News
Bandai Namco Unveils New 'Sword Art Online' Action RPG Echoes of Aincrad
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Bandai Namco Entertainment unveiled a new action RPG titled Echoes of Aincrad on Friday. The game is set in Reki Kawahara's Sword Art Online franchise, set in the world of Aincrad, the setting of the original story's eponymous in-story virtual MMO Sword Art Online. In Echoes of Aincrad, players explore Aincrad as one of the 10,000 players trapped in the MMO-turned-death game, and explore the world alongside other characters, including Kirito and Asuna. The game will launch in Japan on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on July 9, and on PC via Steam on July 10. In the West, it will launch on all these platforms on July 10.
The game's Japanese trailer below introduces the game through a mockumentary-style video looking back at the "SAO incident," where 10,000 players were trapped in the virtual MMO, and casts the protagonist as a survivor of the incident being interviewed. The video features appearances from real-life personalities such as cosplayer and streamer Enako, game writer and personality Mafia Kajita, and VTuber Tsuna Nekota.
The English trailer has a more straightforward introduction to Aincrad, and features more gameplay footage.
The game will have a Standard Edition, Deluxe Edition, Ultimate Edition, and Aincrad Edition release. The Deluxe Edition includes the expansion DLC and a starter item pack, as well as early access to the game's "Death Game" mode, a mode where the game deletes your save on character death, and is normally available only after beating the game for the first time. The Ultimate Edition includes the Deluxe Edition content, and adds the "Unanswered//butterfly" bonus content app/special anime, digital soundtrack, digital artbook, and an in-game armor pack. The Aincrad Edition is exclusive to the Bandai Namco Store, and includes the Deluxe and Ultimate Edition content, adding a beanie, wall scroll, patches, and sticker pack.
Reki Kawahara began the Sword Art Online web novel in 2001, and serialized it from 2002 to 2008 on his website. Kadokawa's Dengeki Bunko label began publishing a newly-edited print version in 2009, ending the original story with the "Alicization" arc as Kawahara had wrote it in his website with the 18th volume in 2016. The novel series returned with an all-new "Moon Cradle" story arc in 2017, and another all-new "Unital Ring" story arc in 2018, and is now in its 28th overall volume. The series has inspired novel and manga spinoffs, a television anime adaptation with several seasons, an anime film, and proposed live-action series. Kawahara's Sword Art Online: Progressive spinoff novel series inspired two anime films of its own.
Sources: Bandai Namco Entertainment's Japanese YouTube channel and American channel, Echoes of Aincrad website, Bandai Namco Entertainment store
Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.
