With anime becoming part of popular culture there have been a lot of series andgames from Japan that have made it over to North America. Games based on series likeNaruto,Dragon Ball Z,Bleach, and more have had their games officially licensed and distributed to places outside of Japan for English-speaking fans to enjoy.
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ThePlaystation 3had a lot of great anime games made for it and a good number of them were released worldwide. Unfortunately, some games didn’t get the same treatment and are currently Japan exclusives.
10.Hack//Versus
The.hackfranchise is made up of several RPG games, anime series, novels, and manga. The franchise takes place in an alternate reality where a popular MMORPG called The World is behind a set of mysterious events that has put several players into a coma. Several of the games and anime series have been officially translated and licensed for Western fans, but not.hack//Versus.
It is the first fighting game in the series, and it was released in a “hybrid” bundle with the Blu-ray release of the.hack//The Movie, which also hasn’t been released outside of Japan. Several of the main characters in the.hackseries are available as playable characters including Kite, Sora, and Black Rose.
9Rozen Maiden: Wechseln Sie Welt Ab
Rozen Maidenis an anime series that follows Jun, a middle school hikikomori that becomes the master of a sentient porcelain doll named Shinku. Meeting Shinku changes Jun’s life forever as he’s dragged into an “Alice Games” competition where Shinku and six other sentient dolls battle each other to become the “perfect doll”.
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Three official games are made for the series, two on the Playstation 2 and the newest on the PS3.Rozen Maiden: Wechseln Sie Welt abis avisual novel/adventure gamewhere players follow Jun through the events of the series.
8Nura: Rise Of the Yokai Clan - Great War Of A Hundred Gathering Demons
Nurarihyon no Magoor,Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clanis a series about a junior high student named Rikuo. Though he looks human, he’s part yokai and is the grandson of the leader of all the yokai. His grandfather wants him to inherit his title but Rikuo is having a hard time coming to terms with his yokai blood.
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Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan - Great War of a Hundred Gathering Demonsis a fighting game that was released on the PS3 and the Xbox360. It features most of the characters from the series. There are several main playable characters and then support characters who all have different abilities that players can use to make their team stronger.
7The Reminiscences Of Haruhi Suzumiya
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiyais about a high schooler named Kyon who gets roped into starting a club withan eccentric girl named Haruhiwho, unknowingly, has reality-warping powers that be used to create a new world that would destroy their current one.
Along with the other club members, including a time traveler, an esper, and an alien, Kyon has to keep life interesting for Haruhi and keep her from discovering her abilities. There are several games for the series, with all but one only released in Japan. In 2008 there was an adventure/visual novel game released calledThe Reminiscences of Haruhi Suzumiyawhich is a tie-in to the movie,The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
6Gundam: Battle Operation Next
For fans of giant fight robots, theMobile Suit Gundamseries is one of thebest mecha anime series. There are a lot of different series in the franchise, and every new one adds more lore and more mechs to the series. The popularity of theMobile Suit Gundamseries has led to a few games being officially licensed and distributed in the West, but unfortunately one of the bestGundamgames was available in Japan only.
Gundam: Battle Operation Nextwas a free-to-play team action game. As a successor toMobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation, it was more action focused and fast-paced. It also included mobile suits from many otherGundamtimelines, letting players play out dream battles to see which of the timelinesGundamwas the best.
5Date A Live: Rinne Utopia
For fans of sci-fi,visual novel, and cute anime girls,Date A Liveis a good series to get into. An ordinary high school boy becomes the world’s only hope against strange entities known as Spirits that wreak havoc across the world. Besides killing these Spirits, the only way to stop them is to… date them.
Making aSpirit fall in love is the only way to seal its powers away. The firstDate A Livegame that was released wasDate A Live Rinne Utopia. It features an original character and happens after the events of the 4th light novel. It sold the most physical copies of the otherDate A Livegames to date.
4Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition
Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climaxis an anime fighter from French Bread, who also developed other fighting game series likeUnder Night In-BirthandMelty Blood. It features characters from different series that are published under the Dengeki Bunko trade name.
It features characters like Asuna and Kirito fromSword Art Online, Shizuo forDurarara!!and Emi fromThe Devil is a Part-Timer!Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climaxis available in North America but the game’s updated version is not.Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignitionfeatures several new characters and offers new game mechanics.
3Hajime No Ippo
Hajime no Ippo: The Fightingis a boxing series that follows high schooler Ippo, who is very shy and becomes a target for bullies. After being saved by a professional boxer Ippo is inspired to step into the world of boxing. The series has several games, with only a few that got released in North America.
The only PS3 game for the series,Hajime no Ippo, was released for its 25th anniversary and only in Japan. It is a 3rd person fighting game where players can play through their favorite matches of the series and experience completely new ones.
2Liberation Maiden SIN
Liberation Maidenis a shoot’em gamefor the Nintendo 3DS. It was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and was received well in Japan, but not North America.Liberation Maiden SINis a sequel to that game and was released for both the PS3 and the Vita, but only in Japan.
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Liberation Maiden SINswitches over to visual novel gameplay and follows Kiyoto Kaido, the childhood friend of Shoko Ozora, the main character ofLiberation Maidenwho becomes the President of New Japan after her father is assassinated.
1Sangoku Hime: Senkou No Taika Akatsuki No Haryuu
There is no shortage of games that are based onThe Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the majority of them were made by Koei Temco and became a turned-based tactical RPG series that eventually created popular spinoffs likeDynasty Warriors.
Sangoku Hime: Senkou no Taika Akatsuki no Haryuuis aRomance of the Three Kingdomsanime simulation game developed by SytemSoft Alpha. Players must strategize and make the right choices to survive and help unite the continent.
