Anima, a tabletop role-playing game developed by the Anima Project, first released in 2005. It quickly grew into a diverse franchise, spawning a miniature game, card games, and eventually branching into the world of video games. However, this foray into the digital realm proved disastrous, resulting in a significant loss for the company.
Now, over nine years after that setback, the series is making its triumphant return with Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remastered. We at Netto's Game Room were recently given the exclusive opportunity to speak directly with the series' creators to finally uncover the full, untold story behind the original release's unfortunate demise, and to learn more about the series' future.
1. Hello and thank you for taking the time to speak with me! My name is Ben, and I'm one of the co-founders of our gaming site Netto's Game Room. Before we jump into discussing your game, could you tell our readers a little more about yourself?
Hi Ben!
First of all, I should be the one thanking you for the interest you’ve shown in our work.
I’m Carlos B. García, creator of the Anima Beyond Fantasy role-playing saga, as well as the video games based on it.
Many years ago, I started writing the Anima Beyond Fantasy tabletop RPG books on my own, with the goal of bringing the spirit and style of classic JRPG series like Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger into the world of tabletop role-playing. The result was a great success; Anima eventually grew into an international franchise that also included miniature and card games.
After that success on paper, I decided to try things “the other way around,” and founded a small indie studio created to bring Anima into the world of video games. Together with my teammates Sergio and Miguel, we’ve released two titles, Anima: Gate of Memories and The Nameless Chronicles, and, just a few days ago, a remastered collection of both: Anima: Gate of Memories I&II Remaster.
So you just released your new game Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remastered, which is a remake of the original game that was first released in 2016. However, from what I understand things didn't go so smoothly with the original release, and it ended up being a loss due to issues with the original publisher. I know this isn't something you've really discussed in detail publicly, but would you be willing to share the full story with our readers?
I’ve been asked several times why we’re releasing a remaster of our previous games, Anima: Gate of Memories I & II, after their successful original release. The truth is there’s a rather sad reason behind it… though perhaps not an uncommon one in the world of game development.
Unfortunately, we never received the revenue that our games generated.
Everything is related to our former publisher, Badland Games. A long time ago, when we were searching for a publisher for our first game, Anima: Gate of Memories, the executives at Badland Games reached out to us. They told us that we had something “special” and that if we published the game with them, they would treat it as a flagship product for their company. At the time, Badland Games was a well-known publisher, arguably one of the biggest in Spain.
Even after creating Anima, the truth is that we’re a very small indie studio, made up of just three people who pour their heart and soul into everything they do. What indie developer wouldn’t be thrilled to hear something like that? So, we decided to publish Anima: Gate of Memories with them.
At first, things went well. The game sold very successfully; remarkably, even. The first payment arrived, and it was incredibly satisfying, allowing us to continue doing what we love. We immediately began work on our next game, The Nameless Chronicles, a DLC that became so big that ended up being an independent game. Everything seemed to be on track.
However, problems began to surface some time later. Although the payments kept coming, we never received the sales reports despite our constant requests. We weren’t too alarmed at first, but something felt off.
Some time later, we finally met with them again. The executives at Badland admitted they were having liquidity problems and hadn’t paid us what we were owed… which explained the missing reports. In fact, they owed us far, far more than what they had paid us up to that point.
We left the meeting concerned about the debt, but also optimistic, knowing our sales were much higher than we thought. Naturally, we believed that as a large company, Badland would overcome their liquidity issues and eventually pay us what we were owed; for context, this was several times more than we were ever paid.
Looking back, I realize how naïve we were. As you can probably guess, we never received those payments.
When we published our second game, as we had signed by contract, the bank transfers stopped altogether. We soon discovered that there were new physical versions being produced by USA publishers for which we did not receive any payment either.
What we didn’t know at the time was that Badland was using the revenue generated from Anima to pay off its other debts.
Then, the empty promises began. They told us we would be paid soon, that it was something that would be solved with time. They gave us bounced checks, promissory notes that were never honored… they even told us that if we handed over everything we were working on for our next title, they’d try to pay us with whatever they earned from it… no matter how little sense that made.
Eventually, Badland officially declared bankruptcy. Any chance of recovering what we were owed disappeared, as their debts to the banks were far too large.
We were fortunate to have been able to keep going thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, but the plans we had for our projects fell apart; things like voice acting, music, and many other elements we had hoped to include once we recovered at least part of what Badland owed us.
That’s why, when we finally regained the rights to our first games from Badland and had the chance to bring them to the current console generation, we saw an opportunity to recover at least a small portion of what we had poured so much effort, work, and passion into… and to use whatever we gained to keep the studio alive and make our next project an even better game.
But if we were going to do it, we had to do it right. We didn’t want to simply increase the resolution and call it a “remaster.” So, we dedicated several months to updating and improving the titles, creating Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster.
On a personal note, it’s heartbreaking to know that we lost so much of something we gave our hearts and best efforts to. For a small studio like ours, those earnings represented growth, new team members, stability, and hope. It was the result of our sales and hard work… and being deceived like this is painful.
Still, we can’t help but feel that by doing our best we’ve achieved a small victory that was taken from us. Hopefully, this time, we’ll be able to recover.
That’s why we’re so full of excitement and hope that players will rediscover or experience for the first time Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remaster, and that this will be just the beginning of their adventures in the world of Anima. That way, we’ll keep doing what we’ve always done: creating worlds filled with passion, imagination, and soul.
Anima: Gate of Memories is a video game entry within the Anima series itself. Could you tell us a little more about what Anima is, and how does your game connect to the overall greater series? Also what made you want to go the video game route for something that had yet to receive global recognition?
As I mentioned earlier, Anima is a saga that spans across different formats: books, card games, miniatures, and video games. It’s a richly detailed setting that blends dark fantasy with anachronistic elements of supernatural technology, creating Gaïa, a universe full of mysteries and fascinating characters.
Gaïa is a world where humanity has forgotten its past; its once-great civilization crumbled and scattered like ashes in the wind. During those chaotic times, supernatural beings appeared and walked among us, accompanying humankind through its earliest steps. Now, for most people, magic and the supernatural are nothing more than old tales whispered around campfires, while secret organizations work in the shadows to study ancient civilizations and protect humanity from the unknown.
Anima: Gate of Memories is a standalone story set in that universe. While it draws heavily from Gaïa’s rich lore, you don’t need any prior knowledge of the tabletop saga to enjoy the game to its fullest. In fact, I’d say it’s a perfect entry point into the Anima world.
As for why I decided to make the jump to video games, the answer is quite simple. Even though the saga was already well established in the indie tabletop scene, I’ve always been a huge fan of video games. When the chance arrived to bring Anima into the world of video games, I jumped at it without thinking twice.
The project has been dormant for almost a decade at this point, with the tabletop RPG being taken off the shelves, and with Anima: Tactics - the miniature game that was all the rage for a while - following after. What made you decided to revive the series now after nine years?
The truth is, we haven’t exactly been idle, but a lot of things happened that kept pushing our plans back little by little.
To start with, even though we began developing a third title, Song from the Abyss, our contracts with Badland would have forced us to release the game through them, which caused a huge delay while we tried to sort everything out.
Naturally, the arrival of the pandemic didn’t help, and to make things worse, it was also during that time that I was diagnosed with a serious health issue that took me away from everything for quite a while. Fortunately, the surgery went well and I made a full recovery, although it took much, much longer than I would have liked.
The good news is that we’re back at it now, more motivated than ever and ready to pick things up right where we left off.
The original Gate of Memories was well received due to its gameplay, but there were areas that clearly had room for improvement—especially the visuals. With Remastered you not only took the opportunity to completely overhaul the titles, but also fix these shortcomings. Visually speaking, the new release looks stunning, but what other improvements have been implemented to help make this the definitive release? And is there new content or is this strictly a 1:1 remake with improvements?
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m really glad you like how the remaster looks.
To answer your question, we wanted to keep the core gameplay spirit of the original titles, but over the years it became very clear to us that there were areas that could be greatly improved, especially when it came to controls, camera, and jumping. Because of that, we focused on refining the gameplay experience in those three aspects, as well as adding several quality-of-life features like gamma adjustment, customizable controls, and new difficulty options that can satisfy both those looking for a serious challenge and players who prefer a more relaxed experience.
As for the rest, we’d rather let players discover it for themselves.
Gate of Memories is a little bit of a difficult game to describe, because it seems to borrow a lot of ideas and mechanics from multiple genres. RPG style progression, open (yet linear) world with Metroidvania-like progression, and some souls elements mixed in as well. Personally it reminds me a lot of playing Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, especially with its puzzles and platforming elements, but what were your inspirations when it came to the game's design? Anything that might surprise fans?
Oh… There are so many games on that list! But if I had to narrow it down, I’d say there are three that influenced us the most: Nier, Kingdom Hearts, and Devil May Cry.
From Nier we drew inspiration for both the narrative approach and the Action JRPG style. Kingdom Hearts inspired the more open structure, where players can explore different worlds and tackle situations in the order they prefer. And Devil May Cry was definitely our biggest influence when it came to combat design.
Putting aside publisher issues with the original, what would you say was the most difficult part of developing the title?
I’d say the biggest challenge was achieving the scale we wanted for the project. It was a huge game, with countless areas and enemies, so we ended up trying to do something that was really beyond what a three-person team like ours could handle. Every single addition became a challenge, so in the end, everything was incredibly difficult.
Was there anything you wanted to include in the game you were unable to fit in, even with the Remaster?
So many things… I don’t even know where to start. But what hurts the most is that we weren’t able to include fully animated cutscenes, instead of the comic-book-style scenes we used. We really wanted to bring them all to life, but nothing in the game system allowed it, so we decided it was better to invest our efforts in other, more important aspects, like gameplay and graphics.
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One thing many may not realize is the fact that Gate of Memories was not the first video game within the Anima series. That honor belongs to the WiiWare title Anima: Ark of Sinners, which was a smaller release developed by a completely different team. Does it have any connections to Anima, and if so, is it a story you'd ever consider revisiting in the future? Or is the past best left in the past?
Ark of Sinners… I’ll never forget that game.
Back when I was publishing the Anima RPG books, a small studio that was just getting started approached me about making a video game set in the Anima world. With the passion I’ve always had for video games, I said yes without hesitation, as long as I could be part of the team, even if it was just to write the story and learn as much as I could. The experience was a bit of a whirlwind, and the end result was, well, a bit of a mess… but even so, I can’t help looking back on it fondly. In fact, that was what inspired me to found the Anima video game studio, so I could develop my own projects with complete creative freedom.
That said, Ark of Sinners has no story connection to any of my current games, beyond being set in the same world. And the truth is, we don’t own the title, so whether we want to or not, that story is closed to us.
Speaking of other video game entries in the series, your next project is Anima - Song From the Abyss. How has development been progressing, and what can you tell us about the game so far?
Song From the Abyss is a bit of my dream project. It’s kind of an independent sequel to Gate of Memories, where we’ve been able to apply everything we’ve learned so far.
In the game, while trying to prevent the destruction of an airship and stop its monstrous attackers, a young knight inadvertently releases an enigmatic entity that had been imprisoned inside an artifact. The mysterious girl offers the knight a deal: in exchange for his own salvation and that of the few remaining passengers on board, he must accompany her to the heart of the Abyss and uncover why she was sealed there.
As I mentioned before, we ran into problems continuing development because of our contracts with Badland, and the fear of losing the project as a result. But now that everything is back on track, we’re moving forward with great enthusiasm.
This is a game we’re really proud of. The gameplay is polished, the graphics are carefully crafted, and the story and characters are fantastic. On top of that, we’ve dared to mix even more genres, from detective-style investigations to little nods to romantic dating sims. We’re very excited about it and really hope people enjoy it.
Moving past Song From the Abyss, what else can we expect from the Anima Project? Are you going to try and revive your other iterations, such as your tabletop games, or are you strictly going to move on with video games from now on?
That’s actually something we’re working on right now. In fact, one of the reasons we decided to do the remaster was to strengthen our ability to tackle new releases, starting with the book Anima Beyond Fantasy Core Exxet 2.0.
Will we ever see a new release of the tabletop game in English?
If all goes well, there should be news about that sometime this year.
Anima had an interesting game with beautifully drawn cards, with its last release in English being in 2011. It might not be a trading card game, and was more like a board game, but are there any plans to try and revive the game, or try and make a new card game based on the Anima project? Especially considering the current boom of card games?
There were two card collections: Shadow of Omega and Guilty Gods, and I still miss them. For now, though, we prefer to focus on video games and continuing the RPG line. Once both are back in active development, we’ll turn our attention to the card games.
And for fun, I have to ask. Who had the idea to include Reading Rainbow in Gate of Memories? I couldn't help but laugh out loud, record the video, and then show it to my wife asap! We both grew up watching the show and the short little singing reference was the perfect blast of nostalgia. Loved it so much!
That’s a fantastic story! It turns out that during the voice recording, the actor for Ergo John Joseph Archer II was fascinated by the idea of being a book. He started making constant jokes about being a book and dropping little lines between takes… until one day he improvised his version of Reading Rainbow right in the middle of recording. It was just so spectacular, and we all laughed so much that there was no way we could leave it out of the final game.
Before we go, I'd like to once again thank Carlos for taking the time to speak with us; it has been a real pleasure!
For those interested in checking out the game for themselves, Anima: Gate of Memories I & II Remastered is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The original version is also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
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