We have gathered here today to dive into the best anime games on PS3.
The Retro Dodo team have previously covered both the Best Anime Games On PS4 and the Best Anime Games On PS5.
And admittedly, there was a lot of crossover between those two with gaming being in a strange delayed transition into “next gen” consoles (we have the pandemic to blame for that).
But one console we have yet to cover in the anime genre is the Playstation 3.
So this should be fun!
Let’s not delay this any longer; here’s the best anime games on PS3!
10. Dragon Ball Xenoverse (2015)
Kinda hard to imagine any anime list without seeing Dragon Ball making an appearance. And today is no different… we’ve got Dragon Ball Xenoverse up next.
The game mixes elements of open world exploration and role playing with familiar 3D battles we love.
After a quick warm up of battles from the history of the Dragon Ball universe, you are thrust into a character creation scene.
Once your character is complete, you are off to the races… er… battles.
Yeah, you can explore the town, but don’t expect to avoid conflict. You’ll be getting in fights around every corner.
And that’s what you’re here for, right?!
Yup, you’ll be walking around, talking to NPCs, kicking a lot of butts, and having a great time exploring the Dragon Ball universe from an entirely new perspective.
It’s a really unique way to experience Dragon Ball Z, and we think you’ll love it if you’re a fan of the popular anime franchise or just love 3d fighting games in general.
9. Tales of Xillia (2011)
Tales of Xillia is a 2011 Playstation 3 exclusive. And it’s freakin’ awesome.
Like other games in the popular Tales series, Tales of Xillia is a perfect example of what we want in a JRPG:
Beautiful environments, cute characters, great storytelling, and so many things to discover that it’ll have you coming back over and over.
Besides being a hit with several of the dudes here at Retro Dodo, the game was also a massive hit in Japan.
Tales of Xillia won many awards and of course sold a ton of copies. Over 1 million copies, in fact.
If you didn’t get enough content from the original game package, Namco Tales Studio also delivered several DLC packs for the game, and the game even spawned several manga series’ and books.
You probably know by now that we are in love with the Tales franchise.. particularly Tales of Arise. And Tales of Xillia makes an appearance with that game on our list of the Best Tales Games.
Great to see this classic PS3 game get more attention, today.
8. One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 (2015)
Next on our list is a game that is sure to overwhelm you with waves of anime goodness: One Piece Pirate Warriors 3.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing a “warriors” video game, let me enlighten you.
The “warriors” series of video games are developed by Omega Force, and their game’s gimmick is massive waves of enemies to slay. Like… hundreds of enemies.
And in Pirate Warriors 3, we also get 37 playable characters to take into battle. So this game is truly a massive in scale.
Like previous “warriors” games, you’ll be hacking and slashing through tons and tons of baddies. And that is exactly as fun and cool looking as it sounds.
As the very last One Piece video game adaptation to come to the Playstation 3, we are happy to see “Pirate Warriors 3” crash its way onto our list of best anime games for PS3.
A truly good time.
7. Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster (2013)
If any game coming out of the Square Enix camp is eligible for our lists, surely we will include it. And lucky for us, Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster released on the PS3.
Final Fantasy X came to us way back in 2001! And the followup Final Fantasy X-2 came in 2003.
Both were absolutely perfect examples of a Square Enix JRPG.
This was the first time in the history of Final Fantasy titles that we got full 3d environments to explore, as opposed to the pre-rendered spaces of the previous entries.
This was also the first time a game was not an entirely self contained story. The characters and events of Final Fantasy X were so special that we got a full followup in their histories.
As we should expect, the environments are absolutely stunning.
And interesting fact.. the world is inspired by my two homes: Thailand and Japan. How perfect is that?
The original Final Fantasy X scored pretty high on our list of the Best PS2 Games Of All Time AND the Best PS2 RPGs Of All Time.
Obviously we love Final Fantasy over here, and Final Fantasy X has to be one of our favorites.
With Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster being on the PS3… it’s got an obvious spot here today on the list of best anime games on PS3.
Two great games for the price of one, can’t go wrong with that.
6. Persona 4 Arena (2012)
Persona 4 Arena takes all of our favorite ATLUS characters and drops them into an awesome fight focused game.
Not that combat is absent from the usual role playing experiences we are used to from Persona, but now we get to experience the world through the perspective of a 2D fighting game à la Street Fighter II or Marvel Vs Capcom 2.
Needless to say, it’s all gorgeous, over the top, and a ton of fun.
There’s a ton of awesome cutscenes as well, that stay true to that anime style we love from the Persona/Megami Tensei universe.
Of course, we mentioned this one on our list of the 10 Best Anime Fighting Games, and we are proud to include it today.
And just as a heads up: this won’t be our last game from ATLUS to make an appearance. So keep on reading.
5. Valkyria Chronicles (2008)
The next game on our list mixes tactical combat with JRPG goodness, all in a crisp anime uniform: Valkyria Chronicles.
It was this Playstation 3 title that kicked off the hit franchise that we know and love.
The game play focuses on turn based war combat with a unique cast of soldiers, each with their own specialties that much be used strategically.
And as one would expect of any great anime game, there’s top notch storytelling with beautiful cutscenes and great voice acting.
The aesthetics of Valkyria Chronicles are quite unique as they mix cel shaded 3D with a hand drawn style, and actually uses a fully custom game engine called CANVAS to do so.
The game was such a hit, they even released a remastered version for PS4. But we are here to talk about PS3, so we won’t mention it.
Valkyria Chronicles is a great anime game for the PS3 for fans of turn based tactics and beautiful Japanese storytelling.
4. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (2011)
By my own measure, there’s two kinds of anime: the usual Shōnen Jump type stuff and Studio Ghibli. And thankfully in Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch we get some of the latter in video game form!
When it comes to adapting that iconic Ghibli aesthetic in a video game, I’m glad that the gaming world took its time to get it right.
And how do you get a perfect Studio Ghibli style video game? Get a bunch of the people from the studio to help make it, of course.
So the Ghibli team helped develop design concepts, music, and even produced the cutscenes for the game. *chef’s kiss*
“Wrath of the White Witch” is actually a remastered version of the Nintendo DS title Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn.
Crazy to think such a wonderful game came from such humble beginnings. Not that the DS isn’t a special console. But compared to the PS3’s power, it seems quite modest.
We are just glad they had the brilliance to upgrade the title and bring it to the Playstation. We all win in the end.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch has been universally acclaimed by fans and critics, and it remains one of the best selling PS3 titles of all time.
But in case you needed us to remind you: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is one of the best anime games on the PS3.
3. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX (2014)
We are so glad that Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX is a Playstation 3 game.
Like with the Final Fantasy X/X-2 bundle, we get to share our love for a classic game from a previous console generation in its glorious return as a remaster.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX is actually a collection of Kingdom Hearts II and related DLC content. That includes Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Birth by Sleep and Re:coded.
So you’re getting the awesome game of Kingdom Hearts II, as HD and remastered as it gets, and all the additional Kingdom Hearts II content your heart can handle.
Kingdom Hearts is an awesome video game series that throws the Disney universe in a blender with SQUARE ENIX, resulting in something as charming as you’d hope for.
So many of our favorite Disney characters make a cameo, and it’s fun to just see what character or world will appear next. Everybody, from Mickey to Goofy, Aladdin to Winnie the Pooh, Jack Skellington to Simba. The list goes on.
In this case, we weren’t sure if we were allowed to call this an anime game.
But with this one being a safe blend of that classic JRPG style with animated characters from the Disney universe.. we are calling it anime. Surely you won’t mind.
Here ya go… another incredible anime game for the PS3!
2. Catherine (2011)
Catherine is quite an enigma of a game.
At its core, Catherine is a puzzle game. But it’s really so much more than that.
The game bounces between third person life simulation during the day and 3d puzzling at night (in the main character’s nightmares, in fact).
As you might expect from a game developed by ATLUS, it’s quirky, unusual, and a great time.
Catherine shared many of the same creators as the Persona series, so that should tell you a lot about what to expect here.
If the massive amount of working pieces in a Persona title intimidates you, Catherine is a much easier pill to swallow.
Still odd. But quite enjoyable.
Catherine is a pretty incredible gaming experience, and quite unique in its delivery.
Do yourself a favor, and check it out if you are unfamiliar. You’ll be very happy you did.
1. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations (2012)
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations is packed full of everything we love about the “Ultimate Ninja Storm” series, while placing a heavy emphases on fast battles.
The developers said they wanted to strip things down and bring things back to just good ol’ fashioned fighting.
But with nearly 100 characters to choose from, that doesn’t sound like we are gonna be feeling shorted on content.
And we also got a massive amount of original animated cutscenes, created by Pierrot who created the original animated television series.
So whether you are playing solo in the story-mode or playing with friends online, surely you stay busy and have a heck of a good time with this fast-paced 3d fighting game.
“Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations” made an easy appearance on our list of the 10 Best Naruto Games, and it’s nice to finally see a Naruto game take a number one spot that isn’t Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.
Naruto manages to be the king of all anime lists, so not too surprised that it tops our list of best anime games on PS3.
Thanks for checking out our compendium of the greatest anime games on PS3! Let us know your favourite anime titles by joining the conversation over on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
