Anime fan? Then you can’t miss these video games, which are the ones that best adapt the works of the sector
The video game and anime industry is one that has been shaking hands for decades, and this is especially noticeable if we go back to classics like Dragon Ball They have been the most popular entertainment worldwide for many years. Therefore, it is really possible to put together a list with what many consider pieces of video games that are in charge of bringing the world of anime closer to our consoles.
So, then I leave you with a list that I have created based on criticism collected on platforms such as Metacritic or Opencritic but, ultimately, above all based on the taste and vision of here a server (The list does not have a specific order, I simply take care of collecting truly TOP video games).
Dragon Ball FighterZ
To say that Dragon Ball FighterZ is one of the best anime-based video games ever made is a no-brainer at this point. For years the work of Arc System Works was a direct reference to the entire panorama of fighting videogames, granting the best combat system that a Dragon Ball video game had ever seen and at the same time offering an original story and a series of truly spectacular combat cinematics.
Release date: January 13, 2018. Platforms: PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC.
Metacritic score: 87.
REDUCED EUR 3.86
Dragon Ball FighterZ Minimum price offered by this seller in the 30 days prior to the offer: €37.11
JUMP Ultimate Stars
The definitive version of what had to be a much newer JUMP Force. JUMP Ultimate Starts is a video game that celebrates the JUMP manga and anime franchises in style. The title has 305 characters, of which 56 are controllable, distributed among 41 different manga and anime franchises. It is, for all intents and purposes, the game that has been best responsible for collecting characters from universes like Dragon Ball, One Piece, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and much more in a unified way.
Release date: November 23, 2006 (Japan only). Platforms: Nintendo DS.
Note on Metacritic: Unregistered.
Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
CyberConnect2 did a great favor to Naruto fans by creating what is known as Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. Because yes, the Naruto franchise had already been counting on TOP video games, but this installment brought together absolutely everything that was necessary from the franchise up to the Shippuden saga, including the final villains of the same. With a combat system that allowed the creation of teams of all kinds and natures, the ninja experience reached its peak in this installment of the IP.
One Piece Pirate Warriors 4
Among Dragon Ball, One Piece and Naruto, surely the Monkey D. Luffy franchise is the one that has had the most difficulty coming up with video games to match. However, One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 wonderfully rescued the essence of the franchise. How many times have you seen him take down dozens of Marines with his punching gatling? That was precisely what this video game did by the hand of Omega Force, adapting that concept of Musou for which you had to defeat hundreds of enemies controlling One Piece characters in order to overcome the levels.
Release date: March 27, 2020. Platforms: PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC.
Metacritic Score: 75.
Attack on Titan 2
I remember buying this video game without having them all with me and being completely delighted. Because? In the first place because it has something that I love, and that is that allows you to create a character to enter the story of Shingeki no Kyojin and experience all its events as if you were a member of the Explorers Corps. But as if this form of narrative wasn’t TOP enough already, it turns out that the combat system is absolutely delicious. Moving around with the team and dismembering Titans is an incredible feeling, and that speaks volumes for the work that Omega Force did here.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a completely different modern take on Dragon Ball FighterZ, also by a different development studio (in this case CyberConnect2). In this case, we have a video game that, although obviously still focused on the fights of Goku and company, what it does is tell the original story of Dragon Ball Z in a way as faithful as we have never seen before. Not only that, but it also has a series of DLCs as a complement to the plots that make it, unquestionably, the perfect video game to explore the adult stage of Son Goku in the best possible way.
Release date: January 17, 2020. Platforms: PC, PS5, PS4, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series.
Metacritic Score: 73.
Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles
Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles was the first bath of Koyoharu Gotouge’s work in the video game industry, and the truth is that it happened quite successfully. Even though it was once again the fighting game formula going over the anime’s story, in CyberConnect2 they did a great job with both the combat system and the cinematics of the game. As a first contact, the study hit the nail on the head here, in addition to the fact that the difference in mechanics between demons and exterminators gave online confrontations an extra attraction.
Release date: October 13, 2021. Platforms: PS4, PC, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch.
Metacritic Score: 74.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
Yes, I know that more than one will be thinking ‘the third Dragon Ball video game on the list and on top of that it’s not even a Budokai Tenkaichi’, and yes, I know that these last ones were very good, but for a fighting video game itself, Dragon Ball is here. FighterZ. Why does Xenoverse 2 seem to me a TOP title in the Dragon Ball video game universe? Well because how I love it allows you to create your own character from any of the main Dragon Ball races, and also equip yourself with the transformations and special techniques you want. All this also through an original story that mixes all kinds of sagas and time travel. Come on, how unique it is in terms of Dragon Ball video games.
Release date: October 25, 2016. Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC, Stadia, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Metacritic Score: 72.
REDUCED EUR 1.55
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a spectacular and unique franchise in the anime industry, in which the shonen brand is given a truly special twist. The poses, the designs, the use of colours… its creator, Hirohiko Araki, hit the key on absolutely everything, just as CyberConnect2 did the same with Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R. This video game supposes the definitive experience to date on console, with up to 50 playable characters from all parts of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure as well as multiple gameplay and audio improvements compared to the original video game released in 2012.
Release date: September 2, 2022. Platforms: PS5, PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch.
Metacritic Score: 73.
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions
If you grew up watching Oliver and Benji at the time, then Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is a video game you must try. This title allows you create your own footballer in the Oliver and Benji universe, as well as befriend some of the most iconic characters and learn their in-game techniques. Although the gameplay in general is a bit crazy arcade, the truth is that the cinematic moments of the anime are present, and you can see them in action every time a special ability is activated. A video game more of a show and to hang out than anything else, but still fun.
If anyone is wondering where are the Digimon, Pokémon or Inazuma Eleven video games, keep in mind that these franchises were created directly as multimedia products. That is to say, the idea was always to set up IPs that were going to expand in anime, videogames and other formats. What I have listed are purely franchises that started out as anime/manga and got so crazy that they ended up seeing their own video games advertised, and I honestly think you have a really cool selection.
