Koei Tecmo is known for dabbling in anime games pretty often. They developed an incredible, story-driven Warriors-style hack-and-slash adaptation of Berserk titled Berserk and the Band of the Hawk back in 2016. They’ve also been making incredibly addictive and tightly-designed action games based on the hit Attack on Titan series. Now, they’re tackling an adaptation of the hit fantasy shonen series Fairy Tail in 2020, and for the first time ever, they’re having Atelier RPG developers Gust Studios handle the development.
Very aptly titled Fairy Tail, this upcoming JRPG is a brand new full-length title developed by Gust Studios, who is perhaps best well known for their incredibly long-running JRPG series Atelier. They were also the team behind the action game series Nights of Azure, as well as the slice of life JRPG Blue Reflection. This is their first time doing a licensed video game adaptation of an existing franchise. Thankfully, though, Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima is on board as a supervisor for the game.
The reveal trailer for the game doesn’t show us much, running at a brisk 43 seconds. Still, we get to see some in-game shots of our plucky crew of adventurers in action, showing off some crisp looking attack animations. Their 3D models look absolutely gorgeous, perfectly nailing the style and proportions of the original art by Hiro Mashima. We also get a confirmation at the end of the trailer that the game will be arriving in 2020 for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
Here’s an official description of the game, provided by Koei Tecmo:
“A brand-new magical JRPG in development by GUST Studios, based on Hiro Mashima’s best-selling Japanese manga of the same name. This enchanting new title marks the first ‘FAIRY TAIL’ game to launch on home console in the West, allowing series fans and newcomers alike to join in and experience the beloved narrative that has captivated people from around the globe for over a decade.
Demons, dark wizards, dragons, and cats. You’ll find it all as you start your journey in the land of Fiore and play through the adventures of Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia as well as other eccentric members of the FAIRY TAIL mage guild on a fun-filled and thrilling quest. GUST Studios is creating the game under the supervision of author Hiro Mashima, promising a faithful recreation for the FAIRY TAIL world and its unusual inhabitants, including everything from magic to its iconic characters.”
We don’t know much else about the game yet, but that won’t be for long. Koei Tecmo has promised that we’ll see more information about Fairy Tail at Tokyo Game Show, 2019. They’re a big company with lots of other games in the works, so we’ll likely see information about other upcoming releases like Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate as well.
Fairy Tail started out way back in 2006 as a humble Weekly Shonen Magazine manga by Hiro Mashima, who previously wrote Rave Master. The manga began publication on August 2nd, 2006, and ended on July 26th, 2017. There are a whopping 63 compilation tankobon volumes of the manga chapters, so you’ll need to make some space on your bookshelf if you wanna start following the franchise.
Alternatively, you could get into the anime series instead. Back on October 12th, 2009, A-1 Pictures premiered the first season of their Fairy Tail anime adaptation. The first season ended on March 30th, 2013, but a followup season premiered on April 5th, 2014. That one wrapped up on March 26th, 2016, and the series stayed dormant for a couple of years. Then, on October 7th, 2018, a third and final season of the anime began airing. It’s slated to have 51 episodes and is currently still airing.
