10/10

Sooooo much improvement from the first game, Chains of Satinav! I absolutely loved it, and got so into the game, I wound up playing it much, much later than I intended because I just had to know what happened next.

Pros:
- great music, which had me searching for a download after I finished the game. "Nothing is ever Lost" actually made me well up. Epically beautiful music for an epic game.
- as in CoS, Memoria is full of even more beautiful art. The city of Drakonia is especially a standout, looking like something that even Tolkien would find enchanting. It seems more polished and detailed than CoS was as well-- with fog and lighting and shadows.
- The story, writing, and dialogue are all much better! The story was so engaging I lost track of time, especially when playing as Sadja and her staff. In fact, I found the two of them to be much more interesting and fun to play as than Geron and Nuri. The dialogue felt more natural to the characters as well. I actually teared up a few times during the story and would occasionally find myself gasping in shock or giggling at a joke. Again, the detail to the rules and background of the game universe is absolutely wonderful. While this is a relatively new world in comparison to The Lord of the Rings and The Elder Scrolls, I still feel that a comparison is deserved. The universe feels real and complete and it's obvious the developers put a lot of thought into it (I only wish we learn more-- they should add "books" like in TES, so we can read more if we like).
- The voice acting! In my review for CoS, I mentioned this a con, with Geron and Nuri using inappropriate intonations or coming off monotone, or strangely whispering at times it wasn't appropriate (such as when yelling... yeah). Those problems are no longer present in Memoria. This may be because the story switches between Geron and Nuri to Sadja and the staff, meaning less of a chance for me to be annoying with Geron and Nuri. The addition of Bryda was welcome as well. The stand out, however, is the staff. I was wanting to play more often as Sadja and the staff primarily because of him-- excellent VA work there.
- The puzzles were a lot more fun this time. It's very similar to CoS, but it felt more intuitive, even during those times I would get a bit lost. Speaking to everyone as much as you can is a must, as it'll only help you to put the puzzles together. I didn't find myself "pixel hunting" so much, as it seemed more obvious what could/couldn't be clicked. The best part though was the increased use of magic in puzzle-solving. With both Geron and Sadja, you get the use of more (and fun) spells. Sadja's especially were a joy to play with :)

Cons:
- Performance issues AGAIN. My computer far exceeds the recommended requirements and yet, when I play for more than an hour, noticeable lag and long loading times start to appear. Play for more than several hours and the game becomes near unplayable and requires being restarted.
- Animations are poor and poorly synced. For such a beautiful game, the animations are embarassing. Sometimes the characters mouths don't move, sometimes their mouths don't start moving until they've been talking for a while. Most of the quality animation seems to have gone into Sadja's glorious ponytail. It's very strange and a bit jarring once you get into the game.

Tips:
- make at least 2-3 saves per chapter, as there are different ways to complete quests and different choices to make, not to mention some fun/silly random achievements (the very first silly achievement, which can be had in the 2nd chapter when Geron first meets Fahi, actually made me laugh out loud). It'll be easier to experience all of this with several saves per chapter, and there are more than enough save slots for it.
- Really, talk to absolutely everybody you can, exhaust all their dialogue options. Some puzzles will leave you completely lost if you don't!

In all, I can't recommend this game enough. It's earn a spot on my list of best, and favorite, point-and-click games. I bought it while it was on sale for ~$5 and got more than my monies worth for sure.