Not all video games are original ideas – sometimes, they’re adaptations, inspired by other amazing
work out there in the pop culture ether. Which, from a marketing standpoint, definitely helps
turn a profit if you’ve already got a fan base. One of those inspiration avenues commonly
travelled is that of anime. There’s a ton of awesome video games that are adaptations
of famous anime shows, so today we’re taking a closer look at ten of them with our list
of the top 10 video games based off anime.
10 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Let’s talk a little about a game franchise
here. Based off a manga that turned into an anime that then turned into a video game,
the plot to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure follows a family who all discover that they’re fated
to defeat supernatural foes with unique powers that they possess. Where does the JoJo come
from? It’s an abbreviation of the family’s name, Joestar. The game was aptly an RPG adaptation,
released back in 1993,and since then, there were also several fighting games released,
like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle, which was released in celebration
of the franchise’s 25th anniversary. Recently in 2017, a new JoJo game was released called
Diamond Records – a 3D action game that mainly consists of quests based on the series
story. It’s single player, and uses a free-to-play mode, which, by March 2017, had gotten it
over 2 million user accounts registered to play.
9 Digimon Rumble Arena 2 While the graphics by our standards today
are definitely outdated, there’s still a certain charm to Rumble Arena 2 that is undeniably.
First off, it’s a fighting game, which let players face off against Digimon who appeared
from over three seasons of the anime. You could also digivolve mid-fight, which added
a different element of strategy to your battles beyond just button mashing. There were even
some mini games to boot, but none of which were as solid as the main gameplay itself.
8 Gundam Versus Released in 2017, Gundam Versus is the fifth
generation in the Gundam VS series, with this one being for the PS4. It features two-versus-two
and three-versus-three online team battles with each playable suit having its own unique
weapons systems. With a focus on action packed melee combat both online and off, the mechanics
are complex and allow players to engage in addictive fast paced intense battles. That
being said, many players found the controls a bit unresponsive, and the offline gameplay
to be seriously lacking – much of the previous single player modes that appeared in previous
games in the franchise have been removed, and that overall, the game lacked depth. Have
you guys played it? What’s your thoughts?
7 YuGiOh world wide edition - Stairway to the Destined Duel
I used to play this 2003 game religiously on my Gameboy Advance back in the day. The
focus of this game is the cards – if you’re looking for an RPG adaptation, this may not
satisfy that craving. That being said, for YuGiOh fans, it definitely fits the satisfying
bill. You play as yourself, working your way up as you build your deck and face off in
a tournament style competition against some of the franchise’s most notable characters.
6 Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment The manga – and anime – Sword Art Online
is set in an alternate future in which a MMORPG VR game called Sword Art Online is released,
which allows players to put on a helmet called NerveGear that stimulates your senses in order
to experience and control their in-game characters. 10,000 players log into the mainframe for
the first time only to discover that they can’t log out, and must complete a certain
part of the game in order to be released. Anyone who dies in the game or tries to remove
the NerveGear dies in real life. So of course, that premise is pretty lending to the likes
of an actual video game. While the game got rave reviews in Japan, the English version
didn’t dooverly well – the combat was still great, but the rest of it suffered from
some pretty bad translation issues.
5 Attack On Titan I’m sure many of you who are fans of Attack
on Titan have at some point thought – wouldn’t this make an awesome video game? Well, that
dream became a reality with the 2016 game of the same name. Developed by Omega Force,
the game manages to capture the essence of the show quite well – it’s fast paced
and bloody, just like the anime, and aesthetically its style matches up. The plot revolves around
the events of the first season of the anime, although at points it felt that it skimmed
over some of the finer details. There are initially ten playable characters, with only
three that can be selected at a time. The game has had some mixed reviews – some critics
have called it an excellent example of a passion project made right, whereas others felt that
structurally, the narrative had some pretty tedious lulls. A sequel is to be released
in 2018.
4 Astro Boy: Omega Factor A game for the Gameboy Advance released back
in 2004, Omega Factor incorporated multiple elements from Astro Boy’s various incarnations,
including touching on the concept of robot rights, the Antarctica robot city Robotonia,
characters from the entire canon of Astro Boy manga and Dr Tenman’s ultimate plans
for the protagonist. Aside from having a dynamic and vivid narrative, the game was praised
for its graphics, calling them “a delight for the senses”, a “technical marvel”
and stating that the environments were “beautiful and look as if they were built to be admired,
not just walked through.”
3 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Released in 2016, Ninja Storm 4 received rave
reviews, with critics calling it a game that fans of Naruto would love. Many of the outdated
gameplay mechanics from previous entries in the series had been removed and placed with
more efficient ones, the visual touches and character interactions were compelling and
stylistically accurate and the fighting was indulgent and exciting. Fluid and seamlessly
executed, the game was capable of gripping hard core fans and newbies alike.
2 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 The Dragon Ball Z Budokai series are fighting
games based on the hit anime show of the same name. And similar to the anime, the game focuses
on what Dragon Ball Z really does best – provide kick ass fights. Budokai 3 has gotten the
highest reviews out of all the games, specifically for forwarding the series gameplay beyond
just graphics and presentation. Released back in 2004, it’s largely dated these days,
but still worth noting for its gameplay depth and addictiveness; it had all the qualities
you’d expect for a well-rounded immersive fighting game, minus an online component.
1 Dragon Ball Fighter Z Speaking of Dragon Ball Z, let’s flash forward
over a decade later and take a look at the most recent instalment of the Dragon Ball
Z gaming franchise. Described by IGN to be “fast, fluid and cerebral”, the game features
easy-to-learn controls that allow players to really bring their most vicious and chaotic
A game to the battlefield, just like the characters do in the anime. It’s arguably the prettiest
anime-video game adaptation to date, and for fans, the Story Mode pairs off characters
in an appropriately indulgent way – the dialogue and exchanges between the characters
are enough to get any serious fan hyped. Plus there’s 24 playable characters you can choose
from, which all have their own distinct feel in battle.
There we have it friends! What anime show do you wish would be adapted to a video game?
Were there any games on this list that you think could have had a better adaptation more
fitting of the source material? Let us know all of your thoughts in those comments below!
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