After years in the making, Attack on Titan is finally coming to an end. Those that enjoy the series likely do so through one of three methods: the manga, the English subs, or the English dubs. While English dub watchers are still waiting for the first part of the Final Season to conclude, those that prefer subs have already seen the ending of this part of the story. What's more, fans that read the manga recently got to read the last chapter, officially concluding the story of Attack on Titan. Moving forward, this will no doubt affect the development of the video games based on the series.
For those that don't know, there are two main Attack on Titan games at the moment. The original Attack on Titan told the story of the show's first season, including the struggle to retake Trost district and capture the Female Titan. As the manga and anime continued, a sequel was put out in the form of Attack on Titan 2. The peculiar thing about this was that, while it did expand the story into the second season of the show, it also retread everything from season 1 with new features. After season 3's release, Attack on Titan 2 players could upgrade to The Final Battle, adding the events of that to the game.
Attack on Titan 3 - The Final Season
With Attack on Titan more popular than ever thanks to it airing the final season, it makes a lot of sense to capitalize on that with a video game release. A potential Attack on Titan 3 would have a ton of benefits over the previous games in the series for a number of reasons, but there may be a few drawbacks as well. The most obvious of these benefits is that the entire story has already concluded, meaning the developers could make the game with complete knowledge of the beginning, middle, and end.
Aside from that, there's also advantages that come from having pre-established mechanics for many things, more powerful consoles that are easier to develop on, and a newly reinvigorated fanbase that is looking for some way to fill the hole left by the ending of Attack on Titan. In terms of drawbacks, there is the notable difference that Attack on Titan Season 4 focuses heavily on intrigue and politics and very little on fighting actual Titans. This shift may make creating a video game based on it more difficult.
Attack on Titan 3 Advantage - The Full Story
One of the things that makes Attack on Titan so great is that it's clear that the full story has been planned out since the beginning. The writer, Hajime Isayama, includes a ton of foreshadowing in the earlier seasons that fans will only recognize after they've watched the story unfold in its entirety. While many of these scenes were included in early releases of the Attack on Titan video game series, this was done unwittingly by the developers. What's more, some of these important foreshadowing scenes were cut entirely because they didn't seem relevant at the time.
Having access to the full story will not only allow the developers to paint a complete picture, but also help in creating original content. Attack on Titan 2 sees players take control of their own custom character, and there are several scenes that delve deeper into specific character motivations and goals. Now that viewers know the full story and what each character's driving force was, it will be much easier to make believable, original side stories that fit into the overarching plot. This includes commonly requested features such as romance and letting the custom character become a Titan Shifter.
Attack on Titan 3 Drawback - No Titans
One of the most surprising things to happen in Attack on Titan occurs towards the end of the third season. For a story dominated by the looming threat of the titans, it was shocking when the people of the walls discovered a safe way to dispose of them. Using Eren's hardening ability and Hange's "Executioner from Hell," all of the titans left on Paradis Island were wiped out in just nine months. As amazing as this is for the people in the universe of Attack on Titan, it left fans wondering where the show could go from there.
Naturally, it has now shifted its focus towards the war against Marley. When Titans come into play, they are usually in the form of Titan Shifters or Pure Titans created by Zeke, but usually it's more about person to person combat. While this is still very fun to watch, it may be odd to include in an Attack on Titan game. Aside from Levi, most of the characters have shifted away from using swords and now use guns as part of their Anti-Personnel ODM gear. This would require new mechanics to be developed turning the game into more of a third person shooter.
Attack on Titan 3 Advantage - Modern Technology
The people of Paradis Island have been rapidly advancing as they are introduced to the wonders of modern technology, but those in the real worlds also have some new toys to play with. Next generation consoles could make a new Attack on Titan game that much more impressive. Even looking past the ability to create 4K graphics and smooth, 60 fps gameplay, new levels of immersion would be acquired through use of unique features like those of the DualSense controller.
For the first time ever, the complete story of Attack on Titan could be told in all of its glory in one package. Using video games as an interactive form of media, players could feel like they are a part of the epic story that's unfolding before them, completely immersed in the amazing graphics and framerate. While there may be some innate drawbacks to the story of season 4, there are definitely ways that this could still be made interesting and fun to play. With any luck fans will hear something about Attack on Titan 3 soon enough, but at the very least, there should be something when the anime concludes in the Winter of 2022.
Attack on Titan 2 is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.