Sand Land | Hype Check
With Bandai Namco’s Sand Land now only a few dayss away, we wanted to touch base with some of our team to see how they’re feeling about the game. We’ve seen a range of media up to this point, from gameplay showcases and trailers, we’ve seen the press releases, and heard the talk, but how are we feeling? That’s where we’re bringing Hype Check into the mix; to get a gauge on what the prospective players are thinking. So here’s how we’re feeling about Sand Land.
Tim Henderson
Sand Land has found itself with a lot of responsibility on its shoulders. Every developer wants their game to be great, sure, but this one was leveraging Akira Toriyama’s art in a huge way and his sudden passing at the beginning of March likely adds an extra desire to respect the man’s legacy.
I’ve had my eye on this one since it was first announced and have always thought that it looked pretty neat. As awkward as it feels to admit at the moment, I’ve generally not been huge on Toriyama’s art style, but it seems to be really sticking the landing in all of the trailers here and I’m genuinely keen to give exploring these sandy landscapes a red hot go.
Nick Getley
With all respect for the late, great Akira Toriyama, I haven’t been able to get into many games that feature his artwork. I have tried with the Dragon Quest series, Tobal series, Blue Dragon, and Chrono Trigger. The concept of Sand Land certainly sounds interesting, but with all the other games releasing at the moment this is going to be a wait-and-see game for me. I will say if you’re a die-hard fan of Toriyama and JRPGs this looks like a must-play.
Renee O’flynn
Sand land keeps being advertised to me on Twitter and I still know nothing about it. A quick look and I’m not sure if this is for me. I really enjoyed the Dragon Quest builder games but I’m not sure about the tank mechanic. I’m vaguely interested but not overly.
Paul James
I’m really happy with all that I’m seeing from this one. I’ve never been much of an anime guy, but the stylings of the late Akira Toriyama have always been appealing to me, from Chrono Trigger, to Dragon Ball, Dragon Quest and more. Sand Land looks great, and I enjoyed the recently launched demo, so pair that, with an extremely positive hands-on preview from Jess, where she checked out way more than what the public demo presented, and I’m pretty pumped for this one.
Jason Hawkins
I don’t much like the anime or manga with which Toriyama-san is renowned, but I adore the games. Blue Dragon and Chrono Trigger are such wonders that Sand Land was on my radar. With the passing of Toriyama-san, this feels like the buildup of such a legacy. Years of a person’s work culminating in their final piece. There’s a lot of weight on this game. I truly hope it’s great but it’s sure as hell not one I’m signing up to review. It does look bizarre and wacky in that very Toriyama-san style. I’ll play this one down the line later, to get the ‘true experience’ once it’s fully patched.
Stephen del Prado
For the sake of the artist, I really hope Sand Land sees him go out with a bang rather than a whimper. Beloved for his work across both manga, anime and video games including the legendary Dragon Quest series, the art style of Toriyama holds a special place for many, and thus far no game sporting his distinctive visuals has let me down. I’ll remain optimistically cautious however as part of me worries that much of the hype is now being generated due to Toriyama’s passing and perhaps not because the game is shaping up to be a fitting end to a legendary career.
Jess Zammit
I wasn’t all that into Sand Land beyond thinking the art style was kinda cool – that is, of course, until I played about three hours of it in a hands-on preview session, and now I’m kinda hooked. I haven’t been into anime in quite a long time, but it feels like this property brings together all the things that make anime aimed at a slightly younger audience great – there are wacky characters, cool powers, and a world with some interesting lore behind it. I’m keen.
Ken Lee
Looks like there are mechs in this game, so naturally that has caught my eye. Also Akira Toriyama, though I am far more familiar with his Dragonball works rather than Sand Land. But I still have not played the demo, despite downloading it weeks ago. So that speaks to my general level of apathy towards this game. I also wonder whether the in-game environments will have much diversity, or whether we will just be looking at various sands of desert browns.
How are you feeling about the rapidly impending launch of Sand Land!? Let us know on our various social channels!
