Before he passed away, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama was full of praise for action RPG Sand Land: "It greatly expands the worldview of the original manga"

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A message from Toriyama written in January has been shared

Sand Land screenshot
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

The action RPG Sand Land is set to launch worldwide this week, but ahead of that, a statement on the game written by the late Dragon Ball creator, as well as writer and illustrator of the Sand Land manga, Akira Toriyama, has been shared.

Toriyama sadly passed away in March at the age of 68, but he was still able to see plenty of what Sand Land had in store, and he was full of praise for it. The statement shared today on the official Sand Land Twitter account was composed in January, at which point Toriyama admitted that he'd not "watched through all of the gameplay yet," but said that the game "greatly expands the worldview of the original manga with many new exciting elements. It is high-quality as a standalone game and I can tell it is a highly satisfying action RPG game!"

Continuing, he noted that the visuals "have an excellent balance of the atmosphere of the manga and its drawing style. The representation looks great." He was confident that fans would find the game "exciting" and enjoy the "genuine sense of design and attention to detail" seen throughout, as well as the Forest Land section which includes characters who didn't feature in the manga.

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"I myself can only play casual games, but I do check out the trending games my family plays, and I think I know a little something about them even for an old man," he added. "I seriously recommend the game Sand Land!"

The action RPG has players step into the shoes of protagonist Beelzebub on an adventure through Sand Land, building up the town of Spino (with the option to decorate your quarters Animal Crossing-style), and even competing in a racing mini-game on the side. It's scheduled to launch in Japan tomorrow, and worldwide the day after. 

Be sure to check out our list of the top 25 best RPGs for more great games to play. 

Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.