My Dream RPG Is Launching In July, But There’s a Problem

by

As I’ve gotten older, I find myself less and less thrilled by new video game announcements. I used to get incredibly excited about even small details, but now a game really needs to perfectly match my specific interests to even get a reaction. It’s a bit sad, honestly, but it does have a good side. I do miss being easily excited about games, but when a game really clicks with me now, the feeling is amazing. It’s harder to achieve, but that genuine enjoyment means more to me now than all the hype I felt when I was younger.

I’m starting this article with a bit of a sad reflection because a recent announcement filled me with such joyful excitement, it reminded me of being a carefree child. The announcement was for Echoes of Aincrad, a game that could be one of the best JRPGs of 2026, and it’s based on the popular, though sometimes debated, anime Sword Art Online. It looks fantastic and promises an experience I’ve always wanted. However, one missing feature is preventing me from fully embracing the hype.

Echoes Of Aincrad Is My Dream RPG

One rainy afternoon, while walking home from school, a friend and I had a crazy idea: to build a Minecraft map based on the 100-floor MMO from Sword Art Online. We excitedly brainstormed how we could recreate the challenging and dangerous game within Minecraft, promising each other we’d make it happen. As often happens with ambitious plans, it never came to fruition. Since then, for almost thirteen years, I’ve been searching for a game that captures the same epic feeling as that first SAO arc, but haven’t really found anything that quite matches it.

Anime fans are right to point out that several games have tried to capture the feel of Sword Art Online. And honestly, my biggest issue with them is the protagonist, Kirito. He’s an overly powerful character who spends more time attracting the attention of underdeveloped female characters than actually being interesting in the game world. Most Sword Art Online games force you to play as Kirito or a character like him, which gets old fast. You end up spending the whole game dealing with a constant stream of characters falling for you. It’s disappointing, because a new story set in Aincrad, with a fresh cast of characters facing the same challenges as Kirito did, but without all the predictable anime tropes, would be fantastic.

I was thrilled to discover Echoes of Aincrad, a game that seems aware of its roots in SAO but cleverly distances itself from the original title. It’s the game my friend and I always wanted to create – a way to move past the issues with the Kirito character and, honestly, it’s a dream come true. Finding out it was set during what I consider the best part of SAO and mostly featured new characters made me immediately want to pre-order it, even without much information about how it actually plays.

I surprisingly don’t feel a strong connection to Sword Art Online beyond the first story arc set in Aincrad. However, those initial 14 episodes were incredibly impactful. The emotional punch of episode 3, the beautifully designed virtual world with its unique interface, and the high stakes of dying in the game meaning real-life death all resonated deeply with me, and I still think about them often. Whenever a new SAO game comes out, or I remember how captivating those first 14 episodes were when I first watched them, I’m immediately pulled back in. That’s why Echoes of Aincrad is so special to me – it lets me experience the unique and somewhat strange fantasy that SAO presents. Sadly, it’s lacking one key feature that would make it the game I’ve always wanted.

Echoes Of Aincrad Lacks The MMO Elements From SAO

I’m really enjoying Echoes of Aincrad as a single-player JRPG, and I definitely don’t want it to become a traditional MMO like the one in Sword Art Online. I generally avoid MMOs because they make me anxious and I prefer playing games by myself. However, since the game’s story takes place inside an MMO, it should feel like one. I’ve been disappointed, though, with the available gameplay footage – it seems to be missing a lot of the features that made previous games feel like MMOs.

Despite its flaws, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization did a remarkable job of capturing what it felt like to play a traditional MMO. Unlike other games, it successfully created a living, breathing online world. When you left the main town, you’d see groups of players battling monsters, all with their own unique characters and equipment. Then, those same players would appear in town, chatting, shopping, and preparing for quests. It wasn’t perfect, but it convincingly simulated the experience of playing with real people, even though you knew they weren’t actually there.

Unlike previous games, Echoes of Aincrad doesn’t create the feeling of being inside a virtual world. Older titles, like Hollow Realization, had bustling towns filled with many different characters, making the game feel truly alive and immersive. Echoes of Aincrad, however, feels empty. It replaced the lively atmosphere with a single fighting partner and a town populated by repetitive, generic characters, which makes the world feel less believable as a massive online game.

It’s funny that Hollow Realization actually made you feel less like the main character, even though you were playing as someone incredibly important in the anime world. Echoes of Aincrad still has the potential to be an amazing JRPG, even if it moves away from the MMO style, and focusing on a new story and characters is a great change. I just wish they could have combined the best parts of both games to create a truly exceptional RPG that wasn’t an MMO. Still, remembering how much I would have loved something like Echoes of Aincrad as a kid makes me happy, and it’s exciting to see that feeling of enthusiasm still alive within me.

Looking forward to Echoes of Aincrad? Share your thoughts and join the discussion in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/gaming/list/5-bandai-namco-games-you-forgot-were-awesome/embed/#

Read More

2026-03-13 19:13