“Sand Land”: Akira Toriyama’s final video game honors his legacy

“Sand Land”is a title with a lot of expectations, not only for being an open world game in a market saturated with the genre, but also for having the pedigree of having been created by the great Akira Toriyama, father of classics like “Dragon Ball” and “Dr. Slump”, as well as a key figure in the development of sagas such as “Dragon Quest”. This pressure was increased by the premature death of the author at the beginning of Marchmaking many of the Japanese mangaka’s fans more protective of his legacy.

Fortunately for developer ILCA and Bandai Namco, the game is a competent adaptation of the source material, letting Toriyama’s genius shine and providing entertaining moments with a surprisingly complex vehicular combat system. Here we review the game.

“Sand Land” is based on the manga of the same name that Akira Toriyama published in 2000 and tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world in the style of “Mad Max”, where successive wars and climate disasters have left the planet as a desolate wasteland. where the control of water has become a tool of subjugation by the powerful.

Demonstrating Toriyama’s love for unconventional heroes, the story’s main character is Beelzebub, prince of demons and son of Lucifer, who is recruited by Sheriff Rao – a human with a dark past – in the search for a legendary hidden spring in the desert. The trio of protagonists is closed by Thief, an elderly demon who serves not only as the young sovereign’s chaperone, but also as the voice of prudence among his most rash companions.

The camaraderie developed by the three serves as the heart of the adventure and the evolution of the characters – or in the case of Beelzebub maturation – drive this seemingly simple story, but one that does not shy away from dealing with complicated themes such as prejudice, exploitation , trauma and more issues that are not foreign to our current world. But despite the dark points that the plot touches on, it retains a core of optimism and a spirit of perseverance that unites it with the mangaka’s other works.

It should be noted that the video game “Sand Land” is not an exact adaptation of its comic strip version, but also serves as a sequel devised by Akira Toriyama himself. Part of these adjustments – which also occurred in the recent animated version that came out on Star+ – is the inclusion of Ann to the main cast, a young woman with great skill as a mechanic and a mysterious lineage.

She becomes crucial in the video game not only because of her importance in the story, but because the majority of the title will see you on the wheels of some type of vehicle, not only to explore the wide spaces of Sand Land, but also to combat with her multiple threats. It is a surprisingly robust vehicular combat system that allows you to ride not only in the distinctive tank from the manga cover, but in various vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, hovercraft and even robots, each with weapons, movement styles and abilities. clearly differentiated, which gives versatility to the experience.

These vehicles are also examples of Akira Toriyama’s genius, bringing out the ingenious designs he created for other of his series such as “Dragon Ball”, so if you ever wanted to drive Bulma’s motorcycle or Yamcha’s floating car, this It will be your opportunity. It is surprising the personality that the developers have managed to give to these vehicles, meticulously detailed and animated, turning them almost into other main characters in the story.

Unfortunately for the game, its other systems lack the same depth. Thus, the hand-to-hand combat that you will ever be forced to perform is based on simple combinations between quick blows and strong blows without much complication, seasoned from time to time with the possibility of using a couple of more powerful skills. Meanwhile, some sequences will have you infiltrating military bases and towns with some rudimentary stealth systems. It’s not that it asks for the complexity of “Devil May Cry” or “Metal Gear”, but it shows where the developers put their greatest efforts.

Another problem is the low variety of enemies, with much of the fauna appearing as two or three variations of half a dozen animal species. Human enemies are happily given more versions thanks to the fact that they can also drive vehicles, but the artificial intelligence of the opponents also leaves something to be desired and the majority of combat – at least on the Normal level – can be resolved by spinning around the opponent while you bombard it with heavy artillery.

The open world is also something that doesn’t seem all fleshed out, although not helped by the premise that most of the world is a desolate wasteland. While the towns vary enough for each to have its own personality, the rest of the desert seems to be built around the “Far Cry” formula, with a handful of similarly simple activities like opening chests and exploring short dungeons scattered throughout the landscape. map that provide you with resources and even weapons for your different vehicles.

This situation changes a little in Forest Land, a country full of lush forests that serves as the location for the second part of the adventures, but where problems such as the fact that many of the activities are dull are also repeated.

In addition to the distractions of the open world, the game’s progress is divided into main and side missions. The former serve to continue the game’s story, advancing the adventure of Beelzebub and company in their search for the mystical oasis, while the latter serve as complementary, although sometimes surprisingly dark, stories that help you find new inhabitants for your base in the town of Spino, giving face to the people that the protagonists seek to help not only with their mission to find a new source of water and their desire to create a more just kingdom for all. It is in this content where it is clearly seen – and justifiably – where the greatest effort has gone, which translates into some memorable encounters and levels.

“Sand Land” is a title with clear flaws, but the result is more than the sum of all its parts and I quite enjoyed my time with the title, largely thanks to its endearing characters. The game is certainly a testament to Akira Toriyama’s enormous power to make stories that resonate globally and speak directly to our hearts.