Anima: Beyond Fantasy [Hardcover]

I have truly fallen in love with this book. The art in the book is amazing and awe inspiring. I could go on for pages about how good the art is but it would not do it justice to have me go on a fanboy tangent on the quality of the art. The system is very good, but not perfect. Combat is based on opposed rolls which I like. For instance if a monster attacks the player (GM rolls) then the player chooses a defensive maneuver and rolls. Their totals are subtracted and it tells you how much damage is done, or avoided. My only complaint about the system is that it used d100 which gives linear results. 1-100. I would have like something more akin to 3d6 where you get a bell curve for results. Overall I like the system, the sessions I have played the mechanics were not clunky and everyone caught on quickly. Some people have been complaining about the math which I think is unfounded. The most math a player will have to do in game is add. The most difficult problem a player will face is 157+32, if you cannot do this in your head maybe you should work on it.
During character creation you will have to do a few percentages so I would use a calculator for that. As for the setting I am pleased with it. It is very original which is very hard to come by these days. There are Christian references but it is not trying to insult Christianity or glorify it. It simple is being used to allow western themes such as crosses, church, nuns, bishops, and the Vatican to be in the game.
My only real complaint is the typos. Do not be surprised to find three typos on a single page.
I because of the typo and the system not being perfect makes me want to give it 4.5 stars but that is not an option. This game is gem though. I have been playing tabletop RPG for thirteen years and I have not been this jazzed about a game since I played D&D for the first time.

For this review, I'll be going from the worst parts of Anima to it's best. So that you'll have all the stuff that may make you not appreciate the game right out of the gate.

Grammar. This game was originally in Spanish, and then translated to French. FFG had issues with their translators and by the time it was finished they did a horrid job in editing the book to be readable. Often times you will have to read a section a couple of times to get the actual point. Which any one who has any experience with that knows makes things difficult at best. D

Layout. The charts. Holy crud... the CHARTS. You could make an entire COMPANION BOOK with the charts. I recommend that anyone who plays this game go ahead and get prepared to set up packets for your players of the charts relevant to the, otherwise things will take bloody forever. Secondly, the flow of the rules presentation doesn't help. Until you get a larger perspective on each section of rules you just have to say 'WTF is going on here?' This would of again been made much better with some restructuring... or with a bloody index. The character sheet seems unnecessarily large and cluttered. Find yourself a sheet online to use. D+

Setting. Out of the 300+ pages of this book, about 30 pages or so is dedicated to setting of the world of Gaia. It's a bit barebones, but it does give you an okay overview of the world. There are a number of sourcebooks for more world information... only problem? They still haven't been translated/released. However, I have been lucky enough to talk to some of the folks in Europe who play the game, and from what I get the game world is interesting and engaging. B

Mechanics. I'll be the first to admit it. At first the game mechanics look very clumsy. "A d100? REALLY?" But after getting more familiar and playing about with the mechanics more, they do make sense and quickly lose that intimidating complexity. Many of the larger charts have a simple formula to them that you quickly learn. One thing some folks don't like is that having a cheap calculator at your side is incredibly useful.

The mix of "spending XP" system (like White Wolf) and level system (Rifts, D&D ect.) is very interesting and allows every character no matter their class to do something unique. Every level you gain a certain amount of development points which you spend to increase various ratings, the cost of which are determined by your class. It also has 20 classes or so, and the descriptions and illustrations of which almost force character concepts to start forming in your head.

There are three separate sources of supernatural power in the game, all of which function differently from each other and have different abilities/flavor.

In the end, the mechanics can be used as a universal fantasy setting with whatever game world you so choose. Even better than that, it's not GURPS. ;) B+

Art. There isn't enough one can say about the art in this book. It's just that darn good. Seriously. It's not a bad book to buy just for the art with the Amazon price. A+

I hope my information has helped find out whether Anima: Beyond Fantasy is a good fit for your gaming needs.

Good points: Amazing art, unified concept for character design as well as monsters and villains, moderate to somewhat below moderately detailed world, combat not necessary to advance.

Bad points: Math intensive rolls to accomplish tasks, poorly organized charts, no index.

As a disclaimer, I'm a die-hard GURPS fan.

The character generation seems mildly schizophrenic, laying somewhere between the traditional class/level system and point-based character generation. Stats are rolled but generous, while the rest of character design is entirely point-based, with successive levels providing more points to advance your character.

The basic task system consists of rolling 1d100 and adding skills and modifiers to hit a target number or opposed checks.

While the system does make heavy use of charts, the charts themselves are easy to comprehend, but poorly organized. An index providing page numbers for charts would have been massively useful.

But the real strong point here is the brilliant conception. The setting and style and feel of the system harkens back to old turnbased Japanese RPGs (JRPG), strong reminiscent of the myriad incarnations Final Fantasy. It evokes a sense of heroic wonder in the players without making them feel overpowerful. Character concepts are balanced such that there are multiple ways to play, delicately striking a balance between combat and character interaction. The setting is that vague Final Fantasy mishmash of classic fantasy with strong elements of victorian technology and culture. If you as a child ever wanted to play Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior or any of those old JRPGs on pen and paper, this is the setting for it. It's cinematic, but in an anime sense rather than classic western action. Even the magic system almost perfectly captures the essence of FF spellcasting, with magic points (called Zeon) and casting times based on the caster's ability to harness magic. It's major weakness, and for this I still give it credit for trying, is trying to encompass all those other classical elements of anime-style fantasy. The Ki system is awkwardedly worded but versatile, summoning is cool but time consuming, and psychic powers are unpredictably weak or power, as the dice may determine. This game, it is simultaneously elegant and clunky, and tugs at old nostalgic heartstrings in me that I had thought long forgotten, memories of long summer nights playing Final Fantasy games until the sun rose. I love it like an ugly pug that more shallow eyes might pass over.

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