Best Anime Open-World Games, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Open-world games in the anime/manga genre strive to be unique by incorporating art styles seen in various manga and anime, offering a fusion of familiar gameplay mechanics and a unique visual experience.
• While some open-world anime games like
  One Piece: World Seeker
  and
  Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
  may feel soulless or fail to live up to their potential, they can still appeal to hardcore fans of the series who enjoy controlling beloved characters.
• Games like
  Genshin Impact
  ,
  Gravity Rush 2
  , and
  Xenoblade Chronicles 3
  prove that anime-style open-world games can offer a fun and engaging gameplay experience, challenging the preconceived notion that free-to-play games are of poor quality.

Open-world gaming is one of the most popular genres that developers target time and time again. The mass appeal of this genre makes it a goldmine for publishers to target as they try to craft unique and impressive open worlds that are a joy to explore. Given how saturated this genre has become, it can be pretty challenging to capture the magic in a bottle when almost every open-world game feels the same, barring some minor changes.

As a result, the games in this genre try their hardest to seem as unique as possible. Everything from the gameplay mechanics to the visuals is fair game in this regard, and a rather interesting way developers make their open-world games interesting is by using an art style seen in various manga and anime.

Updated November 3, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Despite its undeniable popularity, the anime aesthetic and character design has not managed to catch on in mainstream gaming, with most developers tending to stick to the tried and true photo-realism, 3D rendering, pixel art, or 2.5D if they’re feeling experimental. For games based on anime to begin with, however, this is not the case. Titles based on the Dragon Ball Z franchise, for example, tend to always have the distinctive look of Akira Toriyama’s art style. Even more, games like Genshin Impact have further pushed this aesthetic to the forefront of the industry, and if the game’s staggering success is anything to go by, gamers are not complaining.

14 One Piece: World Seeker

Sail the Grand Line

The idea of playing an open-world One Piece game was quite alluring for fans of the series. After all, who didn’t want to control the Straw Hat Pirates in one of their many exciting adventures? However, despite how fun it was to zoom through the open world of this game as Luffy, the game feels like a missed opportunity in many ways.

The game itself feels rather soulless and doesn’t do anything new to elevate the source material on the genre in any way. That being said, hardcore One Piece fans will enjoy controlling Luffy and other DLC characters, but that’s a pretty low bar to set for a game that should’ve been way more engaging than it ultimately was.

13 Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13

Time-Bound Open-World Journey

The Final Fantasy 13 is either an interesting experiment or one of the worst things ever made by Square Enix, depending on which viewpoint players look at. Regardless, there’s no denying that the games have something interesting going for them in some form or the other, with the third title playing around with a rather interesting concept.

In Lightning Returns, players work around a time limit that forces them to get on with it instead of trying to accomplish anything and everything in sight, which is a pretty novel concept for an open-world game. While some aspects of this game may fall flat, the final game in the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy is worth checking out for fans of unique anime open-world games.

12 Wuthering Waves

A Genshin Alternative

Wuthering Waves, or WuWa, takes unapologetic inspiration from Mihoyo’s Genshin Impact but introduces enough variance in the formula to prevent an accusation of being an outright clone. Its characters have the same anime-esque look Genshin popularized, but the overall design is a bit more grounded and somber, which is something that holds true for the rest of the game as well. Instead of the vibrant fantasy of Teyvat, Wuthering Waves’ world is a mishmash of grasslands and industry. It shoots for basically the same demographic as Tower of Fantasy but just with more success.

Another key difference is that Wuthering Waves has a more lenient gacha system than Genshin, with less emphasis on pulling for powerful weapons and the completely unique mechanic called Echoes. Every enemy players defeat in the game (including boss monsters) has a chance of dropping an Echo, which doubles as an artifact, as well as an equippable skill with unique effects. In Wuthering Waves, grinding for artifacts is not just repeating the same dungeon over and over again like Genshin but involves hunting down specific monsters in the overworld. This incentivizes exploration, addressing one of the core issues Genshin players have long complained about.

11 Gravity Rush 2

Gravity-Defying Surreal Open-World

It’s a shame that more people don’t talk about Gravity Rush 2, an ambitious title where players control a character who can manipulate gravity itself to traverse the world and engage in combat. It’s a dramatic improvement over the first game in every way and is easily one of the most underrated PlayStation exclusives of all time.

Unfortunately, it seems that this game will never receive a sequel. After all, the developer behind this game has shut down its doors, which is pretty disappointing for fans of this highly talented studio who played a huge role in the development of imaginative titles like Shadow of the Colossus and Knack.

10 Genshin Impact

A Vibrant Open World

Many people wrote off Genshin Impact as a money-hungry gacha game that was apeing the art style of Breath of the Wild to get easy clicks. So, it was pretty interesting to see that the game was fun in its own right, featuring a wide roster of beloved characters who are all pretty engaging to control in their own right.

Genshin Impact‘s fun gameplay loop will keep players invested for quite some time. While money is required to unlock some of the more coveted characters — unless players are lucky, that is — there’s no denying that this game deserves to be held in high regard, completely discarding the notion of the free-to-play moniker implying that the game is of poor quality.

9 Octopath Traveler

Eight Heroes, Endless Possibilities

Most people may find it odd that Octopath Traveler is considered an open-world game, but this justification makes sense once players realize how the world of this title is structured. Barring the protagonist that players choose for their adventure, every other character’s plotline can be accessed in a non-linear fashion, with levels being the only thing that gates a player’s progress.

This makes for an interesting way to explore the stories of eight protagonists who have motivations of their own. While Octopath Traveler‘s lack of interaction between the main party can be rather irritating to deal with at times, the excellent dungeon exploration, fun combat, and excellent soundtrack more than makeup for its faults.

8 Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Humor, Heart, and Brawling

It’s hard to believe that one of the best modern JRPGs ever made initially started as an April Fool’s joke. However, this revitalization of the Yakuza franchise was well-received by many, and it helped that Ichiban quickly became a fan-favorite character in the eyes of many.

Exploring Isezaki Ijincho, Kamurocho, and Sotenbori makes for a great time, with the zany combat system adding to the game’s hilarity. It’s a step in the right direction for Like a Dragon, a series that shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Both new and old fans of Yakuza will be elated to know the sheer amount of fun games that lie in wait for them, with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth being the latest entry to grace them that continues the wacky adventures of Ichiban and Kiryu.

7 Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

A Saiyan Adventure

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot is a game that many people hyped to the moon and back, given that it allowed players to play through the story of DBZ in its entirety. It was an alluring prospect, and many fans loved the strong impression this game gave from the get-go with its engaging battles and fun exploration.

However, after a point, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot stops wowing players all that much. The RPG mechanics are so hamfisted that the game could’ve been better off without it, and the battles end up losing their luster as players go through this experience and realize that the mechanics aren’t as deep as most people expected them to be.

6 Yakuza 0

The Yakuza Origin Story

The Yakuza series may have been an underrated gem on the PS2, but the fact that later games in the series weren’t localized meant that the audience of the series was slowly deteriorating. The franchise was on its last legs when Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio took the bold initiative of developing a prequel that would see a worldwide release. The result was Yakuza 0, a game that was a smash hit and single-handedly saved the Yakuza series.

The story of Kiryu and Majima as they transformed from inexperienced yakuza lackeys into underworld legends is a treat to witness in every way. Both Kamurocho and Sotenbori may be small areas, but they are jam-packed with everything from riveting substories to unique interactions.

5 Sand Land

Akira Toriyama’s Desert Open-World Adventure

Based on one of the comics of Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, Sand Land features the iconic art style of one of the most beloved mangakas in the industry and manages to stick the landing, at least when it comes to art style. Sand Land is an open-world action RPG that plays out just like an anime. The story follows Beelzebub, the Prince of the Underworld and the son of Lucifer, who resides in Sand Land, a barren wasteland of sand and heat where water is the most precious resource. He, along with Sheriff Rao and Thief, aims to destroy the King’s dam, where the greedy ruler has stored all of the available water in the region to maintain a monopoly and enrich himself. The game’s story follows the plot up to the manga’s end and builds on top of that afterward.

Combat comes in two flavors: third-person button-mashing action as Beelzebub and vehicle combat, where players use mounted guns on their tanks, cars, and robots to mow down enemies. Vehicles are at the core of this game, crucial for both action and traversal. There are 13 of them in total to unlock, upgrade, and customize, with enough depth in the systems and the different cars to spend hours just at the mechanic.

4 Final Fantasy 15

Explore Eos

Final Fantasy 15 is a game that faced a troubled development cycle, with the game switching directors multiple times before Hajime Tabata finally got their hands on this mess and tried his best to form a coherent experience with a great story. While the game is certainly quite fun to play in its own right, there’s no denying that the game has its fair share of problems that make it feel downright unfinished at times.

The release of the Royal Edition did a lot to salvage the reputation of this title, but there’s no denying that Final Fantasy 15‘s problems still show even in the completed experience. That being said, the open-world game is still a blast for fans of the series, and witnessing this evolution of the series from its humble turn-based roots is quite impressive.

3 Dragon Quest 11

Classic JRPG Magic

Many people who felt that the JRPG genre was slowly dying out were more than pleased to see modern takes on the genre do a great job of justifying why turn-based battles and larger-than-life stories could still be incredible to behold as long as they were executed properly. There’s no better example of this than Dragon Quest 11.

This incredible game features a huge world for players to explore, even if it may be segmented into certain parts. The combat is fast and satisfying, but what really sells Dragon Quest 11 in the eyes of many is a glorious cast of characters who never fail to be entertaining when the situation calls for it.

2 Nier Automata

Sci-Fi World Of War And Wonder

After releasing many games that were either criticized for their gameplay or performance issues, Nier Automata finally served as the game that brought a ton of attention to the twisted mind of Yoko Taro. PlatinumGames did a great job of finally pairing this unique director’s storytelling chops with gameplay that did justice to his impressive vision.

The idea of playing the game numerous times to unlock more endings and uncover the full depth of the story was an ingenious concept that enamored many fans. The characters and story of Nier Automata are truly in a class of their own, and long-time fans of Nier and Drakengard love that Yoko Taro can finally enjoy the respect he deserves in the industry with the success of this title.

1 Xenoblade Chronicles 3

A Vast Sci-Fi Fantasy

The Xenoblade Chronicles series has become one of the most popular Nintendo JRPG franchises around, allowing players to explore vast and imaginative open worlds that are full to the brim with fantasy and sci-fi elements. This unique setting, coupled with the game’s tactical combat, makes it an absolute blast to play through in every way.

The third game in the series was a massive step in the right direction after many fans felt that its predecessor had some major flaws that detracted from the overall experience. The exploration of war and its themes is riveting, with the excellent combat and well-written characters helping the game stand out as one of the best JRPGs anyone can experience on the Nintendo Switch.