Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku

Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku
Developer(s)	5pb.
Publisher(s)	5pb.
Director(s)	Yūsuke Matsumoto
Producer(s)	Tarō Shibata
Artist(s)	Shizuki Morii
Series	Memories Off
Engine	Five Engine
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, Playstation Portable
Release date(s)	Xbox 360 JP July 29, 2010 Playstation Portable JP May 26, 2011
Genre(s)	Drama, Romance, Visual novel
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	CERO: B
Media/distribution	DVD-ROM, UMD

Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku (メモリーズオフ ゆびきりの記憶, Memoriizu Ofu Yubikiri no Kioku^?)) is a Japanese romance visual novel developed and published by 5pb. for the Xbox 360 and later ported to the Playstation Portable. It is the seventh game in the Memories Off series.

Story

Setting

Yubikiri no Kioku takes place in a fictional city named Fujikawa located in the Kanagawa Prefecture.^[1]

Characters

The player takes on the role of Naoki Sarizawa (芹澤直樹, Sarizawa Naoki^?), the protagonist of Yubikiri no Kioku.^[1] Naoki used to live at Chinatsu's home but is now living alone.^[1] Naoki is a second year student at the private Tōrin high school.^[1] Chinatsu Amakawa (天川ちなつ, Amakawa Chinatsu^?, voiced by: Yui Kano) is also a second year student at the private Tōrin high school and is a classmate of Naoki's. In addition, she's Naoki's cousin.^[1] As Chinatsu is concerned about Naoki at all times, she commutes to school with him and is always around him during school hours.^[1] Kasumi Nagumo (南雲霞, Nagumo Kasumi^?, voiced by: Yū Kobayashi) is a runaway girl who suddenly arrived at the doorsteps of Naoki's place and is forcibly living with him at the moment.^[1] Orihime Hoshitsuki (星月織姫, Hoshitsuki Orihime^?, voiced by: Ai Nonaka) is the new math teacher for Naoki's class at Tōrin high school.^[2] Lisa Caycy Foster (リサ ケイシ フォスター, Risa Keishi Fosutaa^?, voiced by: Kanako Sakai) is an American girl who has gone to Japan to study abroad temporarily.^[3] Lisa works part-time at a restaurant called Fūrūyan and is where he meets Naoki.^[3] Lisa's reason for studying in Japan is because of her interest in Japanese history and culture.^[3] Shiina Kodou (鼓堂詩名, Kodō Shiina^?, voiced by: Saori Hayami) is a first year student at Tōrin high school.^[4] She is very outgoing and loves gossips.^[4]

Gameplay

Much of the gameplay requires little interaction from the player as the majority of the time is spent reading the text that appears on the game's screen. The text being displayed represents the thoughts of the characters or the dialogue between them. The player is occasionally presented with choices to determine the direction of the game. Depending on what is chosen, the plot may progress in a specific direction.

Development

Yubikiri no Kioku is the seventh entry in the Memories Off visual novel series. News of Yubikiri no Kioku was first announced by Famitsu on January 26, 2010^[5] with the teaser site opening a few days later on January 29, 2010.^[6] Yubikiri no Kioku runs on the Five Engine, 5pb.'s visual novel engine for the Xbox 360.^[7]

The character designer for Yubikiri no Kioku is Shizuki Morii.^[1] Morii is a new character designer that has not worked on any previous Memories Off game.^[1][7] The director of the game is Yūsuke Matsumoto and Tarō Shibata is the producer.^[7]

Release history

• The limited and regular editions of Yubikiri no Kioku for the Xbox 360 were released on July 29, 2010.^[7]
• Chinese version of the game (Japanese language with Chinese subtitle) was subsequently released on November 8, 2010.^[8]
• The PSP version came with a limited edition called the "Sweets Pack" and was released on May 26, 2011.^[9]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} "『メモリーズオフ ゆびきりの記憶』キャラクターイラストを公開 ["Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku" character illustrations revealed]" (in Japanese). Famitsu. 2010-02-25. http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/1232381_1124.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
2. ^ "Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku official website "Character" section on Hoshitsuki Orihime" (in Japanese). 5pb.. http://memoriesoff.jp/yubikiri/character/hoshitsuki.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku official website "Character" section on Lisa Caycy Foster" (in Japanese). 5pb.. http://memoriesoff.jp/yubikiri/character/risa.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku official website "Character" section on Kodou Shiina" (in Japanese). 5pb.. http://memoriesoff.jp/yubikiri/character/kodou.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
5. ^ "『メモリーズオフ』シリーズ最新作がXbox 360で発売決定!! [Newest entry for the "Memories Off" series confirmed for the Xbox 360!!]" (in Japanese). Famitsu. 2010-01-26. http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/1231535_1124.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
6. ^ "Memories Off オフィシャルblog ゆびきりの記憶 [Memories Off Official blog Yuikiri no Kioku]" (in Japanese). 5pb.. 2010-01-29. http://blog.5pb.jp/memoriesoff/item_189.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d} "Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku official website "About" section" (in Japanese). 5pb.. http://memoriesoff.jp/yubikiri/about/index.html. 
8. ^ "Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku (Chinese language Version)". Play-Asia.com. http://www.play-asia.com/Memories_Off_Yubikiri_no_Kioku_Chinese_language_Version/paOS-13-71-dw-49-en-70-3x4k.html. Retrieved 8 January 2011. 
9. ^ "Memories Off: Yubikiri no Kioku (PSP Release Data)". http://www.gamefaqs.com/psp/622916-memories-off-yubikiri-no-kikou/data. 

External links

• Official website (Japanese)