Sand Land Developer Diary #1 - Enemies & Vehicles

by Adam Vitale on 12 October, 2023

Bandai Namco Entertainment has shared the first in a series of developer diary videos for Sand Land, detailing enemies and vehicles in the upcoming anime RPG.

The video alongside a transcript can be found below, via Bandai Namco.

Sand Land is set to release for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam). A release date has not been announced.

For more on the game, you can check out:

Welcome to the Sand BOX! Introducing our Dev Diary Series for Sand Land - let's get rev'd up with Episode 1: vehicles and enemies! Learn about how you'll traverse the desert and what dangers await you and Beelzebub's crew.
Samanta: Hello and welcome to our deep dive into Sand Land, where we will be introducing exciting new features and news about the upcoming game. And we have invited the best person to bring you the latest information about the game, please welcome Minami-san!
Keishu Minami: Hello! I'm Keishu Minami, the producer of Sand Land! I hope I can tell you all more about the best points of the game through this video.
Samanta: Thanks for joining us! Besides the information that's already out there, there's a lot of other information yet to be revealed. In the first trailer, the main character Beelzebub and the vehicles' actions were shown. Could you kindly tell us more about it?
Keishu Minami: Of course! Beelzebub can connect combos with normal attacks, or activate skills to use powerful techniques that are different from normal attacks. As the adventure continues, Beelzebub's skill tree will be unlocked, and the number of skills available will increase, so you can enjoy a variety of battle actions.
Samanta: So there's even a skill tree! Even just the character actions seem to be very deep.
Keishu Minami: That's right. Beelzebub's actions are sufficient to fight small or human enemies such as Raptors and bandits, but when it comes to large enemies or tank battles, we recommend using vehicles to fight as equals.
Samanta: Beelzebub’s abilities look powerful enough, but with the vehicles, he can take on even stronger enemies!
Keishu Minami: Yes, there are various types of vehicles, such as tanks, Jump-Bot, and motorcycles, and each can fight by taking advantage of their own characteristics. For example, tanks are suitable for battles because they can fire a powerful single shot, while Jump-Bot can climb to high places to attack, or use its mobility to avoid enemy attacks. Depending on the situation, I think one of the features of this game is the ability to fight using the action capabilities of multiple vehicles as well as Beelzebub's abilities.
Samanta: You have a full range of both character and vehicle action! Beelzebub is going to use vehicles to take on hard to defeat enemies, and I think one of the highlights is that there will be a lot of vehicles.
Keishu Minami: That's right. In addition to tanks, we are also preparing other vehicles that are Toriyama-sensei style. As shown in the trailer, there will be a bipedal battle-bot, a hovering vehicle that can levitate and move, and more.
Samanta: I'm definitely curious how they can be used in exploration and battle!
Keishu Minami: There are still some vehicles that we have not been able to introduce in detail, but we hope you will look forward to find more about them in the future!
Samanta: Of course I'm interested in the wide variety of vehicles, but we also have wide range of customization, right?
Keishu Minami: Yes, there is a wide range of customization! You can customize the main weapon, subweapon, undercarriage, engine, and more. Parameters are different for each part, and some parts have a different appearance. We hope you will enjoy building your own vehicles by replacing the parts according to your style.
Samanta: It seems like vehicle customization will let you do a lot! I'm sure players will want to test what they can do with their favorite vehicle. You mentioned a little earlier that there are various enemies to test the abilities of Beelzebub and the vehicles... Many players are probably wondering about the distinctly stand-out creatures and enemies of Sand Land that have already been shown in the footage released so far.
Keishu Minami: Yes, there are unique looking enemies, and also enemies that control vehicles and attack. There are also monsters that live in the desert world.
Samanta: Are there any strategies or things to watch out for when taking on enemies?
Keishu Minami: Yes, you can of course use Beelzebub to fight enemies that are riding vehicles, but I think it is better to use vehicles to fight them equally. As for monsters, there is the Greater Desert Crocodile that hides and attacks in quicksand areas, and Raptors are often in groups, so you need to watch out because you can be surrounded if you are not careful.
Samanta: Are there any particularly tough enemies out there?
Keishu Minami: Yes, I think the very large monsters will be tough. In such cases, you need to fight them by using a motorcycle to keep your distance, or by using a battle-bot to fight them in close combat, or by watching their movements carefully and using an enhanced vehicle.
Samanta: I see, so you make use of vehicle features here as well.
Keishu Minami: In addition, you can find the Geji Dragon which is a memorable encounter in the manga. At the beginning, you can only successfully escape from the Geji Dragon by controlling the car, but there is a place called the Geji Dragon's Nest somewhere in the world where you can actually fight the Geji Dragon.
We hope you will find it and take on this formidable foe.
Samanta: Thank you for all the information that will make us all even more excited to explore the world of Sand Land!
Keishu Minami: There is still more information that I would like to share with you in addition to what I have told you today, so please look forward to it!
Samanta: And there you have it. Thank you for watching! Don't forget to follow the official Sand Land accounts linked below for the latest updates! Until next time! We'll see you in the next episode! Bye bye!