Last October, SINce Memories: Off the Starry Sky launched in English via PQube. This marked the first time a game in the long-running Memories Off series ever reached the West.
But did it really? If you go back to June 2020, when SINce Memories was first announced, MAGES. was apparently having some trouble deciding if the game even fit into the Memories Off series to begin with. According to Gematsu’s reporting, producer Kazuhiro Ichikawa—who’s been with the series since its inception in 1999—reiterated that the game had “no relation to Memories Off whatsoever.” Meanwhile, then-CEO Chiyomaru Shikura tweeted that SINce Memories was, in fact, a brand-new Memories Off title. Later, Ichikawa called that tidbit “fake information.”
Classic MAGES. moment. Or maybe a classic Shikura moment?
The answer to our question, by the way, is that SINce Memories very much is a Memories Off game, at least if you’re going by the game’s actual content. For one, the fictional town it takes place in, Sumisora, was the setting of Memories Off’s first entry all the way back in 1999. Sumisora aside, you’ll see a plethora of returning series locales throughout the game—it even becomes something of a plot point. Characters from previous games, like famous female actress Kanata or Cubic Café’s manager from Memories Off 3 (Omoide ni Kawaru Kimi), also occasionally come up in conversation—which is always a fun nod for longtime players.
Most relevant to this conversation, though, is Shin Inaho, the owner of the café “YuKuRu.” Shin has appeared in just about every Memories Off game to date, serving as an ever-reliable guide for the series’s protagonists. SINce Memories is no different in that regard; drawing on his own past experiences, Shin frequently offers the protagonist Junya and his friends advice on their day-to-day troubles, which helps keep the plot moving.
To be perfectly clear here, there are no alternate timeline or alternate reality shenanigans going on in SINce Memories. It’s the same world with the same characters—even the storytelling approach is similar. Like the other Memories Off games before it, SINce Memories tells a standalone romantic drama story that anyone can enjoy, while also sprinkling in larger series connections for eagle-eyed fans to pick up on.
The question, then, is why MAGES. was—and still is—insistent on separating SINce Memories from Memories Off. Western publisher PQube’s marketing calls it “a successor set ten years after the Memories Off series,” and MAGES.’ own Japanese site tells you that SINce Memories “inherits” aspects from the Memories Off series—while refraining calling it part of the Memories Off series.
And perhaps the final nail in the coffin: the Memories Off series website lists Innocent Fille, SINce Memories’s predecessor, as the eighth title in the series. Meanwhile, the upcoming Memories Off Sousou is called the ninth entry. SINce Memories released in between the two—and it isn’t even listed on the site!
In absence of a proper answer for why SINce Memories is cut off from the rest, the best we can do is speculate. It might have something to do with the fact that Memories Off Innocent Fille, the eighth series entry, was actually supposed to be the final entry in the series. It was plastered all over the marketing for the game; Innocent Fille was intended as a send-off for the series and its legacy. SINce Memories, then, may have been MAGES.’ lopsided attempt at honoring that fact while still continuing the series—just under a new name.
Personally, I think it’s also possible MAGES. wanted, more than ever before, to reach brand-new audiences. Whereas previous Memories Off games wear their interseries connections on their sleeves, the whole “SINce Memories has nothing to do with Memories Off” business may have been MAGES.’ heavy-handed attempt to sell the idea that “you can start with this game.” Granted, Innocent Fille aside, that’s pretty much true of any Memories Off game. I suppose the difference would have been how hard they were pushing the message.
As for whether that approach worked… No…?
During its launch week in Japan, SINce Memories didn’t even chart under physical game sales—suggesting it failed to sell more than 2,000 physical copies in its first few days on the market, and likely no more than a couple thousand including digital sales. Innocent Fille didn’t do so hot during its launch period, either, but it did at least chart at roughly 8,000 copies sold during its launch period. It’s really hard to argue SINce Memories met any sales expectations, especially when you compare it to past Science Adventure series sales numbers.
That brings us the present. Memories Off Sousou, the ninth and newest entry in the series, launches in early April, and it’s going right back to the tried-and-true Memories Off naming scheme—ditching the idea that Innocent Fille was supposed to be the end.
Do I blame them for bringing it back from the dead, though? Not really. It’s clear from Sousou’s marketing that many staff at MAGES. adore Memories Off. Between letting the series fade into eventual obscurity or trying again, I much prefer the path they’re taking—the path to giving their sleeper hit series another shot at glory.
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