Created in the mid-2000s, the manga Sand Land is one of the last works that has the participation of Akira Toriyama, and tells the story of the demon prince Beelzebub, Sheriff Rao, the mysterious Ann, and the charismatic Thief, as they embark on a journey through the sandy desert to locate a Legendary Source, fight dangerous and gigantic monsters, as well as deal with an army and end the tyranny of an evil king. With a straightforward story, Sand Land already shows its full potential to be a farewell worthy of the eternal writer of Dragon Ball.

Anime's Mad Max

The beginning of the journey closely follows the manga's story, in which the scarcity of water throughout the desert is the main cause of many deaths and poverty throughout the area, and the culprit for this greed is the evil General Zeu, who leads an army of many men capable of causing all the cruelty to those who try to steal his precious liquid to survive.

Seeking to put an end to this cruelty, the demon Beelzebub and his faithful companion and master of disguises, Thief, decide to help Sheriff Rao put an end to this story, facing all dangers to reach the Legendary Lake, so that all creatures of the desert can enjoy water and survive the scorching sandy climate and heat in which humans and demons share their existence peacefully.
 

Despite the mission seeming quite simple, dangers arise in various forms, such as gigantic creatures of the desert, as well as soldiers of General Zeu scattered on all sides and ready to thwart the friends' plan. With that, the trio meets a mysterious mechanic, Ann, who besides being the leader of a rebel force, is unprecedented for the manga arc and slightly modifies the events when compared to what was originally planned. And I say this in a very positive way, as the character manages to create more dynamics and deviate from the clichés already known by all fans of Japanese culture, like fights and more battles until they find what they are looking for.

Unprecedented Part 2

Without giving away too many spoilers about the game's events, as the story progresses, the trio discovers that Ann is not just a mechanic, but someone very important in the abundant kingdom of Forest Land, unprecedented in the manga's history and possessing abundant water, but which is being controlled by a usurper king named Muniel, who has evil intentions of global dominance, even if he has to end all forms of life on the planet.

Once again, the title demonstrates how greed is one of humanity's great evils and generator of many wars. Not only that, but as the adventure unfolds, it is also noticeable how humans antagonize the heroic demons, despising them only for their different appearances, despite both possessing a huge heart.

The story of Sand Land only reinforces how the writer always sought to address social problems that society tries to disguise, allowing his readers to open their minds and carry his teachings throughout life, creating a fairer society with more love for others. Toriyama has always been one step ahead, hasn't he?

Far beyond the standard

I confess that when I heard about the release of Sand Land, I didn't expect much in terms of gameplay, as the standard of the vast majority of games is to solve any and all problems faced in fights in closed arenas, where pressing just one button and walking forward is enough. Fortunately, I was surprised.

The studio Ilca did their homework very well and knows that Sand Land is much more than fights and action, but it addresses refined characters, with excellent humor, charisma, and that can offer much more to the player. And this becomes clear from the beginning of the game, offering a range of opportunities for the demon prince to explore with his friends, but of course, without forgetting the dynamic combat and frenzied action.

One factor that caught my attention is about invading enemy bases, which work in stealth mode, in which if you are seen, it's game over, reminiscent of games like Metal Gear where you have to hide behind boxes and kill enemies without being noticed.

Featuring an abundant area full of interesting activities, such as side missions and revelations about the secrets that can be found in the arid desert, Sand Land understands that having Beelzebub running around would not be the smartest way to get to know its map, so it provides a variety of vehicles to cover the distances of objectives more quickly, as well as the possibility to avoid unnecessary fights, if you judge that the fight may be unfavorable at that moment.

Both sides of the coin

Pleasantly surprised by the opportunity to use vehicles in Sand Land to traverse the game map, it also offers the possibility to escape threats, but of course, they function as a true weapon, especially at the beginning of the game when we control a tank stolen from General Zeu's forces.

This possibility of resolving conflicts against monsters and gigantic creatures found in the desert with vehicles is a huge advantage, making the battles not repetitive and monotonous as is the case with most games in this style. Without a doubt, this option made the game much more inviting and surprising.

But as not everything is perfect, I confess that initially, driving the vehicles is somewhat complicated, as acceleration is done by the cursor which is greatly hindered by the camera that cannot always obey the side that needs to be reached to make the view more satisfactory. You end up getting the hang of it, but you go through moments of anger when hit by a blow caused by the camera delay.

That said, the vehicles have a wide range of modifications through parts, manuals, and other weapon blueprints that can be found on the map. Overall, the vehicles have two weapons: a main one and a secondary one, which undoubtedly are able to save the characters' skin in various moments of greater danger.

The weapons of the demon prince

As you may have noticed, I praised the qualities of Sand Land a lot in providing a vehicle as an alternative form of combat, but that doesn't mean that the game's characters are weak or unable to face opponents hand-to-hand. Quite the opposite.

Beelzebub has weak and strong attacks, as well as the possibility of using a more powerful attack when the enemy is seeing stars, causing fatal damage. Not only that, but the hero also has special abilities that can be unlocked in his skill tree.

Of course, Rao, Thief, and Ann cannot be left out and also assist Beelzebub in the toughest battles, with the help of the L1 command. This doesn't mean that the characters will steal the show, but it's still fun to watch their combos during the confrontation.

Here, it is worth noting that the battles are always very fun and with iconic scenes, giving the feeling of accomplishment when you manage to win an epic and nuanced combat full of variety due to the possibility of using war vehicles and other combat tricks.

A desert as you imagine

I have never had the opportunity to go to a desert, but I've always imagined them as places with little life and scarce landscapes. Since the game also takes us to a forest, you must imagine something more colorful, with fauna and flora everywhere, right? I think I have bad news for you.

The major problem with the map is the lack of creativity, making all kinds of creatures and monsters encountered give you the vast impression that you have already encountered them before. The initial models are always reused. Not only that, but even the structures of the scenarios are repetitive, making exploring the map a tedious thing to observe. Fortunately, the game features the option of fast travel to previously visited bases.

Despite the lack of imagination, this does not mean that Sand Land delivers poor graphics when it comes to the characters, quite the contrary. With that anime aesthetic already in mind, the game justifies the adaptation label and delivers characters with a lot of charisma, charm, and that special touch of shounen drawings.

Honoring its creator

Without a doubt, Sand Land has some expected negative points, such as a certain delay in the movement of characters in some scenes, the lack of creativity in the scenarios, among other issues like the initial movement of vehicles, but this does not in any way diminish the shine of how Akira Toriyama's last adventure was respected, as well as his legacy.

The game breaks away from the monotony of action games and manages to add very welcome novelties in this new RPG style, just as was the case with the excellent One Piece Odyssey, which also had the participation of the Ilca studio, which is proving increasingly capable of innovating in games that have been rigid over time.

The adaptation of a story not so well known in the West was a hit and ended up being a beautiful way to pay tribute to the creator of Dragon Ball, also showing that his way of telling stories has always gone beyond Goku and company.

Sand Land was played on a PS5, kindly provided by the publisher.