Square Enix Is Wasting One Of The Greatest Anime Ever Made

by

Turning popular anime and manga into video games isn’t new, but it’s become hugely popular recently. We see games based on well-known series like My Hero Academia, Naruto, and Dragon Ball Z, and even some surprising adaptations – like the strange Among Usstyle game based on Death Note* that didn’t really catch on. Now, if an anime becomes a hit, you can almost guarantee a video game, often a fighting game, will follow soon after.

It’s great when anime gets the attention it deserves, but sadly, one of the best series is being neglected, and it seems Square Enix is to blame. The company, famous for games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, isn’t taking advantage of this fantastic property. The anime would be perfect as a video game – its detailed world and memorable characters would shine in an open-world RPG or even a fighting game. Unfortunately, Fullmetal Alchemist hasn’t had much adaptation beyond a few old, hard-to-find games, most of which aren’t even available outside of Japan.

Fullmetal Alchemist Hasn’t Had A New Game In 16 Years

I’m a lifelong fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, especially the original 2003 anime, which I watched and loved as a kid. It’s a truly beautiful show that holds a special place in my heart – I even played the song “Brothers” at my wedding! Because I love it so much, I’m always looking for more FMA content. I’ve read the novels, enjoyed the artbook and manga, and played every video game adaptation I could find. I even collect the trading card game, though I don’t have anyone to play with.

It’s disappointing to realize how few Fullmetal Alchemist games are available in Western countries, and it seems Square Enix isn’t planning to make any more. The last console game, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, came out in 2010 for the PSP and wasn’t a particularly great adaptation. Since then, we’ve only received a mobile game in 2022, which was unfortunately taken offline after just two years. That’s a very limited amount of content, especially now when so many other anime series are getting fantastic video game adaptations.

With even niche anime like Patlabor getting new games, it’s surprising that Fullmetal Alchemist, a hugely popular series, hasn’t had a new video game in almost twenty years. The likely reason is that its popularity has decreased over time as newer anime fans gravitate towards more recent shows. While series like Dragon Ball Z and One Piece maintain popularity through constant releases, Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t actively attracting many new fans outside of those specifically seeking out older anime.

While Square Enix has adapted other popular games like Soul Eater, Fullmetal Alchemist remains their most successful comic series published under the Gangan Comics imprint. Despite not being as widely popular as it once was, there’s still significant interest in Fullmetal Alchemist and potential for it to regain its former popularity. However, Square Enix needs to actively invest in the series beyond just including it in other mobile or live-service games. Given that Square Enix primarily focuses on video games, creating dedicated Fullmetal Alchemist game adaptations would be a logical step.

Fullmetal Alchemist Deserves A New Video Game Adaptation

Fullmetal Alchemist would be a fantastic fit for a large-scale JRPG – the kind Square Enix excels at creating. Most anime games these days are fighting games, so a proper JRPG would be a welcome change. We’ve seen success with JRPG adaptations of Fairy Tail and Seven Deadly Sins, suggesting it could work well here. The game could retell the beloved story from the manga, expanding on lesser-developed ideas and characters with new content, or even create a brand new story alongside the main characters, similar to what the upcoming Sword Art Online RPG is doing.

The complex political landscape and conflicts in this story create a compelling and sophisticated narrative that would work wonderfully as a Japanese role-playing game (JRPG). The anime’s diverse alchemy system could be integrated by either letting players control the characters who use those abilities, or by unlocking them as skills for a player-created character. Even just expanding on the combat from the original PlayStation 2 games would be fantastic, especially if set within a detailed and beautiful recreation of the world created by Hiromu Arakawa – a world that remains politically relevant and captivating.

The older Fullmetal Alchemist games on consoles like the PS2, Wii, and PSP were fun because they let you play through familiar scenes or different takes on the story, and it was great to control the characters. But the world of FMA is so rich and complex, offering much more potential for an engaging, interactive experience. The story has a lot of interesting moral questions and historical periods that players could really explore and impact through gameplay.

I understand that Square Enix would be taking a big financial risk by rebuilding Amestris as an open-world game or making a new Fullmetal Alchemist RPG, especially now that the series isn’t as popular as it once was. Still, it’s hard not to hope they’ll either finally develop a good Fullmetal Alchemist game themselves, or let another company try – the world is so rich with potential, it would be a shame to see it continue to be ignored.

Are you interested in a new Fullmetal Alchemist video game? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/anime/news/top-7-anime-that-never-received-a-video-game/embed/#

Read More

2026-04-14 22:16