The best anime video games will give you the opportunity to jump into sprawling adventures, dip your toes into the realm of horror, shed some tears for emotional storylines, and solve a few puzzles to ensure you receive the satisfaction you deserve. Like most anime and manga series, the video game adaptations range from evocative and thoughtful to adolescent and grandiose, and everything in between. They provide a challenge for any gaming enthusiast and is one of the primary reasons why anime video games continue to grow in popularity across the globe.
The best anime is usually bursting at the seams with quirky characters and over-the-top action, providing the perfect landscape for video game adaptations. Over the years, the gaming industry has played host to a plethora of anime-inspired titles, even injecting your favorite comic book characters in video games to make it more appealing. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top 5 anime-inspired video games that are bound to have you playing for hours on end.
Dragon Quest 11
The latest release in the legendary Dragon Quest series will provide an adventure like you’ve never experienced before. It’s gigantic, occasionally rather touching, ridiculously charming, and extremely satisfying until the very end. It’s considered one of the finest RPGs of our generation and is available on a wide variety of gaming platforms for added convenience, including Nintendo Switch, PC, and PlayStation 4. The 3D anime-infused environments are evocative, lavish, and clearly Akira Toriyama, especially when you look at the art design embedded within the Dragon Quest 11 video game.
You will come across a handful of heart-breaking, truly heavy chapters, but for the most part you’ll be treated to a magical world filled with adorable characters that you’ll wish were real. The overall gameplay is rather challenging and will demand a small amount of grinding if you want the best rewards. Dragon Quest 11 is regarded as a traditional JRPG in every sense of the word, and the fact that it can stand out among decades of classics in the genre just tells you that this is one of the genuine games for all that should be enjoyed for years to come.
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Have you ever wanted to inhabit the most powerful heroes that you’ve come to love in the Dragon Ball universe, giving you the unique opportunity to finally dish out your own revenge on all the foes? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that Dragon Ball FighterZ provides that satisfying, almost cleansing experience from the comfort of your own home. Obviously, you will also have the ability to embrace your inner-villain by fighting Goku as Captain Ginyu, Cell, Beerus, Kid Buu, Buu, and Frieza.
It’s difficult to match the incredible energy from the series that has captivated so many viewers for more than three decades. However, there is no denying that Dragon Ball FighterZ has managed to surpass our expectations and is easily one of the most successful fighting game adaptations based on the universe depicted in the series. It’s visually amazing, punchy, fast, and more importantly, makes you feel as if you were Cell, or Goku, depending on your belief system.
Attack on Titan 2
The first Attack on Titan video game was released by Omega Force in 2016, creating a rough but promising environment for what a video game based on anime should be: thrilling and fast-paced aerial battles against gigantic, human-eating Titans while using a unique Omni-Directional control system to effortlessly zip around the game. Attack on Titan 2 basically builds around that initial groundwork with an improved interface along with brand-new tricks to slice up titans in extravagant and exciting ways.
Attack on Titan 2 is based on the second season of the immensely popular anime series, placing you in the center of the war between Titans and humas. The people-eating giants appeared out of thin air one day and decided to take out a massive chunk of the human population. The human race was forced to build three enormous walls to keep the Titans from entering and attempted to rebuild humanity. However, the Titans have managed to find a way through and its up to you to stop them from complete annihilation. Attack on Titan 2 is a great example of how an anime series can be adapted to one of the best video games in existence. Another interesting adaptation is One Punch Man as a live action movie that will be tackled by Sony Pictures.
Doki Doki Literature Club
If you’ve never heard of the Doki Doki Literature Club video game, you will obviously have tons of questions where the answers are likely to confuse you even more. Whatever you might be thinking by simply looking at the name of the game, we can honestly tell you that it’s nothing close to what you are expecting. Even if you look at screenshots of the game, you will probably think that it’s some sort of dating sim with an anime twist. However, you could never imagine the gruesome psychological nightmare that is waiting for you just beneath the surface.
The Doki Doki Literature Club video game is a vicious psychological horror with an interactive storyline that is sure to mess with you from the moment you launch the game. It’s a video game that wears adorable clothing but comes with a shocking plot that covers a wide variety of heavy topics, including insanity, suicide, and depression to mention but a few. If you have the stomach for it, you’ll be astounded by the gripping story embedded in the game. That’s if you can overcome the scary trip that will surprise you around every corner.
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (999)
999 is considered one of the strangest video games in the anime genre that comes equipped with unique gameplay functionality structured around an unexpected and fascinating story. The storyline branches out into several directions that will greatly depend on the choices you make in the game. However, if you want to discover the true ending of 999, you will need to finish the game multiple times.
When you play through the violent, at-times stressful, story of the game, you will need to sit through a visual novel so to speak, interrupted by various cycles of puzzle-solving to escape hair-raising scenarios. The plot is basically a never-ending dreadful situation where you wake up on a lovely cruise ship with 8 other captives. Your primary objective is to find the hidden ‘Number 9’ door before the ship sinks to the bottom of the ocean. What makes matters even worse is that a bomb can explode from within your stomach if you decide to disobey commends during the Nonary Games. It goes without saying that the stakes are rather high in this game and you will feel the intensity from the moment you start playing.
Conclusion
Anime has walked a long road since the days when it was considered a niche medium that could only be enjoyed through comic books and series. It has now managed to bleed into the video game market and enjoyed major success thanks to the skills required to play the game and the challenging obstacles that are available from each title. There are hundreds of anime video games available on an assortment of platforms, giving you ample opportunities to find one that is worthy of your time and money. With anime taking over the video game industry of late, do you think anime comic books can conquer the film industry as well? Only time will tell, but when you look at the anime video games included on our list, we won’t be surprised when it does happen.
