AKira Toriyama, Japanese artist loved by the entire planet, left this earthly plane on March 1st at the age of 68. We are still hurt by the early departure of the man who gave the world an important franchise like Dragon Ball and designs for games like Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger y Blue Dragon. In addition to the multiple adaptations of Dragon Ballhis first popular ‘manga’ —Dr. Slump— also received video games. The same had not happened until now with one of his least known works from the year 2000: Sand Land.
Before the announcement of his movie and ‘anime’, not all of Toriyama’s followers knew of the ‘manga’ of Sand Land. This multimedia opportunity was supervised by Toriyama himself and is accompanied by a game developed by ILCA, of the one who gave his opinions. Both the ‘anime’ and the game share an expanded story in the title distributed by Bandai Namco. New characters like Ann and Muniel are introduced and help to complement the ‘manga’ story or fill in some gaps..
Knowing Sand Land
In case you don’t know the ‘manga’ and enter to enjoy the story of Sand Land, it is important to choose between the game and the ‘anime’, because both “spoil” each other. Another option is to play it and watch only the episodes of the series as advanced. Of course, both the game and the ‘anime’ change the way the story is told to better fit their respective medium. Of course, in the game we also have secondary missions and a certain freedom when exploring the desert of Sand Land and the green lands of Forest Land.
We take control of Prince Beelzebub, son of the king of demons who has the same appearance as Dabura from DBZ. Despite their enormous similarity, everything seems to indicate that they are different characters and not from the same universe of Dragon Ball. However, like Toriyama’s good work, there are many nods to the most popular and successful work of the late author. Unlike the games where Toriyama only contributed his impeccable illustrations and characters, the Sand Land He feels like the one who inherits the baton of Goku and company.
The following is not canonical, but we easily see how the story of Sand Land could be located hundreds of years after Dragon Ball and thus reuse their technology. Because the latter is the most important component of Sand Land and one of Toriyama’s greatest passions: vehicles and machines. In the post-apocalyptic and dystopian future of Sand Land, humans and their wars were the cause of the near extinction of civilization. The wastelands of this world live among relentless heat and water shortages, controlled only by the tyrant king and the evil General Zeu. Our goal is to find the largest source of water.
Exploring Sand Land
The demon race is well known and feared by humans. Now, Beelzebub’s behavior is far from pure evil. The prince is a very strong creature, rather with the rebellion of a typical teenager and an atypical good heart, although the opposite appears to be the case. The entire time we control Beelzebub and are accompanied by Sheriff Rao and the demon assistant Thief, both old guys. We can improve the prince’s combat skills and those of Rao / Thief as assistants in his own tree. At any time it is possible to leave the vehicles and explore on foot, fight monsters and collect resources.
Sooner or later we get a taste for vehicles and getting off is what we avoid, but we still have to do it to obtain new missions with the NPCs distributed on the map. We start with a stolen tank that gives rise to the rest of the plot, its spherical shape allows for greater control and we quickly learn to move and shoot fluidly. We can equip it with a heavy primary weapon (projectiles) and a light secondary weapon (machine gun). Along the way we collect parts to improve it or help build new weapons and defenses. The more we explore the map, which is not completely open due to certain invisible barriers, we require vehicles with other abilities.
In this way we need to obtain the construction plans of a jumping robot, to access mountainous terrain and hills. Later we must cross quicksand at full speed, so neither the tank nor the jump boat helps us, but rather a motorcycle identical to Bulma and the Capsule Corporation’s. In another direct nod to Dragon Ball, the prince stores the vehicles in capsules that molecularly shrink them. An old technology in the case of Sand Land. This way you can load and exchange tanks, cars, motorcycles and pilotable robots, among others.
Customizing Sand Land
Contrary to open worlds where we can take any vehicle and simply use it, in Sand Land this is not possible. Enemy tanks and robots are only there to destroy and if we want the same one or duplicate what we have, we must obtain or build its parts to assemble it. This process also spends zenis (same currency of Dragon Ball), so at first we will not be able to build many but those that history delegates to us. In Ann’s workshop it is possible to improve each vehicle, its level, statistics and cosmetic fixes.
Creating new parts takes advantage of the old resource gathering mechanics. All over the map Sand Land We open chests, collect scrap, minerals, vegetables and whatever drops all the prehistoric fauna that we extinguish in our path. Like the radio towers that make the map visible, this type of cycle to keep the player going for hours is common. But we can choose to only point to the materials of the part we need. Although in the end we collect everything around us out of mere inertia. Some Thief abilities facilitate the harvest and amount of zenis obtained.
An alternate mission to the main one requires rebuilding and repopulating the abandoned town of Spino. When we arrive there, its inhabitants are few and its condition is deplorable. With our help, we will be able to bring it to life while recruiting people looking for a place to live and leading to the creation of new stores for our benefit. This is the only way to access vehicle decoration options. In the same way, we can get up to a room and decorate it with multiple styles of furniture. Life in Sand Land changes significantly for Beelzebub, Rao and Thief once the town of Spino resurfaces.
enjoying Sand Land
Vehicle portability is one of the best features of Sand Land as a video game. Instead of warriors or collectible monsters, vehicles are our combat pieces and being able to use them anywhere is their greatest advantage. If we reach the top of a mountain, clearly we cannot attack a guard post with a sniper rifle – because there is none. What we can do is take out our tank and aim with the main cannon that has a scope and a greater range, in addition to the explosion range.
Although the map of Sand Land limits the freedom with which we can travel around it in favor of the construction of specialized vehicles, it is highly rewarding to be able to control them. The way each differentiates itself and breaks new ground is what you expect from a game focused on exploration and vehicular combat. As envisioned by Akira Toriyama, Sand Land He praises his beloved machines and we can only sympathize with them. From the tank that becomes the most competent weapon, to the battle armor and floating vehicles, everything is impregnated with Toriyama and it is a respite to enjoy it in a world foreign to Dragon Ballbut under the same inheritance.
It’s a shame Toriyama didn’t live to celebrate the release of the anime and the game. We know that he rested satisfied for giving a second and well-deserved life to Sand Land.
In addition to the film and ‘anime’ series, the game Sand Land It helps to better introduce us to this striking world created by Akira Toriyama. Not only does it tell the dystopian main story, it also offers an alternate view of Sand Land and Forest Land amidst vehicular combat, side missions, and rebuilding a town until it prospers. It is a positive glimpse of revolution, struggle and resistance against tyranny, in a land where water is the most precious commodity. Vehicle assembly and handling are at the heart of Sand Land, which drives us to explore its deserts and forests. Although I don’t invent the wheel in action/RPG, Sand Land It is above all fun and its imbued spirit of Dragon Ball It manifests itself in every corner of the map.
Review made with a digital copy of Sand Land for PlayStation 4 provided by Bandai Namco Latin America. The game is also available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Table of Contents
