Gate of Memories I & II Remaster Review – Budget Value

Anima: Gate of Memories I and II remaster review

Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster is a collection of two low-budget JRPGs. These games are Anima: Gate of Memories and its side story from a different perspective, Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles. Although the games feature JRPG gameplay, they were developed by a small Spanish team and are based on a Spanish tabletop role-playing game called Anima: Beyond Fantasy. If you've never played these indie games, read on to find out if you should. And if you're already a fan, read on to find out if Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster is worth the double-dip.

Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster takes place in a world torn by war 700 years ago. The Holy Empire of Abel rose from the ashes of war as the most powerful nation in the world. He also outlawed all supernatural powers. Our main character, the Bearer, is a member of Nathaniel, a supernatural order that defies the laws of Abel. Ten years before the start of the first game, the Carrier entered into an agreement with Ergo Mundus. This is a powerful, mysterious creature known as the “world scourge.” This agreement gives the Bearer magical powers.

Search Byblos

The Bearer's former teacher, the Red Lady, steals an important book called “Byblos” from Nathaniel. The story of the first game follows the Carrier and Ergo as they hunt down the Red Lady. The plot gradually becomes more complex, and the player discovers a lot of knowledge about the world of the game. The story of Anima: Gate of Memories II – The Nameless Chronicles follows the villain from the first game, The Nameless. The events of the second game parallel the events of the first and show a different point of view: the Nameless One fights the Bearer and Ergo.

On paper, I really liked the story of Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster. Some scenarios are very bad. The terrible voice acting only emphasizes this. Some naming conventions are trivial; Calling the main character “The Bearer” sounds like a fantasy story that I would have written as a ten-year-old. But the story really moves the game forward. The world and lore are very rich. Overall, the storytelling and world-building are some of the highlights of Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster.

Action game gameplay in JRPG format

Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster is Third-person action JRPG. Square makes a melee attack. Triangle performs a dash that reduces the distance between the player and the enemy. X – jump. Circle is a ranged magic attack that uses a portion of the magic meter that regenerates quickly. R2 dodges. Pressing R2 after getting hit causes forward recovery. Items can be placed on the d-pad for quick use. L1 does an upward attack and L2 does a magic attack. Pressing R3 locks onto enemies.

The player can switch between the Carrier and Ergo at any time. They play very similarly, but can be built in different ways, unlocking skill tree abilities. In the second game, Nameless plays by himself. He's also similar to the other characters, but each one is unique enough to keep it fresh. I really enjoyed the combat in Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster. Attacks and movements felt great. I heard criticism in some of the difficult platforming sections, but I didn't feel like the controls or difficulty ruined the game. I really enjoyed the addition of platformers and puzzles from time to time and found that they kept the gameplay fresh.

Lots of games to play

Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster features a central area with areas of different levels that the player can access. After completing the first three areas, they unlock three more. Each area has a very different environment and can be played in any order. This structure gives the player a bit of freedom. The biggest downside to this collection is that the games can get repetitive. They both clock in at over 20 hours each, and the final stretches may feel a little too familiar. Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles also reuses many assets from the first game. Both games have a lot of backtracking. But there are also a lot of games to play, and the Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster package is a great value at just $40 CAD.

The changes in Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster are mainly cosmetic. Characters have a new look with cell shading, and the environments look much brighter. Both games are still clearly budget games, but nine years ago they looked very low budget, so these changes are likely necessary to attract new audiences. Reused assets, lack of animation during dialogue and terrible voice acting are the main signs of a low budget. The music is good, in the style of Western fantasy, but there are no particularly memorable compositions.

In conclusion

Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster is a collection of two very low budget JRPGs that I really enjoyed. Someone is looking for something in the spirit Nier It's definitely worth considering the game. However, the changes in this remaster are almost entirely cosmetic and likely won't justify double-dipping for those who own the original games. However, the price is very low and there is a lot of content to be found. Let's hope that developer Anima Project gets enough attention to develop games on a larger scale in the future.

***PS5 code provided by publisher***