Next Attack On Titan Game Sounds Pretty Faithful 

Making adaptations is tricky! Fans get upset if things are different. Koei Tecmo has a workaround: Don’t change stuff! At least, in the first game.

The upcoming Attack on Titan game comes as the Japanese film industry’s take on the popular manga has been poorly received among audiences. The live-action TV show wasn’t much better. However, this weekend, the movie’s sequel (well, volume two) hits theatres and could right all the wrongs of the first film. The initial buzz, though, is not good.

Koei Tecmo’s game appears to be the polar opposite. The footage we’ve seen so far looks extremely promising. “It must be easier to adapt Attack on Titan into a game than into a movie,” I said to Koei Tecmo games president Hisashi Koinuma yesterday at the Tokyo Game Show.

“Actually, it’s very difficult.”

“What has been so hard?” I asked.

“Showing the scale between the Titans and the humans has been tricky,” he replied. “Also, it’s been tricky to show how the characters move around through the air with the Three Dimensional Manoeuvre Gear.”

So far, the result looks pretty good! But it’s hard to say for sure without playing the game. (Koei Tecmo is only showing gameplay at TGS, and there are no demos on the showfloor.)

I asked Koinuma if there was pressure in turning such a popular manga into a video game. He quickly pointed to One Piece: Pirate Warriors, which was developed by Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force studio. Koinuma explained that the first One Piece: Pirate Warriors game stayed close to the source material, but the sequels added more and more original elements.

“The first game needs to follow the source material,” Koinuma said, “but the later sequels can incorporate more and more original elements. That way the fans will come along as the game version progresses.”

It also seems to be a good way to ease fans into changes that the game versions make.

So, without officially confirming future Attack on Titan games, Koinuma said Koei Tecmo’s version will closely follow the manga. “So, the game will have Levi?” I asked. “Of course.” he replied. Oh good.