Japanese manga artist and character designer, Akira Toriyama, instantly handed away earlier final month. After his dying, the favored creator might be receiving his first posthumous tribute within the upcoming Sand Land sport. The sport relies on Toriyama’s manga collection of the identical identify.
The sport is developed by ILCA and printed by Bandai Namco Leisure. It should deliver Toriyama’s manga to life on April 25, 2024, on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Sequence X and Sequence S, and PC.
The unique Sand Land story has been expanded
Sand Land being tailored right into a sport isn’t a surprise since it’s the legendary Toriyama’s work. Nonetheless, when the information of its adaptation first broke out, it raised some eyebrows. This was primarily as a result of Sand Land is comparatively quick. It’s based mostly on a intentionally temporary and linear plot with solely 14 chapters.
Nonetheless, ILCA has managed to show the protagonist Beelzebub’s quick journey into a whole open-world odyssey. Talking to The Gamer, the producer Keishu Minami mentioned that the staff collectively determined to incorporate a giant explorable world in Sand Land as an alternative of maintaining it a extra linear expertise. It is because it is not uncommon to see different anime titles being centered round simply permitting the participant to “really feel the distinctive world of Toriyama-sensei”.
In reality, the unique story of the manga has been closely prolonged by including aspect missions, dungeons, racing, and a whole lot of different issues. In response to Minami, these components will enable Beelzebub and the participant to discover extra within the sport and it doesn’t simply really feel like a “massive map”.
Notably, extending Sand Land to make it an open-world journey was not the one path that the builders took to broaden on Toriyama’s work. Minami provides how one of many largest issues the sport in addition to the earlier anime added was Forest Land.
It’s a lush inexperienced space that in actuality by no means appeared within the manga. The Forest Land additionally introduces a brand new story that revolves round Beelzebub contending with a brand new enemy who possesses powers equal to him. There may be additionally a brand new ally named Ann.
Will the Sand Land sport have a sequel?
Provided that Toriyama premature handed away earlier final month on the age of 68, the way forward for Sand Land could seem unsure. Nonetheless, trying on the variations of the manga within the anime in addition to the sport, it’s secure to say that solely the floor has been scratched to this point.
Speaking about what the way forward for the sport would appear like, Minami says,
“We’ll do our greatest to ship the Sand Land sport, releasing April 26, to as many gamers as attainable, and we are going to take into consideration increasing after they’ve loved it.”
There may be actually much more of Beelzebub’s world and the adventures to be explored. That being mentioned, because the sport is but to launch, it’s certainly too early to even speculate what may occur subsequent. Nonetheless, Minami’s response does spark some hope.
