Video game movies and shows are finally getting it right, and that raises an obvious question: what should be adapted next? In this Fresh Look column, Neal Sayatovich runs through five games — from cult classics to forgotten oddities — that could shine as movies or TV series in today’s golden age of game-based storytelling.
While I have been snowed in these last few days, I have been thinking about how far video game movies and game-based television shows have come. For example, in the beginning I remember watching Bloodrayne, Postal, and every other Uwe Boll movie that was based on a hit video game. Unfortunately, they were underwhelming and left both fans and nonfans reaching for a barf bag.
As time went on, however, there were a few bright spots that started to emerge, such as the first Resident Evil movie (unlike the rest of Paul W.S. Anderson’s filmography) as well as the first Mortal Kombat film. However, most of these were cult classics and didn’t get much praise outside of those who liked the games they were based on.
However, we have finally hit what I think is the golden era of game-based cinema and TV shows. Some of the amazing ones we have seen over the past few years include Castlevania, Arcane, and DOTA. Cyberpunk Edgerunners was probably the peak of those so far. It was so good that not only was it a huge hit for Netflix, but it also breathed new life back into the Cyberpunk 2077 game itself.
This got me thinking that there are probably quite a few other titles that could be made into either films, television shows, or animated features. Here are the ones that I think would be great for that.
5: Conker’s Bad Fur Day
Conker’s Bad Fur Day is an obtuse, obscene fever dream of an experience. That is why I want to see this one made into an animated series. I don’t know why, but I want to see everyone’s favorite foul-mouthed red squirrel going on new adventures. I think if there is any time for this show to be considered, it is now. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are more willing to have adult focused content, so they would be a good home. HBO would also be an option as they have picked up adult versions of DC characters with series like Harley Quinn and Kite Man: Hell Yeah! (shout out to Matt Oberg for awesome work in that and the series Ugly Americans as well). Now for some more serious options…
4: Blades Of Time
This is the first of two long-forgotten Xbox 360 titles that made my list. Blades Of Time is a title that I reviewed for GiN back in 2012 that I’d like to take another look at whenever I find a copy because I remember it as fun and unique. You play as Ayumi, a treasure hunter who uses guns and swords to explore sacred and magical places. She even gains the mystical power to reverse time by a short amount. While the general plot eludes me because it has been well over a decade since I have played it, I think the time manipulation aspect could lead to some interesting potential for a show. If they were able to make a Tomb Raider movie, they could also squeeze this one out.
3: N3: Ninety-Nine Nights
If I could personally pick one game to write a show for, it would be this one. A forgotten hack and slash with an atrocious unrelated sequel, there is a lot to work with. N3: Ninety-Nine Nights (reviewed by GiN back in 2006) takes place in a battle between the forces of light and dark. There are seven characters, and through them we see different angles of the conflict. The game is dark, gritty, and has solid emotional undertones that would make for a great story with some creative freedom. Normally, I wouldn’t think a game like this could work as a show, but DOTA was a great series in the same vein.
2: Dark Cloud 2
A personal favorite of mine, this PlayStation 2 title handles time shifting really well. It follows a kid named Max who lives in an isolated town and stumbles upon an evil group interested in a stone given to him by his mother. That leads to a chance meeting with Monica, a girl from the future who possesses a similar stone. Together, the two of them untangle the mystery of a force removing things from the past to erase them from the future. I feel like the goofy characters and charming art style would be popular with many different types of viewers.
1: Legendary
Legendary is so weird and obtuse that even the chief editor here didn’t know about it. I think he gets tired of me constantly mentioning the most random games. What was Legendary about you ask? Well, it’s an Xbox 360 title from 2008 that had a thief stealing Pandora’s Box and decided to take a peek inside. Next thing you know, the world starts becoming overrun with griffins and other mythological beasts who escaped the box. While the interface is that of a first-person shooter, I think the story can be slightly recalibrated for television so that it’s not quite so action oriented, or else lean into that action and make it as exaggerated as possible. Either way, battling monsters from Pandora’s Box seems like a pretty great show.
Maybe these titles will get made into shows one day, but I kind of doubt it. Even so, I think they could be epic, and with hit shows based on games being pretty hot right now maybe these five titles could be next in line.