Akira Toriyama’s ‘Sand Land’ To Receive Video Game Adaptation From Bandai Namco And ‘One Piece Odyssey’ Developer ILCA
2023 is shaping up to be the year of Sand Land, as just a few months after the announcement that the Akira Toriyama manga would be receiving a theatrical anime film, Bandai Namco Entertainment has officially confirmed Beelzebub and crew are also on track to make their video game debut.
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Revealed during the June 8th opening ceremony of the 2023 Summer Games Fest and coming from Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl and One Piece Odyssey developer ILCA, the eponymously named Sand Land will allow players to relive the story of Toriyama’s dystopioan manga from an Action RPG perspective.
Per its first trailer, players will take control of Beezlebub as they roam around the Sand Land either on foot or in a number of customizable tank and walker vehicles, the latter of which appear to function similarly to how such options did in the Borderlands franchise.
In terms of combat, the trailer indicates that players will fight from vehicles in a third-person shooter gameplay style whilst engaging in more traditional action combat on foot.
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“Dive into a desert world where both humans and demons suffer from an extreme water shortage,” reads the game’s official synopsis. “Play as and watch the Fiend Prince, Beelzebub, Sheriff Rao, and demon Thief set off on an adventure in search of a Legendary Spring hidden in the desert. Introducing himself as a ‘super evil fiend’, Beelzebub has a pure heart like a little boy but has superhuman strength and telepathic abilities. Rao, a small-town sheriff, seeks the aid of demons to save all of Sand Land from the water shortage. Thief, a wise old demon with thieving abilities also accompanies Beelzebub and Rao on their adventure.”
“Playing as Beelzebub, players will be able to explore a vast world accompanied by his unlikely group of demons and humans,” it further details. “Whether roaming in various vehicles, or traveling by foot, players will encounter dangers as well as helpful characters they meet in the vast desert while uncovering SAND LAND’s many secrets. Vehicular and character combat is a big part of the action in the game. Players will have access to a variety of vehicles that they can customize and equip with loadouts to traverse the desert, overcome obstacles, and take on a diverse assortment of mighty foes.”
Upon release, the Bandai Namco-published Sand Land will be available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, X|S, and Windows platforms, but as of writing the game has yet to receive any sort of official release window.
Meanwhile, the series’ aforementioned film adaptation is set to peel out into Japanese theaters on August 18th.
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