Review: Anima: Gate of Memories 1 & 2 Remastered

Developer – Anima Project

Publisher – Anima Publishing

Platforms – Steam (Reviewed), PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series S/X

Review copy given by the Publisher

Anima: Gate of Memories is an action RPG that originally released back in 2016. At the time, it received generally unfavorable reviews for a variety of reasons. But in the age of remasters, games that struggled at launch often get a second chance. Anima Gate of Memories is the latest to receive that treatment, combining the original game and its sequel into one package with updated graphics, smoother performance, and refined gameplay.

I never played the original when it first came out, but honestly, every time I saw it on steep sale in the Nintendo eShop I almost pulled the trigger. So when I had the chance to review the remaster, I jumped at it. Let’s take a look at what works.

If I had to describe Anima in gaming terms, I’d say it feels a lot like Nier. The similarities to the first Nier are noticeable right from the start — even down to the characters.

You play as two characters you can swap between: The Bearer and Ergo. The Bearer is a young woman, while Ergo exists in his book form — a powerful entity confined to a Grimoire. Each character has their own skill tree, and leveling up gives you points to unlock abilities, passives, or upgrade previously unlocked nodes. Some nodes require a certain level, but overall the trees split into two main branches: magic and melee.

I focused on melee for Ergo and magic for The Bearer. This balance let me equip stat-boosting weapons without feeling like one character was far stronger than the other. Enemies often have resistances that force you to swap between characters, which makes both feel necessary and keeps their development meaningful.

The remaster looks noticeably better than the original. The visuals are more vibrant and detailed, and the world itself is fun to explore. Hidden items and “memories” flesh out the story, while zones gradually open up as you progress.

There’s a central hub where you can save and buy items, and defeating bosses unlocks new portions of the hub that lead to fresh areas. It’s a satisfying loop that encourages exploration.

Here’s where things get shaky. While the remaster supposedly improves combat, it still feels clunky. Unlocking abilities helps a little, but the system never fully clicks.

Enemies love to spam ranged magic and projectiles, which often reduces fights to dodging endlessly and waiting for a brief opening to counter with your own magic. Combos exist, but the system doesn’t really encourage chaining them together. I ended up spamming Ergo’s rush move and a few melee attacks, or dodging with The Bearer and tossing out magic shots. It got repetitive fast.

The first major boss fight highlights this issue. He constantly spams ranged attacks, zips around the map, and forces you to dodge until he pauses. Then you get a few hits in before he switches immunities, making one character useless and forcing you to swap. The cycle repeats endlessly, and it just feels underwhelming for an action-focused game.

Outside of combat, there are platforming sections. Sometimes they’re fun, but often they’re frustrating. Shadows beneath characters are faint, making jumps hard to line up, and awkward camera angles lead to missed landings. Passing these sections is satisfying, but for a remaster, I wish more attention had been given to smoothing out these basic mechanics.

For the price, Anima: Gate of Memories is decent, and I did enjoy my time with it overall. But the repetitive combat and clunky mechanics hold it back from being truly fun. I do think though that most people who decide to pick it up will enjoy it especially for the current price. The story is interesting, the world is varied, the graphics overhaul is well done, but with the remaster you aren’t getting much new content just a collection with a face lift.