As anime has become a part of popular culture, there have been many series and games from Japan that have come over to North America. Games based on series like Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Bleachand several have had their games officially licensed and distributed to locations outside of Japan for English-speaking fans.
The Playstation 3 had many 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 exclusive in Japan.
10/10 .Hack//Versus
The .hack franchise consists 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 have left several players in comas. 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” package with the Blu-ray release of .hack//The Movie, which has also not been released outside of Japan. Several of the main characters in .hack series are available as playable characters, including Kite, Sora, and Black Rose.
9/10 Rozen Maiden: Wechseln Sie Welt Ab
Rose Maiden is an anime series that follows Jun, a middle school hikikomori who becomes the master of a sentient porcelain doll named Shinku. Meeting Shinku changes Jun’s life forever as he is drawn into an “Alice Games” competition where Shinku and six other sentient dolls battle each other to become the “perfect doll”.
Three official games have been made for the series, two on Playstation 2 and the latest on PS3. Rozen Maiden: Wechseln Sie Welt ab is a visual novel/adventure game where players follow Jun through the events of the series.
8/10 Nura: Rise Of the Yokai Clan – Great War Of A Hundred Gathering Demons
Nurarihyon no Mago or, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan is a series about a middle school student named Rikuo. Although he looks human, he is part yokai and is the grandson of the leader of all the yokai. His grandfather wants him to inherit his title, but Rikuo has a hard time coming to terms with his yokai blood.
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan – Great War of a Hundred Gathering Demons is a fighting game that was released on PS3 and Xbox360. It contains most of the characters from the series. There are several main playable characters and then supporting characters who all have different abilities that players can use to make their team stronger.
7/10 The Memories of Haruhi Suzumiya
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is about a high school student named Kyon who is tricked into starting a club with an eccentric girl named Haruhi, who unknowingly has reality-warping powers that are used to create a new world that will destroy their current one.
Along with the other club members, including a time traveler, an esper, and an alien, Kyon must keep life interesting for Haruhi and prevent her from discovering her abilities. There are several games for the series, with all but one only released in Japan. In 2008, an adventure/visual novel game called The Memoirs of Haruhi Suzumiya which is a tie-in to the film, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
6/10 Gundam: Battle Operation Next
For fans of giant battle robots Mobile Suit Gundam series is one of the best mecha anime series. There are many different series in the franchise, and each new one adds more lore and more mechs to the series. The popularity of Mobile Suit Gundam the series has led to a few games being officially licensed and distributed in the West, but unfortunately one of the best Gundam game was only available in Japan.
Gundam: Battle Operation Next was a free-to-play team game. As a successor to Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation, it was more action-focused and fast-paced. It also included mobile suits from many others Gundam timelines, which allows players to play out dream matches to see which of the timelines Gundam was the best.
5/10 Date A Live: Rinne Utopia
For fans of sci-fi, visual novels and cute anime girls, Date A Live is a good series to get into. An ordinary high school boy becomes the world’s only hope against strange entities known as spirits wreaking havoc across the world. Besides killing these spirits, the only way to stop them is to… date them.
Making a spirit fall in love is the only way to seal its powers. The first Date A Live the game released was Date A Live Rinne Utopia. It has an original character and takes place after the events of the fourth light novel. It sold the most physical copies of the other Date A Live games to date.
4/10 Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition
Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is an anime fighter from French Bread, who also developed other fighting game series such as During the night at birth and Melty Blood. It features characters from various series released under the Dengeki Bunko tradename.
It features characters like Asuna and Kirito from Sword art onlineShizuo for Durarara!! and Emi from The devil is a part-time employee!Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is available in North America, but the updated version of the game is not. Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition has several new characters and offers new game mechanics.
3/10 Hajime No Ippo
Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting is a boxing series that follows high school student Ippo, who is very shy and becomes a target for bullies. After being rescued by a professional boxer, Ippo is inspired to take the plunge into the world of boxing. The series has several games, with only a few being 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 in the series and experience brand new ones.
2/10 Liberation Maiden SIN
Liberation Maiden is a shooter for the Nintendo 3DS. It was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and was well received in Japan, but not North America. Liberation Maiden SIN is a sequel to that game and was released for both PS3 and Vita, but only in Japan.
Liberation Maiden SIN switches to visual novel gameplay and follows Kiyoto Kaido, the childhood friend of Shoko Ozora, the protagonist of Liberation Maiden who becomes president of New Japan after her father is assassinated.
1/10 Sangoku Hime: Senkou No Taika Akatsuki No Haryuu
There is no shortage of games based on it The Romance of the Three Kingdomsmost of them were created by Koei Temco and became a turn-based tactical RPG series that eventually spawned popular spinoffs such as Dynasty Warriors.
Sangoku Hime: Senkou no Taika Akatsuki no Haryuu is a Romance of the Three Kingdoms anime simulation game developed by SytemSoft Alpha. Players must strategize and make the right choices to survive and help unite the continent.
