Though there have not been many major arcade releases out West to speak of this Summer (albeit due to most being delayed into the coming weeks), other parts of the world have already seen a few new games launch, with Asia receiving several. One place in which that has been happening is of course Japan, who recently received two very different titles based on their anime and manga juggernauts. So whilst we still await full confirmation on new releases for us, let’s take a quick look at One Piece Dawn Strike and Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba: Battle Slash.
One Piece Dawn Strike
The game we have already covered the most of the two is One Piece Dawn Strike, which Bandai Namco prominently announced last August on a livestream for the highly successful swashbuckling franchise. For those who may be unfamiliar with it, this effectively takes Taito’s old Sonic Blast Man and Real Puncher punching bag game formula and spruces it up for today (indeed, the cabinet is mostly identical to the 2011 sequel Sonic Blast Heroes) – using a vertical screen and 3D visuals based on the greatest One Piece villains, who you inevitably duke it out with as Luffy.
You can find some gameplay footage below, which lays out how it all works through all three game rounds, and additionally has some attract mode clips (as well as a cabinet overview):
One Piece Dawn Strike started impacting locations in Japan sequentially this month, and Bandai Namco have also just launched a special area on its official site dedicated to national rankings, which is a neat touch. When we last spoke to them some time ago about the possibility of it releasing elsewhere, the mood music wasn’t great (in spite of One Piece’s huge popularity over here, especially with the live action Netflix version and certain Round1USA locations seeing an influx of visitors thanks to a card game promotion they did), but never say never…
Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba: Nichirin Battle Slash
Our second title today comes to us from Konami, who it seems are currently trying to make a comeback in kids card games between a new rhythm game-like one featuring Saniro characters (e.g. Hello Kitty) that went on test lately, and this anime-based battler that they have just launched in Japan. We first heard about Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba: Nichirin Battle Slash last November when it appeared on Konami’s booth at Japan’s Amusement Expo; it grabbed a lot of attention there, and like One Piece it has been periodically tested since.
In terms of the gameplay, this one couldn’t be any more different than Bandai Namco’s interpretation of One Piece, being a much less physically involved card battler centered on those card gacha rolls. Having said that, the specially-designed sword controller for quick time events is a cool bit of engineering that only arcades can bring out. This quick official trailer tries to put that over excitingly; the unfiltered gameplay can be seen here.
This has been out since the 9th in Japan, but there has already been one or two suggestions out there online that it isn’t doing too well, especially given some Round1 locations over there have huge banks of cabinets seemingly going unplayed. Perhaps if it isn’t pulling its weight, Konami will eventually give it a try over here too, though they do have their hands full with bringing numerous other games to the USA. Demon Slayer has certainly benefited from the increased Western interest in anime, with the movie releasing in some cinemas here. We’ll see…
That wraps up this brief recap of these two anime-based arcade games out in Japan; which of the two out of One Piece and Demon Slayer interests you most? And do you think they could work out West too?
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