Anime has inspired numerous video game counterparts that allow fans the opportunity to play some of their favorite characters. Unfortunately, this does not always mean that the games do justice and provide fans with an enjoyable experience in their anime universe. While some games rise to the occasion by bringing a fun and memorable experience, some quickly turn into a headache for the player. Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of anime inspired video games.

The Good

Some games do an amazing job of merging what makes an anime great with video game functionality that provides an overall enjoyable experience for the player.

One franchise that has managed to achieve this is Naruto, which, in recent years, has developed a successful line through its Ninja Storm titles. As a fighting game series, the Naruto games allow players to become some of their favorite characters and live out some of the most iconic moments from the TV show. The series did not start out the best, but over time has developed a good balance of style and substance that make it a fresh and fun fighting game with the anime setting that fans love. The roster of characters is one of the largest ever seen in a video game which can feel overwhelming, but it does allow a player to use their favorite character even if they were not that important in the show.

Another franchise that blends game and anime well is Danganronpa. Now this is a video game series that inspired a successful anime but nonetheless it does a great job doing both. The game is a point and click mystery adventure that puts players in a the role of a grim detective trying to figure out who is the mastermind behind the evil plot. It is unique story that somehow fits very well in the game universe. The art style is fantastic and there are many parallels between it and the show which is a good fan service. The game seems simple but offers enough intrigue to feel rewarding to the most observant players.

The Bad

Now some games do not do as well of a job at crafting a video game with anime world, which can leave players with an unsatisfying gaming experience. Usually these games try so hard to make the anime world come to life, that they miss the mark for good gameplay.

One such example of this is Dragon Ball Xenoverse. Taking place in the Dragon Ball universe, Xenoverse is a fighting game that looked great. It was very flashy and offered a unique story but that was essentially all that it had to offer. The combat of the game felt very unfair which bogs down a fighting game, where fairness can determine the outcome of a match pretty quickly. Now the game is still a fun time and does enough to satisfy fans wanting to play a Dragon Ball game but this game does not stand out without its anime elements.

One Piece: Burning Blood faces similar issues. This game offered a lot as far as fun 3D combat is concerned, but does not do a lot outside of that. If you are not a longtime fan of the series, this game is not for you. The combat is fun and wacky, which is very much One Piece, but makes little sense to anyone that is not familiar with the series. The story is also an arc of the show but does little to make the player feel as though they are living the One Piece story and are instead just watching a different format of the anime.

The Ugly

These games got the mix of anime and game all wrong. They make an attempt to provide a video game experience to an anime world and end up delivering something very far from that.

A franchise with a history of this is Sword Art Online. Sword Art Online’s universe is literally a video game so it would make you think that there is a lot that can be done, but that has yet to be the case. Fans of the series have been left with games that are repetitive and do little to build off the universe. Most are repetitive and feature frustrating combat mechanics that leave many people doing the same moves over and over again. The games have not brought the anime to life and lack any real development for the overall story. There has yet to be a saving grace in the series and we do not know if we will see one to come.

Another franchise with similar hiccups is Attack on Titan. The first Attack on Titan game, Humanity in Chains, was a disaster. The visuals were muffled, the gameplay was lackluster, and overall the game was a disservice to the anime world many fans love. It is a frustrating experience to see a world you love get bombed with an ugly video game. On a lighter note, the franchise did improve itself by offering a new PS4 title which was a much better game though still not spectacular. In the newer game, the combat was much better and visuals were cleaner but it suffered from a generally unsatisfying plot.

Some anime games know what to do and some should just stay out of games. Let us know in the comments which anime games are favorites and your worst nightmares

Buying video games can get pricey, so when a discount comes along it's always worth taking a look. Today, there's a pretty sweet line up for some recent releases and oldies but goodies. Get your collection up to speed or fill in the gaps of your game collection with these discounted titles. 

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 

Normally priced at $59.99, save 18% when you purchase the latest title in the series. Adam Jensen is a real BAMF. 

DOOM 

Scoop up this title at 50% off normal price. At least the price is kind, the game is guaranteed to kick your ass. 

Rocket League 

Rocket League is a crazy popular game. if you haven't had the chance to play this one yet, buy it now at 40% off normal cost. 

Mafia II 

Even though the game is 6 years old, it's still a ton of fun to play. You can purchase a digital download at an 80% discount! 

Sword Art Online: Lost Song 

Explore the world of ALfheim Online at a 25% discount for PS4. 

Mirror's Edge Catalyst

Let's be honest, we all wanted to try parkour after playing Mirror's Edge. If you're still not comfortable leaping from rooftops, pick up this game at a 25% discount. 

XCOM: Enemy Unknown 

Another 80% discount deal, pick up this award-winning game and save Earth from a horrifying alien invasion. 

Saint's Row IV

For $5 (an 83% discount) you can own the game and all the DLC. Wait are you waiting for?

BioShock 2

Now, you can be a Big Daddy for real as you travel through the city of Rapture. You don't have to have Big Daddy bucks though, as the game is available for purchase at an 80% discount. 

BioShock Infinite

More BioShock! More discounts! Pick up the latest game in the series for $6 smackaroos. 80% discounts are amazing. 

Sid Meier's Civilization V

If you don't have this game, you're a disgrace to mankind. Atone for your failings and purchase today for $10. You owe it to humanity.

* * *

I’m always looking for new awesome products, so please send me your favorites at commerce@LaunchMediaNetwork.com.

Everything's bigger in Sword Art Online: Lost Song - bigger party, bigger game world, and of course a bigger level cap. Not only can you hit level 1000 for each individual character, but you can actually (if you have the extreme focus and persistence) level up your weapon skills all the way to 1000 as well!

Why would you want to spend all that time mindlessly grinding the same monsters over and over? Increasing your weapon skill, of course, provides bonuses to damage, but also unlocks new combo skills at various levels, with a passive skill unlocking at 1000 that significantly increases your damage output.

There's not much need to level grind Lost Song during the main story, as you absolutely don't need to be anywhere near 1000 in either level or weapon proficiency to finish the game. Grinding more comes into play in the post-game if are a completionist or want to remain competitive when battling other players in PvP or taking on those diabolical extra quests with maximum level enemies.

If you're looking for tips on the best party lineup and what skills to level during the main story, check out our guide here.

Grinding to 1000 makes Kirito a beast with dual wielding

While on a quest to grind your weapon skills to 1000, keep in mind that regular attacks raise your level faster than using combos. Your weapon skills also raise based on the number of attacks landed and not on the amount of damage you do, so don't unleash those powerful skills that quickly kill enemies! Level grinding is more efficient if you keep hitting something with lots of health that isn't dying than to 1 shot kill waves of weaker enemies over and over.

Extra Quests

More difficult extra quests with higher level enemies are unlocked after completing the main story, and several of these have excellent opportunities for level grinding. If you have difficulty battling the bosses in these quests you can always set the difficulty to easy, but keep in mind that will mean enemies will go down faster, so sticking with normal mode is usually best as you'll get to hit each monster more times.

Hitting an enemy repeatedly is the best way to increase your weapon proficiency, and the higher level the monster, the more experience you gain, and that's where Siegfried comes in. You do have to complete all the lower star quests for this to unlock first, but the 10 star extra quest [Hunting] Demon God's Advent quest is an amazing place to grind due to Siegfried's huge health bar. You can really drag this battle out by repeatedly hitting Siegried and then guarding and blocking until his health recovers, repeating the process over and over.

Siegfried is the go-to level grinding enemy

If you haven't gotten all the way to the 10 star quests yet, the extra quest [Hunting] Sandstorm Wastes is another excellent option, as it stakes you straight to a boss with multiple body parts. The main body has a ton of health and you can repeatedly attack him with whatever weapon you are trying to level for quick gains.

Keep in mind that any enemy that regenerates health can potentially be a source of level grinding your weapon skills. The boss Seven (found in the post-game dungeon on the last island) in particular regenerates health quickly, making this fight a solid way to boost your weapon skills – since you keep your gains even if you die.

Battling In The Sandstorm Wastes Quest

Co-op Farming

After unlocking the multiplayer aspect of the game, you can join in with other players for co-op instead of straight PvP. Popping into the game with a group that's higher level than you is an easy way to level up faster, following them around and launching your attacks at stronger enemies that net faster experience gain. Finding someone who already has their skills at 1000 and is still playing is the best way to go here.

AFK Grinding

OK, so this is frankly just cheating and defeats the whole purpose of having a huge level cap that takes forever to reach, but for those without a sense of shame who don't want to put in the work, it is actually possible to grind while walking away from the game entirely.

There are two ways to handle this. The first is to go to an overland map area where there are no aerial monsters. Have your main character hover a bit up in the air where monsters on the ground can't reach and literally just walk away. That's it: make a sandwich, watch some Sword Art Online episodes on Hulu, mow the grass, do some Christmas shopping, or whatever.

The other two members of your party will keep fighting and gaining levels while your main character just hovers there looking bored and wondering why nothing is happening. As long as those other two party members have healing skills and you didn't go somewhere with extremely deadly creatures, your other two party members will level over time while you do something else.

This is going to be slower than actively playing – since one character isn't leveling at all and you'll have to pick a lower level area to ensure your AFK slaves aren't dying – but time isn't really a factor when you're reading a book or surfing the web in the other room.

The second way is to pick an extra quest that has respawning enemies like [Search] Deserted Tunnel where you can leave your main character in a room the enemies don't enter, and then have the rest of the party endlessly battle the respawning high level monsters in the tunnel area.

Crest of Yggdrasil

Eventually during the game you'll pick up a Crest Of Yggdrasil that not only increases how quickly your characters level, but also boots your weapon proficiency leveling, making it much faster to hit 1000.

Wondering how to get extra Crests of Yggdrasil so each character can have one? Some monsters in the 10 star extra quest [Search] Shrine Of Impurity will randomly drop them as loot! Eventually you can get three and increase your level capacity for everyone in the current party lineup.

Shrine Of Impurity Extra Quest

MMO-addicted Kirito and the harem of lovely ladies he always manages to surround himself with have finally escaped the eponymous Sword Art Online and moved on to ALfheim Online in the new action RPG, Lost Song. A new world to explore means new skills, new characters, and new ways to deal death to enemy mobs before reaching the difficult boss at the end of each quest.

This time around you can swap out members for a party of up to three characters, each with different strengths and weaknesses. With a large cast of playable characters to choose from, picking the best lineup for any given situation will determine whether you smash through quests or end up dying repeatedly.

Since you can swap out three different weapon sets for each character and the highest level abilities unlocked for each skill are quite devastating, potentially any character can be viable for PvE play in most areas. That being said, a few of the options are clearly a cut above the rest of the pack, and make a very formidable team if you are looking for maximum damage output in PvE situations, especially while grinding through all those extra quests.

Before reading on, keep in mind this article contains minor spoilers, as it mentions characters and special skills unlocked after the game's main quest line ends.

Sword Art Online: Lost Song Skills

Total character level is less important in Lost Song than the level of your weapon or magic skill combined with what kind of equipment you are using. Outside that consideration, there are also many areas both in dungeons and the world map where you can elevate yourself above certain enemies and rain down damage on them while they can't effectively retaliate.

When battling more difficult bosses or enemies in flat areas, the damage you're dealing will be influenced by your overall skill level for each type of weapon. After capping out at 250 in Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment, follow-up Lost Song decided to up the ante and let you grind all the way to an astounding level 1000 in each skill.

Actually going through that level of repetitive grind is more work than fun, but if you manage to reach the top tier, your character unlocks a passive skill greatly increasing damage with that weapon. Meanwhile, you'll get small boosts to damage every 100 levels and also unlock skills that cost MP at regular intervals – and here's where you get the real damage.

Katana or Dual Wielding? Decisions, decisions...

In terms of straight DPS, the dual wield skill is frequently the best and lands hits more frequently than the slower axe skill, which is probably second best in terms of overall damage potential. Two-handed sword seems like it would be devastating, but has a slower speed (this is especially negative in PvP against a mobile opponent who knows how to dodge and guard effectively). The katana, meanwhile, is fast and focuses on combinations of multiple attacks at a time, making it another solid option.

Keep in mind that even having extremely high levels in certain weapon skills won't always be useful – if you hear the metallic clinking sound while hitting a monster, it means your attack isn't useful against that enemy. For instance, rapiers aren't particularly useful against skeletons (which makes sense), while maces and magic are better against metal golems.

Sword Art Online: Lost Song Best Characters

Three open slots are available for building your party before any given quest, and the main character Kirito actually isn't required to be one of them for many sections of the game. While he is needed to trigger events, you can explore the game world and grind areas without him in the group, leading to more viable party builds with different characters.

While most characters get the ability to heal themselves to some degree, it should go without saying that you should always keep a dedicated healer in the party to deal with dicey situations. In this instance, picking a character of the Undine race is the way to go, as they have strong health restoration powers and the ability to revive knocked out party members.

Some characters gain access to special OSS skills not available to any other party member, but always be flexible and willing to swap out characters as needed based on the situation. Having all characters with high ice and wind magic skills are useful in most areas, but won't give you any advantage when battling bosses weak against dark magic, for instance.

Kirito

As the main Lost Song character, Kirito is going to absolutely dominate on the damage front for a large portion of the game if you focus on dual-wielding. The End Revolver skill is incredibly useful when surrounded by large numbers of enemies, but things get crazy with level 300 skill Starburst Stream, which does 17 separate attacks. The final dual-wielding skill, Eclipse, at level 400 has an even bigger combination attack for truly devastating damage.

Kirito has high HP and useful sword skills, but is very poor at magic and has low MP, so you want a dedicated caster in the party if you are bringing along Kirito. He remains a solid all-around choice though, especially when unlocking the Boss Killer skill that increases damage by 10% against – you guessed it – every single boss. He also eventually unlocks skills that increase the chances of enemies dropping rare loot, so even if his damage lags behind other characterse in the post-game, this ability more than makes up for it.

Kirito

Leafa

A strong early game character who can act as your healer, Leafa will unfortunately be overshadowed by other characters later on (particularly Yuuki and Asuna). If you decide to keep at it, though, and level Leafa as one of your core members, her tier 3 wind magic becomes incredibly powerful and can easily stand toe-to-toe with other casters.

Leafa

Asuna

Asuna works as a fantastic balance to Kirito as she's almost the exact opposite: low in HP but high in MP with strong magic abilities. You can switch to bows to keep her out of harm's way, but after finishing her side storyline, Asuna gets the special Mother's Rosario one-handed sword skill. Without a doubt, this is one of the strongest attacks available, and only one other character gets access to it, so keep Asuna around.

On the magic front, besides being a very capable healer, Asuna's Absolute Zero spell (unlocked with Tier 3 water magic) can one-hit kill even high-level enemies. While Asuna gets the fast casting skill, she can be particularly devastating if you take advantage of the game's quick casting glitch. Press the block button just after casting an offensive spell to cancel the spell's animation (even though the spell has already gone off) and you can immediately cast again without waiting.

Asuna

Yuuki

The only other character to have access to the Mother's Rosario one-handed sword skill, Yuuki is another great option for both magic and sword skills. As a bonus, she also eventually gets the Boss Killer ability like Kirito. Unfortunately, she has less MP overall than other characters -- and if you already have Asuna, there's not a lot of reason to also have Yuuki at the same time.

Yuuki

Rain

With access to an upgraded version of Boss Killer, a focus on dual-wielding, and the special Thousand Rain OSS skill, Rain can potentially become a better damage dealer than Kirito. Doubling up with Kirito and Rain can be effective even if they are both dual-wielding, however, as Rain's buffing abilities are incredibly useful. Sharpness in particular is helpful for taking down tougher enemies.

Unlike with damage spells where you have to actually hit an enemy to level up, buffs increase in power just by casting them over and over. So you can get Rain upgraded very quickly just by spamming spells outside of combat.

Rain

Sumeragi

Hold on now – Sumeragi is a playable character? Yep, but not on the first play through. After completing the entire story the first time, head back to the game's first area (Woglinde) with only Kirito in your party and no other members. Fly to the blue dot on your mini-map to locate Sumeragi standing next to a chest.

As a “secret” unlockable character, Sumeragi is predictably higher powered and an excellent option for any party lineup. Sumeragi has the third limited OSS skill called Tyr that makes his katana attacks do large damage even from longer range, so put him in your group as soon as possible.

Sumeragi

The RPG game series based off popular anime Sword Art Online continues with SAO: Lost Song. This is the third game in the series. I had to pick it up, since I love the SAO series and was a "Beater" of the two previous games (lame SAO humor, ha). Overall, it was an amazing game that satisfied the SAO fan in me.

I enjoyed the first two games of the SAO franchise. Both SAO: Infinity Moment and SAO: Hollow Fragment were fun and compelling games that kept me entertained for hours. So, I was rather excited when I heard that SAO: Lost Song was coming out. 

Story

SAO: Lost Song's story takes place a month after the events of the original SAO games. The story begins with the SAO cast logging into ALO (Alfheim Online). The game got its first new update and our famous Black Swordsman Kirito is excited to explore the changes.

The story develops beyond just the contents of the update and ties new characters into the story. Very much like the previous games, SAO: Lost Song has its own original plot. It's fun, warms the heart, and fits right into the SAO world. 

However, I do have to say that this story does not have the same intensity the other games did. It is probably because the threat of permanent death isn't present in this game. That death element makes games like SAO: Lost Song far more thrilling. The plot is still interesting and fun, but the previous games added the pressure that if you died, you actually died.

Overall, I think the story can be enjoyed by anyone, but more so by SAO fans. The biggest reason I love the plot is because it's following the 'what if' story line. It's like playing through my own version of the SAO story.

Gameplay

I was kind of amazed by the complete overhaul of gameplay in SAO: Lost Song. The level of improvement was absolutely wonderful.

Sword Play

I was very happy with the combat in this game. Everyone who is into SAO knows that the series is famous for its awesome, fast-paced, epic sword-swinging action. The previous games didn't exactly capture that fast-paced action the same way.

The previous games had basic combos that did no damage. So I ended up just running up to each enemy and using special attacks on them. I eventually made a build that gave me infinite SP and allowed me to spam special skills that could one-shot everything. It got tedious real fast.

However, SAO: Lost Song has fluid and quick combat. The combat is far more intense and challenging than previous games. There are enemies spread far and wide, as well. If you wanted, you could be stuck in an endless awesome battle.

The special skills are fun, too,  and executed with beautiful animations. The skills look like they were ripped right out of the anime -- like rapid energy glowing strikes. 

Magic

Magic is the unique element in ALO within the SAO series. It was also one of the features that made me really excited for SAO: Lost Song. So, the first chance I got, I tried magic. 

But this feature turned out to be a bit disappointing. The spells in the anime series are always made to look epic and flashy. The spell words appearing right next to the character always looked cool. However, when I got to use the magic spells in the game, I kind of just had a 'meh' feeling. There was no punch behind them. 

Weapon Enhancement

I am actually kind of disappointed in this feature of the game. The previous games had a very in-depth weapon enhancement system. Actually, it was the very foundation of your build. SAO: Lost Song has simplified that enhancement system to match the actual enhancement system in the anime series.

You upgrade a weapon to plus 1 and plus 2 with materials -- just like any other game that has weapon enhancement. I mind that too much. This new system mimics what is used in the SAO anime series, so it's an accurate adaptation. I just miss the detailed enhancement and ability to decide what my swords specialized in. The previous games allowed me to make and customize the sword I fought with. My swords and I had a special bond by the end of the game. Oh well.

Flight

The fact you can free fly in this game is what makes it stand out from other RPGs. You can fly anywhere, except inside dungeons -- which was kind of a downer, to be honest. Normally, flying is something you only see in games like Dragonball Z.

That is why it is so awesome in this game. Fighting tons of enemies while flying around is amazing. The flight makes battles far more interesting. The flying plus the epic swordplay fits together in a way that makes the game refreshing. 

Multiplayer

There are two modes to multiplayer. You have the co-op mode and the PVP mode.

The co-op mode is pretty fun. Explore the world with a buddy, kill some monsters, and go on a few adventures. The PVP felt like Dragonball Z Xenoverse with swords...just not as many explosions, and a lot less screaming. 

Overall

SAO: Lost Song is an awesome game for both SAO fans and people who like a good, adventurous, sword-fighting RPG. The game is fun, with a bright plot and refreshingly unique gameplay. 

It lacks the intensity of the death game story, but it is still worth picking up. SAO: Lost Song is worth playing if you want to go on a high flying adventure and fight your way through hordes of monsters with epic sword play.

After Japan has had access to the game for months, North American players finally get the latest iteration of the Sword Art Online saga. With the anime series recently invading Hulu, it's likely this will be the first entry for many RPG fans finally giving the franchise a shot.

In the third major title of the series, hero/teenage gamer Kirito and his sisters move away from the game's namesake to a different online world called ALfhiem Online, which has just received a major update ready to be explored. Of course he'll come across many other gamers in the course of his adventures, most of whom are anime fairy catgirls.

Don't get too excited - one of 'em is your sister!

An Existential Crisis

As a sequel to a game where the protagonist is trapped inside a deadly MMO, Lost Song inadvertently raises some serious existential questions. I haven't seen all of the anime, so maybe some of this is covered there, but the premise of Lost Song left me scratching my head.

After you've been stuck in a massively multiplayer nightmare that really kills you when your online persona dies, why would you go back to another one? It's unintentional, but the idea speaks to some serious mental health issues, as well as questions of addiction in the MMO community. If you were locked in a VR version of World of Warcraft that really killed people and you then subsequently escaped, would you seriously move on to Guild Wars next week?

There's also a weird meta aspect to consider here, since you're playing a group of teenage MMO enthusiasts playing an online game. I feel like they've taken us down a rabbit hole they didn't intend. Imagine a game where you played kids playing EverQuest. If you'd think it might be difficult to connect with those characters or really get drawn into their story, you'd be right.

Unfortunately Morpheus isn't around to help make sense of all this...

Sword Art Online: Lost Song Combat

While in ALfheim Online, Kirito and his crew get to explore MMO-inspired areas and grind through a whole lot of enemies, with the brunt of the gameplay making it essentially an action game with heavy RPG elements.

Unlike in a turn-based RPG, there's total freedom of movement during combat as you block attacks and then use spells and sword skills. A stamina meter balances it all out, forcing you to dodge and move away from enemies for short periods while waiting for your stamina to recover. It's a good time for a while, although the system does get repetitive with clear patterns emerging in evading and using specific attacks to take down each kind of enemy.

You get a team of three different characters to take with you on any given quest to delve into a dungeon or explore a floating island. The overall cast of characters is quite large, so there's a good deal of variety on that front. Kirito can also focus on three different builds: one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons, or dual-wielding.

What sets Lost Song apart is the ability to fly around the world map straight from the start – a power that doesn't usually get unlocked in RPGs until later stages. Much of the game is built around this ability, with combat taking place on the ground and in the air. The flying dragon bosses are actually one of the high points, breaking up the repetitive battle structure. The other high point is the inclusion of multiplayer, where you can battle directly against other players.

Repetitive combat is broken up by exciting aerial battles

Sword Art Online: Lost Song Story

If you couldn't tell from the screenshots, the graphics aren't amazing. But that also means the game can essentially be the same on the PS3, PS4, and PS Vita, and they do have an “old school” nostalgic feel.

The draw of RPGs usually isn't the graphics but the story, and unfortunately that isn't quite up to snuff either. There are some amusing moments in the interplay between the players as they discuss being in a game. “You have that 'must level' look in your eyes!” is one such instance that had me laughing. But in other cases, the dialog really falls flat.

Kids talking about how excited they are to get a rare item drop after beating a quest isn't exactly engaging, and sort of just makes you wonder why aren't playing a real MMO with your friends so you can have those conversations instead.

Over time, the game brings up backstory of what came before (particularly helpful if you don't already know all about the Sword Art Online series), swapping into the real world for some story-driven dialog segments. Again bringing up the divide between games and reality, here you get to see the players in their “real life” versions as opposed to their fan-service avatars.

Get ready to fight a couple hundred of these in similar landscapes

Lost Song is sort of stuck in an odd in-between state as it simulates an MMO, but is actually a single-player action game. It has the repetitive nature of a MMORPG but lacks the elements that make those games worth playing. On the single player side, it doesn't have a strong story or imminently memorable characters.

The combat is alright, but lacks the more interesting combos and options available games that dive more fully into the action side, like Dante's Inferno or Darksiders.

That being said, if you love PS2 era RPGs or are a fanatic for the Sword Art Online universe, then sure -- give it a shot. Otherwise there's plenty of more engaging, less repetitive games out there.