SPYxANYA: Operation Memories Review – Papa, Anya Wants More!

You have three days to earn Game Points (PP) before the outing day to purchase these items, which you can earn from “Today’s Adventure” (covered in the “After Dinner” section). Even if you don’t unlock any outing items before the trip, there will still be some Super Cool! Items at the destination that Anya can enjoy. Remember, you can only take photos at two check-in points (since you only have two actions to use), including with outing items or Super Cool! Items. Once you’ve taken these photos, you’ll have to head home.

If you take pictures with every outing item, Special Super Cool! Items will be unlocked, which essentially means a family photo during the trip. Taking this photo won’t use up your actions.

Before going on the trip, Anya can participate in a raffle. There are regular raffle boxes and golden prize boxes. When you have enough raffle tickets, you can pull for costumes. Raffle tickets can be earned from minigame achievements.

Dress-Up Fun with The Forgers

Since the main gameplay of SPYxANYA: Operation Memories focuses on photography, it makes sense that there are various types of costumes. Certain costumes come with special effects, but if you’re not interested in those, you can dress up the Forger family however you like.

 

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It’s satisfying to see Anya in her albums wearing different outfits, bringing her daily life to life beyond just completing her photography tasks. All members of the Forger family, including Bond, can change costumes. These costumes are categorized into outfits, accessories, hairstyles, and hats. Costumes can be acquired through tutorials, missions, stores, and raffles. When you unlock a new outing destination, the store will add new items that match the location. Some of the clothes are also worn by characters in the anime.

Bonding Time with Family

When Anya gets home from school, she can take pictures with “Super Cool! items” around the house. Afterward, she can either go straight to dinner or have a casual conversation with the Forgers. Similar to talking with Damian, Becky, and Mr. Henderson, conversing with Loid and Yor will increase their relationship levels, eventually unlocking special events.

As you continue to play, characters like Yuri or Fiona will start to appear. For example, I encountered Yor’s brother Yuri one day after school, allowing me to build a relationship with him and experience iconic conversations.

Minigames Galore

After dinner, it’s minigame time, called “Today’s Adventure.” There are 17 minigames in the game, divided into categories like “Home Life,” “School Life,” “Papa’s Job,” “Mama’s Job,” “Nap with Bond,” and “P-Two Mission.” These minigames unlock as you unlock more outing destinations. Each minigame has three difficulty levels (Peanuts, Penguin, and Chimera), and you must play each one three times to unlock the next stage. If you don’t have enough Eureka, your progress won’t count. Playing without Eureka doesn’t earn you PP, which is used to buy items in the store, including outing items and costumes.

There’s no real “game over” in this game. For example, in “Papa’s Job,” if you don’t escape in time, the cutscene will still show Loid coming out of the museum, but he says he “needs more time to investigate.”

Oh No, Mama’s Cooking…

This game might have been inspired by Yor’s notorious vegetable-cutting skills in Episode 16. Players will take control of Yor to cut vegetables falling from the air. Each vegetable has a blue line on it, and when it touches the blue “cut” line at the bottom of the screen, you can perform an “Elegant Cut”; otherwise, it’s a “Cool Cut.” If Yor misses four times, it’s game over. At the Penguin level, dog food will also drop, which you need to avoid cutting.

This game also has a “Focus Mode,” which slows down the dropping speed, making it easier to cut. However, Focus Mode is a limited resource.

Dodgeball Time

This minigame was heavily inspired by the anime, where Anya aimed to earn Stella Stars through the Dodgeball game. Anya’s objective is to catch the ball and throw it at her opponent to knock them down. Players can switch between characters like Becky and Damian, who can execute special moves when their charge bar is full. Anya’s special move allows her to read her opponent’s thoughts and dodge three times.

Pressing the spacebar to throw the ball causes the character to run towards the center, and when they turn yellow, they execute a powerful shot. This requires aiming precisely at the correct opponent during the charge-up phase, especially when two opponents are standing close together. However, this aspect doesn’t significantly affect winning, as catching the ball from an opponent can still secure victory, albeit taking more time than usual.

Agent Twilight’s Mission

Loid’s Escape is a minigame that is quite challenging. In this game, Loid needs to infiltrate an art museum and inspect five art pieces within a limited time frame. Each piece he examines grants him extra time. There are security guards patrolling the area, and Loid can only be detected if he walks under a spotlight. If spotted, he can evade capture by running until the guards lose track of him. If he gets too close to a guard, the game won’t end; instead, Loid, as Westalis’s top spy, can incapacitate the guard, but this wastes 15 seconds. Once all five art pieces have been examined, Loid must make a beeline for the exit.

The most thrilling moments occur when Loid is detected, and guards converge on him from all directions. During these moments, you’ll need to press multiple buttons simultaneously, including the B key for dashing, WASD keys for changing direction, and arrow keys for adjusting the camera angle. This aspect actually makes it feel like a casual game blended with elements from horror games.

The game is both interesting and challenging because examining art pieces can alert security guards and draw them closer. It takes time to learn their patrol routes and how far they can hear the noise from Loid’s checks. Additionally, starting in a random location each time means it takes effort to remember where each art piece is located.

There is a bug that occurs where the examination sound persists even after finishing an examination, overlapping with new examination sound effects when examining another item. This disrupts gameplay, making it difficult to hear security guards’ alert sounds when they spot you. If detected, both the sirens and examination sounds play simultaneously, causing panic as you try to escape. Hopefully, this bug will be resolved soon.

Yor in Action

Compared to Papa, Mama’s job is significantly more fulfilling and straightforward. You will need to fight in 8 phases before you can reach the boss. Yor utilises AOE attacks by using her weapons and kicks.

The dodge system in this game is simpler compared to other ARPGs. When an enemy attacks, a red arrow or circle (depending on the skill) will appear. If you dodge with precise timing, Yor will glow red and the game will enter slow motion, allowing you to counterattack by pressing the attack button.

Special moves function like weapon attacks but can defeat enemies in one shot. Since these moves have an AOE effect, you don’t need to worry about targeting the wrong enemy (as they will knock down every enemy in front of you). However, if you aim at an already downed enemy, the fly-away effect will still occur, adding a touch of realism.

Go, Bond, Go!

Anya, eager to earn the Stella Star for Plan A, dreams of capturing it with Bond. In her dream, she rides Bond and collects as many stars as possible while avoiding obstacles like thunder, bubbles, and crayons.

Collecting enough stars fills Anya’s Fever gauge, triggering Starlight Fever! mode where she becomes invincible as Starlight Anya! This is similar to collecting the stars in Super Mario. Additionally, Anya can team up with Penguin or Chimera during her run. Penguin collects stars for her, while Mr. Chimera makes her invincible. Both companions disappear after a certain time.

Card Games at Eden College

If you are familiar with Poker or “Tycoon” games, you’ll easily grasp the rules of this game. Players lay down their cards from weakest to strongest, aiming to discard all their cards as quickly as possible. The order in which players finish determines their titles. If someone plays an 8, the turn ends immediately.

The strategy comes from predicting the strength of your opponents’ cards and deciding when to play your strong cards. You can also play multiple identical cards at once.

Anya can use her telepathy to peek at others’ cards, but only 3 times per game. If you finish first, you can either watch the rest of the match or skip to the victory animation. The finishing order determines if you are Tycoon, Rich, Poor, or Beggar.

This game is ideal for those seeking a light, strategic game after work or for younger players. Since it’s a casual game, you don’t need to worry about mistakes like drawing one card when there are two identical ones because the system highlights the playable cards automatically.

Anya in Pac-man?

It makes sense for Anya, as a spy anime enthusiast, to always play spy games with Penguin and Chimera. In Tag with P2, the objective is to eat up all the peanuts without getting caught by pursuers. Eating macarons activates Sugar Rush mode for a set period, allowing Anya to trample her pursuers. Teaming up with Director Chimera and Penguin during your peanut run can help you achieve a better score by collecting them.

If I compare this game to Pac-Man, I would say that this game’s graphics are more colorful, and the enemies are more intimidating as they stalk towards players quickly while wearing serious sunglasses. In contrast, Pac-Man’s enemies are just floating ghosts. While Tag with P2 is still fun, a child’s imagination is limitless, so I think they could let Anya play a more creatively designed spy game.

Bored Playing Alone? Grab Your Player 2 To Play With You!

Some of the games, such as the card games or peanuts bowling (unlocked after reaching the beach destination), can be played by two players. Replaying the same game repeatedly, especially when trying to unlock and attempt Chimera difficulty, can become monotonous. Adding this multiplayer function introduces a lot of unexpected excitement. There’s nothing more unpredictable than playing a simple minigame with friends or family, as it adds an element of fun and uncertainty, making it harder to anticipate your companion’s decisions and how they might disrupt your strategy.

Waku Waku! Anya Wants to Play More!

Honestly, SPYxANYA: Operation Memories can be described as an in-game photo shooting tutorial. By continuing to play, you’ll quickly learn to predict the best angles and timing, a skill useful in other games for tasks like angle seeking. Fans of Spy x Family will particularly enjoy this game as it features many iconic scenes from the anime, allowing players to experience Anya’s daily life. While the anime highlights special events in Anya’s life, this game showcases her regular activities.

Every conversation in the game is voiced, whether it’s related to a quest or not, which enhances the immersive experience. However, the game does have its drawbacks, particularly with keyboard controls. Adapting to these “unique” controls can be inconvenient, especially while dealing with annoying noises in Papa’s Job. Yet, seeing Anya’s hilarious moments during the photo shoots makes these inconveniences and bugs more tolerable.

Since minigames are a second major part of the gameplay in SPY×ANYA: Operation Memories, the game offers a large variety of them. However, playing the same minigames repeatedly can become tedious, especially when you need to play the same level three times to progress to the next stage due to the Eureka limitation.

Fortunately, the game allows you to skip or fast forward through schooling, animations, and conversations, which is considerate since the repetitive routines, dialogues, and cutscenes can make players bored. You can easily skip everything to get to the parts you enjoy.

The game is simple and straightforward to complete in the case of finishing the photo diary. The variety of gameplay and voiced dialogues provide a fun and interesting experience for casual and relaxing play. If you enjoy Spy x Family, photography gameplay, and minigames then SPYxANYA: Operation Memories is the game is for you.

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Reviewed on PC via Steam. Code Provided by Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia.