With more and more anime / manga games available these day , it ’s refreshing to see a title likeSandLandstand out . After 19 hours of playday , I ’ve come to see it ’s a perfect good example of how much possible anime and manga games have if the developer give them proper fourth dimension and attention . Let ’s labor into it .
Story
Sand Land severalise you the original Sand Land story with some original touches and born additions . It get the same as the manga with Beelzibub , Rao , and Theif go on an adventure to find the Legendary Spring to end the long - standing drought in the region . There are some drastic turns as you progress , but it never loses its charm .
With its adept reality - building , the game does an excellent occupation of immersing you in Sand Land , making you feel like you ’re part of the escapade , and its well - equilibrize pace never makes you feel slowed or rushed into the narrative . Overall the history is captivating and provides a firm foundation for the gameplay ( which is a weak point in time ) .
Unlike the manga , the games differentiate you the story through Beelzebub , who has a very infantile and kind personality . This make the story and events dewy-eyed so that even a child can understand most of it . Despite its simpleness , the narrative does n’t shy away from explore complex root word like power dynamics and manipulation .
The write up also adds and shuffles things around to go the game , but nothing feels out of shoes , and sometimes , it does things better than the manga and anime . For example , the game has all ONA ( Original Net Animation ) episode after the manga ’s main story and unlike some gum anime - based game , you get tounlockand play in those instalment or else of having to sit there and see .
This introduces a new area and expands gameplay with extra vehicles and storyline but everything feels like a natural addition because of good worldbuilding and storytelling . Additionally , the tempo of the mission and timing when you learn about each grapheme ’s yesteryear and how that work a significant use in the prolongation of the story is masterfully fulfil .
The principal weakness of the story is the lack of proper cutscenes , and most of the time , you will be tapping to go through each dialogue in a very stiff tantrum . The overall narration will keep you engaged for the entirety of the plot , and by the meter you are done with the game , you will be leave wanting more because of the lack of cutscenes , which is where I recommend watching the anime ( if you have n’t already ) .
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grievance : 4/5
Artstyle
The art style of Sand Land is a antic blending of advanced technology and love for the original subject matter . The scenery , role , vehicle , and city are visually exact , with a perfect touch of graphics that brings Sand Land to life story in a way we always want from anime game .
The environment of Sand Land is land to biography with beautiful kindling effects and detailed textures . Each region has unique aspects and challenge that make you require to explore the mapping . Some neighborhood are full of quicksand and sand alligators , and others have a sand waterfall that looks breathtakingly amazing .
The characters are designed with great detail and love , each continue true to their source materials with their formula and intent . Even sure side characters had their charm , take a crap the game feel good to play .
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There is also a lot of stuff inspired by the iconic and my best-loved Zanzibar copal , Dragon Ball . The capsule you use for storing the cars are like DynoCaps , the Pichi citizenry are like Namekians , the purple regular army is like the Red Ribbon United States Army , and much more have unclouded inspiration from Dragon Ball .
I especially love the character innovation for Zeo , which is Sand Land ’s version of Frieza . Overall , there is a lot to appreciate in Sand Land for its accurate art expressive style and graphics .
sexual conquest : 5/5
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Gameplay
When it come to gameplay , Sand Land has a quite a little to extend but it all feel developing . First , you have melee combat , which is as basic as it gets with normal attacks , powerful attacks , and a few barely useful skills . Then we have vehicles , which is where most of the gameplay lies .
There are four main type of vehicle : tank , jumpand combat bots , cars , and wheel . Tanks are heavily armoured and bundle a puncher for sensitive to prospicient ambit , while jump and armed combat bots are capital for close - ambit combat . wheel and automobile are not as to a great extent armoured , but they make up for it with their f number and usefulness for travel across Sand Land .
There is also vehicle customization , where you may promote each of your own vehicle and get new or advance parts already own . Later in the game , you could customize your vehicles visually , adding a layer of personality to each vehicle .
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Most of your battles will be on vehicle , so you do n’t have to handle with half - bake melee combat for 90 % of the game . However , that remain 10 % is where you must struggle with melee in certain main and side pursuance and bounty hunts .
Besides that , the biz also offers a variety of side quests , premium hunt , races , stealth missions , and other small humankind events . Side quests are mostly about fetching item , so it gets repetitive tight , and there is not much playfulness doing those , but bounty hunts are where I relish the game most .
you could find fault a target with a list reward , usually some money and a vehicle frame , take a crap most of these amplitude hunts deserving doing . Sometimes , these bounties require you to penetrate the foeman alkali and other times , you have to fight the whole gang at once .
While going from place to place for quests and bounties , you will encounter modest world event where you have to save up vendors from foe for some ready rewards .
Lastly , we have stealth , which is the bad part of the game because you do n’t have a choice to skip it and struggle enemies head word - on . Although it ’s a honest conception , it ’s very limiting , and all you could do is sneak on enemies and take them out , and nothing else .
The game has many way to enjoy it , but it is nothing thinker - blowing . In the end , Sand Land tries to do everything without having anything special to forget an impression .
Score : 3/5
Characters
Characters are my best-loved aspect of the biz , and the amount of detail put into their development is laudable . Each fiber has a unique personality and backstory that append astuteness to the narration .
All the champion have unique personality , and as the story keep , there are small arc commit to each of them , where you learn more about them and why they are the way they are .
The lifelike bonding with the characters and the reliance they build for each other is unmatched . Additionally , the baddie in the secret plan are not just there for the interest of being adversary . They have their own need and ground , make them more than just one - dimensional characters .
However , the game lacks good dialogue to show these character reference at their peak . What makes up for that is respectable English voice acting for each master character , where you’re able to feel their personality and aim from the voice . Overall , the type growth is one of the secure points of Sand Land , making you feel gift in their narration and take root for them throughout their journey .
Verdict
Getting good anime / manga - based games is a rare treat , peculiarly when some of the big anime games have recently fail poorly ; amidst that , Sand Land suffer as a beacon of hope for the hereafter of anime game . The game is develop with a keen apprehension of the reservoir stuff , so it ’s solid regarding the story , graphics manner , and characters , but it lacks the gameplay magical spell that makes it a all over plot .
I felt satisfied after completing the game and spend a few supernumerary hours try out to get all its bounty hunts and vehicles . I advocate every anime / manga fan to try this biz out , as there is enough gameplay multifariousness to keep you distrait while you discharge the game ’s awe-inspiring tale .
A free transcript of the game was leave to PGG by the publishing house for review purpose .
For more Sand Land guides , checkAll Sand Land materials and how to get themhere on Pro Game Guides .
