Spy x Family has been a part of the cultural zeitgeist for nearly 5 years at this point and seemingly isn’t slowing down any time soon. Hot off of the heels of a feature-length film and a second season of the anime, Spy x Anya: Operation Memories looks to fill in the gap for eager fans waiting for more of their favorite fictional family. While the overall package isn’t bursting with the most in-depth gameplay or story, it’s a wonderful adventure that can provide the most dedicated of fans with hours of additional adventures.
It’s Time To Go On An Ooting, Mama and Papa
Spy x Anya: Operation Memories put me directly into the shoes of the smallest member of the Forger family – Anya. Running around the world of Spy x Family is a joy in itself, but gazing upon it with the whimsy of a mind-reading child is quite adorable.
The general gameplay loop revolves around a few particular tasks – interacting with Anya’s family and friends to earn points, and snapping photos of Super Cool! objects to fill up her diary, participate in mini-games to earn a variety of credits, and play dress-up with the Forger family. Mixing and matching outfits to go on different Ootings (outings, for the uninitiated) provided me with boosts to the different currencies that I could obtain.
I needed to get PP to get new outfits and items for the Forger family, and Eureakas to participate in a variety of different mini-games. These games range from a simple cooking game, where Anya and Yor would work together to make dinner, to hanging out with Bond while exploring the skies in a dream sequence. Every minigame offered a variety of difficulty settings, ranging from Peanut to Chimera, but they’re never too difficult – the game wanted me to take it easy, and provided a simple challenge regardless of the difficulty I picked.
Going on the Ootings is one of the most fun parts of the game, even if they are a bit simplistic overall. Getting to explore unique scenery while also speaking with the Forger family and supporting characters is a cute way to help Anya have the best journal ever, and provides super-fans the chance to experience the world that has been built around these characters.
And don’t worry – both Yor and Loid get their own unique mini-game, with Yor’s feeling like a simple Devil May Cry-esque hack & slash, and Loid getting a stealth-based game, akin to Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid. They’re both fun but could have used some extra depth to make revisiting them all the more exciting.
It’s Like Pokemon Snap, Only With A Telepathic 5-year-old
The main part of the experience of Spy x Anya: Operation Memories, however, is the photography section. During the main story, I could encounter a variety of Super Cool! Objects, all signified with a large, red arrow to point me in their general direction. During these segments, I had about 15 seconds to focus the camera, find the perfect angle, and snap a picture at the right time to get a memory worth bragging about.
No matter if it was Anya groggily walking through the house to introduce herself to a houseplant, or spending time at the fountain in the park during an ooting with the family, each of these interactions are most elegant in their own way.
No matter if it was Anya groggily walking through the house to introduce herself to a houseplant, or spending time at the fountain in the park during an ooting with the family, each of these interactions are most elegant in their own way. As I filled up Anya’s journal with a variety of new snapshots, I could pick and choose the best photo to use as my final choice.
How would a game all about photography work if it didn’t have crisp and clean visuals, though? Spy x Anya: Operation Memories does a faithful job of recreating the look and feel of the show, with great character models, a complementary color pallet that feels just like the anime, and a variety of environments to explore. While I do wish that there was more freedom overall, the locations that I could pick and choose from were varied enough to keep the experience from feeling stale overall.
One of the best parts regarding the overall visual style is how expressive each of the characters is, especially during cutscenes. Spy x Family isn’t afraid to morph its characters’ faces into a variety of hilarious expressions, and they’ve been translated well in a 3D space. Yes, before you ask, the face is also included here.
These photos gave me Eurekas, which then allowed me to participate in the aforementioned mini-games to help to round out the, admittedly, reptitious day-night cycle. Starting off the day, I could go to school, come home to eat dinner and prepare for a good night of sleep. There is enough charm here to keep things engaging until the end, but I do with that the cycle was expanded upon further to make it a little less redundant overall.
The Style & Charm Are Here, But The Music Is Another Story
Spy x Family has some of the best music in the anime scene at the moment, no matter if it’s just the opening theme or just the general moments in between. Unfortunately, this is one of the spots where Spy x Anya: Operation Memories tends to drop the ball. Repetitious musical numbers pepper the slice-of-life moments, and nothing here on the musical side of things is all too memorable.
Those hoping for an English dub may walk away disappointed, as there is currently no option to toggle between Japanese voices and English voices. Plenty of fans have spent hours watching the Forger family in English, and I wish this experience was dubbed for those who wanted it. However, the Japanese voice actors deliver a solid performance and it doesn’t feel phoned in – it feels just like an episode of the anime in that regard.
Since the general gameplay takes part mostly in these slice-of-life moments, I grew weary of hearing the same tracks over and over again after a while. They’re not bad, per se, but I wish there would have been a bit of extra variety peppered in to keep things from feeling a bit too samey in the long run.
Some of the mini-games, on the other hand, have absolute bops for soundtracks. A particular favorite would have to be the Dodgeball mini-game, which makes it feel like a do-or-die situation, even if it isn’t that serious. These tracks are easily the highlight of the game, even if the Go, Bond, Go! mini-game recycles the same voice lines far too often not to be at least a little obnoxious.
I was genuinely surprised to see a slathering of Multiplayer options available to participate in, as well. My wife is a big fan of the franchise alongside myself, so getting to jump into fun little games like Peanut Bowling together is quite refreshing. It helps make this package feel more than the sum of its parts and offers a nice bit of replayability to enjoy together.
One thing to note for prospective buyers, as well – Spy x Anya: Operation Memories does expect it’s players to have a pretty in-depth knowledge about its world and characters. Make sure that you’re caught up on at least the anime before jumping in, as players new to the world of Spy x Family may not immediately catch some of the more sly references in the game.
Spy x Anya: Operation Memories isn’t the most in-depth experience that fans can partake in, but it offers a nice slice-of-life simulator that puts them smack-dab in the middle of their favorite show. Interacting with Loid, Yor & Bond is always a joy, the mini-games are rather entertaining, and the ability to explore some of the world that has been so carefully built since 2019 is a joy. It’s a whimsical and jovial experience for fans of manga and anime to experience, but I can only wish there was a bit more to the overall package.
Verdict: Recommended
Spy x Anya: Operation Memories is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch & PC. A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PlayStation 5.
