At some point in development history, devs decided that anime games should almost always be arena fighters, and that’s something that baffles me to no end. It was fun the first few times with Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm and Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero, but now that these games are far more flexible, I’m not sure if Arena fighters are still pushing the genre forward or holding anime games back.
Now I am not a video game snob. I will play these games, and I will enjoy them to an extent, but I’m not sure if that mindless fun holds up, especially when there are anime games out there that have dipped their toes in other genres and continue to have a solid following because they tried something new. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle still has a solid community that holds tournaments to this very day; meanwhile, My Hero Academia One’s Justice is a competitive mess. But to give credit to the arena fighter genre, it’s not all bad.
Arena Fighter Positives
The reason why anime games gravitated towards arena fighters instead of something like traditional 2D or 3D fighting games is that anime fights are usually larger than life. You have Naruto maneuvering the battlefield with chakra-based abilities and My Hero Academia with their quirk-based traversal, both of which would understandably be hard to translate into traditional fighting games. There are also all-out attacks that make nukes look like a coughing baby, razing the entire battlefield, and filling the screen with enough special effects to make your GPU stutter.
Then there’s also the concept of character diversity. Arena fighters often use tag mechanics that let players make their own team of fighters, picking more than just one of their favorites from the show. Anime has a ton of characters, and if you put all of them into a game, you’re bound to see some get zero playtime, but arena fighters allow these side characters to shine as assists, too. While presentation and character representation are both selling points for long-time anime fans, it’s not exactly what keeps players coming back, and it’s obvious that fans are tired of the formula.
Where It Falls Apart
Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash, Kill la Kill: If, Demon Slayer, etc. All anime franchises that turned to the arena fighter genre for video games, and even during their peak in popularity, still sank to the bottom of the board. Yes, there may have been fanfare upon release of the game, what with the easy access to content such as supers, team intros, animations, all the bells and whistles you can think of! But as a game? They sucked.
The best way I can describe arena fighters today is that they’re more of a glorified battle simulator than an actual video game. These games are lazily made so you and your friends can sit down on the couch and get hyped about the awesome super Tanjiro from Demon Slayer. I personally love moments like that with my friends, but I also don't find myself wanting to come back to the games at all.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s game was admittedly the straw that broke my back because of how low effort it was, and this is coming from a guy who LOVED Jujutsu Kaisen at the time. The game was so bad that it got me thinking about different and better ways Jujutsu Kaisen, or any other game for that matter, could be translated into video games.
Genre Exploration
Let me start this section off by saying that arena fighters shouldn’t disappear. I just don’t agree with arena fighters being the ONLY thing on the market. Personally? I would love more games like Dragon Ball Fighter Z to pop up. That game is still the biggest argument for anime games succeeding in different genres. I honestly would have loved Jujutsu Kaisen to receive the Jojo All Stars Battle Royale treatment! A 2v2 fighting game that had the perfect mix of mechanics and presentation, just like DBFZ did.
Heck, why even stop at fighting games being the only genre? Imagine a Jujutsu Kaisen game in the style of Persona, or a Freiren game in the style of Baldur’s Gate! As I’m writing this, I have my wallet ready and waiting for the Total War: Naruto dream to come true. There is an endless plethora of opportunities for anime to dive into video games that aren’t in the form of a Fortnite skin, and I’m praying that someday devs notice this untapped goldmine too. Maybe just not in the way Death Note Killer Within did it.
But let’s also admit it, I am not a dev. There are probably systems and rulings in place that don’t allow for this much creative freedom when it comes to an anime IP, and I don’t think a publisher is even willing to invest in a niche anime video game. Especially after seeing Hunter X Hunter: Nen Impact’s performance in the market. Dead on arrival, by the way.
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