Thanks to modern technology, anime games can easily look like the anime series they are based on. It was hard to convey that with pixelated sprites during the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, but each new 3D generation has helped immensely in bringing anime to life, as does a shift towards developers relying on cel-shaded visuals.
Best Anime Open-World Games, Ranked
These games do a fine job of blending anime aesthetics into the open-world format. Here are the best open-world anime games, ranked.
It’s almost expected for fans to see an anime game now and not know whether they are looking at a game or anime footage, with cel-shaded games being the best examples of the same. Beyond official anime games, the anime style is becoming more popular, and is now seen in RPGs like Tales of Arise and Genshin Impact. Of all these examples, which official anime games look the most graphically stunning?
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Gokus As Far As The Eye Can See
Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Released
- January 26, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Cartoon Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
Dragon Ball FighterZ may not be in 3D, but it has some of the best 2D visuals around. Being in 2D helps it look more like the anime, and is another reason why Dragon Ball Z fans love it as a game.
It’s a three-on-three fighter featuring too many characters to name, including a handful of Goku variants and virtually every other major fighter in the series, both heroes and villains. Punch, kick, blast, and fly past familiar characters and arcs in this stylized fighting game.
One Piece Odyssey
A Standalone RPG Adventure
One Piece Odyssey
- Released
- January 13, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco, Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
One Piece Odyssey doesn’t have cel-shaded graphics like many modern anime games, but the 3D models still look fantastic. It’s a more laid-back game with plenty of action, albeit in turn-based form, which makes it easy for fans of the anime to hop in.
As an RPG, it’s a pretty solid example where players can take control of the entire Strawhat Pirates crew almost immediately and lead them on a grand adventure. It is filler and may not hold up next to the official One Piece anime arcs, but it’s certainly a great-looking game that adheres to the trademark oddness of the series.
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy
More Ninjas Than You Can Shake A Shuriken At
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
- Released
- November 4, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
CyberConnect2 is one of the best anime game developers around, having touched many franchises, including Naruto. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy is a 2017 remaster of the series' first three games, which were released between 2008 and 2012 in North America.
6 Best Anime Warriors Musou Games, Ranked
Fans of Musou games should take a crack at the following titles if they haven't already.
The games still look amazing on their original hardware as 3D action/fighting games, but the remaster has crisper visuals to make all of those ninjutsu moves pop. The original was one of the first fighting games that blew the minds of anime fans and non-fans alike, and any number of CyberConnect2 games could easily be nominated as knockout anime games from a visual perspective.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2
An Incredible Visual Achievement
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2
- Released
- August 5, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2, and its predecessor, do a great job of blending 3D action with a fighting game, just like CyberConnect2’s Naruto games. The Demon Slayer anime has a distinct visual style where action is outlined by thick bars, making characters almost look like 2D cutouts, and the game matches this aesthetic exceptionally well.
It’s amazing to watch, from waves of water crashing onto enemies to raging fires igniting the land. This latest entry has more characters to choose form, and all fighting game fanatics will be able to find the one, or several, that they love.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R
Stand And Deliver
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R
- Released
- August 29, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Fighting, Action
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is a 2022 remaster of a fighting game originally released in 2014 in North America. The game features characters up to the JoJolion arc, which is the eighth in the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise.
Most characters are aided by their Stands in unhinged action combat, akin to how things play out in the anime. The visual style is out of this world, much like the anime, which comes to life in this game’s graphics.
Fate/Samurai Remnant
Omega Force Breaking Boundaries
Fate/Samurai Remnant
- Released
- September 28, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
Omega Force, as a developer, doesn’t often get much respect, as they make a lot of Musou games, which don’t always look or run the best. It’s a lot of diminishing returns, which some fans love, and others not so much. Fate/Samurai Remnant is a different style of game that still has plenty of RPG action, but in smaller-scale battles.
8 Best Bandai Namco Games Based On Anime, Ranked
From Goku to Luffy, these games have helped anime characters shine on a variety of consoles.
Players will explore a world map of sorts, designed around a fantastical version of Japan, as a samurai looking to bring justice to light. This latest entry in the Fate series is an original one, not based on an anime, which makes for even more of a reason for Fate fans to play it.
Fist Of The North Star: Lost Paradise
The Yakuza Team Steps Up
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
- Released
- October 2, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Fist of the North Star has been adapted into many games, most of which have stayed localized in Japan. Overall, it’s not a franchise that is all that popular with the current new age of anime, but old fans recognize it as a masterpiece.
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise gets everything right about adapting the franchise as an action game, from the dusty post-apocalypse setting to the wildly detailed gore. It looks great on all fronts, which isn’t surprising considering the team that made the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games developed it, and they know how to balance drama, action, and goofiness.
Shin-Chan: Me And The Professor On Summer Vacation - The Endless Seven-Day Journey
A Japanese Franchise Premieres With Comedy
Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation The Endless Seven-Day Journey
- Released
- July 15, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone: Alcohol Reference
- Genre(s)
- Casual, Adventure, Simulation
Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey is based on a long-running anime series in Japan that Western fans have probably never heard of. My Summer Vacation, or Boku no Natsuyasumi, was first released in 2000 on the PS1, and this latest version fits the same casual gameplay style into a Crayon Shin-chan game.
The backgrounds are hand-drawn while the models are in 3D, which makes it look astoundingly similar to the anime. The humor comes across in the writing localization, and this life sim will give fans plenty to do to remind them of summers past as a child.
