Action-adventure UFO Robot Grendizer: The Feast of the Wolves revives Go Nagai’s vintage anime, lets you punch a mecha turtle, and is out this November.
Anime and manga of the 1970s and 80s was dominated by big, stompy robots, and UFO Robot Grendizer was among the biggest and stompiest of them all. Created by the absurdly prolific Go Nagai, UFO Robot Grendizer (also known as simply Grandizer) began life as a manga series in the mid 1970s, and was adapted into a TV series and at least two movies.
Thanks to French developer Endroad and publisher Microids, the vintage series is making a comeback as UFO Robot Grendizer: The Fast of the Wolves, a 3D action-adventure based on the anime’s first season. Players will take on the role of Duke Fleed, and pilots the stolen giant mecha Grendizer in a war against the evil King Vega and his own army of evil robots.
UFO Robot Grendizer was a cult hit in France, though it seems all the names were changed for that country’s release – hence why Microids’ press release refers to Grendizer as Goldorak, Duke Fleed as Prince Actarus, and King Vega – well, he’s still just King Vega.
At any rate, Grendizer is an action game that takes in an interesting assortment of genres, if Microids’ description is anything to go by – there are shoot-’em-up sequences, brawler bits, more shooting, and a smattering of exploration. The trailer (brought to our attention by Destructoid), originally released in February, seems to concentrate on the exploration and brawler bits, because there’s lots of stomping about, and a quite nifty-looking fight with a gigantic mecha turtle.
The only slightly distracting thing is the environment – with its acres of pastel green fields and blue skies, doesn’t it look unnervingly like a Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom-style Hyrule? Ah well – if it’s good enough for Genshin Impact, it’s good enough for Grendizer.
UFO Robot Grendizer: The Feast of the Wolves releases on 14 November 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The Switch port will follow in 2024.
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