Go Nagai’s giant robot anime series UFO Robot Grendizer will soon be the subject of a video game, and the legendary manga artist himself will be involved in the adaptation.
French game publisher Microids will develop the game, the company announced on Wednesday. According to Microids, the action game will be for PC and consoles, although they haven’t said specifically which consoles.
‘We are delighted about this new partnership with Dynamic Planning [Go Nagai’s licensing company],’ said Microids CEO Stéphane Longeard on Microids’ website. ‘Through the development of this title, Microids wishes to offer a video game aimed to please the fans of the franchise.’
This will not be the first video game to include Grendizer, the title robot of the series. UFO Robot Grendizer (1975) is part of Go Nagai’s overall Mazinger mecha/ robot franchise. As such, the robot has appeared in many video games, including several titles in the crossover Super Robot Wars franchise, and the 1993 Mazinger Z game. However, this would appear to be the first game with Grendizer specifically as the main titular robot.
Go Nagai said about the game: ‘Reliving the adventures of Grendizer with the help of today’s technology is a dream come true. I am very happy with the signing of this publishing partnership and I can’t wait to put my hands on the video game.’
According to reports, Grendizer was extremely popular in France when it aired under the name Goldorak. In 2019, the French government awarded Go Nagai with the medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.