Sword Art Online is one of the most popular anime of all time. Because it revolves around real characters trapped in a gaming world, it’s only natural to see various Sword Art Online games.
The SAO franchise debuted as light novelsin 2009 in ASCII Media Works. The author is Reiki Kawahara, and the illustrator is “Abec.” Both are part of the official SAO games.
As you may know, the novels became manga by various illustrators, and then anime with multiple seasons, OVA, TV specials, movies, and all kinds of merchandise.
Currently, there’reseven canon Sword Art Online gamesplus a remaster presently available, and you may find them onthe Bandai Namco official page. By canon, I mean the author supervised these games’ storyline, gameplay, and mechanics.
There’re also three relevant spin-offs, some of which with a Japan-only release. The total iseleven SAO games.
The Sword Art Online Game Series
Bandai Namco takes care of the Sword Art Online games. The first one debuted in 2013 for PlayStation Vita, and it’s based on the 5th light novel in the franchise.
The company has continued releasing the games of the Japanese series. Each game presents a part of the story, and the timeline respects the default release order of the SAO entries.
Overall, every entry features more or less the same gameplay. They often work as JRPGs that imitate MMORPG titles either online or offline.You run around with the protagonist (Kirito or an avatar), complete the main quests, complete side quests, level up, and interact with other NPCs.
The worlds are open-world, but various sections are connected with loading screens. Then, each area is brimming with enemies, so the greater time of the playthrough is combat.
So, for combat, Kirito uses a combination of melee attacks, skills, and spells. Some games offer combos, dodge mechanics, party members, and shouting orders to the party members.
However, the SAO games have evolved to add RPG,action-adventure, and dungeon-crawling elements.
Lastly, the Sword Art Online games are not part of the anime canon timeline.
Every SAO In Order of Release Date
Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment – 2013
