digitombed forever. To say much more about the story would be a spoiler as the plot only gets thicker and more detailed as it goes on, but I can say it is worth a read at least once.
However, the story behind Memory’s Dogma CODE:01 is where the biggest faults lie in the novel, the most direct being the slow and sometimes sluggish pacing the story goes through. As a reader, I have never minded a slow story, especially if the plot details draw me in well enough; but the first hour of Memory’s Dogma is nothing but a very slow and drawn out build up before finally jumping into the main meat of our tale, and it suffers for it. The slow pacing never fades as the story advances though, making you feel like they tried to add a lot of unique story elements to the title but in the end this bogs the story down as characters explain their reasoning for being here, or why they did a certain action, when it was not really needed. The other issue the story has is a generic disposition on some stances, what I mean by this is a number of generic tropes are utilized in some areas as filler story. I have nothing against using filler where the story is a bit lacking, but more than often here, it is for padding to advance the tale.
Just like a dream, the presentation of Memory’s Dogma CODE:01 contains a unique and stylized appearance, sporting very hand drawn elements and a soundtrack that has a little something for everyone. Visually, Memory’s Dogma is a very interesting hybrid of shading and hand drawn stylizing, a plus in my book as it helped the characters and backgrounds to feel more alive. The backgrounds are not very generic in this game, save for one or two specific ones, but they are so far and few between that you almost never notice them. The characters here, though, are the real gem of this novel’s art style, having a unique sort of look with the shading being different on each one, while still having a sense of motion as their movements are small, like waving, blinking, arm movement, etc. Since the mouths of these characters barely ever move, these small but needed motions make the art style more crisp. They even have a character art for the main character of the novel, something most novels do not have, a welcomed thing as it allowed me to identify with Hiroki more.
Musically and vocally, this novel is wide and diverse, another thing I enjoyed about the novel very much. Each character, including Hiroki, has their own voice actor, many from famous anime, and it feels just right as the lines come across very fluid and smooth, and really showcase the wide range of emotions present. For the music selection, the novel has a nice sized variety to spice up each scene with a combination of everything from classical music, when the situation is calm and normal, to a jazzy guitar rift when things are heating up and getting tense. These transition between scenes are well utilized and something I felt as a reviewer made the OST something I would put on in the background just to listen to. Sound effects do exist in the novel, if only sparingly; subtle thuds, gun clinks, and sounds of this nature. I do wish they had utilized more though, as the few times they were used, they added to the scene going on, almost like a layering effect.
Overall, Memory’s Dogma CODE:01 is a unique and interesting visual novel with a lot of good things going for it, even with the incredibly slow pacing at the start and the story using a tad too much more fluff than needed. A unique story premise, driven characters with proper voice acting and emotions, unique style of art, backgrounds do not feel generic most of the time, main character has both character art and voice acting, music selection for soundtrack is diverse, all characters have a voice actor, and some sound effects make the novel memorable.
Pros:
  • Unique story premise
  • Characters given proper voice acting and emotions
  • Art style is unique with shading and hand drawn elements
  • The background do not feel generic
  • Main character given full treatment with va and art
  • Music used in novel is diverse
  • All characters given voice actor
  • A few needed sound effects
  • TIP system for knowledge
  • Multiple endings laced throughout the story
Cons:
  • Story has slow pacing throughout
  • Uses too much story padding in some segments
  • More unique sound effects would have been appreciated
  • More “bad endings” than good
DarkLunarDude gives Memory’s Dogma CODE:01 a Drastik Measure 8.3 out of 10.0 (83).
For the price of $14.99 on steam, Memory’s Dogma CODE:01 is a visual novel with a futuristic Sci-Fi flare that, despite its pacing issues, I would recommend to most visual novel readers, as the overall story is a unique and interesting experience that should be taken in at least once.

 

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