Best Anime Games for 2013

The most popular Anime game series in the west is probably the Final Fantasy series, however with a little research you'll find there are hundreds of great games available for all the top consoles. Many have been converted from a Japanese version but most feature great anime style graphics, superior sound and an often interesting and varied game-style.

This genre of games is hugely popular in Japan and Korea but hasn't fully caught on in the west. Recently, with a number of hugely popular free online games starting to gain traction with the American game player the genre has seen a boost in popularity. In this article I will cover some of the better anime games available. I've split the article into to sections:

• Best free online anime games
• Best commercial anime games

If you are aware of any other great games, please let me know in the comments section below.

The games listed below are among the best games available for the top consoles in the west. There are many other titles to choose from but for me these stand-out as great examples of anime games:

Persona 4 is one of the most loved anime games of all time and delivers the ultimate experience for anime game lovers. The PS Vita version delivers an enhanced an expanded experience with a combination of great dialogue, online dungeon rescues, a ton more content and superb and atmospheric graphics.

The game is a suspenseful RPG with a murder mystery plot that will keep you busy for over 100 hours. Originally a PS2 game, it mixes the occult, cyberpunk and many other mythologies it is one of the most stylized games of all time and ultimately is very playable and rewarding.

If you only buy one anime game then make it this on – it’ll blow you away!

The Zone of Enders series was a decent series developed for the PS2 in the early 200s. The XBOX 360 version takes the original games and re-masters them giving them a superb HD look that is excellent. The games are action-oriented games in which flying robots fight each other – the underlying story is excellent and describes the daunting experiences of humanity as it expands into space and meets alien races. With great graphics, an intriguing plot and some atmospheric music this is a great series to won.

This game is nearly seven years old but it still stands up as a very good game today. Translated from the original Japanese game the games is a legal simulation game that allows you to play a defense attorney. It essentially is a point-and-click adventure game that presents you with two distinct elements: investigation and court-room.

In investigation mode you move from scene to scene, gathering evidence, talking to witnesses and trying to find something that will prove your client innocent. It’s full of vivid scenes and interesting characters. As you play the game you can focus on seeking evidence and not have to worry about actually compiling a case as the game automatically decides what is important and what isn’t. There are some great elements within the courtroom that make the game difficult at times.

Overall it’s a very good game that is probably aimed more at the detailed oriented player rather than a player who is looking for lots of action – it’s a very compelling game that is well thought out.

Tales of Graces f is the follow up to the original Tales of Graces and provides superb HD graphics based on the art style of Mutsumi Inomata. Even if the game was poor it is worth buying just for the amazingly beautiful open world – the graphics are stunning and atmospheric and up there with the best.

Luckily the game is pretty decent too with an interesting combat system, atmospheric graphics and a decent backstory.

Overall the game has plenty of quests and side-quests, interesting strategy focused combat, a good story and plenty of ability to change and adapt the player character. There are some problems with the voice acting but aside from that it’s a pretty decent game.

Obviously the FF series of games is the most successful anime series of all time; while it probably isn’t quite the best it does feature excellent and atmospheric graphics, superb character-drive storylines and brilliant music. Over time the battle systems have changed and even in FF XIII it isn’t perfect, but the systems are usually pretty easy to use and while there is often a learning curve in leveling up most players will be able to succeed in the games.

Out of all the anime games the FF series is probably packaged the best with every element being very good or great – it may not be the best series of all in terms of game play, storyline or mechanics but it is the most well-known and successful in the west.

The future of the franchise looks good with the final part of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy due out this year and Final Fantasy XIV which is an online RPG game coming out soon. Square Enix are always innovating and it will be interesting to see how the games change over the coming years.

Release Date: August 14, 2013

This game looks like it will be a blockbuster. When an archetypical villain takes over a new theme park Saki must find a way to save it in a diverse and intrigue set of games. The game promises 30+ hours of gameplay, many twists and turns and up to 14 different endings. Some of the promised features:

• Stunning graphics – the characters and scenes promise to use very stylized art that will create a super atmosphere and some brilliant characters.
• Puzzles – solving puzzles will be an important element of game-play and will change the fate of your characters.
• Characters – with a rich story line the game will focus on characters and interaction.

While I have not highlighted the following games, they are all very good and extremely popular:

• Asura's Wrath for PS3 and Xbox 360
• Bleach: Soul Resurreccion for PS3
• Catherine for PS3 and Xbox 360
• Code of Princess for Nintendo 3Ds
• Lollipop Chainsaw for PS3 and XBOX 360
• Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 for PS3
• Star Ocean: The Last Hope for PS3
• Tales of the Abyss for Nintendo 3DS
• Valkyria Chronicles for PS3

There are literally hundreds of good online anime games. I’ve tried to select a broad genre of available games that most people will enjoy. All of these games are free to play and download on the PC but many offer commercial additions such as weaponry not generally available etc.

Elsword is a 3D side-scrolling MMORPG. It features a comic book style world with excellent anime graphics and some RPG elements.

It’s a simple game to play and has a good combat system that allows the player to use combo attacks to deal a lot of damage to the enemy. With powerups, PvP, group interaction and plenty of dungeons to explore it is one of the better online RPG games – it is also free to play.

Audition is a fairly unique online game that lets players compete and play with other players in an online music and dancing game. The aim is to become a star by syncing an on-screen avatar’s moves with today’s popular music. The game features 20 game modes, thousands of style choices and is constantly updated with new music and dance moves.

Eden Eternal is an excellent 3D anime-style MMORPG where players explore a vast magical world full of a host of races, monsters and villages. With a decent story and 15 classes you will take part in a fast based game with dynamic battles, great graphics that also features strong trading and gives you the option to create buildings and guilds.

This is one of the best online anime RPG games.

Fiesta Online is a 3D MMORPG that has easy gameplay and cool cartoon style graphics. It is available as a browser only game and therefore is cross-platform. It’s a decent RPG game where players explore a detailed fantasy world and get to play epic quests. With four classes and some character customization you have plenty of options to create a unique character.

One of the more interesting aspects of the game is the friendship system that helps you gain experience – in addition there are crafting and gaming systems, housing systems and even a marriage system. It’s a fun game…..

Pangya is an interesting MMO that simulates the game of golf with anime-inspired graphics. It features a decent plot, some amazing landscapes and is one of the more unique anime games available online. The combination of sports simulation and fantasy game is strange at first, but once you get immersed in the game and the importance of the difficult ‘putt’ you’ll be total hooked.

While I have not highlighted the following games, they are all very good and extremely popular: