Any fans of the SPYxFAMILY manga or anime series will be excited to know that another first for the series is out now. SPYxANYA: Operation Memories is the series’ first video game, matching the first film that dropped this year as well. The game has players taking on the cutest member of the Forger family, Anya. The player, as Anya, is tasked with a new assignment from school: creating a photo diary! This adventure game allows the player to experience Anya’s life during her school days and her off days when she is with her family: Bond, Yor and Loid. The main objective is to take pictures to complete Anya’s diary by living out her daily life.
Despite the wild, action-packed narrative from the manga and anime, this game leaned more into the slice-of-life aspects of the original content. However, the various minigames to lock in memories in Anya’s diary allow the player to play as the other family members.
The general music and aesthetics of SPYxANYA: Operation Memories were very close to the anime series’ vibes. It did not feel like a cheapened version of the show. While the game had a different animation style, it was still pristine and clear. I definitely felt like the art style was still pleasing to the eye, almost as much as the anime. The upbeat jazz music during high-action minigame moments or cutscenes was very parallel to the show’s overall musical themes.
Even though Anya is the main character you control, I felt like SPYxANYA: Operation Memories maintained enough focus on some of the other family members that it felt loyal to the SPYxFAMILY world. The wonderful assortment of outfits and accessories was a lovely touch, showing off fashion changes for the Forger family that the show has not shown before.
Do I feel like the price and amount of fun match each other? I would say the price point did not make sense for SPYxANYA: Operation Memories‘ regular edition and its deluxe edition from a replayability aspect. When I finished the whole story, I was not left wanting to play it again. Maybe my Souls experience, mixed with my Mario Party experience, prepared me for hard challenges, but I was S-ranking a lot of the minigames on the first try or second try.
“The general music and aesthetics of SPYxANYA: Operation Memories were very close to the anime series’ vibes.”
For those wanting some extra starting outfits and some extra starting money, you can purchase the deluxe pack with the base game or it can be bought later separately. SPYxANYA: Operation Memories had a lot of hand-holding for adults, but this made the game more accessible for players of all ages. The general difficulty was nothing like a Persona game despite having similar walking gameplay elements. The minigame difficulties were on par with those similar to the Mario Party games and the overall game felt like a great mixture of Mario Party and Pokémon Snap.
A huge portion of SPYxANYA: Operation Memories was playing minigames while the other half was walking around and taking perfect pictures for better points. Gamers who enjoy a casual game of fairly low-stakes minigames with a simple story will enjoy SPYxANYA: Operation Memories. The biggest detriment is some of the lacklustre tasks to complete in between minigames and taking pictures. Unfortunately, there was nothing additive to the anime/manga series from this game other than seeing the Forger family in some original cosmetics.
