Koei Tecmo’s Attack on Titan game is a good and bad idea

I’m a sort-of fan of Attack on Titan. I think Attack on Titan: Junior High is genius and appreciate the lore and idea of the original series. It deserves the hype, is what I’m saying. Which is why it should also have a great video game to go with it. The 3DS game, Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains, has its moments, but isn’t the best interactive representation of the series’ climactic battles.

Enter Koei Tecmo with a newly announced game from Omega Force. It’s only known as Attack on Titan at the moment and appears as though it could be a standard Musou game. That is, players control a character and run around maps, completing objectives while facing overwhelming odds. Of course, there’s no way to be sure, since the initial trailer looks like this.

It seems safe to assume that this Attack on Titan will be similar to games like Hyrule Warriors and One Piece: Pirate Warriors. Eren and the Survey Corps crew head out beyond the walls, facing any Titans they come across as they do.

Which is great, because an Attack on Titan Musou game would feel true to the series. Though the Survey Corps isn’t huge, the 21 people from the 104th Trainees Squad joined and we know of almost 50 members. Omega Force games rely on huge casts of characters, tapping into people’s love of specific ones. This game would let every one, no matter how small their role in the story, make an appearance.

The gameplay would make it feel similar as well. Attack on Titan is tense and frantic. People are desperately attacking in the hopes of taking these stronger foes down and hitting the weak point at the back of the neck. Characters are speedy and agile as they fly through the air with Three Dimensional Manuever Gear. We’ve seen with One Piece: Pirate Warriors that Omega Force can handle minor platforming segments when Luffy is stretching and propelling from one place to another. If it worked there, it can work here.

Which leaves only one concern. While the Survey Corps does deal with waves of Titans in Attack on Titan, the fights where its a group of members facing one overwhelming opponent tend to be the most notable. Especially since Titans are massive figures. I worry that the atmosphere won’t be the same with Omega Force and Koei Tecmo’s interpretation.

Especially since Eren is capable of turning into one of these hulks. His Titan form wouldn’t be too difficult to incorporate as a gameplay element, but would it be too different from the usual, frantic pace? Would the balancing be right?

Attack on Titan could be a wait-and-see project. There are ways in which it could really capture the spirit of the original series. At the same time, it’s difficult to tell if the Omega Force formula is most suitable for a game where small, fragile humans attack as a unit against behemoths. It’s getting a worldwide release, so I suppose we’ll know next year.