Screen Memory (Free Suspense Novel) - Introduction and Review

I played the visual novel "Screen Memory" by Arihara Ari.
This work allows you to enjoy different perspectives on the same scene by following the story from multiple different viewpoints.
The book is structured to mislead the reader, and is designed to make you want to keep reading.

The completion time was approximately 3 hours.

Game Overview

The synopsis is as follows:
（「Novel Game Collection(Excerpt from the page)

The story begins with a quiet introduction, starting with the death of Riichi's mother.
Unlike many visual novels, this one doesn't feature a student as the protagonist.
Since the story isn't set in a school and features adult men, it unfolds with a calm atmosphere, much like a general-interest novel.

In the first episode, there's a scene where you can make a choice, which will change the subsequent events.
That said, the story doesn't branch off in any major way, and you'll reach the ending fairly quickly.
It's a good idea to save your game right before making a decision and then try both options.

My thoughts (This section contains comments on the overall structure of the work)

As a game, it's a simple visual novel.
Since there are only occasional choices, I think you'll be able to immerse yourself in reading the story.

As mentioned in the previous section, this work begins immediately after the mother's funeral.
It doesn't have the bright atmosphere of a light novel; instead, I get the impression that there's something subtly dark running through the entire work.
I think that Riichi's bipolar disorder and prosopagnosia (face blindness) are also contributing factors to the gloomy atmosphere.
Due to prosopagnosia (face blindness), the faces of the character portraits appear as blacked-out areas from his perspective.
Graphics with faces blacked out can be unsettling to look at and leave the reader with an unsettling impression.
In addition to the immediate mystery of who S really is, I was also curious about why he developed these symptoms, and I couldn't stop reading.

In the first episode, after the introductory story of Riichi ends, the perspective shifts to a high school student named Sumire.
Although he is a high school student, he is also caught up in a certain incident, so the atmosphere is not bright and cheerful.
However, since he is a high school student, he has friends his own age, and he may seem a little more positive than Riichi, who is always in a lonely mood.

The game's episodes are divided into three main parts, and new content is added each time you complete one.
The first is the scenario by Riichi and Sumire mentioned earlier, which could be said to be a superficial representation of the main story.
The second and third scenarios are in which the story focuses on and delves into a particular character.
While there are many scenes in common with the first scenario, reading the second and third scenarios gives a completely different impression, which I found very interesting.

The only downside was the lack of a configuration option to change the text speed.
I prefer a faster text display speed, so it would have been more comfortable if I could have changed that setting.
(Skipping is possible)

Review (contains spoilers)

The following content contains spoilers.
Please refrain from viewing this before reading the story.

The episode with Riichi ended on an unsettling note, and then it moved on to Sumire's episode, which led me to mistakenly believe that Riichi was the one who kidnapped everyone.
And from Sumire's perspective in "The Purple That Steals the Crimson," Koji seems suspicious because of the van incident, so I was wondering if Riichi was Koji, and so on, while playing, but I was completely wrong.
The story begins with "Aconite" from the culprit's perspective, and I finally understood what was going on.
The scenes depicting the disposal of the body after the crime were quite tense, and I found myself completely engrossed in the story.

In both "The Purple Who Steals the Crimson" and "Aconite," Shiran is portrayed as a mysterious figure, making me wonder if she was some kind of mastermind. However, in the final story, "The Flower of Obsession," she actually worked hard behind the scenes for everyone's sake, so she wasn't the villain I had imagined.
Rather, considering what was done to Riichi's mother, Shion, she could be considered a victim whose life was significantly ruined.
However, in the end, Riichi came to town just as Shiran had hoped, and everyone gathered in the right place, so I think it all worked out for the best.
Since revealing the relationship between Riichi and Miran would benefit no one, it's probably best for Shiran to keep it a secret forever.

The direct cause of this series of incidents could be attributed to Shiran's mother, Tsurumi.
Because she continued to collect donations from her followers, Sumire's family fell apart, and I feel that the persecution of Shion was a contributing factor that drove her to commit such a heinous act.
However, of course, this isn't a case of just one person being at fault; I think the obsession is contagious and has some kind of impact.

In the future, if Miran somehow finds out about her relationship with Riichi, she might become possessed by a demon.
Also, Sumire will likely come out eventually, so it's not a happy ending.
However, for now, I want to believe that it was a good ending, as they have settled into a life as a couple with a child after a long time.