In conjunction with the release of the Sand Land video game last month, the game’s official social media accounts shared a new comment from original author Akira Toriyama:
◤#鳥山明 先生のコメントを公開 ◢
ゲーム『#SANDLAND』の発売を記念して、
鳥山明先生が開発中のゲーム映像をご覧になった際にいただいたコメントを公開します。※本コメントは2024年1月時点でいただいたものです。#サンドランド #sandlandgame pic.twitter.com/Jz1Twml2H9
— 【公式】ゲーム『SAND LAND（サンドランド）』 (@sandlandgame_jp) April 25, 2024
Regarding the Sand Land game, I still haven’t played or seen everything, but I can see that it greatly expands the lore of the original comic and adds in a lot of fun elements. It is super high-quality, and even as just a game, it’s a pretty satisfying action-RPG with no fluff, just the good stuff.
Regarding the graphics, they managed to strike a fantastic balance between capturing the feel of the original comic and employing a painterly art style that is pretty easy on the eyes. I never even knew that games could have visuals like these.
There are a lot of new machine designs, many of which have extensive modifications, not to mention all work that went into the backgrounds. You can really tell the developers have the sensibilities of true professionals. You’ll be sure to have tons of fun playing it!
In the game, you can explore not only Sand Land, but also the new Forest Land, an area that was not in the original comic, and it comes with brand-new characters, too. You’ll be able to have a blast going on an adventure as the Prince of Demons with a more fleshed-out story and a vast map to explore.
I myself can only play easy games, but I sometimes check out the modern games my family plays, so despite being an old man, I think I’m still somewhat up to date.
I wholeheartedly recommend the Sand Land game!!
— Akira Toriyama
The post for the comment specifically notes that it was received back in January. Toriyama passed away two months later in March 2024.
Sand Land was originally serialized within the pages of Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan from May to August 2000 spanning 14 chapters. The series was compiled into a single volume that November. A new kanzenban edition was released in Japan last August; that same month, a colorized version of the manga began in Shueisha’s Saikyō Jump magazine in the September 2023 issue.
Sand Land went on to act as a debut series within Viz’s Shonen Jump print magazine in America in 2003, both running to completion and receiving its own collected volume later that same year. The entire manga series is also available as part of Viz’s digital vault service.
The Sand Land theatrical film debuted 18 August 2023 in Japan with animation produced by Sunrise, Kamikaze Douga, and Anima. Its home video release in Japan is due out 29 May 2024. The movie was expanded upon and received its own in-universe continuation by way of the Sand Land animated series, currently streaming worldwide.
The video game adaptation from Bandai Namco was released worldwide last month, and is available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam).
