What Does The Video Game Industry Think of Anime Being Turned Into Games?

So last year I came up with an idea: since anime and video games intersect more than most mediums, I thought, “What does the anime industry think of video games being turned into anime,” since more often than not, video games turned into anime are bad.

This year, I thought it was time to do the reverse of that idea and ask video game industry people what they think about anime being turned into video games.

5 people that work in the video game industry took some time to answer that: Kyle Hebert (Voice Actor for Street Fighter’s Ryu, Phoenix Wright’s Miles Edgeworth), Gia Manry (Associate Brand Manager at Bethesda/Former FUNimation Brand Manager), Nick Doerr (Co-Founder, Creative Director of Tired Media), Nina Freeman (Game Designer at Fullbright, Cibele creator) and Nayan Ramachandran (Senior Marketing Manager at Playism). Here’s their thoughts:

What’s your opinion of anime series being turned into a video game?

Kyle Hebert: I think game crossovers from anime provide a wonderful opportunity to immerse fans into the interactive experience, and there are many success stories, such as the continued series of Naruto and Dragon Ball Z games.

Gia Manry: I’m neutral on this. There are great games that are based on anime — I’ve heard great things about the DBZ and Naruto fighting games, for example, and at risk of sounding like a shill for my former employers, I’m looking forward to seeing what GameSamba does with FUNimation’s Fairy Tail…I’ve long thought Fairy Tail would be great game fodder, both in terms of having a colorful style of combat and a neat world setting. If GameSamba can deliver on all the features they promised that could be a really cool game. On the other hand, there are plenty of mediocre games and even shovelware style games based on anime, too. So how excited I would (or wouldn’t) get for a game based on an anime would depend on factors like: what show? What genre of game? Are they doing anything interesting with it? And of course, will it actually be available to me in the U.S, since a ton of anime-based games are offered in Japan that don’t come out here. I want the PSYCHO-PASS visual novel to come out here officially! I might buy an Xbox One for that.

Nick Doerr: I rather like the thought of an anime becoming a video game, but lately it seems that anime are being built FOR that. Titles that already take place in a “game world,” for instance, are and have been made into games to varying degrees of success. Off-hand, Sword Art Online and .hack were almost tailor-made for game adaptations, intentionally or not. As with the opposite situation, it all comes down to execution. Most anime could work as a video game if certain liberties are taken with aspects introduced in the game world or if the game would be played from a different perspective than that seen in the anime. Expanding on an anime universe’s lore in a video game is a great way to learn more about the world your favorite characters exist in without the “obligatory info-dump episode” in some anime.

Nina Freeman: One of my favorite games is Magic Knight Rayearth for the Sega Saturn. I discovered this game well after I’d read the manga it’s based on, and was really excited to see that such a well-produced game had been made about it. It was super fun to relive that story in game form. So, I think that games based on anime can be really good! It’s also super fun to be able to engage with a story you really like in multiple mediums. I think a lot of people really like that, which is why you see so many games based on movies and shows.

Nayan Ramachandran: I think it’s really cool actually. There are a lot of anime series that lend themselves well to interesting gameplay mechanics, and it’s cool to finally take control of your favorite characters and play through your favorite storylines.The quality of a lot of these anime IP-based games tends to be pretty high too. Companies like CyberConnect 2 and Banpresto have basically set the standard for incredible anime-based games.

What anime do you think would make a great video game and why?

Kyle: I love Space Dandy and think that universe is overflowing with opportunity for a fun, comedy based adventure. Dandy is a character that could, at the least, crack the player up.

Gia: Well, I mentioned Fairy Tail, so that’s one I guess! Hmm, it’d be kind of neat to see something really crazy, like a Yurikuma Arashi game created by Keita Takahashi, of Katamari Damacy fame– I don’t know what the heck that game would be but it would look amazing, right? I would also be interested to see some games that expand on a world or story…Death Parade comes to mind, maybe because it’s game focused, but with a lot of care and great writing I could see a really interesting RPG that plumbed some of the depths left in that world.

Nick: There’s one series in particular that I would love to see a video game adaptation of: Darker Than Black. I really enjoyed the story, the world, and the game-like limitations placed on the Contractors. With some creative liberties, all of these facets could be designed into a tight gaming experience — probably as an Action RPG, in my mind. Another notable for me would include my absolute favorite anime franchise ever, Patlabor. Games have been made, but none left Japan and were…unremarkable. Where is my Dynasty Warriors Tokyo Metropolitan Police Special Vehicle Section 2, Division 2, you guys?! Rogue labors on the loose, fight in downtown 1980s Tokyo! C’mon. It’s too good an opportunity. A third that might not apply since it has seen a fighting game and visual novel released is the A Certain Magical Index/Scientific Railgun series’. I only mention it because when I watched those shows, I did NOT think “fighting game” and “visual novel.” There was far more at play and a Rogue Galaxy-esque JRPG just…makes more sense to me.

Nina: This is a tough question, because there are just so many great series out there. Personally, I’d love to see more CLAMP works (like Magic Knight Rayearth) get game adaptations. I know there have been quite a few games based on their work, but few have the scope of Magic Knight Rayearth. I think that Card Captor Sakura would make for a great action RPG style game. Also, Chobits would be a really interesting series to explore in a narrative game. Also, outside of CLAMP, I’d really love to play a game based on some of my favorite romantic anime, like Kimi ni Todoke or Lovely Complex.

Nayan: I always thought Gurren Lagann would make for a great game. There was one on DS that came out while the show was airing, but I would love a studio like Platinum or FROM to revisit the series on modern platforms. I especially loved the way Gurren Lagann would rip pieces off enemies and attach it to themselves to gain new abilities. I can see that being a really cool mechanic. There were also quite a few Full Metal Alchemist games that came out while the original show (not Brotherhood) was airing, and they often had a similar mechanic, where you could make weapons out of objects in the environment.

What video game based off an anime would you recommend?

Kyle: I think the Ultimate Ninja series from Naruto offer compelling gameplay with gorgeous cel-shaded graphics. It feels like you are playing the anime.

Gia: For me personally, I can’t really think of a recent one. There were some strong ones back in the day, like Sailor Moon: Another Story and that Magic Knight Rayearth game comes to mind, but I’m not sure if you can really get and play them in any legitimate fashion these days. Does the Love Live mobile game count? That’s a multi-media property, but the anime did come before the game, so…

Nick: A video game based on an anime that I would recommend… Man. Some of these never left Japan, so forgive me if my recommendations aren’t possible outside of finding a ROM or importing. I enjoyed the SNES game based on the Iria/Zeiram franchise, called Iria. But then again, I love Iria in general. What a tough cookie. From the Berserk franchise, Sword of the Berserk: Guts’ Rage on the Dreamcast was an absolute riot to play. That one flew under a lot of radars, but it was a really enjoyable licensed game. Brave Story: New Traveler was a decent RPG for the PSP. I think I wrote a review for it way back when on Engadget/Joystiq/PSPFanboy… I also liked the PSOne Ghost in the Shell title. Sure, it was only tangentially related to the show and cast, but their cameos made it fun. Plus, the game mechanics were solid for the time –using your Fuchikoma (the game was set in pre-Tachikoma days) to climb walls and dash in a circle inside of a cylinder to battle an enemy in a 360 degree firefight was a real treat for early 3D games. …So either I’m getting pretty old, or there aren’t many notables from this decade. I don’t play many fighting games, so while I’m sure there are good ones, I can’t recommend them from lack of personal experience.

Nina: The .hack games were some of my favorite games growing up—especially .hack//Infection.

Nayan: The Naruto Ultimate Ninja games are a ton of fun. I’ve heard great things about Ultimate Ninja 4. My go-to recommendation, personally, though, is Super Robot Wars. There are a lot of games in the series to sift through, but quite a few of them are really great SRPGs (especially the Alpha series). It’s the ultimate robot anime crossover series mixed with fun SRPG gameplay.

So, what do you think about anime being turned into video games? Feel free to share your thoughts (or even answer the 3 questions) below!

Justin is The Co-Founder of TheOASG, a site where they show you how you can watch anime and read manga legally. You can find him on Twitter (@kami_nomi) and ask him anything involving anime, manga, and sports.

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