What are the best anime games on PS4? With this list, we wanted to highlight our favourite licensed anime titles, available on PlayStation 4 (and PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility).
Now, the reason we say "licensed" is because this list only includes games based on anime or manga properties. It does not include games like Persona 5 Royal, for example, because that didn't start life as an anime or manga — the game came first.
Fortunately, there are quite a few anime games to choose from on Sony's systems — and a lot of them are quite good (some are even excellent). What's more, there's a lot of diversity in how these anime games actually play. Some are traditional fighting games, while others are full-on adventure games or turn based RPGs.
Best PS4 Anime Games
Below is a list of the best PS4 anime games, as determined by our editorial team. We've narrowed this list down to 15 games.
15. Arslan: The Warriors of Legend (PS4)
Arslan: The Warriors of Legend is a Warriors-style hack and slash game based on The Heroic Legend of Arslan — a reasonably old fantasy novel series that was adapted into a manga by Full Metal Alchemist author and artist Hiromu Arakawa in 2013. An anime followed in 2015, and this game was pushed alongside the property's resurgence. As far as Koei Tecmo action titles go, this is a rock solid slice-'em-up, boasting some cool characters and pretty visuals.
The Warriors of Legend covers the opening story arcs of the original work, so newcomers won't be lost. In fact, it means that the game has the potential to be a gateway into the larger world of Arslan.
14. Fairy Tail (PS4)
It's a little rough around the edges, but this turn based RPG does a good job of adapting the popular anime and manga property that is Fairy Tail. Developed by veteran role-playing studio Gust, the simply named Fairy Tail is an enjoyable, colourful adventure, with loads of characters to recruit and level up, each with their own unique abilities.
Dedicated side stories help to establish the cast, while the plot itself is based on the events of the original work — although in the game, things pick up quite deep into the overall narrative. As such, newcomers may find themselves a little lost, but there's still fun to be had if you're into RPGs.
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13. Berserk and the Band of the Hawk (PS4)
The awkwardly named Berserk and the Band of the Hawk attempts to transform Kentaro Miura's legendary manga series into a hack and slash action title — and the result is decent. This is easily the bloodiest Warriors-style game on the market, with Guts and co. ripping and tearing their way through hordes of enemy soldiers and demonic beasts. It's not the most polished Warriors game out there, but swinging the Dragon Slayer is satisfyingly visceral — especially when tens foes explode into severed body parts with every hit.
Berserk and the Band of the Hawk covers the opening story arcs of Berserk, making it quite welcome for newcomers — even if it does take some liberties with the plot itself.
12. Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions (PS4)
In the 80s and 90s, the Captain Tsubasa anime was massive in certain parts of the world. And decades later, it would be revived through Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions — a faithful video game adaptation of the completely over-the-top soccer action. Featuring loads of teams and characters from the anime, Rise of the Champions comes close to being the complete Captain Tsubasa package, even if the stop-start gameplay grows a bit stale over time.
The game's story mode covers the original plot, while other modes let you make your own footballing hero, or play freely with the game's many spiky-haired superstars.
11. Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet (PS4)
There are a handful of Sword Art Online games on PS4, but for our money, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is the most polished of the bunch. It's an action RPG where you play as your own custom character, who ends up joining the ranks of series star Kirito and his pals. The game's structure is based around a hub, where you accept missions and upgrade your gear before heading out into reasonably open maps to shoot monsters, farming experience and loot in the process. The shooting itself takes a little getting used to, but a surprisingly enjoyable grind awaits those who embrace the game's combat mechanics.
Comments 19
Hey everyone, just to reiterate, this list only includes games that are based on existing anime or manga properties. Games that simply have an anime style aren't included.
Also, can you believe I forgot to include Gundam when this list was first published? Absolutely shocking. It's in there now, though!
@ShogunRok where is SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays? What a fantastic title. So much content and such a good way of experiencing several Gundam stories.
@somnambulance Sadly never released in the West on PS4. Gundam Breaker 3 would probably be on this list as well, had it been localised.
@ShogunRok I assume this list excludes remasters and gen 7/8 cross gen games on purpose?
If you’re a fan of the Yakuza series I highly recommend Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, even if you’re not familiar with the source material.
@ShogunRok Valid point. It’s really heartbreaking. I’d consider it an essential purchase for anyone even mildly interested in Gundam.
@darkswabber Did you have any particular games in mind?
@somnambulance Heartbreaking is good word for it! We've missed out on some cool Gundam games over the years.
@ShogunRok
Persona 5?
It haves a Manga version too 😉
@ShogunRok not really, I was confusing this with the “all games in category ranked” lists pushsquare and nintendolife does. Didn’t realize it was a top 15. Pretty solid top 15 tho I would personally remove some of the bottom ones in favor of naruto trilogy, xenoverse 1 and pirate warriors 4.
I would play ultimate ninja storm 4, but I’m only on episode 190 of Shippuden and I don’t want too many spoilers.
@darkswabber Also solid picks. I did consider putting Pirate Warriors 4 on this list but I didn't want to include games that were very similar and from the same series. That said, if the list gets expanded in the future, those games might make it in.
@Ridwaano Haha, maybe we can make it a technicality...
Steins Gate zero should be here too, and pyscho pass was decent. I'm sure demon slayer would of made this list aswell if it was out in time
I thought the mha one’s justice games were pretty fun brawlers. I’m surprised one of them didn’t even make your top 15.
Digimon is great but God help you if you're playing on hard. Speaking of Digimon there hasn't been any news regarding Digimon Survive for quite some time now, I wonder if the game got cancelled?
Ok.
I think ninja storm 4 is too high. It's good for naruto fans, but not so much for everyone else.
I think Arslan is underrated. As a musou fan that tends to only enjoy Dynasty warriors Arslan was the best sub-series of musou i ever played and i tried most if not all.
On that same note, One piece pirate warriors is very simplistic and repetitive and is also too high in the list imo. The same can be said about berserk. While i think it's probably the best Berserk game, i would rank it below Arslan but above one piece just cause of the world, story and anime footage. It's worth playing through once.
Attack on titan is pretty boring and doesn't even deserve a spot in the list. Just watch the anime.
Captain tsubasa is amazing. One of the best anime sports game ever, if not the best. The story, the customization and the gameplay are great and faithful to the series. Definitly deserves to be on top 5.
All the sword art online games are boring and would have no place on a list of mine.
The honest truth is that way too many of these games are quick cash grabs. They’re filled with fan service, but are often lacking in everything else.
CyberConnect2 are the best anime to game adaptations devs around.
All of the Ninja Storm games are fantastic- even the PSP one.
I wish they could work their magic on One Piece.
Fighter Z is fantastic, but I’d argue it’s less accessible then the Ninja Storm games.
The dream anime game would be for Kojima to work on 20th Century Boy.
I didn’t realise Fairy Tail was turn based. Might have to check it out.
@Fight_Teza_Fight - "The dream anime game would be for Kojima to work on 20th Century Boy."
That......is an idea I didn't know I needed, though I'm not too sure how it would actually play (from what I remember, there's not much in the series that could be mined for gameplay outside a few scenes here and there, but I could be wrong).
Pretty nice list from what I can tell, though admittedly, I've only played 3 of these; FighterZ, Pirate Warriors 3 and Xenoverse 2 (that said, FotNS is so close to Yakuza I feel I could almost count it anyway). Not surprising to hear FighterZ is the best here; it's probably one of the best fighting games full stop, and as has been mentioned before, most anime games tend to be more mediocre cash-ins than interesting adaptations, so the competition isn't likely to be too fierce.
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