I made this list in response to a forum question at http://kawaii.io However, the list was so long that it broke the thread, preventing anyone else from replying.
Some formatting may look odd until I have time to reformat this. I just wanted to move it off the forums to try to unbreak the thread in question.
Are you looking for just anime STYLED games with anime-ish graphics? Or games actually BASED upon an existing anime series?
Either way, here are my recommendations ^-^
For anime STYLED games check this spoiler (Includes any cases in which the game came first, and later an anime was based upon the game, or games for which no anime exist, but feature anime cutscenes or anime styled artwork)
[spoiler]
[b]Nino Kuni The White Witch[/b] (It’s even by studio ghibli!!!!!!!!!) PS3
[b]Catherine[/b] (available on PS3 or Xbox 360)
[b]Lunar[/b] (This is a series of games, starting back on Sega CD, and getting remade for ps1, psp, and NDS (I don’t recommend the nintendo one though). Also ported to Ipad)
[b]Persona[/b] (especially 3 and 4, and the upcoming 5) (Persona 1 and 2 is an SNES and PS1 and PSP Game, Persona’s 3 and 4 are PS2 games with ports on PSP(3) and Vita(4). 5 is going to be available on both PS3 and PS4)
[b]Devil Survivor[/b] and [b]Devil Summoner[/b] Games (Spin off of Persona Franchise, Available on PS1, PS2, PS3, NDS, and I think PSP/Vita?)
[b]Tales of[/b] ___ (Series, started on SNES, available on PS1, PS2, PS3, Wii, and I think maybe Xbox?)
[b]Atelier[/b] (Series, started on PS2, also available on PS3, NDS, and maybe PS4)
[b]Dark Cloud[/b] 1 and 2 (PS2 Games)
[b]Vay[/b] (Sega CD, and Ipad port)
[b]Landstalker [/b](Sega Genesis) [b]Alundra[/b] (PS1) [b]Time Stalkers[/b] AKA [b]Climax Landers[/b] (Dreamcast)
[b]Grandia[/b] (Series started on PS1, also available on Dreamcast, PS2, and PC)
[b]Growlanser[/b] (especially 2 and 3 in my opinion) (PS2, also one of them is on PSP but not as good as the originals on PS2) (also skip herritage of war, it was not good)
[b]Sakura Wars So Long My Love[/b] (PS2 and Wii)
[b]Suikoden[/b](series, ps1, ps2, and playstation store)
[b]Skies of Arcadia[/b] (Dreamcast and Wii)
[b]Rune Factory[/b] (and [b]Harvest Moon[/b], but Rune Factory has more “gameplay”) (Wii, NDS, and I think older Playstations (PS2, PSP, etc))
[b]Thousand Arms[/b] (PS2 I think or it might even be PS1 (can’t recall)
[b]Star Ocean[/b] (Series, they made an anime after it came out too called Star Ocean EX, started on PS1, also available on PS2 and I think maybe even 3.)
[b]Y’s[/b] (Series Available on Turbo Graffix, PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, and PC, and maybe others)
[b]Monster Rancher[/b] (Anime made after Game Series)
[b]Pokemon[/b] (anime made after game series)
[b]Digimon[/b] (anime made after game series)
The above 3 are all quite similar. Monster Rancher is my favorite. Also check out Monster Nursery on Ipad. It’s better than the Ipad Monster Rancher official title. All three are available on numerous platforms, with Pokemon of course being exclusive to Nintendo.
[b]Dragon Seeds[/b] (another monster/anime game on PS1)
[b]Jade Cocoon [/b](another monster taming series but with more story/maturity and rpg/combat/action) (PS1 and I think maybe 2)
[b]Azure Dreams [/b](a rogue dungeon crawler with monster taming elements) (PS1 and I think maybe Gameboy Advanced)
[b]Fate Stay Extra[/b] (This one also has an anime based on it) (The gameplay is uncannily similar to the Persona series) (PSP)
[b]Valkyrie Profile[/b] (PS1 and PSP)
[b]Xenogears[/b] / Saga / Blade / etc (PS1, PS2, Wii)
[b]The Last Story[/b] (Wii)
[b]Heroes in the Sky[/b] (PSP and PC)
[b]Dragon Force[/b] (Sega Saturn)
[b]Shining[/b] (Force, Wisdom, “In the Darkness”, etc) (Many consoles, Genesis, Sega CD, Saturn, PS1, PS2, PSP, PC, etc)
[b]Dangan Ronpa[/b] (PS Vita)
[b]Phoenix Wright [/b](NDS and IPAD)
[b]Secret (or Legend) of Mana[/b] (SNES and PS1)
[b]Saga Frontier[/b] (SNES, PS1, and I think PS2)
[b]Steambot Chronicles[/b] (PS2)
[b]Lufia[/b] (Series, SNES, and also Gameboy Advanced (that one wasn’t as good as the SNES ones though)
[b]Phantasy Star[/b] (Especially 3 and 4, Series on Sega Genesis, also PC port, and “Online (an mmorpg built on the franchise)” available (but servers are closed I think) for Dreamcast, Wii, PS2, and PSP)
[b]Chrono Trigger[/b] and [b]Chrono Cross [/b]by the same animator who does Dragon Ball Z. I’m personally not a fan of his art, but these 2 games are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. BEST SQUARESOFT GAMES EVER!. Period. (SNES, PS1 (I think or it may be 2) and I think Trigger got ported to NDS)
Same Artist also does all the character designs in [b]Dragon Quest [/b](Series, been around since 8 bit days, most popular rpg series in Japan. on almost every console conceivable.)
[b]Elemental Gear Bolt [/b](PS1 FPS with anime cutscenes. VERY difficult and challenging game. I never did finish mine)
[b]Evolution[/b] (Dreamcast)
[b]Hyper Dimension Neptunia[/b] (PS3 and PC)
[b]Disgaea[/b] (PS2, PS3, PSP)
[b]Gran Stream Saga[/b] (PS1)
[b]Wild Arms[/b] (PS1, PS2, I think maybe PSP?)
[/spoiler]
For games based on an existing anime series check here
[spoiler]
[b]Love Live School Idol Festival[/b] (Ipad and Android)
[b]Brave Story: New Traveler[/b] (PSP)
[b]Magic Knights Rayearth[/b] (Saturn)
[b]Orphen[/b] (PS2)
[/spoiler]
Also pretty much any visual novel or otome game (these games do not have much gameplay though so if you get bored reading books, do not look into this genre, because that’s essentially what it is, an animated and interactive book) There’s a few discussions ongoing already on this topic. MANY of these get anime based on the game (instead of the other way around) Such as Clannad, Da Capo, Fortune Arterial, Air, Kanon, Shuffle, Fate/Stay/Night, etc, etc.
Also I’ve never played so can not “recommend” but I know there are Naruto and DBZ games (I did play an old DBZ game but it wasn’t to my tastes).
Also ALL of my recommendations in the spoiler tags have an official english release/translation. I did not include any Japanese only OR Fan Translated titles.
If you wish to browse those types of titles not included in my recommendations, please refer to this Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_based_on_anime_or_manga
