All games within any given sub-genre can be hit or miss, but anime-based games are on another level. Even when you get into something purely for the love of its source material, it can be tough to find a gem that truly shines. For every decent Dragon Ball Z fighter there are dozens of forgettable entries. No matter how much you love Neon Genesis Evangelion, you know deep down the Nintendo 64 game only appeals to hardcore fans. And hey, I feel you; I’m one of them!
There are still plenty that have managed to break through over the years, though. I’m talking about the games that have the potential to click with fans and non-fans alike. Some are borderline ubiquitous while others are a little more on the obscure side. In most cases, the key is that they work as games on their own without totally leaning on their origins. For some inspiration, here are 10 games based on anime that are absolutely worthy of your time.
10. Attack on Titan 2 (2018)
Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan series wasn’t the first manga/anime title to fall to the devs at Omega Force. It was, however, the one that demanded something quite different from the usual Musou madness. Grappling hooks alone are tough to get right in a game, let alone Omni-directional mobility gear. The first Attack on Titan introduced a solid gameplay loop with fun mechanics, but the second refined them while covering some of the same ground. Until someone else takes a crack, this is the definitive Attack on Titan action game.
9. Ghost in the Shell (1997)
1995 was a watershed year for anime, thanks in no small part to Mamoru Oshii’s game-changing Ghost in the Shell film. It would inspire the Wachowskis’ work on The Matrix, among many others, and remains a staple to this day. What doesn’t remain a staple is the 1997 PlayStation game, but maybe it should! Instead of running around as Motoko Kusanagi or Batou, Exact and Production I.G’s game kept you in the spider-like Tachikoma tank.
In this case the tank was Fuchikoma, and it was really fun to control. The visuals aren’t amazing, and it isn’t essential Ghost in the Shell media, but it just feels strangely satisfying to play. Does Fuchikoma move with all the grace of Jumping Flash? Yes. Are the missions extremely rudimentary? Also yes. I will not be answering any more questions about Ghost in the Shell. Just go and take this bot for a spin.
8. Mitsume ga Tooru (1992)
Originally published in the pages of Weekly Shonen Magazine in the mid-70s, Mitsume ga Tooru comes from none other than legendary manga author Osamu Tezuka. The “God of Manga” whipped up the tale of a three-eyed boy named Hosuke who investigates lost ruins to learn more about where he came from. The designs and shonen storytelling style made it perfect for video games, one of which came to Famicom in 1992.
Developed by Natsume and published by Tomy, Mitsume ga Tooru is a delightful platformer with a catchy soundtrack. If you’re dying to pick up an anime game to speedrun, this is it.
7. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (2020)
Few series deserve a genre-defining game quite as much as Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece. Has that goal been achieved? Sadly, not yet, but if we’re going to pop in one to Gum-Gum Pistol them all, it’s gotta be One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4. The fourth entry is absolutely loaded with content from the series, and the faucet is still flowing. As the Wano arc comes to a close in the anime, now is a great time to play it Musou style.
6. Victorious Boxers Series (2000/2004)
There are plenty of sports games based on anime, and the best are just as good as any regular genre entry. Victorious Boxers: Ippo’s Road to Glory is based on George Morikawa’s long-running Hajime no Ippo boxing manga and its anime adaptation. Amazingly, this PlayStation 2 contender is on-par with some of the best boxing games. And wouldn’t ya know, it actually has a solid sequel, too. Making things even sweeter are the charmingly awkward cinematic character models. Play the games, watch the anime; both will make you want to “dive lost mind,” as the theme song exclaims.
5. Magic Knight Rayearth (1995)
Many anime serve up the perfect fodder for an RPG, but Magic Knight Rayearth is especially high on that list. TMS Entertainment’s ’90s anime adaptation of CLAMP’s shoujo fantasy manga has all the trappings of an epic otherworldly quest. Before there was total isekai saturation in anime, there was Rayearth, and Hikaru and her friends made the most of their adventure on Sega Saturn. Though it hit Japan in 1995, it ended up being the Saturn’s swan song in 1998 courtesy of Working Designs. As such, the English version fetches a notoriously steep price.
Sega’s Magic Knight Rayearth isn’t the only game based on the series, but it’s a beautiful and fun spin on the material. By the time it finally hit the west in localized form its visuals were considered “dated.” Time has, quite clearly, come around on that not-so-hot take. You also gotta love balking at the $65 price point of the time. Turns out that game was a wise investment!
4. Astro Boy: Omega Factor (2003)
Developer Treasure is well known for creating tight, over-the-top 2D side-scrollers like Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Headdy. Take that pedigree and apply it to Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy and you have one of the most impressive action games on Game Boy Advance. From his powerful punch to his booty machine guns, Astro is as lively as ever in this portable showcase that is in dire need of a revival.
3. Jump Ultimate Stars (2006)
If you’re through dealing with the abundance of arena brawlers based on anime, it’s time to dust off your Nintendo DS. One of the essential imports arrived in 2006 with the debut of Jump Ultimate Stars. This follow-up to the previous year’s Jump Super Stars delivers a roster of 56 playable characters, with 305 appearing in total from over 40 Shonen Jump series. Manga pages come to life in the arenas and battles play out like a hectic anime/manga version of Super Smash Bros. The fact that we didn’t get this in the west but did get Jump Force is a crying shame.
2. Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (2018)
You wa shock! The PS1 Fist of the North Star game may hold a special place in my heart, but I had to put this one on the list in its place. The elevator pitch is pretty much perfect. Take Buronson and Tetsuo Hara’s legendary Fist of the North Star series and hand it off to Yakuza/Like a Dragon devs Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Yes, that means it manages to work plenty of mini-games like bartending and baseball into the super-serious, ultra macho post-apocalypse for which the series is known. What good is humanity if you can’t take a break from the wastelands with a round of Space Harrier?
1. Dragon Ball FighterZ (2018)
As many Dragon Ball Z fighting games as there are, it took the experts at Arc System Works to truly do Akira Toriyama’s series justice. Dragon Ball FighterZ is 2D fighting perfection. The blazing fast showdowns are even flashier than the series that started it all. There’s nothing quite as hype as the way team members blast onto the scene and immediately bring the heat. For my money, it was this game that proved to Dragon Ball anime studio Toei Animation that 3D was a viable direction to take the anime itself. Take one look at 2022’s Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO anime film and you can see the same cel animation-inspired dynamism in CG-rendered form.
A new shonen brawler hits the market every few months, but none have topped the intensity of Dragon Ball FighterZ. If more anime games put in the work to mix their visuals with appropriately responsive and engaging action, we’d need a bigger list.
