13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim surpasses 200,000 units sold in Japan

Atlus announced that 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim has surpassed 200,000 copies sold in Japan (via Gematsu). Note that this includes both physical and digital sales. Given that it was initially reported in March that the PS4 adventure/tactics game hybrid sold 400,000 worldwide, this latest sales figure shows just how much steam the game is building both at home and abroad.

The latest game from 2D animation specialists Vanillaware, 13 Sentinels is the result of a six-year development cycle that started with a planned Vita version that was eventually scrapped in favor of polishing up the eventual PS4 version.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim released in 2019 in Japan, and 2020 worldwide to glowing reviews for its innovative approach to storytelling and tactical combat. Word of mouth propelled it to gaining a following and the eventual 400,000 copies sold.

It’s always encouraging to see ambitious 2D works succeed. We’re living in a 2D renaissance right now, but what Vanillaware does is on another level entirely. Their games are always beautiful living illustrations stretching as far back as the Saturn era. They made their first worldwide splash with 2007’s Odin Sphere and have since made a wide variety of different games in their signature style.

Vanillaware’s games stand out not just for their art style, but for the fact that they’re priced as premium games that nevertheless manage to find an audience. 13 Sentinels started off as a $60 game, and though the price has dipped to as low as $40 due to sales, it remains nonetheless impressive that audiences still managed to appreciate the game even at a price point that many would argue has no place being on a 2D game.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is available now for PS4, and tells a story influenced by kaiju media and mech combat from the perspective of thirteen different characters.