E3 06: Namco Bandai details E3 anime lineup

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted May 2, 2006 12:00 am PT

[UPDATE]: Publisher confirms gaming debut of IGPX will appear at show, along with five more anime-inspired titles.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Bandai has merged operations with Namco to become Namco Bandai Games, but the company known for its Gundam series is bringing anime-based games over to the US by the boatload. The company has a quartet of current-gen anime games to show off at next week's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, all of them new installments in ongoing series.

The pirates of One Piece are back in One Piece Grand Adventure for the PlayStation 2 and the GameCube. As the name suggests, an adventure mode has been added to the fighting action, along with new minigames, characters, stages, and the ability to create a unique pirate crew from among the show's cast of characters. Much of that cast has been replicated in the game, as Grand Adventure includes 24 playable main characters and 50 support characters. One Piece Grand Adventure is slated for a fall release.

Zatch Bell! gets a follow up to Mamodo Battles with Zatch Bell! Mamodo Fury for the PS2 and GameCube. Namco Bandai is promising that, this time around, one to four players can choose from new teams and new gameplay modes in the battle to become the mamodo king. The game will also feature voice work from the US TV show cast and a number of unlockable features. Zatch Bell! Mamodo Fury is set for a summer release.

The US PS2 is set to get its first dose of a popular anime series with the forthcoming release of Naruto Ultimate Ninja. The game features a dozen characters from the show and a dozen stages to host their brawls, as well as various familiar fighting game features, like special moves, support characters to aid in a fight, scenario and mission modes, and unlockable characters. Naruto Ultimate Ninja is expected to release in June.

Finally, the .hack role-playing game series returns in September with .hack//G.U. for the PS2. Picking up years after the previous 4-part .hack series left off, G.U. casts players as a newbie to the .hack gameworld who has dedicated his time in the game to tracking down and disposing of players who kill other players. The game is set for a September release.

[UPDATE]: Namco Bandai added a couple more anime-based games to its E3 lineup this morning, and both of them represent the first games based on their respective shows to land on US shelves. IGPX (short for Immortal Grand Prix) is based on the Cartoon Network series of the same name and combines giant robot battles with futuristic racing at high speeds. The game will require players to make strategic use of both their teammates and formations to take home the league championship when it releases for the PS2 this fall.

Another Cartoon Network series (this one from its Adult Swim lineup) will be making its game debut in Eureka Seven Vol. 1: The New Wave. Eureka Seven puts gamers in control of both trainee pilot Sumner Sturgeon and an array of customizable, transformable fighting robots called Light Finding Operations (LFOs). With the help of LFOs, Sturgeon will fly (or sky surf) the unfriendly skies, engaging other mechs in battle. The game was developed in conjunction with the anime series and an accompanying manga in Shonen Ace.

28 Comments

  • Fiku42

    Posted Jun 19, 2006 5:53 pm PT

    Cant wait for the new .hack game it definitly looks promising

  • pyth0n13

    Posted May 12, 2006 10:22 pm PT

    i wonder if that naruto game is gonna be any good

  • Kirbysuperstar

    Posted May 10, 2006 10:33 pm PT

    @MadonnaProject: Card based? What the hell game are you playing?

  • Ederreu

    Posted May 8, 2006 8:51 pm PT

    This New .Hack saga looks way better, the CG's look way better, the plot seems to be darker and better too, and finally, the gameplay looks richer, and polished... Can't Wait !!!!!!

    did i metioned that just one game will be longer than the 4 previous combined ???

  • Huged

    Posted May 5, 2006 3:00 pm PT

    Man looking forward to .hack , heard there we´re only gonna be 3 games in this series though, the series is great

  • QuantumFireball

    Posted May 3, 2006 1:40 pm PT

    DOT HACK!!! SWEETNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • thesand212

    Posted May 2, 2006 8:06 pm PT

    These games are the good ones but i hope they relaese the Bleach games this year

  • chibi-acer

    Posted May 2, 2006 3:37 pm PT

    .hack//G.U. might be good, but isn't a newbie who hunts player killers kind of an oxymoron? ^_^

    Also excited about IGPX. I love the series, though I wonder how well it will translate to a video game.

  • linkdarkside

    Posted May 2, 2006 3:03 pm PT

    .Hack//G.U will onws

    well the new Zach Bell look cool

  • Mit_Man

    Posted May 2, 2006 2:02 pm PT

    Man, all three of those anime fighting games play so similar. They probably all run off of the same engine too, graphics and gameplay-wise, just different characters and attack moves. Except maybe Naruto, since those games are actually older and just making it over here.

    Cool to see .hack coming back though, not cool to see that the game looks like it's going to be generic and boring again, not taking advantage of the many unique things you can do with the series.

  • Game-o_O

    Posted May 2, 2006 1:46 pm PT

    All of them sound like great games, but.. I have to wait a month for Naruto ;(. I know a friend that collects all the .Hack games. I don't need to buy them, when he always forces me to play it for him ;/. lol

  • neoand12

    Posted May 2, 2006 12:17 pm PT

    Naruto on PS2 yay!

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted May 2, 2006 12:14 pm PT

    .hack//G.U. is the only game that interests me out of this batch.

  • mickel_darmawan

    Posted May 2, 2006 8:44 am PT

    YAP!!

  • Kwiksilva

    Posted May 2, 2006 8:38 am PT

    sounds good to me

  • ufopuller

    Posted May 2, 2006 7:06 am PT

    Pass

  • TheGlull

    Posted May 2, 2006 5:58 am PT

    hope Naruto is good, really.......... I do.

  • gb052000

    Posted May 2, 2006 5:47 am PT

    .Hack and NaRUTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! can't wait!!

  • galerian86

    Posted May 2, 2006 5:06 am PT

    well, the last one piece game i played was ok

  • Guis_Wa

    Posted May 2, 2006 4:58 am PT

    I wouldn't mind a good One Piece game.

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