Is it possible to make a good game based on anime? SAO Alicization Lycoris
Animals and video games, a perfect marriage over the years for which companies continue to bet on all generations. However, the results are not always up to the fans who have been waiting for so long for the adaptation of their favorite anime for years. What does it take to make a video game that lives up to anime? Is it possible to make the community happy in some way?
These are the main questions that usually arise in this case, so taking advantage of the arrival of Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris and as fans of their anime, we will go point by point giving our opinion on what would make this video game at the level of what was shown in this first arc of Alicization.
The world to explore, the greatest enemy of all
That universe that comes to life on our PS4 is one of the moments every anime fan has been wanting to experience. To go through the same places where all those epic moments of Kiritio, Eugeo, and company have been recorded is what we all want. But then the eternal question arises, what is the right thing to do, perhaps an open world or a more linear game that allows us to focus on the story. Here our idea is clear, and it is above all respect for the original work. What we are looking for is to transport ourselves fully to what we have experienced in the anime, something that was already tried in previous games but failed, given that an MMORPG structure was proposed without ever becoming one. What causes all this? A disconnection from the zero minutes with the player, who is confused by not knowing well what he is playing.
So if one of the greatest virtues of this bow is the richness and the good approach of this UnderWorld universe, then what less than trying to provide a similar experience. We want to visit again in an imperious way the different floors of the Central Cathedral or to observe that beautiful beginning in the initial village, the dark territory, and many more areas with the same variety and intensity of the anime. In general, what we have been emphasizing is a formula that makes us feel the same, which makes us relive those moments. But if the story does not encourage an open world, well, it is not done, there is no problem, that is the point that always gives us more fear. In fact, this causes one of the biggest headaches for both developers and fans that directly affects the point we're talking about here.
True story or different from the original?
This question may be too subjective, but it is also something we have clear and we have been emphasizing from the previous point, why to play something when you know what people like. Unfortunately, most of the titles in the SAO series have chosen the formula a little bit by half, trying to keep a structure or script with constant references to the anime, but at the same time providing completely original stories. Something that everything indicates that will be repeated in Lycoris with the incursion of new characters like Medina or others that we already know that should not have an act of presence.
At the moment we do not know if the result has been good or bad, so we must leave our vote of hope at this point. But as a fan, we hope to at least be able to revive the most outstanding events of this part of the anime, since it would be a real shame not to be able to experience them in the video game. Because on top of that, we have some of the best moments of the whole franchise and we don't think they deserve to be discarded for trying to fit a new line of argument.
Finally, to close this section is curious and surely you agree that precisely for reasons of nostalgia, fanaticism or whatever you want to call it, the video games that have attracted the most attention in recent years have been those that have tried to reflect 100% of the story told in the anime. So we will never fully understand the mania in the studios to throw away all the material that has already been worked on and of which you already know the opinion of people in search of an unknown story.
How do we get all this to the controls?
In the end, what we really have in front of us is a video game and as such one of its key points is playability. In many cases, this is the most faithful point in all the adaptations, as it has happened in the different ODS games and in Lycoris, it seems that it raises again the level of a formula that has been refined over the years. However, it is precisely at this point where we paradoxically think that it is not strictly necessary to make this similarity, but rather that they should be adapted to whatever the studio thinks is best for fun. This new delivery instead of being real-time action could be a strategy game that if it was well executed would be equal or even better; it is where you can really see the virtue of the team behind the development.
By this, I don't mean that I think the gameplay of this title is bad and that it looks sublime and that it will surely be the best point of all, but I would like you to remove that limitation a little and opt for the same freedom that you have used in the sections commented before.
So to finish, we can only hope that this new Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris will meet the expectations of the fans since we are in terms of overall quality in front of the best arch of the anime. A video game adaptation is very complicated in most cases but I hope it can bring good news as soon as it is analyzed.