Disclaimer

I was sent a free copy of the Anima Gate of Memories: I&II Remaster to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.

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Table of Contents

What is Anima Gate of Memories: I&II Remaster

Anima Gate of Memories: I&II Remaster returns with new textures, updated gameplay, and cleaner performance.

Hook

This remaster cleans up a bit of the roughness that came with the first run and allows players to enjoy the world of anime like they’ve never before. Explore the Tower of Arcane as either the Bearer of Calamaties or the imortal Nameless in an action packed adventure. The Tower of Arcane is a world built from memories as they try to stop the Messengers of the End and prevent the end of the world. Your choices will shape the course of this narrative. What will your story look like?

What Makes the Remaster so Special?

The remaster works to fix the issues that came with the first run. The visuals have been updated, and textures have been added to create a fuller more unique world. The performance and mechanics have been upgrades to provide players a smoother experience. Most importantly, it combines the complete Gate of Memories story in one convenient place.

Gameplay

Players get to explore the world of Anima in a fast-paced game with a bit of classic feel. Gates of Memories is a 3rd person action adventure where players take control of a character, explore the Tower of Arcane. What makes these games unique is its combat system.

While it may follow the traditional action RPG combo system you would see in something like Devil May Cry or Beyoneta, it uses interesting fixed camera angles to create deep and dynamic combat sequences. For example, the camera will sometimes switch to top-down view during a fight. This shift in perspective changes the strategy of combat because it shifts the controls. It is a mechanic that keeps combat fresh and exciting.

Like other RPGs, players will grind through encounters for XP to spend on a characters skill tree. Players have a good amount of choice on how they want to build their character, with room for varying play styles. I am sure there is a solved path to minmax each character, but I liked building what I thought was fun without much issue on the Normal difficulty. The diffuclty can be adjusted for those who want a harder journey or who are only in it for the story.

Review

If you are a fan of classic 3rd-person action rpgs, Anima Gate of Memories: I&II Remaster should be in your collection. While there is some roughness, the overall experience is something you have to play through once.

Visuals

The game is a little dark in places, but the overall aesthetic is fantastic. Both games have some terrific textures that often help create the beautiful fantasy you play through. The character and monster design are all very cool, flavorful, and memorable. Combat animation looks good without being overly flashy and distracting. I was actually able to follow what was going on instead of being bombarded with lights and explosions which is always a plus. There are no animated cut scenes, but the moving stills do a fantastic job at telling the story.

Story

Gate of Memories is a fantastic story full of action, adventure, and intrigue. The games do a good job at introduction the world of Anima with properly paced stories that hooked me out of the game. I don’t want to reveal too much and risk spoilers, but it was hard to put them down because I want to know what happens next. What is cool about the bundle is that the stories can be played in any order, but playing them in order will avoid spoilers and close up a few confusing references that may arise. If you play rpgs for their story, Gate of Memories is a fantastic addition to your collection.

Gameplay Loop

While I do love the Gate of Memories story, the combat system is the reason you buy this game. I love the fluid combo system and how good it feels to fight through the many waves of enemies. Every very skill I learned further tailored the combat to a style I found very enjoyable. The game offers a good amount of choice in your build, with enough time to and space to explore what you like. Most importantly, the difficulty ramps at a very good pace. I felt like I had time to learn the game and explore its story without being unfairly shutdown by a random encounter.

Exploration

The game has some exploration, but the zones aren’t a huge open world to explore. Depending on your device, there is a bit of a load time between zones. Nothing unbearably long, but it does break a bit of the immersion. The zones are otherwise look very good, and I had fun trying to get into every crevice in search of juicy secrets. The game does a good job incentivizing explorations with loot and other bread crumbs. Some of the areas are a little too dark and I kept getting lost, but that might be a personal problem.

Performance

I never played the original Gate of Memories games, and can’t compare the performance. I will say, aside for a little clunkiness in the movement, the game runs well. Combat feels fast and fluid, and I didn’t encounter any game breaking crashes. I like that it feels like an older rpg but with enough of a modern pacing to help keep my constantly dwindling attention.

Conclusion

Anima Gate of Memories: I&II Remaster is shaping to be my favorite game of the year without question. I loved flavor and story, and the combat system is fantastic. It really does remind me of the playstation days trying to get through the Devil May Cry games, and that sense of nostalgia is unmatched in my heart. The game plays very good and looks great. It is full of fun encounters and interesting boss fights. Gate of Memories is one of those games that needs to be in every collection for its unique world and solid gameplay. I for one am ready to dive more deeply into the world of Anima.

You can pick up your copy of Anima Gate of Memories: I&II Remaster on Steam or pick up physical copy for the PS5 Amazon Affiliate link.