Anime video games have been around since the beginning of the gaming era, let’s see what the best adaptations ever made are.
Since the beginning, video games and anime have been inextricably interwoven. Already in the 8-bit era, for example, there were video game adaptations based on famous animated series such as Fist of the North Star , Dragon Ball , and Gundam . However, as was the case with video games based on famous blockbuster films, those based on anime and manga soon began to be regarded as low-quality, especially because in most cases it was a sad truth.
Even today, many titles based on very famous anime are made, focusing exclusively on the big name of the animated franchise , but without investing enough money to make a decent video game out of it. Fortunately, this isn’t always the norm, and there have been many video games based on anime that have proven to be very good experiences and faithful to the original work. Especially in recent years, we’ve seen many truly successful titles, such as Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero , a fighting game released a few months ago that perfectly embodied the spectacular battles of this series. So, let’s discover the best video games based on anime released in recent years.
Bandai Namco
01
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
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This series, officially consisting of four primary chapters and various spin-offs (the latest released a few years back), has consistently been viewed as a pivotal moment in the creation of anime adaptations in video game format . The Japanese software company CyberConnect2 took over the project, astonishing everyone with straightforward yet enjoyable gameplay and, most importantly, stunning animated scenes in the elaborate story mode of this saga , whose animations were in no way inferior to the anime itself.
The latest edition, Naruto X Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Links, launched in 2023, brought back the extensive cast of Masashi Kishimoto’s enduring manga, featuring more than a hundred characters, each armed with special ninja techniques. Fans particularly enjoy experiencing the entire story of the Konoha ninja through his eyes, complete with exciting boss battles to both watch and play. Many extra sequences that delve deeper into the original story.
Bandai Namco
02
Gundam Breaker 4
In this title, we play a persona that we developed and meet others in a fictional online game where we fight by assembling our own personal Gundam . The player can therefore create their own robot using any part of the countless Gundam models released in real life over the years.
Once you’ve created your own unique Gundam , you can then use it in battle against other Gundams, whether customized or from the many animated series released over 40 years. There are so many alternatives for die-hard fans of this saga to choose from when it comes to whatever body part or weapon to give their huge robot. These choices honor the entire Gundam series from its inception to today.
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Saw
03
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is a title influenced by the famous Fist of the North Star.It was made by the same team who created the Yakuza series, which has come to be known as Flying a Dragon. The game starts with the confrontation featuring Shin, then shifts into a different narrative that varies slightly from the manga’s plot while preserving its core essence. The adventure is set almost entirely in the city of Eden, a post-apocalyptic metropolis where Kenshiro will find himself experiencing new events, meeting both familiar faces such as Jagger, The combat system, while inspired by the Yakuza series , has been adapted to showcase the spectacular techniques of the Hokuto Divine School : blasting enemies with Kenshiro’s classic, iconic moves is guaranteed to satisfy. Though it features a different storyline from the original, Lost Paradise effectively captures the essence of Fist of the North Star, enabling players to experience strength, invincibility, and charm…just like Hokuto’s true successor.
Bandai Namco
04
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
The game was first launched in 2014. The game is a fighting game that brings together the many characters from the current eight JoJo ‘s Bizarre Adventure series released up to 2022 (excluding the ninth, which began a couple of years earlier).
The gameplay, while very similar to a classic 2D fighting game, is original in the way the developers have imaginatively implemented the various characters’ Stand powers into the game’s mechanics, allowing us, for example, to stop time with Jotaro Kujo and Dio Brando’s Stands in a manner very similar to what happened in the original work. The game also retraces the most important battles from all the various JoJo ‘s sagas , making it a must-have for all fans of the series.
Arc System Works
05
Dragon Ball FighterZ
In 2018, fighting game developer Arc System Works released Dragon Ball FighterZ , still considered by many to be the best game ever made based on Akira Toriyama’s work. The title was a fighting game that let three people fight one other in teams. The action was highly quick and exciting, and it was very similar to Dragon Ball-style Street Fighter .
Players could alternate characters on their team or have them come in to help out as assists to create highly creative combos. The title also featured over thirty characters from all the series’ sagas , from Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z to the more recent Super . A title that has also become the protagonist of numerous tournaments between great pro fighting game players around the world.
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Bandai Namco
06
One Piece Odyssey
Although One Piece is the most viewed and read Japanese work of all time, from a gaming perspective it has never had the same success. Games inspired by Eiichiro Oda’s manga have rarely managed to do justice to the incredible narrative universe that distinguishes it. At least until the arrival of One Piece Odyssey , a role-playing game developed by Ilca and released in 2023, which proved to be one of the most successful video game adaptations of the franchise.
The story is completely original and independent from the manga and anime, but thanks to a narrative device, it allows you to relive some of the most iconic sagas, such as Alabasta, Marineford, and Dressrosa, through an original “world of memories.” The game’s strong point is undoubtedly its turn-based combat system , which reworks classic JRPG mechanics by introducing interesting oversight of crew member placement and the capacity to merge their unique skills.
It can be confidently stated that One Piece Odyssey ranks among the finest games ever created for the saga.
Saw
07
Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles II
After the successful first chapter released in 2021, the sequel to this fighting game , also created by CyberConnect2, arrived in 2025 , which resumes the events of one of the most popular anime and manga of recent times: Demon Slayer. This second chapter allows you to relive the entire story seen in the anime up to the fourth season , also with the addition of many new characters, including many new Pillars, the generals of the demon-slayer corps allied with the protagonist Tanjiro Kamado, and the Crescent Moons, or rather the most powerful demons of all.
The gameplay is simple in its basics, but manages to best render the epic battles of the animated series , especially thanks to graphics that are capable of perfectly replicating the splendid animated sequences of the anime.
Bandai Namco
08
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
After an extended break, the celebrated Budokai Tenkaichi series, which captivated many Dragon Ball fans during the PlayStation 2 era, returned in late 2024 with a new edition that’s genuinely vast regarding modes and characters. The game not only allows you to relive the story from the perspective of some of the most important characters, but also features a mode for creating your own stories , thanks to an in-game editor, which also allows you to play those created by other players and shared online. Of course, there’s also plenty of multiplayer challenges , both locally and online.
Sparking! Zero ‘s strong point is its immense cast, which includes practically every character ever seen from the first Dragon Ball series to the recent Super, as well as the characters from Daima , arriving as DLC. All these characters, however, wouldn’t be enough to make it a great game without worthy gameplay, and this was designed to recreate the fights seen in the anime as faithfully as possible. It may not be as technical and balanced as Dragon Ball FighterZ , but being able to dodge an enemy’s punch with a teleport, then knock them to the ground with a powerful kick and finish them off with a huge Kamehameha is priceless. We consider this title to be the ideal Dragon Ball simulator regarding combat capabilities.
