Anima: Gate of Memories and Anima: The Nameless Chronicles are two games that I always wanted to play and purchase, but never really got around to it. To my surprise, the developers over at Anima Project decided to rebuild and remaster the two games, putting them into a single cohesive package. The question remains: Were these games worth the wait for me? Or was I right to hold off?

These two games are part of the Anima Project (for which their developer is named), and are connected to the world of Gaia from the Anima: Beyond Fantasy Tabletop RPG. Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster is not a mere graphical update either. It adds quality of life features, refining elements from the previous releases, and even adding things to make the storylines more cohesive.

Anima: Gate of Memories puts you in the role of the Bearer of Calamities, a young woman who made a pact with a mysterious being trapped in a book. Their story intersects with the story of Anima: The Nameless Chronicles, which follows the Nameless, an immortal being cursed to wander the world. The Nameless shows up in Gate of Memories as well as his own game, and vice versa, so to get the full story, you’ll need to play both.

They play similarly to a spectacle fighter like Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, or something along those lines. However, there are also puzzles and Zelda-esque elements that elevate the experience beyond mere room-to-room combat. With that said, even this newly polished version with its additions and improvements feels a bit… outdated.

The combat in Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster carries a certain PS2-PS3 level jank. This is mostly due to the camera, which can be an opponent all of its own, but it also comes down to the mild clunkiness of the combat itself. I didn’t really have too much of a problem with it early on as I was leveling up and expanding the skill tree in the first few areas, but after the first area boss, I realized that the game itself needed some tuning.

I could have been doing something wrong, perhaps, or maybe it was meant to feel that way. The interesting thing about it, though, is that despite the weird clunkiness to combat and the annoying nature of some of the fights, both games are incredibly compelling. I’m not entirely sure how to express it beyond that. The storyline and the world itself tug you along in such a way that even if you go in blind (as I did) to the world of Anima: Beyond Fantasy, you’ll feel this urge to know more.

Each of the main boss enemies and all of the staple characters have lore and documents to read and learn about. The main characters also have full stories and things to learn, with The Bearer of Calamities’ story being a pivotal center. Though that brings me to my last problem with Anima: Gate of Memories I and II Remaster.

This isn’t as much of an issue in The Nameless Chronicles, but The Bearer’s voice acting is absolutely awful in Gate of Memories. Most of the other characters have at least semi-decent voice work, but the Bearer? The main character you spend your time with? Her voice acting is so stilted and sometimes hollow that it sometimes completely pulled me out of a scene.

Sometimes her interaction with Ergo (her companion) was so unintentionally funny that I felt like it undercut some of the story that Anima Project was trying to tell. If you can get past that, and the clunkiness of the combat, there is something interesting wrapped up in the story, though.

All in all, I really liked Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster. It won’t be an action game that wins any awards, especially not in a year this stacked. However, it is different enough in its world and story that it feels like it is worth the price of admission, even when you find yourself a little frustrated. If you’ve looked at these games for a while (like I have) and have been holding off, give the remaster a try. You won’t be disappointed.

A PC Review Copy of Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster was provided by Anima Project for the purposes of this review.

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Anima: Gate of Memories I and II Remaster

$19.99 USD

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Intriguing World and Story
• Decent Action Gameplay
• Gorgeous re-designed visuals

Cons

• Some voice-acting is awful
• Somewhat janky camera and combat