Anime based video games

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

The best DBZ fighting game was Budokai 3...not Tenkaichi 3, but Budokai 3, for PS2. The Tenkaichi series has been an interesting experiment, but they haven't added enough to make it worthwhile. The original Budokai was cool but had serious problems, Budokai 2 added cel-shaded graphics, new characters, and a couple of new mechanics, and Budokai 3 tightened up the combat, tweaked the graphics, and added several cool new mechanics.

Legend of Goku 2 was an excellent GBA game as well...many times better than LoG1.


And just for reference, there was a Ghost In The Shell game that came out for PS2. It apparently sucked.

Actually, shin budokai - another road for psp was the best dbz fighter, not budokai 3, the new GiTS game indeed did suck but the old one on ps1 was awesome.

And if you liked LoG2 on the GBA you'll love buu's fury...it's basically a sequel that ups everything in LoG2 and then adds some.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Three was great. I hate the anime now, but I had bought the first game a while back and decided to get it while Wal-Mart still had it in stock.

 

[onioftheash]

this is a very fine line that would need someone who has never even heard of anime because while i like DBZ 3 and full metal alchemist 2, someone who has never heard of these game would probly think they suck

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

this is a very fine line that would need someone who has never even heard of anime because while i like DBZ 3 and full metal alchemist 2, someone who has never heard of these game would probly think they suck

I've had people who didn't know crap about naruto fall in love with naruto shippuuden: narutimate accel 2 (this is a JP-only game, it covers anime not shown out of japan yet) so you can't really say. Maybe a fighter pro would have a different reaction when compared to a casual gamer or to an RPG fan.

 

[ExistentialCrisis]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Super Robot Wars (or released outside of Japan as "Super Robot Taisen" by Atlus).

It's a strategy RPG (with minimal "strategy" I assure you) that takes mechs from various anime series, has the "good guys" team up against the "bad guys" of each show and take turns unleashing their most mundane and spectacular attacks against one another. Each attack is recreated as it was originally animated in the show of origin and everything. Sort of like a DBZ fighting game, it's pretty obvious that the product is aimed at a niche audience and tries to remain true to the material the fans are familiar with.

If the OP's friends like Gundams and whatnot, Super Robot Wars is a good series to invest in. The problem is that only two Gameboy titles have been released (along with the accompanying anime series that covers the first game's plot) outside of Japan while the rest of the franchise has remained unlicensed everywhere else. Still, the game uses a fairly simple gameplay system (that has remained largely unchanged to this day in the near decade the franchise has existed) and FAQs exist that translate the menu commands, so it's easy to learn the ins and outs if you happen to import it. The only problem after that is figuring out what the hell is going on half the time unless you know Japanese or are familiar with the plots of the shows involved.

Oh, and A.C.E. is a good choice too for mech anime action. A.C.E. is made by the same company that does SRW, but A.C.E. is real-time mech action game much like Zone of the Enders or Armored Core. It uses the same concept as SRW and mixes mechs from various shows together, too.

 

[Kizo]

I agree that Jump! Ultimate Stars is fantastic... well, fantastic in concept, at least. Single-player (understandably) wears thin with limited AI, so much of the enjoyment of the game relies on multiplayer. If you can find reliable opponents, preferably near you geographically, the game is amazing... but if you have to rely on random matchmaking (which devolved into players whoring the "Big 3" most broken komas long long ago), you won't have nearly as much fun.

JUS is a game that makes you wish you had more import-playing friends locally.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I agree that Jump! Ultimate Stars is fantastic... well, fantastic in concept, at least. Single-player (understandably) wears thin with limited AI, so much of the enjoyment of the game relies on multiplayer. If you can find reliable opponents, preferably near you geographically, the game is amazing... but if you have to rely on random matchmaking (which devolved into players whoring the "Big 3" most broken komas long long ago), you won't have nearly as much fun.

JUS is a game that makes you wish you had more import-playing friends locally.

JUS's AI died for me the day i got it, it was the same day that i went online kinda. Granted that was about 2 years ago therefore i didn't have so many big 3 users to face but like with any online play game, random matchmaking will yield some bad apples.

Now...and for the past year though, i've surpassed the vast majority of them while using normal supports and nothing broken...i've had 9999/9999 on the random since i don't remember when...so i actually have a lot of fun destroying those cheap big 3 users (and even the hackers) of the random online and here and there i actually come across some very skilled people.

There's also forums for people to go meet and play using FCs...like GF for example...so yeah..the online experience of the game like of any other is what you make of it and i've made a hell of a time out of it.


Oh and your opponents don't need to be near you, i've never had lag that was based on distance. The few timed i did have it must have probably been the person using some crappy DSL or something.

 

[Baelor]

Okay, I really hate to use broad sweeping generalizations like this but its appropriate. Most anime, lets say a rough estimate of 80 percent, seems god awful, about 10 percent is "Meh" and the other ten is the ones I actually like.

Ghost in the Shell caters to my love of anything remotely cyberpunk, and all its games have sucked.

Cowboy Bebop had an excellent story, no video games.

Trigun had a good story without getting up its own ass and emo, no video games.

Hellsing caters to the part of me that took sociology classes, seeing him break the villains down mentally instead of just by combat tickles me to some extent, no video games.


So.. I'll tell you when an anime game comes out that i'm not repulsed by.

 

[bjj hero]

How has no one mentioned the fist of the north star arcade machine with the punch pads? Hitting the hundred crack fist was intense.

 

[Sonicron]

Rented the Ghost in the Shell game for the PS1 many years back. It sucked. Hard.

I'll second what people said about Budokai 3, I still have it and even played a few rounds again recently, still very enjoyable.
On the other hand, I didn't like Tenkaichi at all, I don't know why...

Even though much of the protagonist's dialogue is obnoxious as hell, I've actually watched most of the Naruto anime and subsequently bought 'Rise of a Ninja' for the X360. And lo and behold, I found it to be a great game! It's a nice reiteration of the main story while leaving out most of the unnecessary and annoying stuff, and it wasn't merely a fighter, but somewhat of a lineary action game with free roaming - especially all the races and side quests in and around the Leaf Village are lots of fun. I would even go as far as saying that people who don't know jack about the anime might get into it through a game like this because gameplay and pacing are well-executed and overall FUN.
Also played the follow-up, 'The Broken Bond'. Still a good game, but a bit blander, I guess. Takes on a bit of a darker undertone as the story progresses, including that emo kid Uchiha bitching and moaning about being inferior and revenge and all that crap.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Like i said above, budokai 3 is not the best "traditional fighter style" dbz game, the PSP game shin buodkai-another road blows it out of the water.

Okay, I really hate to use broad sweeping generalizations like this but its appropriate. Most anime, lets say a rough estimate of 80 percent, seems god awful, about 10 percent is "Meh" and the other ten is the ones I actually like.

Ghost in the Shell caters to my love of anything remotely cyberpunk, and all its games have sucked.

Cowboy Bebop had an excellent story, no video games.

Trigun had a good story without getting up its own ass and emo, no video games.

Hellsing caters to the part of me that took sociology classes, seeing him break the villains down mentally instead of just by combat tickles me to some extent, no video games.


So.. I'll tell you when an anime game comes out that i'm not repulsed by.

Cowboy bepop does have a ps2 game...not sure if it's out of japan though.

 

[Grimm91]

Most good anime games never leave Japan. I have a bunch of DBZ games that are pretty cool but no idea whats going on because they are all in Japanese.

 

[Scoooby]

The best DBZ fighting game was Budokai 3...not Tenkaichi 3, but Budokai 3, for PS2.
And just for reference, there was a Ghost In The Shell game that came out for PS2. It apparently sucked.

Budokai 3 was definately the way forward in the series and yes i owned that Ghost In The shell game and it both sucked and blew at the same time (if its possible to do that....)

I hope a decent Bleach based game comes out and i'm anxious to see if Afro Samurai comes out in the UK

Naurto: Broken Bond on the 360 was pretty good in my opinion.....

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

That Dragonball: Origins games on the DS is really good. Its based off the original series, too! Its better than Phantom Hourglass.

 

[PhoenixFlame]

As long as said anime games don't sacrifice mechanics and gameplay for a cheap run at cash, I have no real issue with them, and many games based upon anime have enough solid development to stand on their own. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm is a good example of this - I dislike the anime series but enjoyed playing the game due to the multiple RPG-ish elements, the easy fighting system, and the extremely pretty graphical presentation (anyone who's ever played the game and has seen the anime can see how similar they look).

The .hack games are an example of a cheap grab at more cash, in my opinion. While the first few established some interesting mechanics and added to the universe, the later games have been the same mechanics with different look wrapped into them. It only makes sense to go for the "cheap pop" from your dedicated anime fans, but how many more people would buy the games if they were actually developed better?

There's hope for anime-based games, unlike there is with the "token movie games" that have rushed development and terrible gameplay.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure is probably about the best anime game I've ever seen. I'm still holding out for a good Battle Angel Alita game to get released over here. As an ultra-violent, Madworld kind of adventure/brawling game, I think it would have a lot of promise. Actually, I can see somebody doing that whole "Beyond Good and Evil" thing of different game genres within one game very successfully with Battle Angel, because the story structure lends itself so well to that.

There's the "extreme sports" (motorball), you've got tournament fighting, exploration, platforming, SotC-style boss battles... I think that series has real potential for making a great game. Maybe if the movie ever gets made it'll generate a bit of interest in the series again.

Oh, and the PS2 Ghost in the Shell game kicks rear. I'll probably review it here if I can ever find the time to sit down and engage my brain. It might not have been what a lot of people expected from a GitS game, but there's stuff in that game that has yet to be introduced to mainstream third-person shooting, like integrating platforming and wall-jumping into the four-player deathmatch. Also, the graphics and general experience hold up really well today.

 

[Svenparty]

The Only Anime game I'd play is Battle Royale since (If it was basically Plot free) would be a pretty interesting scenario.

 

[ScarBrow07]

DBZ budakai Tekaieaci (Sorry I spelt that wrong) series blew me away. it captures the true meaning of a DBZ game and 3 is super deadly. You can Play as over 200 characters. It may be unbalanced but at least the option is there. Burst Limit is disappointing because the Drama scenes fucking suck super monkey balls. The Bleach games are okay but very shallow and the bankais are over powered. Any Gundam game sucks although I am a fan of the series. Death Note on Ds is quite cool.

 

[ScarBrow07]

DBZ budakai Tekaieaci (Sorry I spelt that wrong) series blew me away. it captures the true meaning of a DBZ game and 3 is super deadly. You can Play as over 200 characters. It may be unbalanced but at least the option is there. Burst Limit is disappointing because the Drama scenes fucking suck super monkey balls. The Bleach games are okay but very shallow and the bankais are over powered. Any Gundam game sucks although I am a fan of the series. Death Note on Ds is quite cool.

 

[roblikestoskate]

i think it mattered most during the PlayStation era, where anime-styled character designs made for effective static portraits and FMVs, which made up for some of the technological limitations of storytelling. Persona 2, for example, benefitted from this.