10. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (PS4)
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is the most faithful retelling of the original Dragon Ball Z story that you'll find on PS4 — and perhaps in gaming as a whole. This is an open world action RPG, where you play as Goku and the gang. It's got side quests, plenty of reasons to explore the map, and is, generally, a lot of fun. The combat's a bit cheesy at times and there are some odd design decisions here and there, but if you're a big Dragon Ball fan, there's a whole lot to like about Kakarot. And, even if you're totally new to Akira Toriyama's seminal series, then this game might prove to be a gateway into what is one of the most popular entertainment properties on the planet.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
9. Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2 (PS4)
As of writing this article in the summer of 2021, Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2 is still receiving updates and DLC — five whole years after its original release. This is now a gigantic Dragon Ball action RPG that boasts a ridiculous amount of fan service. The core of the game sees you create your own custom hero, before setting off on all kinds of timeline-saving missions — most of which are based upon the events of Dragon Ball Z. If you're looking for an anime game to really sink your time into, XenoVerse 2 has got to be high on your list.
8. Steins;Gate Elite (PS4)
Steins;Gate Elite is a fantastic visual novel, adapted from the popular Steins;Gate series — which deals in all kinds of science-related strangeness, like time travel. It actually uses animation from the anime itself, making for a high quality experience. It even features original animation for scenes or scenarios that don't feature in the aforementioned anime — stuff that's brought about by the game's branching player choice system.
It's fair to say that Steins;Gate Elite is one of the very best visual novels — or interactive movies — on PS4, but it's obviously not a genre that's for everyone.
7. Attack on TItan 2: Final Battle
Attack on Titan 2 is a super satisfying action RPG that's based on the immensely popular Attack on Titan manga and anime property. Its main story mode has you create your own titan-slaying hero, who ends up fighting for humanity's future alongside the main cast of characters from the original work. As such, the plot does deviate quite heavily from both the manga and the anime in places, but this is still a thoroughly enjoyable adaptation.
This is mostly thanks to the gameplay, which is just fantastic fun. Utilising the omni-directional mobility gear, you zip across huge, open maps while hunting down titans. It feels great, and an abundance of RPG systems (levelling up, acquiring new equipment, improving relationships with your allies) makes Attack on Titan 2 a very moreish experience. One of the most robust anime offerings on this list.
6. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 (PS4)
We reckon One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 is still one of the best Warriors-style games that money can buy. Boasting a brilliantly fun character roster and some refined combat mechanics, Pirate Warriors 3 is an absolute blast, even if you're unfamiliar with the unstoppable anime and manga juggernaut that is One Piece. Some great maps, a solid story mode (which covers a large chunk of the original work), and an addictive gameplay loop kept us playing Pirate Warriors 3 for a long, long time.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is also worth a mention here — another solid Warriors game — but with a combat system that feels like a step back, and some lacking secondary modes, we just don't think that it's on par with the mighty Pirate Warriors 3.
Comments 19
Hey everyone, just to reiterate, this list only includes games that are based on existing anime or manga properties. Games that simply have an anime style aren't included.
Also, can you believe I forgot to include Gundam when this list was first published? Absolutely shocking. It's in there now, though!
@ShogunRok where is SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays? What a fantastic title. So much content and such a good way of experiencing several Gundam stories.
@somnambulance Sadly never released in the West on PS4. Gundam Breaker 3 would probably be on this list as well, had it been localised.
@ShogunRok I assume this list excludes remasters and gen 7/8 cross gen games on purpose?
If you’re a fan of the Yakuza series I highly recommend Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, even if you’re not familiar with the source material.
@ShogunRok Valid point. It’s really heartbreaking. I’d consider it an essential purchase for anyone even mildly interested in Gundam.
@darkswabber Did you have any particular games in mind?
@somnambulance Heartbreaking is good word for it! We've missed out on some cool Gundam games over the years.
@ShogunRok
Persona 5?
It haves a Manga version too 😉
@ShogunRok not really, I was confusing this with the “all games in category ranked” lists pushsquare and nintendolife does. Didn’t realize it was a top 15. Pretty solid top 15 tho I would personally remove some of the bottom ones in favor of naruto trilogy, xenoverse 1 and pirate warriors 4.
I would play ultimate ninja storm 4, but I’m only on episode 190 of Shippuden and I don’t want too many spoilers.
@darkswabber Also solid picks. I did consider putting Pirate Warriors 4 on this list but I didn't want to include games that were very similar and from the same series. That said, if the list gets expanded in the future, those games might make it in.
@Ridwaano Haha, maybe we can make it a technicality...
Steins Gate zero should be here too, and pyscho pass was decent. I'm sure demon slayer would of made this list aswell if it was out in time
I thought the mha one’s justice games were pretty fun brawlers. I’m surprised one of them didn’t even make your top 15.
Digimon is great but God help you if you're playing on hard. Speaking of Digimon there hasn't been any news regarding Digimon Survive for quite some time now, I wonder if the game got cancelled?
Ok.
I think ninja storm 4 is too high. It's good for naruto fans, but not so much for everyone else.
I think Arslan is underrated. As a musou fan that tends to only enjoy Dynasty warriors Arslan was the best sub-series of musou i ever played and i tried most if not all.
On that same note, One piece pirate warriors is very simplistic and repetitive and is also too high in the list imo. The same can be said about berserk. While i think it's probably the best Berserk game, i would rank it below Arslan but above one piece just cause of the world, story and anime footage. It's worth playing through once.
Attack on titan is pretty boring and doesn't even deserve a spot in the list. Just watch the anime.
Captain tsubasa is amazing. One of the best anime sports game ever, if not the best. The story, the customization and the gameplay are great and faithful to the series. Definitly deserves to be on top 5.
All the sword art online games are boring and would have no place on a list of mine.
The honest truth is that way too many of these games are quick cash grabs. They’re filled with fan service, but are often lacking in everything else.
CyberConnect2 are the best anime to game adaptations devs around.
All of the Ninja Storm games are fantastic- even the PSP one.
I wish they could work their magic on One Piece.
Fighter Z is fantastic, but I’d argue it’s less accessible then the Ninja Storm games.
The dream anime game would be for Kojima to work on 20th Century Boy.
I didn’t realise Fairy Tail was turn based. Might have to check it out.
@Fight_Teza_Fight - "The dream anime game would be for Kojima to work on 20th Century Boy."
That......is an idea I didn't know I needed, though I'm not too sure how it would actually play (from what I remember, there's not much in the series that could be mined for gameplay outside a few scenes here and there, but I could be wrong).
Pretty nice list from what I can tell, though admittedly, I've only played 3 of these; FighterZ, Pirate Warriors 3 and Xenoverse 2 (that said, FotNS is so close to Yakuza I feel I could almost count it anyway). Not surprising to hear FighterZ is the best here; it's probably one of the best fighting games full stop, and as has been mentioned before, most anime games tend to be more mediocre cash-ins than interesting adaptations, so the competition isn't likely to be too fierce.
Tap here to load 19 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...