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Are there good game adaptations of anime/manga series?
I know that it's mostly gacha games, but from my experience, they are usually cash grabs. Not to mention the amount of gacha IP collabs. So I'm curious if anybody knows game adaptations that are actually decent? It doesn't need to be on mobile- just any adaptation in general.
If you have no recommendation, you can just state your opinion on the state of game adaptations! Do you like seeing them? I'd love to read it.
It's an older game, and wasn't released outside of Japan if memory serves... but Sailor Moon: Another Story is lauded in the fandom.
Steans;Gate is a great visual novel that I loved playing through. Honestly, that's the only one I've played recently. I loved the old DBZ games, but haven't played any of the newer ones.
Jump Force came out a couple of years ago, which has a ton of Shonen Jump characters in it. It's a fighting game, so I probably wouldn't call it an adaptation.
I guess that leaves us with my first answer, Steins;Gate
Isn't the game the basis for the anime though? Not to disagree that it's bad, I've heard it's quite good. Just that it seems to be in the wrong direction adapationwise.
Honestly? I'm not too sure. I watched the anime first a long time ago and figured with the games being relatively newer (PS Vita/PS4) I just assumed it was based on the show and not the other way around. But after reading, it looks like you're right. I stand corrected!
Actually, it's deeper than that. The first instance was the game Steins;Gate, which then was adapted to anime in 2011. And then, they adapted the anime content to a new version of the game, in 2019. This new one is called Steins;Gate Elite.
I have heard good things about this new one, but some people prefer the original. I just remembered because it was all interesting.
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 was amazing and some of its cutscenes were honestly better than the anime.
The Dragonball Z Budokai and Budokai Tenkaichi games were great.
The Sword Art Online games are okay. I've only played the first one but I've heard good things about the later ones.
The One Piece: Pirate Warriors games are great if you're a fan of musou games like Dynasty Warriors.
Digimon Cyber Sleuth is really fun if you're a fan of Persona-like RPGs.
I know there are more but those are what I can think of off the top of my head.
Honestly, Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak for GBA is a really cute and cozy adventure game that’s actually quite good. There’s nothing else to say about it really. A laid back adventure game that you feel good playing.
I literally just mentioned it in my comment and am delighted to see someone else actually mention that. That and Ham-Hams Unite for GBC were among my favorite games as a kid! I love that they didn't go for platform elements or mini-games like most games based on shows. They had a lot of originality and effort, they definitely weren't just cash-grabs.
Thus far I have really enjoyed the Fairy Tail RPG, though it starts the story in a bit of a weird place. I also enjoyed most of the Musou crossovers, such as The Heroic Legend of Arslan and the 3 Gundam Musou games.
And, ofc, the digimon games.
Fan made but JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Seventh Stand User is fantastic. It's a Pokemon style RPG that gives you a personality quiz to pick a character that joins the regular Stardust Crusaders cast.
Different stands you can get have different stats, the story can go in different directions based on your choices and a karma system.
You can find the English translation here.
It's not a direct adaptation, but Magia Record is a fantastic spin-off of the Madoka series. I fell in love with the characters. They made an anime adaptation of it, but it changed a LOT and has a totally different ending.
I will never forgive Aniplex for how they handled the English localization. They basically did a speed-run of the first arc and all events from it (I think they crammed two years' worth of events into it, people joked/complained about the "NA tempo"), and then shut down barely a year later. It was clearly done as a pure cash grab. I can't trust any games published by Aniplex now.
Meanwhile, here's an unusual one: the Hamtaro games. I own Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! for GBC and Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak for GBA, and to this day they're among my favorite games. Instead of going for platformers or minigames like most game adaptations would, they use a mix of RPG-style puzzles (like fetch quests, talking to certain NPCs, etc.) and "Ham-chat" as the main mechanic. You learn words you can use to talk to NPCs and perform actions.
As a kid who was convinced I sucked at "level games", I probably racked up hundreds of hours on those two games. As an adult, I massively respect them for the originality in the story and game design. I'm massively disappointed that the later games ditched Ham-chat for the typical mini-game formula.
They were more games first and then anime, but the Persona games are very good. If you like Visual Novels then Steins;Gate is a fantastic adaptation.