Sand Land review: faithful manga adaptation runs out of gas

24.04.2024 - 15:55 / digitaltrends.com / Tomas Franzese

Sand Land MSRP $60.00 Score Details Pros

• A faithful adaptation
• Enjoyable vehicle combat
• Rewarding sidequests
• Beautiful art

• Second half's story is weak
• Unpolished melee combat
• Generic open-world activities

The fun of adaptations comes from seeing moments in one medium reimagined for another. We often see that when books become films, but video games provide a unique opportunity to tease more depth out of static source material through play. Take Sand Land, a manga I recently read and enjoyed following the death of creator Akira Toriyama, that has just been turned into an open-world action game by Bandai Namco Entertainment. I was delighted to play familiar moments straight from the page, its characters driving away from a sandworm-like Geji Dragon or fiend prince Beelzebub facing off against Insect Men.

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Those moments brought me back to the licensed games I grew up on, the kind that has fallen by the wayside as games get more expensive and game development timelines increase. Games like The Incredibles or SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom felt like the most faithful video game adaptations we could get, even if they weren’t the most polished or innovative titles out there. Sand Land, which is releasing alongside a new anime that retells the manga’s story and continues the tale, feels very much of that ilk.

Although I do think that this is the definitive game adaptation that Sand Land could have gotten, it struggles to punch above its weight class. It unequivocally gives the franchise a thorough video game adaption, so Toriyama fans can rest easy. Just don’t go in expecting it to be anything more than that.

Adapting and expanding

Sand Land’s adventure begins with Beelzebub, the prince of demons, teaming up with a human named Rao in order to find a legendary spring in the middle of a desolate desert. The manga is one of the most underrated works of Dragon Ball creator Toriyama. Its story feels more relevant than ever with the climate crisis we face, especially as it shines a spotlight on how self-serving rulers will hamper progress if it gives them a modicum of money or power.

When Sand Land adapts the manga for the first half of its adventure, it’s an engaging adventure filled with well-handled recreations of classic moments. That’s exactly what I want out of a licensed game adaptation. Unfortunately, the Sand Land game doesn’t end where the manga does.

When Beelzebub eventually destroys a dam blocking water from entering Sand Land, that opens up a whole new conflict that dominates the back half of the adventure. Apparently, Sand Land isn’t the only kingdom in this world, and it ends up going to war with the