Anime games are a very hit-and-miss affair. I’ve played some golden titles like the Dragon Ball Z and Naruto fighting games, as well as absolute stinkers like any Ghost in the Shell game.
Despite there being a plethora of titles to choose from nowadays, we feel like some numbers have been overlooked or misrepresented, or just need a new game to bring out the best in them.
Berserk
Miura’s dark epic is my favourite manga of all time, and I think it’s time that present developers appreciated this ultra-violent fantasy saga and made an action RPG out of it.
Although we saw two games made for Berserk about twenty years ago, it would be glorious to see a current-gen reincarnation.
You need to read Berserk, if you haven’t already.
Played Dark Souls?
The spirit and style of the game was largely copied from Berserk, as well as many characters and monsters. Many characters spanning across various mediums have taken inspiration from Guts, the series’ protagonist.
I’m dying to see some of the most creative monster design come to life.
Swinging a massive sword into the chops of demonic apostates as Guts would be nothing short of ecstasy.
Put his oversized Zweihänder together with his mechanical cannon-blasting prosthetic arm and his projectiles and you have a highly enjoyable and versatile character.
Demolishing swathes of monstrosities with each swing? Say no more!
Berserk also has an excellent story and a host of characters which many players could be introduced to through gaming before hopefully engaging in the manga itself.
Living out Guts’ vicious struggle would be nothing short of a diamond experience.
Ghost in the Shell
Many have tried to create something enjoyable out of the cyber classic, all have failed.
All of the games made out of this monumental hit have been nothing short of abysmal.
The impeccably well-made original film deserves a video game counterpart of equal quality.
Generally basing gameplay solely around mediocre shooting, developers have so far failed to bring a legitimate Ghost in the Shell experience to life.
Something like Deus Ex would translate perfectly into a Ghost in the Shell scenario; a combination of stealth, hacking and intense combat based in a gritty, dystopian setting.
It’s only fair a title that inspired both Deus Ex and The Matrix take cues from both.
An open sandbox city the Major and her team whizz about through in various vehicles fighting cybercrime is what I’m thinking, as a deep and complex story developing as mysterious cases begin to form links.
GitS also raises many philosophical issues, such as the questionable differences between man and machines.
Wrestling with monstrous mecha and overwhelmingly augmented cyborgs, leaping off titanic sky-scrapers, organizing your team and deploying them efficiently makes for a lot of potential here.
Samurai Champloo
This glorious anime by Shinichirō Watanabe is another monster hit that needs another successor to its older-generation title.
Samurai Champloo has an incredible vibrancy and flow to it that would translate into fluid gameplay magnificently.
Mugen and Jin need to come back.
Samurai games are great fun but are often very clunky and imperfect.
If developers could capture the essence of the wild, whirling combat of the series we’d potentially have one of the best hack-and-slash games ever made.
I would love to see the adorable Fuu again as well.
Playing as either the savage Mugen – fusing break-dancing and dismemberment – or the more orthodox Jin, we would have an excellent contrast and juxtaposition of style.
Co-op would be incredible, as well as the two bringing their banter to life in reaction to players’ gameplay executions.
The magnificence of the fights in the series needs to come to life.
Set in bustling hip-hop-themed Edo-era towns as well as the glorious Japanese countryside, the two would roam feudal Japan on some bloody yet hilarious quest, getting into all kinds of perilous silliness on the way.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
The brain-breaking, controversial godsend is my favourite anime of all time and desperately needs to explode onto screens in a playable format once more. A host of current-gen Evangelions stomping about is too glorious to think about.
Save the world from Instrumentality, together.
Just imagine how epic a fully destructible Tokyo-3 would be, at the whim of the blubbering Shinji and his Unit 01 and a host of Angels.
If the city would remain as devastated as you left it with each battle, and become progressively more shattered until something like the Third Impact reduces the planet into an ocean of sludgy consciousness, we’d have the pinnacle of exhilarating, wanton annihilation.
More Evangelions and Angels to enjoy.
The story of Evangelion could be recreated once more, this time obviously focusing more on the battles with the Angels.
Over a dozen battles with the mysterious aliens each spanning a good few hours as players try to figure out how defeat each complicated behemoth would be grand, something akin to the lengthy boss battles in Shadow of the Colossus.
Experience the madness first-hand.
Co-op would also work as up to three players get to take on an Angel at a time, choosing between Rei, Asuka and Shinji.
The game could also continue for a long time with DLCs, as alternate storylines, Evangelions and Angel attacks are created for spin-off enjoyment.
Cowboy Bebop
Watanabe’s original hit series and most anime fan’s close contender for number one favourite. A jazzy space-exploring action game could very easily put a new spin on the sci-fi genre with its rhythmic action and unbeatable pizzazz.
Following Spike and his motley crew, we could freely roam space in search of highly rewarding and enticing bounty hunts, the rewarding credits being spent on modifying or purchasing space ships, weapons and gizmos.
Bless you Mr Watanabe.
Spike is without a doubt the most fantastically radical protagonist in any anime, and unleashing his suave martial arts and deadly shooting on an entire galaxy of creeps and juicy bounties on various planets would be crazy fun.
We would see things like breakneck spaceship dogfights and pursuits, high-speed chases through grimy, overcrowded cities and more exotic situations spanning various gas giants.
Travel through space and secure those bounties!
A great story could also unfold, perhaps shedding more light on a very mysterious and reserved hero, perhaps with an alternate ending to the one seen in the anime series. Maybe a little more romance too!
These are just five of my favourite anime I’d love to see back on the PC and console. Hit us up with some classics you’d love to see in game form.
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