Special thanks to Justin Cavender, Brian Chen, Bandai-Namco, Shannon Meehan, Skybound, Robert Kirkman, Paul Nomad, and New York Comic-Con.

Cosplayers

Booths & Displays

Panels

A brief history of the brand(s), Bandai (which originated in the 1950s) made its name as the creator of Tamagotchi as well as figures and collectibles for such franchises as Digimon, Kamen Rider, and (until recently) Power Rangers. In the mid-2000s, Bandai acquired Namco (another company originating in the 1950s) the brand behind classic video game franchises such as Pac-Man, Tekken, Ridge Racer and many more. Since then, Bandai-Namco has been a powerhouse in entertainment, and their booth at AnimeNYC proves that they’re continuing that trend.

Here are some of the features that Bandai-Namco had to preview:

TAMASHII NATIONS

The pinnacle of Bandai-Namco’s collectables have to be the Tamashii Nations brand. Not only their figure and replica prop lines (such as S.H.Figure Arts, S.H. Monster Arts, Proplica, and many others) but also their recent debut as a full-blown store in the heart of Times Square, New York. The store touts a vast array of exclusive figures that you won’t find anywhere else (unless of course, you were at AnimeNYC – I ended up buying an exclusive Spy x Family Anya Forger for my wife).

The franchises are extensive as well… besides SxF they have figures for anime shows such as Dragonball Z, Gundam, Chainsaw Man, Kaiju No. 8, and more. The best part of these figures is the fact that they include both custom hands as well as custom faces, so your figure can be customized to your liking and make it more unique than a standard action figure.

G x Materia

Similar to the S.H. Figure Arts line, the G x Materia figures are smaller, more statuesque, and portable for the collector who either may not have the space or wants more. The displays on hand also made the figures look amazing. I’m seeing more of the domed look as of late and it definitely does justice to figures like these. The figures appear to be limited to the Dragonball Z franchise but tout a number of the characters from the series.

The World of Studio Ghibli

In addition to Anime television properties, Bandai-Namco is the “Official distributor of licensed Studio Ghibli products.” For those not familiar, Studio Ghibli is the home of the library of Japanese Animated films by Hayao Miyazaki such as the Oscar Award Winning Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and the recent film The Boy and the Heron. Ghibli’s products with Bandai-Namco go beyond figures and statues, but also puzzles, beanbag plushies, keychains and much much more. Suffice to say, my wife also got a Calcifer beanbag plush. It was definitely her weekend.

Union Arena

Can you imagine if someone made their own Super Smash Bros-type card game? Bandai-Namco did and made one. Union Arena consists of various Anime properties like Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, and One Punch Man, with many others either announced or forthcoming. If you’ve played other fighting card games, it seems very similar. Create battles from your favorite characters or new ones with a deck of your choosing.

Gashapon

Are you young enough to remember when you’d go to the supermarket or toy store and on the way out, you’d see the gumball machine or something similar where you could get some little toy or nick nack for a quarter or two. Well, Japan hasn’t stopped that trend, in fact it’s been gaining so much momentum Bandai-Namco is bringing their own version here.

Gashapon continues (and amplifies) the classic trend of quarter vending machines with its own iterations of both licensed properties (aforementioned Animes, movies like Harry Potter, and games like Fall Guys as well as the Bandai-Namco staple Pac-Man) as well as non-copyrighted properties which include a lot of wildlife (sea creatures, horses) as well as dogs and cats. Trust me when I say the goodies you can get seem endless. Gashapon will be available in stores nationwide, in the Northeast starting with the Bandai-Namco store at the American Dream in East Rutherford, NJ as well as a few others in the same NY/NJ area.

In conclusion… it’s one thing to say that AnimeNYC 2024 was amazing, as far as showcases the shining star in Japanese and American Collectibles goes to Bandai-Namco for their wealth of collectibles, features, and tons of goodies. My thanks to Justin and the BN crew for giving me a tour of the booths to show everything off, and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more in the future.

-= Check out more of our AnimeNYC 2024 Coverage =-

Lords of the Fallen
Developed by CI Games S.A.
Coming October 28, 2014 to PS4, Xbox One, and PC

This is an RPG if there ever was one. Originally set to be released on PS3/360, it was sent to the big leagues on next gen systems, and rightfully so. You play as a “fallen” god, in search to reclaim what is his. The gameplay is pretty impressive, at least what I’ve seen of it: You fight your way through hordes of creepy demon-type entities (they seriously looked gnarled, to the point where you would think a zombie from Half-Life was a Men’s Warehouse model).

As you progress, you fight even bigger enemies, and have to figure out clever ways to kill them. At one point I engaged a rather robust monster, only to find that running was a legitimate answer, as a trap in the floor is too much for his own weight, and ends up being his undoing. Another aspect of the game is the fact that you can customize your characters with different items. Shields, staffs, even fireballs… I prefer the latter.

MotoGP14
Developed by Milestone
Coming Fall 2014 to PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, and PC

If you were around during the birth of Xbox Live on the original Xbox, MotoGP was one of the original games featured as having online compatibility. The premise is rather simple: Motorcycle racing. You’ve more than likely seen what MotoGP looks like on current gen, but on next gen it looks amazingly real – real to the point where if you don’t have a good grip on the game, you will go flying, which is something I’ve experienced firsthand. Ouch.

Project CARS
Developed by Slightly Mad Studios
Coming November 2014 for Xbox One, PS4. Wii U and PC in 2015

Simulator racing is a competitive genre between Forza, Gran Turismo, and its contemporaries. Project CARS is no exception, as it looks to push next gen to its limits. Slightly Mad Studios is using a beefed up version of its Madness Engine (used in the Need for Speed: Shift series) to help propel Project CARS into the top tier of simulator racing games. Much like Lords of the Fallen, this title was also set to make its debut on PS3 and 360, but hit the brakes prior to next gen being released. Looks like it’ll be worth the wait.

PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures 2
Developed by BANDAI NAMCO Studio Inc.
Coming October 14, 2014 to Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U and 3DS

The big hungry yellow ball that most of the older millennial types threw hundreds of quarters at is back! The game remains the same (and unfortunately didn’t make the jump to next gen…unless you count Wii U), but that doesn’t stop it from being awesome. Pac and his friends Cylindria and Sprial take on the evil Lord Betrayus and his army of ghosties through time and space.

You can switch from regular walking Pac-Man to legless classic Pac-Man in order to bounce around and eat everything in sight. If this game isn’t enough Pac for your cherry-flavored taste, remember…Pac-Man also appears in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. game.

Digimon All-Star Rumble
Developed by PROPE
Coming November 11, 2014 to Xbox 360 and PS3

Circa 2000, the big trend in kids’ (and young adult) entertainment was collecting monsters. Pokemon was the big one that made the transition from Japan to the States in no time flat. Digimon came in second place to Pokemon, but still had a following, despite being dwarfed to the Nintendo juggernaut. I remember occasionally tuning in to watch the show and remember the original characters. Eventually (like practically everything else in children’s entertainment) Digimon, Power Rangers, and the rest of the Saban Production properties – including the 1990s animated X-Men and Spider-Man – were purchased by Disney, and sent from broadcast TV to ABC Family (and later Disney XD) where Digimon found a new generation of fans and began to evolve into more shows.

Now that Saban has purchased the rights back from Disney to continue growth of the franchise (with Bandai-Namco’s assistance), they’re releasing a Digimon fighting game that seems to cross Super Smash Bros. with Street Fighter. Every character of every rendition of the show is represented, however the demo I played only featured original Digimon characters like Agumon, Tentomon, Gomamon, and one or two others (which I was fine with). The demo was pretty buggy -I sort of broke it when first playing…oops – but I got the gist of how the game works. You fight with 2 – 4 players on the screen pretty much like Smash Bros. while you try to collect different power-ups in order to dispatch your competitors. When you have enough energy, you are also able to Digivolve into your character’s larger form for a short period of time. Hopefully all the bugs are Digileted before November, because this could really be a fun game.

Power Rangers Super Megaforce
Developed by 7th Chord
Coming October 2014 to 3DS

As mentioned earlier, Saban recently repurchased the rights to Power Rangers from Disney and started running Power Rangers Megaforce on Nickelodeon. Now, 3DS has you covered with a side scrolling SUPER MEGA game, where you can play as both current and past Power Rangers. (I chose classic Green and White…which were both the same character. Time paradox?) Eventually you get to load up a MegaZord and take on giant monsters on the battlefield. Again, the game is on 3DS, so younger fans of of the newer series should enjoy playing for the tie-in to the show, while older fans might enjoy it for nostalgic purposes.

And there you have it. What do you think? Any of these look like something you’d dig? Let us know what video games you’re looking forward to playing this year (these or any others) in the comments below.