Not all games receive the spotlight they deserve and this can be especially true of anime games. Whether it’s due to their niche nature, a lack of media attention, or even just a lack of marketing, it’s easy for all but the biggest to slip under the radar.
“Anime Game” is a fairly wide descriptor. You’ll find games based on an anime series, anime based on a game series, and games that just use an anime visual or writing style and set of common tropes. Quite often, even if a game doesn’t have an anime series it’s adapted from/into, you’ll find staff who worked on it work on TV anime too!
There’s plenty of treasure to unearth beyond titles everyone knows like Persona and Dragon Ball. Here are just a few we can mention.
Want to look for merch for these games or Japanese physical copies for your collection? Using ZenMarket, who have kindly sponsored this article, is a convenient way to do this. They’re an import service that focuses on helping to order items from Japan, consolidating packages to keep the delivery costs down, and sending items worldwide. We’ve given an overview of our experience with their service and how to use it in a previous article.
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk DX
You’ve probably heard of Atelier Ryza and Atelier Yumia, but did you know that there are over thirty Atelier JRPGs? Many people started the series with Ryza, but you shouldn’t miss out on Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk DX, the modern remaster of Atelier Ayesha.
Atelier Ayesha has a wonderfully character-centric adventure story about Ayesha’s quest to save her sister, with plenty of slice-of-life moments and an incredibly in-depth alchemy system as well. It does have its awkwardness like many older games and consulting a guide may not be a bad idea for more advanced points, but I enjoyed experimenting with item creation quite a lot.
Blue Reflection: Second Light
Blue Reflection: Second Light follows Ao and several new friends she meets who are all trapped in an isolated world without their memories. We soon learn that they’re all magical girls. And while the story does explore darker themes common to this genre and includes flashy action scenes, more focus is placed on relationships between the girls, some of whom show hints of romance with one another.
This JRPG is actually by the same developer as the Atelier series, but even many Atelier fans haven’t played this one. It doesn’t help that the original Blue Reflection was not exactly received positively. Luckily, you can play Blue Reflection: Second Light without playing the previous game or watching the related anime.
Himegashima Island
Himegashima Island is an indie title with a lot of charm. It takes us to a rural island, giving the sheltered young protagonist Kokomi a chance to experience a relaxed summer vacation. Whether it’s catching bugs (and bringing them to a surprisingly addictive battle minigame), helping with jobs, or spending time with new friends, there’s plenty to do in this life simulation game.
There’s a surprisingly touching story to reveal through the gameplay, but players might not expect it considering the type of game.
Samurai Maiden
Samurai Maiden is a surprisingly tactical hack ’n’ slash where Tsumugi, a mostly normal high-school girl from modern times, is suddenly transported back in time to the Sengoku period and told to defeat the Demon Lord. Three women join her on the journey and they start to develop romantic relationships, which is both a gameplay mechanic and part of the attraction of the game.
As well as the game being genuinely fun, it both looks quite nice (some issues aside) and has a star-studded cast of Japanese voice actors who’ve had big roles in anime.
Marshmallow All the Way Home
There are quite a few visual novels set in cafés and many of them are incredibly average. Marshmallow All the Way Home stands out among the pack with a surprisingly well-developed plot for both the common route and heroines along with some hilarious humor. It’s one of the best visual novels with this setting.
Marshmallow All the Way Home was initially released exclusively on the Johren store, so it was overlooked by many. It was later listed on other storefronts, with the wider Steam release only being listed years after the initial release.
Thanks again go to ZenMarket for sponsoring this article. If you’d like to import any goods from Japan, please consider checking out their service and don’t forget to use code NOOKGAMING when signing up for 800 Yen worth of ZenPoints toward delivery.
If you are looking for more posts about anime games, you may enjoy our review of Metaphor: ReFantazio.
A gamer since the days of Amstrad and DOS and someone who has dabbled in a variety of professions. He enjoys a wide variety of genres, but has been focusing on visual novels and virtual reality in recent years. Head Editor of NookGaming. Follow him and the website on @NookSite.
