Revisit the world of Amnesia Memories with Idea Factory International’s localization of Amnesia Later x Crowd—a fandisc compilation that features new scenarios, fun mini games, and even more opportunities to spend time with your favorites from the first game. Previously released as two separate games Later x Crowd is packed with hours of content to enjoy! Thanks to the lovely folks at IFI, I was able to get a sneak peek at the game and I am here to share my thoughts! So lets dive into my review of the Nintendo Switch release of Amnesia Later x Crowd.
Game Details
- Genre:Fandisc | Romance | Mystery
- Rating:ESRB T
- Release Date: September 20th, 2022
- Developer & Publisher:Otomate & Idea Factory International
- Where to Get the Game:Idea Factory International|Amazon|Nintendo eShop
Amnesia Later x Crowd Story
The game is a compilation of the Amnesia Later and Amnesia Crowd fandiscs and comprises of different stories, mini-games, and scenarios that will help deepen your relationship with the characters from Amnesia Memories.
Amnesia Later Gameplay & Features
Amnesia Later contains the NEW WORLD scenarios which take place in a parallel world where the Heroine still has amnesia and hasn’t chosen any of the love interests. While searching for clues to restore her memory, the heroine and Orion are suddenly pulled into a “firefly hunt” with the staff of Meido no Hitsuji, along with Ukyo and Rika…
The After Story scenarios are set after the endings of Amnesia Memories and follows the Heroine and her chosen lover as they work towards their happily ever after. These scenarios serve as an epilogue of sorts to the first game. Think proposals and weddings all around.
In Waka’s World spend time with the Heroine’s boss, Waka, the manager of Meido no Hitsuji café. Get to experience four different short stories with him and experience four very distinctive personalities~ Then there’s Girls Party, where the Heroine spends a bit of much needed girl time with Sawa, Mine, and Rika—swapping stories about the love interests in the game.
Lastly, there’s the Orion World which follows the Heroine as she attempts to recover her memories of Orion. This one is set after the conclusion of Ukyo’s route and is super cute.
Amnesia Crowd Story Gameplay & Features
Suspense is like a visual novel/escape room hybrid! It’s a thrilling what-if story, where you must interact with your environment to escape danger in each route. The Heroine gets trapped in a dangerous situation and must find her way out while the chosen LI runs around the city to save her. You can switch between the Heroine and the LI’s perspectives during Connection for a fun dual perspective adventure (and helps make some of the LIs *cough* Toma *cough* seem decent). As the Heroine, you can investigate your surroundings to find helpful items that will help you (think point-and-click adventure).
In case you were missing the mini-games from Amnesia Memories, don’t worry, Amnesia Crowd has you covered. In WORKING you can experience a day in the life working at Meido no Hitsuji! Complete in café themed mini-games and fake it till you make it! You can also play a card games like Poker and Blackjack with the LIs from the game in TRUMP. Winning in Trump earns you Orion points that can be used in ORION to unlock special events. In ORION you can chat and play with Orion!
If you’re hoping for some more romance with your chosen LIs there is the LOVE scenarios continue the After Stories from Amnesia Later.
Amnesia Later x Crowd Characters
All your faves are back to continue the romance from Amnesia Memories! Some have grown, some… not so much. Since Amnesia Later x Crowd is made up of 2 fandiscs play order really doesn’t matter so long as you play Later before Crowd.
In Later the paths unlock in a very specific order: playing all the New World scenarios open up After Story, Waka’s World, and Girls Party, then Orion’s route opens up. In Crowd all the scenarios are open from the start with special extra scenarios opening under special circumstances.
Shin (VA. Tetsuya Kakihara)
Shin is the resident tsundere and the Heroine’s childhood friend. He, Toma, and Heroine-chan are extremely close so he isn’t afraid to speak his mind when one of them does something ridiculous. He isn’t very forthcoming with his feelings, but he does let his guard down with those closest to him. Poor dear is stuck trying to claw his way out of the childhood friend hell.
Sometimes I feel like Shin is shackled by his childhood best friend status and it shows in how they write his stories. He’s either absent, getting friendzoned, or he takes a backseat to Toma (which is a place you never wanna be). But, when he is really allowed to shine I love his tsun-bun, tough love approach to showing affection. Now that he and Heroine-chan are dating he doesn’t hold back in his quest to take their relationship to the next level.
Toma (VA. Satoru Hino)
Cage-kun aka the Heroine’s over protective childhood friend. He’s kind of like an older brother to Shin and Heroine-kun. He is usually very friendly and kind, but, he has a tendency to go overboard when it comes to protecting the Heroine—even making some “questionable” choices.
I will admit that after my time with Cage-kun in Memories Toma was the character I was least looking forward to—but, I can’t say I hated him. FINALLY getting Toma’s POV during the Crowd Suspense route put some of his crazy into perspective (so I kinda get why he threw her in the cage in the first game…I still hate it). They’ve clearly grown since the first game and ACTUALLY take steps to work on their issues by being more open an honest with one another. But, the highlight for me is Toma spending time in the cage! JUSTICE!
Ikki (VA. Kisho Taniyama)
Ikki and his magic eyes are back, charming women and turning them into rabid fangirls. Because of this he is a bit of a playboy, and there is even a dedicated Ikki Fan Club stalking following him around town. He’s kind of given up on having a healthy, stable relationship, that is until he meets the MC… maybe being a one woman man isn’t such a bad idea.
Ikki is once again a drama magnet, so your mileage may vary with him here. Women are still literally throwing themselves and as someone who doesn’t like to share his routes can be a bit draining. But, there is a fun twist that happens in his route that I really liked and I kind of wish it had been included in the first game. Casanova Ikki seems much more aware than he has been in the past and takes steps to keep thirsty fangirls at bay… if you ever wanted to see Ikki in a bunny mask, this game delivers!
Kent (VA. Akira Ishida)
Math nerd Kent is a graduate student at the local university, who favors logic over all else. But, he does try to understand those around him, even if he can be a bit too literal at times. He is sweet and always means well and surprisingly enough he is besties with playboy Ikki (I love their odd couple bromance so much 😍).
Kent continues to be the drama-free love interest of the series. His scenarios tend to play up the domestic bliss side of happily ever after and I welcome it. Some might find it a bit dull when compared to the other stories, but I don’t know, he’s a sweet low maintenance guy and sometimes that’s really all you need. Also, so glad he ditched his bazillion belts in Amnesia Crowd.
Ukyo (VA. Koki Miyata)
Man of mystery Ukyo shows up from time to time to help the Heroine or just to warn her about impending doom—completely normal stuff. He’s usually a pretty sweet and chill photographer, but every so often he shifts into a more violent persona and even tries to un-alive her… again, totally normal hobbies over here.
Two for the price of one! Ukyo takes accepting ALL of a person to a new level. But, despite it all I love Ukyo’s dramatic ass. Honestly his relationship with the Heroine is one of my favorites in the game. They are clearly the OTP (OT3(?)) of the game and I’m just glad they were able to get their happily ever after. Also, it may be confirmed that Ukyo is a boob man… 😏
Heroine
A girl who one day suddenly lost all memories pertaining to herself. She tries to regain her memories, using the words and actions of a certain person that is deeply related to herself.
Nameless Heroine is back, now with more personality and… a voice?! Yes, you read that right, in Amnesia Later x Crowd Heroine-chan actually speaks for herself! There are a few stories like Suspense and New World that take place before she regains here memories where Orion does all the talking. But for the bulk of the game she is a pretty solid, well developed character (and we had got this version in Memories). She can be sassy and opinionated when she wants to be and even down for some sexy time with her bae. Her personality varies depending on the route, but y’all just having her talk is a huge improvement.
Amnesia Later x Crowd Review
So, if you’re going into Amnesia Later x Crowd expecting a standard otome game format, you might be slightly disappointed. Since this is a compilation of the two Amnesia fandiscs it’s mostly a collection of short stories, what-if scenarios, and epilogue After Stories that expand on the story and characters from the first game. So, if you’ve been itching for more time with Shin, Toma, and the rest of the gang then you’ll love Amnesia Later x Crowd.
Of the two FDs, Later seems to be the leaner of the two. It has a very omake vibe to it and none of the choices in this portion really matter (there aren’t any bad ends here). One of the things that made the first game so memorable was the fact that you could literally die at any moment, be it the universe taking you out with a falling flower pot, rabid Ikki fangirls, or just Ukyo chucking you down a well. So it really lacks the intensity of the first game.
But if you’re looking for more luv luv vibes, the After Stories have you covered, but with a bit of a twist. Not everything is happily ever after and her chosen bae, there are some growing pains to these relationships. After the stuff that went down in the first game everyone has more than a few issues to work through and I appreciate Later taking a more of a realistic approach to the relationships. Of course most of these end with proposals (and marriage) ever after, but at least they work for their happy endings.
The side characters do get their time to shine in Later! I have been in love with Waka since the first game (you can’t put a hot megane in front of me and expect me not to simp), so Waka’s World brought me so much joy. Also, Hidenori Takahashi gets all my respect for his RANGE, my dude was bringing his “A” game for each of the 4 Waka personas (Flamboyant Waka is just *chef’s kiss*)! In the first game the Heroine spends a lot of time with Orion, so it was kinda a shame he didn’t get his own route in Memories. The writers make up for that here, delivering a cute, short The Orion story was cute and super sweet (it’s not really a romance per se) and it is nice to see the dynamic duo back together again. Also, anytime Sawa, Mine, or Rika (yes, that Rika) is on screen is a delight. The Amnesia series has an amazing group of gal pals and other otome games need to take some notes!
While I found Amnesia Later a bit underwhelming, Amnesia Crowd was a big improvement! The Suspense brings back some of the action throwing the Heroine into danger once again. Instead of playing things in the usual visual novel style, Suspense introduces a fun, interactive point-and-click escape room mechanic and shifting POV storytelling. It definitely gives everything a bit more spice. Most of the escape room stuff is easy to figure out so its not too big of a challenge. AND then there are the puzzles in Ikki’s Suspense route! Those puzzles are Nintendo Hard and IDK why anyone thought that was okay!
Thankfully the WORKING mini-games, turn down the difficulty level to a much more manageable level. Once you get a good rhythm in its easy to blaze through. Join the staff of Meido no Hitsuji as they take on various day to day tasks around the café, reimagined as a series of timed mini-games. Ranging from Ukyo’s Diner Dash knock off to Shin’s washing dishes nightmare, each game offers it’s own set of challenges. And Surprisingly, Toma’s mini-game is the one that makes you do math, NOT Kent. Which makes me wonder if the writers wanted to make up for forcing us to do math test for his heart in Amnesia Memories. But, overall WORKING is fun and I could see a few players spending a few hours tapping away here to earn Orion points for the romantic extras.
The Crowd After Stories and serve as a continuation of the ones in Later—why they didn’t just include them in Later, I’ll never know. In these the MC and her baes are grown and settling into their adult lives while navigating taking their relationships to the next level (read: fighting the urge to fuck like rabbits). There are a few ups and downs here and there, but ultimately everything gets wrapped up beautifully for each of the characters.
The Verdict: So, isAmnesia Later x CrowdWorth Playing?
Honestly, if you have been fiending for more Amnesia, I definitely recommend picking up Amnesia Later x Crowd. This series was one of my first “big” otome games and I have fond memories of the characters (and trauma from my time with Cage-kun), so I was eager to dive back into this world. Later x Crowd offers a much more casual experience than your run of the mill otome release, which is perfect for gamers who find themselves balancing their backlog with work and school. Usually, I binge longer games, but the short stories and mini-games are nice bite sized nuggets of Amnesia sweetness that are meant to be spread throughout the day.
Thank you to Idea Factory International for providing early access to Amnesia Later x Crowd for this review!
