You know, anime games often have a pretty bad rep. That’s because a huge amount of them in the past have been shitty cash grabs that exist only to convince the fans to spend some money on a game because it has their favorite characters in it. And you can bet your ass that young Snooze was sitting there first in line to hand my money over. Over the years anime games have become more of a mainstream staple and some true masterpieces like Nier: Automata have forcefully reshaped how people view them. Now we’re living in a time where anime games are picking up trophies at The Game Awards like hot cakes.
For starters, Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139 and yes that’s the full title, won the award for best soundtrack. I haven’t played that new version but I spent a good 20 hours or so in the standard Nier: Automata and damn I do declare that if the music resembles anything like it or contains carryover tracks, it’s a well deserved win. Meanwhile Final Fantasy XIV Online won the award for best ongoing game as well as best community support. I’ve never even touched that one as I’m afraid Genshin Impact is enough of a time sink for me as it is. I’ve heard good things from those who do play it though. Kena: Bridge of Spirits won both the best indie game and best indie debut game awards, and I’ll be the first to admit many wouldn’t consider it an anime game. God damn the artstyle gets pretty close however. For the best mobile game, Genshin Impact took it home. I’ll count my blessings too because that means bonus premium currency for all the players. Us Genshin cucks need a break from being screwed over after all. Last but absolutely not least, Tales of Arise won the award for best rpg. Scarlet Nexus and Shin Megami Tensei V were also runner ups, leaving only Cyberpunk 2077 and Monster Hunter Rise as the non-anime entries in the RPG category. Alright I think that’s it. Oh wait, how could I forget GUILTY GEAR STRIVE BABYYYYY claiming the best fighting game award. Finally, all my shilling on the blog for that game has amounted to something.
Victory tastes so sweet.
From what I gathered, those are all the major victories for anime this year. Which compared to last year, damn we’re moving up in the world. While I’m not nearly the gamer I used to be, it’s nice to see your hobbies getting some recognition instead of the classic “ew anime game bad”. Unfortunately there are still many forces at work constantly tarnishing the reputation of anime games… especially in the mobile department. But I’ll wait to get into those monstrosities in the next article. Did you watch The Game Awards? Did you play any of the mentioned games? Put on a suit and tie, head to your seat, clap when everyone else does, and leave a comment below!
