Video Game Adaptations: The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Video Game Adaptations: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the history of video game adaptations, from the good, to the bad, to the very ugly.

Video game adaptations are bigger than ever, with some of the most successful blockbusters and most prestige TV being taken from video game source material. But it wasn’t always this way. Video game shows and films had a rough arrival, going through some real growing pains over the years. They started from the humblest beginnings, with the little-known “Mirai Ninja” being the first feature-length film released back in 1988. The film played in Japan, but English-speaking audiences never got a theatrical release and wouldn’t get a chance to see it for seven years. It wasn’t until 1995 that, under the title “Cyber Ninja,” an English dub was available on VHS, dooming it to little more than an obscure footnote.

The Bad

The film much more widely recognized as the original video game adaptation was 1993’s “Super Mario Bros.” Sure, it was adapting the most famous game in the world, but in truth, the movie had little to do with its source material other than character names and the prevalence of mushrooms. It started a trend of video game films that very loosely adapted their source material, which were often cheesy. They also had a trend of featuring beloved character actors like Dennis Hopper, Robert Patrick, or Raul Julia (in his final ever role) chewing the scenery in villainous roles. Often flops, and critically panned, for good reason, these films usually still had some charm to them, with many going on to achieve cult classic status.

The Good

At the same time that these adaptations were floundering at the box office, they were flourishing on TV. In the 90s, several shows aimed at children took the world by storm. Shows based on “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Megaman” became respectable hits, as did an Emmy-winning game show based on “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego,” which even received a spinoff and an animated series. By far the most successful adaptation was based on a recently released game for the Game Boy. Thanks in no small part to the anime’s success, “Pokémon” became the most profitable media franchise of all time, even getting numerous film releases following the show’s plots and characters.

The Ugly

With the profitability of that franchise, film studios saw how valuable video game IP could be. As the new millennium dawned, companies began to crank out more and more adaptations, each more soulless than the last. Two directors in particular became famous, or perhaps infamous, for their video game films. Paul W.S. Anderson and Uwe Boll produced many of the most reviled video game properties. Films from Boll in particular, such as “Alone in the Dark” and “House of the Dead,” are often listed as the worst movies ever made. These and others released at the time were cheap cash grabs from people who neither understood nor cared about what they were adapting.

The Bad

There was hope, however. Over the years, creatives began putting in the effort to create well-made films based on video games, some even launching franchises. They weren’t all terribly successful at first, however. While far from perfect, 2006’s “Silent Hill” was an early example of real talent existing behind the scenes, including director Christophe Gans and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Roger Avary penning the script. “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” was meant to spawn a mega-franchise with Disney giving it a roughly $200 million budget, essentially unheard of for a video game film at the time. “Warcraft” and “Assassin’s Creed” would follow suit years later, with big budgets and respected directors. While all of these films were relative disappointments, they at least showed some promise, proving that talented people who cared about games were finally getting a chance to helm these projects.

The Good

Much like they had decades prior with “Mirai Ninja,” Japan released a respected video game film that the U.S. never saw a theatrical release of with Takashi Miike’s “Ace Attorney.” The Western Hemisphere would catch up eventually, as in 2019, a video game film earned a positive Rotten Tomatoes score. To no one’s shock, the film that finally earned critical acclaim was the first-ever live-action “Pokémon” movie, “Detective Pikachu.” From then on, the floodgates opened, as auteur filmmakers released video game films that won praise from audiences and critics. These included “Werewolves Within,” “Gran Turismo,” and the “Sonic the Hedgehog” trilogy. The golden age wasn't confined to movies, of course. Great video game shows had never gone away and were part of the wave of prestige TV. Shows like “The Last of Us,” “Arcane,” and “Fallout” proved that video games were particularly great for long-form adaptations.

Today, some predict that video game adaptations may even overtake superhero movies in terms of cultural relevance. While, like any other source material, there is the occasional dud, the good adaptations far outnumber the bad. With promising adaptations like “Ghost of Tsushima” and “The Legend of Zelda” on the horizon, there is no telling what the future holds.

What are your favorite and least favorite video game adaptations? Let us know in the comments below!