We’re only one night’s sleep away from the release of Bandai Namco’s new RPG based on the late Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama’s underappreciated wasteland series, Sand Land. To celebrate the occasion, the game’s developers have shared a message written by the renowned manga creator before his passing in March.
In his message, written in January this year, Toriyama admitted to not having had ample time to review all of Sand Land’s gameplay. He continued to praise the game for expanding on his 2000s wasteland manga, saying it is a high-quality standalone game as well as a “highly satisfying action-RPG game.”
“First of all, the graphics have an excellent balance of the atmosphere of the manga and its drawn style. The representation looks great,” Toriyama said. “The game will surely provide you an exciting experience with a genuine sense of design and attention to detail, from the many new vehicle designs, various customizations, as well as the background design.”
“I myself can only play casual games, but I do check out the trending games my family plays, and I think I know a little something about them even for an old man,” Toriyama concluded before giving Sand Land a huge recommendation to his fans.
Sand Land launches soon!
The mysterious desert world where demons and humans live together from Akira Toriyama.
Take off in the Battle Tank and various vehicles to explore the vast regions as Fiend Prince Beelzebub!
https://t.co/a5ClSM7TQA
#SANDLAND #AkiraToriyama pic.twitter.com/rQPBainhvi— SAND LAND (@sandlandgame) April 24, 2024
Toriyama’s final message also clarifies a fan theory fans concocted from the tail-end of Sand Land’s Darude Sandstorm trailer. In the trailer, Beelzebub falls through an underwater current and appears in a wasteland similar to Dragon Ball Z’s iconic local. This led fans to believe the Sand Land would have a cheeky connection to Toriyama’s magnum opus. Turns out, the mysterious forested area is a brand-new location made especially for the game.
“In the game, there is not only the world of Sand Land, but also a new world called Forest Land with new characters, which were not in the manga,” Toriyama wrote. “You can enjoy a more substantial story, and a vast map to adventure while playing as the Fiend Prince.”
In our review, we wrote “Sand Land’s vehicular focus shows potential, but devolves into a by-the-numbers open world action game with storytelling that only occasionally manages to live up to the joys of the original work.”
Sand Land releases tomorrow on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
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