Fairy Tail 2’s launch is right around the corner, with a big seal of approval from original mangaka Hiro Mashima 

Ahead of the December release of Koei Tecmo’s FAIRY TAIL 2, Hiro Mashima, the author of the original manga, shared his thoughts on the game’s story and the global popularity of his series with Dengeki Online. 

Mashima’s original FAIRY TAIL manga began serialization in Weekly Shonen Magazine back in 2006 and ran until 2017. During this time, it developed a large following and spawned various spin-offs. In 2020, Koei Tecmo released the licensed video game adaptation FAIRY TAIL, an RPG that covers several arcs of the manga’s story. The game was well received by many fans of the manga and anime, netting a Mostly Positive review status on Steam. The sequel, FAIRY TAIL 2, will feature various improvements and changes to the formula of the first game, including a larger world map, an active battle system and revamped characters.

Developed with Mashima’s involvement, the FAIRY TAIL 2 game will cover the entire Alvarez Empire Arc (the final part of the manga and anime series). As previously stated by the game’s producer FAIRY TAIL 2’s story is “basically the same as the original,” with extra dialogue (written by Mashima) and interactions to add to the experience. 

When asked what was difficult about writing the Alvarez Empire Arc in the original manga, Mashima replies with a laugh, “There are so many characters. I remember it took me a long time to write it.” Regarding how the arc has been adapted in FAIRY TAIL 2, Mashima comments that “The original story came out even better than I thought. It’s a wonderful game in which you can feel the love for the source material, so please enjoy playing it.” 

Mashima also gave his opinion on a hotly contested aspect of the story. In the FAIRY TAIL universe, the Spriggan 12 are a group of twelve powerful mages who guard the Emperor of Alvarez, however fans have differing opinions on which of these characters are strongest. Mashima weighs in on this, revealing that August and Irene are the most powerful, followed by Larcade, Dimaria, God Serena and the rest of the Spriggan 12. According to Mashima, Wall Eehto is at the bottom. 

When asked why he thinks FAIRY TAIL has become so popular in Japan and around the world, Mashima answers, “I don’t really know, but I’m pleased that so many people like the characters.” 

FAIRY TAIL 2 is scheduled to be released for PS4/PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam) on December 12, 2024.