SAND LAND is an action RPG based on Akira Toriyama's short manga of the same name, and it does something most licensed adaptations fumble immediately: it respects the source material without being enslaved to it. You play as Beelzebub, a teenage Fiend Prince with spiky energy and a surprising moral compass, teaming up with the aging sheriff Rao and the demon general Thief to find a legendary water source in a world baked dry by corruption and scarcity. The setup is classic Toriyama - road trip, found family, light political commentary wrapped in goofy adventure energy - and ILCA commits to that tone all the way through. The combat is where things get interesting and a little unusual for the genre. Rather than relying purely on character-level hack-and-slash, SAND LAND puts a significant chunk of its action inside vehicles, particularly tanks. You collect, upgrade, and swap between different tank types, each with distinct firing patterns, mobility, and utility. It sounds like a gimmick, but the vehicle loop is genuinely fleshed out. On-foot combat exists and covers the basics competently - Beelzebub hits hard, dodges well, and has a small but satisfying skill set - though it rarely reaches the mechanical depth of the tank sections. The open desert map rewards exploration with upgrade parts and lore scraps, though some of the open-world filler quests are exactly what you would expect: go here, fetch this, come back. They are not offensive, but they are not inspired either. The writing is where SAND LAND earns most of its goodwill. The central trio has genuine chemistry. Rao in particular lands as a quietly affecting character - a man who has seen too much and still keeps moving. The game does not give you branching dialogue or meaningful choices in the CRPG sense, so if you are coming in expecting Toriyama meets Baldur's Gate, recalibrate. This is a linear narrative experience with action-RPG scaffolding, closer to a Tales game in structure than a Divinity title. Choices do not reshape outcomes. What you get instead is a tightly paced story that earns its emotional beats without dragging them out, which is honestly a trade some games should make more often. Build variety is modest. Beelzebub's skill tree offers some customization, and the vehicle upgrade system adds a layer of mechanical decision-making, but do not expect the kind of build theorycrafting that will eat your spreadsheet hours. Past the midgame, the combat difficulty settles into a comfortable rhythm that only spikes meaningfully at boss encounters, which are among the game's best moments. Visually, ILCA nails the Toriyama aesthetic - the world feels like a panel come to life, which is no small achievement. The score is warm and adventurous without being intrusive. If you never read the manga, you will still follow along fine. If you did read it, the adaptation is loving enough to feel like a proper tribute, especially poignant given Toriyama's passing in early 2024. SAND LAND is not trying to be a genre-redefining RPG. It is a well-made, emotionally honest adventure game with a strong central cast and a combat hook that is weirder and more fun than the box suggests. Go in for the story, stay for the tanks. Monika, Scout Team