Bandai Namco is one of the top-tier studios for games of the anime variety, and its most recent release, Scarlet Nexus, proves that the studio still has what it takes to develop excellent action RPGs. The game has been well received and already has a devoted fanbase, but its number of fans could be expanded drastically by making one important decision: bringing Scarlet Nexus to mobile devices.
The mobile gaming community is one of the biggest in the entire world, and Scarlet Nexus seems like an excellent candidate to be mobile gaming's next big hit. Obviously, porting a full-blown console game to mobile is much easier said than done. However, it would probably be worth Bandai Namco's time to do so, as the game is full of elements that would make it perfect to play on phones. Additionally, as the mobile gaming community continues growing with each passing day, the company might be leaving money on the table if it doesn't take advantage of Scarlet Nexus' mobile potential.
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Without wishing to be reductive, Scarlet Nexus's controls aren't the most technically complicated in all of video gaming. This isn't to say that the game itself is easy or uncomplex, just that the base actions that Yuito and Kasane take throughout the game are relatively simple to command. Just about every combat ability is mapped to the front face buttons on a standard Xbox or PlayStation controller, so it could easily be mapped to a touch screen. Instead of putting a UI on the screen for every button, the basic attack controls could be altered to be "tap once for the regular attack" and "tap and hold for sweeping attacks." The rest of the game's commands could have button prompts that appear when appropriate or permanently stay on screen.
One game that handles its on-screen controls well that Scarlet Nexus could follow after is Genshin Impact. Using a controller for Genshin Impact and using the touch commands offer very similar experiences, with the only major difference being the physical feedback that comes from actually pressing buttons or moving the sticks on a controller. Genshin Impact figured out how to put buttons on small screens without being intrusive to the game's camera, and Scarlet Nexus could use similar features. Instead of using Scarlet Nexus' console UI exactly on mobile, it could be altered slightly to allow for more clarity in the same way that Genshin Impact slightly alters its UI for the same purpose.
While mobile devices are as powerful as they've ever been, Scarlet Nexus would most likely need to be slightly downgraded to run at a steady framerate if ported from consoles to phones. Doing this might mean that the environments would have less polish, and that the physics objects that Yuito and Kasane throw around might need to be slightly less interactive when not being used for combat purposes. Although removing that polish might make the game less appealing in the eyes of some looking for a one-to-one console-mobile experience, the downgrade wouldn't mean that the game is really that different, just slightly less polished. After all, because it's on a smaller screen, those differences might not even be noticeable in the first place.
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Aside from how well its gameplay would translate to touch screens, Scarlet Nexus' visual novel format would make it an incredible mobile port. Though some people who started up Scarlet Nexus for the first time only to be met with visual novel storytelling were put off initially, it's clear that the game's style is intentional. Paired with its episodic narrative structure, the visual novel aspects of Scarlet Nexus make the game feel like a Shōnen Jump manga more than anything else. In place of flashy cutscenes, still images are used to let the player fill the gaps in with their imagination, just like a book.
Because the game doesn't really require the player to pay close attention to the actions of its characters, it forces the player to pay attention to Scarlet Nexus' story and characters themselves. At the end of the day, this sort of format lends itself to mobile gaming as the screens are typically small. Looking at stills to comprehend the twists and turns of Scarlet Nexus's story is far easier and offers fewer distractions, making the game a fine fit for mobile devices.
It might be because Scarlet Nexus is also receiving a weekly released anime, but the actual story structure itself uses an episodic format. This format conveniently pairs well with mobile gaming because of its pick-up/put-down appeal. Although each chapter or "phase" all vary in length, most are around 30 to 45 minutes long which is the perfect amount of time needed for playing on the go. Many people turn to mobile gaming to fill the time during things like commuting or sitting in waiting rooms, so the smaller episodic format really fits. Scarlet Nexus also offers plenty of save spots during its many missions, so it's an easy game to wrap up quickly and put back in the player's pocket.
There's no doubt about the fact that Scarlet Nexus is a story-based game that some people don't want to engage in when playing mobile games. However, its episodic storytelling makes it a good entry-level narrative experience to be had on mobile devices. It could open the door for other narrative-focused mobile games as well if it's a hit. The option of watching the game's anime counterpart on mobile devices exists as well, however those looking to experience Scarlet Nexus' story in an interactive way could really benefit from a mobile port. It doesn't seem very likely that a port is even in the works, but if demand is high enough, Bandai Namco could consider bringing its latest hit to mobile. After all, it's a better fit than most for the ever-growing format.
Scarlet Nexus is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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