The game has enemies in it but you don’t exactly battle them. The controls felt alright, but the jumping did feel a little too floaty which made some of the platforming parts a little annoying. I feel like those two things being abilities you unlock through the game further highlight just how simple this game is. As you collect the fragments, you’ll gain some new abilities for Annika like being able to jump or swim.

It just all felt kind of empty which while I understand this is from a small team and it’s their first game, I do still need to mention it. Some people might have you fetching an item or finding someone but none of the tasks were that interesting or the world for that matter. Most of the gameplay involves just exploring the island, helping other people with little tasks, and venturing through dungeons. The gameplay isn’t much deeper as you can’t do a lot as Annika. Again, it’s a simple tale meant more for younger players, so it didn’t grab me as much. A lot of the story is told through some well-drawn panels that look like you’re reading a manga or something. Annika is also joined by other characters such as a boy named Giraffe and a witch called Lily. In order to regain her lost memory, you’ll have to help her find special star fragments. Annika has no idea of why she is there or much of anything else in her past. You play as our cat eared protagonist Annika who ends up on an island called Spica. Upon playing through the game, Giraffe and Annika is clearly something that a lot of younger players will likely enjoy the most since it is rather simple in a lot of ways with the story being one of them.

Its cute art style was what really drew me to it but how does the actual gameplay stand up? NIS America is publishing it and since I’ve enjoyed a lot of their titles, I had to see what this one was all about.

Atelier Mimina isn’t a new entry in the Atelier franchise but rather a new independent studio that has just released their first game on consoles called Giraffe and Annika.

Giraffe and annika trophy guide