It’s been a few years since we’ve had a proper Pikmin game and even longer since there has been a decent real time strategy title on a console. Masters of Anima by Passtech Games and Focus Home Interactive scratches that itch and does so in a cute, engaging, and artistic way.
Masters of Anima drops us into fantasy world where Anima, who come from Mount Spark, are harnessed to do the bidding of their masters. Pretty much instantly you see where the name of the game gets its origin. Players control Otto, a man who is ready to marry his bride, Ana, who has perfected the art of controlling Anima and is known as the Supreme Shaper. Otto has repeatedly attempted to prove himself and pass his tests to become a Shaper, but continues to disappoint. He heads out to make the attempt one last time. 
Otto’s tests provide for a great tutorial to the basic functions of the game as well as an actually meaningful opening, unlike many other introductory levels that just tell to look around to make sure your HUD is working. While Otto is gone taking his tests, Zahr comes and takes Ana, sending various pieces of her soul out into the void. Of course, Otto has to save her, and he’ll use Anima to do so. The bigger picture is that Zahr may actually destroy the world, and saving Ana also means saving the planet.
Anima are directed around the board and to objectives in a similar fashion to other RTS games. You simply select a group of Anima that you want to do something, and then tell them where to direct their energy. If you need them to move something, it’s intuitive. If you want them to interact with piece of the environment or attack an enemy, that comes fairly easily as well.
The Anima are not a singular type of being and there are several different types you will encounter in your journey. They are all very different and have various, complimentary uses when in battle.
The first type of Anima guardians are the Protectors who help you solve some puzzles and do a decent job of both defending and attacking. They aren’t super strong, but they aren’t supposed to be. These little Protectors are your introduction to the Anima. It should be noted that Otto can also attack on his own, and you’ll probably want to do so in certain situations, even when your Protectors are doing work.
Next up are the Sentinels, which may be our personal favorite. They’ve got cannons, pack a heavy punch, and can shoot bad guys out of the air.
The other three types of Anima guardians encountered are more about support than combat. First you’ve got the Keepers that will actually drain away power from other enemies and have a few other uses as well. There are the Summoners which actually summon other types of enemies to fight for them. Finally, the Commanders help lift things and actually provide power-ups to both Otto and others types of guardians.
Each of the aforementioned guardians feel very much like their own creation, and none of them feel like they are incredibly redundant of another type. Much like archers attacking differently than swordsman in an Age of Empires game, you’ll find a use for each Anima type as well.
It’s incredibly obvious that Masters of Anima is more focused on gameplay than story. That’s not a knock on the game, because the story is still pretty decent. Further, the gameplay is focused more on gameplay than puzzles, but you’ll still find plenty of puzzles to get your brainwaves pumping as well, but rarely for very long or very hard.The puzzles are interesting, but not all that complex. Exploration is a big theme in MOA, and you’ll find yourself wanting to smash open every pot you find hoping to find some goodies.
The combat is fun but requires near constant upkeep. You’ll be summoning and recalling your Anima quite a bit while developing different tactics to keep your enemies at bay. This is one of the strengths of the game, but is overshadowed by the fact that enemies don’t vary enough and, once you find a strategy that works, there won’t be much thinking about how to take them down.
The voice acting in MOA is rather solid. It compliments the fantasy-esque style of the world. In the same vein, the art style is exactly what you would expect and hope for. Unfortunately, all of the cutscenes are static pictures with voice laid overtop. Because much of the dialogue that occurs inside these cutscenes is lengthy, it gets a bit drab staring at the same image for a while.
Recommendation: Masters of Anima scratches the itch you may have for a Pikmin-style real time strategy game over and over again. Its unique art style and engaging characters are exactly what you want, but the gameplay leaves a little to be desired. If you are a fan of Pikmin or RTS games in general, we would recommend you pick it up!
