[b]Anima Gate of Memories: The Nameless Chronicles[/b] Is a pretty decent game with a somber melancholic tone, exploring themes such as immortality, loss, envy and grief. This is alright, for a game. However, the MAIN ENJOYMENT of the game is (some) boss battles and the narration/lore/story. In fact, I would say the story/lore carries 95% of this game. * DISCLAIMER: I have NOT played any of the other(s) Anima games - this is my first one.
[b]PROS:[/b]
- Story, lore and narration is excellent. Theres so much to learn, its not all spelled out for you. Theres a section in the menu to review what youve read too. I really liked the story of the Nameless (MC) and the creator of puppets, personally. I've read every lore dump and had no regrets. :) If youre short-fused, of course you can skip these (but then what do you play this game for?)
- Atmosphere fits the tone of the game (music/aesthetics).
- Cutscenes are good!
[b]NEUTRAL:[/b]
- Decent variety of moves, but I wished there was more.
[b]CONS:[/b]
- Voice Actor of the MC (the Nameless) changes near the end of the game (???) which is much less dark, and doesnt fit the character.
- The skill tree is pretty limited. Every skills has LV reqs to go around the fact its so short, and for every tier too. You can go for more ATK/M.ATK or a mix of both? But not really. Many enemies will take zero dmg from a type (like magic), forcing you to switch. This is a bit worsened by the fact some of the only attacks that are safe to connect (for a given boss for ex) will do "0" 100% of the time. So then you use the PHYS charge attacks buffed with thanatos energy (your mana) for more range/dmg the boss will consistantly stun/knockback you out of it, negating your attempt and energy spent. This makes boss fight very long, as the alternative to damaging bosses becomes 15~25 (x1/x2) per slashes to ZERO (many are immune) with a safe wave-slash attack. Fortunately, stats are so low in this game, it doesnt really matter and youre not penalized and wont feel much of a difference for often switching. But if in the intro you get in your head that "Ill focus magic" no you cant, lol. By the end, youll mix both, in stats and equipment. Bosses are fine on the first diff. Speaking of diff...
- Easy = normal, and normal = ULTRA HARD (vs bosses). So if you get destroyed at the first 1v3 boss fight of the game, swallow your pride and remake your game while youre still learning the game. Because the AOE autoaim-knockback spam will get you on the floor in no time. xD
- Music is okay but forgettable.
[b]CONCLUSION:[/b]
Its not a bad game, but I would struggle to recommend it to anyone I know. On sale, its like 3 coins which is fairly cheap! If youre someone that likes narrative focused games (despite it having combat/exploration most of the time) I think you'd enjoy this title. As for the rest, well, look up gameplay footage online before committing.
