Saint Seiya Awakening: Knights of the Zodiac is a free role-playing mobile video game based on the hit and classic manga and anime series, Saint Seiya. Developed by Tencent and published by YOUZU(SINGAPORE)PTE.LTD., this is a 3D hero collection strategy game that features the series’ huge cast of characters.

Unlike Saint Seiya: Awakening—which is the South East Asian server—Saint Seiya Awakening: Knights of the Zodiac is the global version of this game, which was originally first released in China. There’s no difference between the two games other than their player base.

Why is Saint Seiya so popular?

Saint Seiya is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. Originally serialized back in 1986, it follows the story of orphan Seiya who ends up looking for his lost sister and becoming a Saint—a soldier of the Goddess Athena who must protect her. He uses the power of “Cloths” and the energy of the Cosmo to fight against evil.

In Saint Seiya Awakening: Knights of the Zodiac, the story can now be experienced in mobile video game format. Fans can relive the epic saga of Seiya and his friends as both the numerous story arcs and even the official Japanese voice actors are available in the game. The various Saint characters—complete with their unique abilities—can be collected via the gacha system and can be played in 6-vs-6 matches.

The gameplay involves turn-based strategy mechanics with card game elements and animated sprites. You can build your dream team of Saints and have them synergize to defeat the most powerful of opponents. There are multiple gameplay modes aside from the main campaign, such as real-time PvP battles and minigames. However, the higher ranks in PvP have steep pay-to-win components so the more competitive players may find themselves hitting their limit.

Can lean heavily to P2W

All in all, Saint Seiya Awakening: Knights of the Zodiac is a great mobile game version of the beloved anime and manga series. Not only does this Saint Seiya adaptation let you revisit the classic show but it also lets you control and play your favorite characters in huge team battles. The PvP rankings are dominated by pay-to-win players, however, so it can be hard for F2P to breach past them.