Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles

Genre: Spectacle Fighter / Action-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Anima: Gate of Memories – Arcane Edition bundle, along with Anima: Gate of Memories.)

Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles is a Spectacle Fighter with strong Action-RPG elements released on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2018. Like its predecessor, this game is set in the world of the Anima: Beyond Fantasy tabletop RPG franchise. This game takes place at the same time as the events of the first game, but follows a different path and a different main character, the titular Nameless, an immortal who has tasked himself with defending humanity.

Given the game being an alternate story in the shadows of the events of the first game, one could expect this to play like a standalone DLC, and indeed it initially appears to bear a great deal of similarity to Anima: Gate of Memories. However, most of this game’s locales differ from those in the first game, with Nameless’s battles taking place within the titular Gates of Memories that were in the first game, with these realities giving a warped version of the realities they represent.

Where the first game gave me strong Devil May Cry vibes, the sequel feels like something else entirely, and while I still feel like this game is lacking a strong identity of its own, it still benefits from not seeming like a pale shadow of a better franchise. What’s more, the cool, quiet character of Nameless makes for a more compelling protagonist than the first game’s duo of the stoic and somewhat whiny Bearer and the loudmouth Ergo.

The 3D visuals in this game are okay, and while they don’t seem quite as polished as the prior game, that’s somewhat forgivable due to the frequently abstract nature of the environments. Still, it’s nothing particularly impressive, and it’s not particularly helped by an unmemorable soundtrack or highly inconsistent voice acting (you can bet that any character, object or place with an unusual name will be pronounced differently by each character who talks about it).

This game still retains the exploration that made the prior game intriguing, as well as the upgradeable skill tree. However, this sequel ditches the character-swapping mechanic. In its place here, Nameless can charge any attack to break through a shielding enemy, adding a new element to combat.

In fact, the combat here is much-improved over the original game, feeling a good deal more fluid and making it actually fun to fight once you get the hang of it. Oh, don’t get me wrong, this is still a far cry from the likes of the Devil May Cry and Bayonetta franchises – the camera here is pretty awful, the variety of combat skills is still a bit lacking, and just in general combat here feels far more repetitive than those pinnacles of the genre. But unlike the first Anima: Gate of Memories, Nameless Chronicles brings enough quality to the core combat gameplay that it makes it worthwhile to explore the other nice features this game has to offer.

One more thing – like its predecessor, this game has a very odd control setup for in-game menus, with Y of all buttons acting as “confirm”, and A acting as the cancel button. I suppose this may just be a matter of personal preference, but I think this is a terrible choice as it runs counter to the muscle memory established by, well, virtually every other game on the platform. But I suppose you could eventually find yourself getting used to it.

If you’re a fan of Spectacle Fighters, don’t expect the core fighting mechanics of Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles to impress you, but they’re good enough that you should be able to appreciate this game’s blend of those elements with Action-RPG elements. And if you’re a fan of the first game, you should absolutely get this one as well, as it isn’t just a way to fill in some of the events going on during the story of the first game, but it’s also, well, just a better game. All in all, this is a game that’s worth giving a try.

tl;dr – Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles is a Spectacle Fighter with Action-RPG elements and a sequel that follows a different path during the same story events as the first game. This game drops the character-swapping of that game, but in its place we get more fluid and enjoyable combat, making this an all-around better game. It’s still not on par with the greats of the genre, but Spectacle Fighter fans will still likely find this game worth playing.

Grade: B

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