Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles

The video trailer in my opinion gives a pretty poor opinion about what this game is actually like. It's a combo based action game like Devil May Cry or similar types of stuff. You have a basic combo or whatever, and then eventually it'll end, but you can switch characters to keep the combo going. There are skills that will help you follow enemies and keep the hit count up. Every so often, you hit a combo threhshold that permanently increases your damage by 10%, so the better your combos, the more damage you do. You lose significant damage buff if you get hit, so it's a win=win more, lose=lose harder type of rewarding system that really plays to the type of person who can attack enemies relentlessly while not getting hit in the process because mindless button mashing.
This is actually the second Anima: Beyond Fantasy based Video Game. The first is called Anima: Ark of Sinners, but it is a totally separate side story that has nothing to do with this game. If you're not familiar with Anima: Beyond Fantasy, a lot of people will probably tell you it's some Final Fantasy-inspired P&P RPG, but the truth is, it's got way more inspiration from Xenogears than anything else. There is quite a bit of backstory that players not familiar with the RPG won't know about, but they are not necessary to understand the plot of the game. The significance of some characters like Romeo Exxet might be lost on you, but overall it's not a huge deal to the plot of the game itself.
It has a slow start, but it's very good if you give it a chance. After the first few stages is when you unlock the game proper and gain access to skill trees for both characters and such. It has a little RPG style elements, obviously, but it's still predominantly an action game. I highly recommend checking this out. If you like the game and want more, I highly recommend checking out the P&P Anima: Beyond Fantasy game which is among one of my favorite P&P RPGs. Just be aware it's a Spanish game, the English-translation is kind of mediocre, and being European, the rules are fairly crunchy.

+ Intriguing, dark story setting and atmosphere.
+ Rich backstories for each boss.
+ Combat comes to life as more character skills are unlocked.
+ Varied gameplay mixing different genres results in a unique, challenging experience.
+ Beautiful art design and intricately designed environments, with a very impressive sense of scope considering this was made by only 3 people. The Great Plains and The Hall of Nightmares in particular are visual highlights.
+ Consistently haunting soundtrack.
+ Well optimized.
- Combat feels slightly stiff in the early stages before unlocking more skills.
- Lack of ability to walk instead of run in platforming sections can make them a little fiddly at times.
- Mixed voice acting quality.
- Some spelling and localization errors.

Long story short: the game is amazing. Don't be so quick to judge it based on its somewhat poor execution, which is only natural for a game with so much content being developed by 3 people only. When I first played it, I passed judgement based on that, and never touched the game again. That is, until now – and I'm so glad to have tried it again.
The graphics aren't so shiny when compared to more recent indie titles, but their poor execution and processing (I'm looking at you, anti-aliasing) are easily excused the more you play the game, thanks to the wonderful job these 3 people managed to achieve when it comes to art direction. Overall, Anima is really well presented, with influences from all over, ranging from Devil May Cry and Asura's Wrath to NieR:Gestalt/RepliCant. In the game, you can see a bit of each, and all of them work together quite well, blending into a brand new visual experience, no matter how much the low budget might have limited the team.
In the first few moments, the gameplay might feel a bit raw, but it makes its amends by blending well with the level design. One of its main features is a skill tree that, by means of introducing new skills and boosting stats as the player levels up, builds the character's strength. However, it leaves the player with very few useful late skills. Many of them are focused on charging an attack, which goes against the game's essence: a fast hack 'n' slash style. Therefore, be prepared to use the same skills throughout the whole game.
On the other hand, this does not kill the fun. Many hack 'n' slash games nowadays tend to lack a real challenge, just dragging the player towards the end. This is not the case with Anima. The game's different fights require different approaches, and the player's mistakes are harshly punished. This demands high effectiveness and different ways of using these same skills.
That said, it is really easy to delve into the game. Even though it might be a little challenging to newcomers, there is visible effort on making everything as clear as possible. The user interface is very polished and functional. Even though it may be somewhat inconvenient at times, complaining about that would be nitpicking at best, when comparing it to the bigger picture. The same goes for the game's graphic design: there are a few flaws (some odd font choices, for example), but, overall, it still manages to present something very professional and unique.
As for the voice acting, it might feel somewhat discouraging. Every now and then, there are cringeworthy, silly and unnatural dialogues. However, it works out for most of the time. Either that or you'll eventually spend time enough to get used to it, since the characters are quite likeable.
Speaking of characters, their development follows a straight path (at best a big curve) from beginning to end. However, the plot ties the characters together in a very interesting way, which makes the player curious of how things are going to unfold. At the end, one might say the plot was predictable, but even so, it is still very well presented and narrated, aspects supported even further by Anima's amazing art direction and its remarkable palettes and atmospheres.
The environment, just like in lots of similar low-budget titles, feels very “plain”. However, the game does try to present something new, by using diverse textures and unique scenarios. Such uniqueness helps the player tell apart the different parts of the game and feel their progression, unlike Tales of Zestiria, in which the player spends most of the time stuck amidst ruins and grass. Quality-wise, the level design offers something to be expected, considering the scope of the project. Still, it is worth highlighting some scenarios in which we are really taken aback by the creativity behind their construction. You'll be amazed by the way the team managed to build so much out of so little, by making use of both 3D exploration and 2D side-scrolling in a very interesting way. The final boss stage deserves special attention: by supporting the character almost as if part of it, it creates a really unique atmosphere, especially when combined with the soundtrack.
Speaking of which, one thing that definitely could not go unmentioned about the game is its soundtrack. While it might sound commonplace to the genre, it is still uniquely performed. Some of the Anima tracks even made me wonder if they might have been an inspiration to more recent titles such as KH 0.2: A Fragmentary Passage. It's not often you get to influence Yoko Shimomura herself, so kudos for that. Even though some other tracks are obviously filler material, you can bet the ones that got the special treatment will surely be there when the moment asks for it.
It is also worth mentioning every single ending is worth shooting for. Moreover, the game's content does not overstay its welcome: it accompanies you throughout the adventure, and leaves you satisfied when the game is done with its most substantial material, without adding any unnecessary sidequests or mechanics. It's streamlining done right. Finally, Anima is one of those games I had actual fun going for the achievements – something great if you're a completionist like me.
In short, I'd easily give this game an 8/10. It is a really enjoyable experience, and I'm glad I gave it another shot.

This game was a very pleasant surprise, even more when I learned it was made by a team of only 3(!) people.
Anima: Gate of Memories is a very solid Action (J)RPG with a big focus on exploration (with platforming) and puzzles. Oh, and it's pretty challenging too.
It looks good, the voice acting is decent, the lore and story is interesting, environments are varied, boss fights are cool and combat in general is pretty solid.
An all-around solid package basically.
HOWEVER, this doesn't mean it's without its faults or for everyone.
If you're expecting a fun and linear journey where you can turn your brain off and mindlessly decimate countless enemies, you might not like what you find here.
After the intro section, the game essentially stops holding your hand while giving you access to a bunch of areas at once, which you can tackle in any order you want - I ended up "accidentally" going through the 3rd area first until I hit the boss where I ended up being outmatched and only then realized that maybe I should go somewhere else first.
The puzzles certainly aren't of the easy type as well. Some of them require you to really pay attention and read the lore you get access too - or look up guides all the time.
The difficulty was also edging too much towards frustrating at certain parts near the end for my liking as well, though thankfully the most egregious examples where optional fights I ended up just bypassing.
This is by no means something for everyone, but if you are not disencouraged after this (or think that those "warnings" are actually bonus points for you), don't hesitate to give it a try. It's a really cool experience.

This one caught me by suprise. You might think it's a bit irky with it's presentation and i can honestly say that the store page for this game doesn't attract much attention except for the awesome art, but this was one interesting ride. Despite flaws with the voice acting and little variation between both controllable characters, it has a gorgeous level design, a nice hack n' slash gameplay, well crafted bosses and a great soundtrack. The lore made me interested in the Anima tabletop RPG game, so that's definently a plus, still i expected a bit more.
This game reminds me of the classic PS2 era with series like Devil May Cry, Maximo and even the PS3 Nier which seems to be inspired in the making of this game. Take note that even the platforming sections remind a lot of that era and might be a bit hard to traverse them.
If you like the Hack n' Slash genre and don't mind the combat system being simplistic or even prefer some intersting boss fights, this might be one for you. If you don't like the fast paced combat or abhor platforming in this genre or even a above average difficulty, you might want to pass on this one.

Short answer: It's old school Devil May Cry with a swap mechanic and a few flaws. Seriously. It's worth playing
Long answer:
For those who haven't played DMC 1 I'll be considerate.
The core of the gameplay is high-speed combat focused on racking up combos and killing things in style while maintaining difficulty. The game has this part down too, in addition to its non-platforming puzzles.
Unfortunately there's a few spots that just fall flat.
- The cutscenes are just a step above the visual novel standard of simply placing someone above a text box
- The voice acting is almost universally underperformed. On the bright side making up your own voices is so satisfying
- The game insists on its platforming, though precision jumping is ridiculous.
But yeah, The core of the game, and what you interact with the most is gloriously executed, the fluff is disappointing, and it's worth playing. For that matter, Bayonetta, Viewtiful Joe, and Devil May Cry are also worth playing if you like this

Ok so although I have not finished the game I am going to write this review because I am at the point of chosing whether I should continue playing or quit. Why would I quit...many reasons. At the point of this review I have completed the first 2 bosses and are currently fighting the third.
Firstly a disclaimer if you have not played the game the following review may contain spoilers of any level since I dont exactly know what is counted as a spoiler for this game.
NEGATIVE:
1- No Hand Holding
This game does nothing to tell you what to do. Well it does give you three doors marked I, II and III but thats it. It may have just been me but I struggled occasionally looking for what to do next and ented up versing the third boss before I even found the first boss' chamber. To me this was most evident in the puppet mansion where after hours of searching I was forced to use....a walkthrough...to find the answers to the paintings to which I had no idea could be found in the memories (I thought the memories were just basic collectables not essential items to progress). This is a minor thing really but I believe some extra hints towards my next objective would have been nice mainly during the start of the game.
2- Difficulty
Although I don't play many JRPGs (apart from tales of series) I can understand why some people would hate the fact that I am criticising a game due to its difficulty but don't worry cause I wont. The game has two difficulties I could choose from easy or normal and being the gamer I am I chose normal. Lowering your difficulty mid game will mean no longer being able to select normal without a restart and thus I havent switched (if easy is dramatically easier pls tell me). Overall all I wanted to say about difficulty was that this game (to me) was HARD AF. I managed to defeat the first boss easily only 3 tries but that is most likely since it was the first boss (major boss anyway), but the second took me at least a dozen before I found a trick to easily beating him. The third however is killing me and ruining the fun. Minor bosses appear here and there but if you can manage to understand their patterns they become pretty easy.
3- Enviroments
This was not a major problem for me since I havent got the greatest computer but also as to me graphics are not nessessary to enjoy a game. The problem however was the lack of detail and stuff to do. An open grassland was filled with nothing but enemies, hills and what looked like Stone Hedge in the center. All it needed was a few trees scattured among the enemies that could be used as cover or just for detail but sadly none. There were a few areas that looked great such as the central hub area but apart from that most areas felt bare and lifeless.
4- Combat
The combat in this game is very button-mashy with combos often being destroyed by the AI's "Lucky" shots. I ended up mainly just shooting and running only using close combat when enemies got close or when I ran out of Ki and Stamina. This isn't really much of a negative but it wasn't a positive either. I did enjoy the occasional combo where I felt really good for managing to pull it off.
5- Disappearing Platforms
F*** the disappearing platforms
POSITIVE:
1- Music
I love music in games and this game was amazing with that aspect. I ended up sitting at the title screen for ages just having the music play. Although not the greatest in comparison to certain other games I have played, this one did have some good moments where the background music perfectly fit the scene.
2- Character Switching
My most favourite aspect would be the ability to switch between two characters so easily and mid-combo to create powerful attacks. I really enjoyed this but the two are similar in my opinion with many base attacks being shared up until you manage to unlock some of the later ones.
3- Character Design
The design of the characters are great. The contrast with light and dark in the characters is resembled well in their designs especially when you include the use of costumes.
4- Exploration
Although most areas seem bare and barron there are many secrets and discoveries to be found within which I really enjoyed. Looking for each memory was fun and the rush you get when you finaly find how to reach the one that has been constantly taunting you on how to reach kept me in a constant state of check EVERYTHING.
5- Enemies
The enemies of this game were fun to verse and there was a good variety in design and their attacks. My favourite being the enemies that can only be killed by a certain character which allowed me to go full strategise mode looking at who to go after first and when was the optimal time to switch.
6- Story
The story was interesting and once I began to understand what was going on everything made sense and I started to become more intrigued into the story of the game rather than me just trying to get through each new area as quickly as possible.
7- The prison
I really enjoyed the whole concept of who would you free, who is telling the truth, who is worth saving concept and just the reactions before and after they are freed made me deeply invested to finding those keys
CONCLUSION:
The game has its fair share of negative attributes but is fun. I think $20 is a decent price to pay for the game but I would recommend getting it on sale like I did for around $12-15. If you are in need of a fun JRPG then I would suggest there are plenty others that are better but sadly most are alot more expensive (cough cough many PS4 ports that are coming or are already on steam). This game was good fun to mess around in for a while but eventually the difficuly got to me and I feel like I will give it a rest for a few months.
I would rate it 7/10