XBlaze Lost: Memories (PS3 / PS Vita) Review

The XBlaze games are visual novels that are set in the BlazBlue universe.  Lost: Memories is the sequel to Code: Embryo, but introduces some new characters.  Knowledge of the previous game is not required, but I will definitely say it helps.  I have not played the original, and this was only really a hindrance the few times the game jumped ahead.  Most characters were introduced well enough, and I was able to follow the plot.

However, as stated above, there were a few times where the story would jump forward without filling in what happened.  I have to assume these missing bits are in the previous game, which follows a different protagonist.  The story that is played in Lost: Memories is complete enough that I wasn't really lost, but it seems like some important bits were off-screened.  I admit that it does make me want to play the first game to get the whole story, because the situations and characters got a lot more interesting as the game went on.

Besides the main backstory, there is another story that follows some new characters.  This new protagonist is named by the player and must find her little sister in the Phantom Zone.  These sections involve some walking around 8-bit landscapes and collect memory fragments to continue.  You don't have to collect all of them to proceed, only 3 out of the 4, but getting all four gives you trophies.  They also unlock optional memories of various characters, to give you more insight into them and their perspective on events.

The game lasts about 7 or so hours, depending on how fast you read or how fast you set the auto scroll text to be.  You cannot turn off the auto scroll from the options menu, but curiously are allowed to in game.  A vast majority of the text is also spoken dialogue, so there are many voiced lines.  They are only in Japanese though.  There isn't much replay value to the game either, as very little can be missed.

XBlaze Lost: Memories isn't bad.  It's a bit short in length and light on replay, both of which are to be expected from a visual novel.  The story gets pretty interesting, although there are gaps that I assume are filled in from the first game.  It can still be followed, though.  Platinum hunters are sure to love it for the quick and easy platinum trophy.  Otherwise, it is probably best for fans of the BlazBlue universe to give it even more depth.