Best TV Shows Ever Made Based on Popular Video Games
Don’t you feel excited to see a video game you once played when you were young make its way onto the big screen? Isn’t it exciting to see your favourite gaming characters run around once more wearing the same costumes in the completely familiar landscape? You are not the only person to think so. And why shouldn’t you when today’s advanced technology and computer graphics have taken the world of animation to such a peak that we feel like revisiting them more and more? The only change is – you sit back and enjoy the characters unfolding their story without your help. A number of popular video games have been made into big-screen productions in the recent past, and the number is expected to rise more given the rapid growth of immersive role-playing games (RPGs) over the years.
Compared to video game-turned movies, TV show adaptations have gained greater success and have fascinated larger audiences. Out of all big-screen adaptations, video game turned TV shows have carved a niche for themselves because of their different storylines covering unique genres with superior animation quality and live-action sequences. In contrast, video game movies have continued to disappoint the fans, taking it to the point where we dread a video game being turned into a movie only to see it fail miserably.
Popular Games Having Successful TV Show Adaptations
Now let’s take a look at some of the most popular TV show adaptations of your favourite games.
Viva Pinata
A very unusual member of the list, Viva Pinata deserves special recognition for its offbeat animation style. Unlike the game, which was supposed to be full of adventure, the show was delightfully a friendly comedy designed mainly for young audiences. Such is the unusual nature of the show that many people get confused as to which came earlier – the game or the show.
Castlevania
Although Castlevania was a very popular Japanese animated action-horror game, it was interestingly adapted into a successful TV series jointly by two American animation studios – Frederator and Powerhouse Animation Studios.
The series received a good response from the audience and successfully ran for four seasons. It was mostly based on the various pieces of lore from the original game series. The horror aesthetic of the animation was extremely well-created, which gave the show its unique identity.
Carmen Sandiego
People were of the opinion that Carmen Sandiego would not perform well on the big screen; however, it came out to be one of the best TV show adaptations on Netflix. Although this game has been adapted and readapted multiple times, the 2019 adaptation of the popular educational mystery series game stands out among the rest.
Netflix adopted a completely different animation style that captivated the audience and made Carmen Sandiego look more like a talented thief than a super spy. The show ran for four seasons and has been received generously by the audience so far.
Digimon
Digimon made it to our list by outclassing the Pokemon series, another popular video game adaptation. Although Pokemon is still continuing, Digimon showed us what can be achieved with a good set of characters and plotlines.
The creators of the Digimon TV series had to practically start from scratch with very little source material to work upon. The series became so popular that it surprisingly became the basis for future game adaptations.
Persona
Only a few other video games have matched the popularity of the Persona franchise. One of the best role-playing games of all time, Persona got its well-deserved TV adaptation that described the entire story from the game in more detail with additional animations and visuals.
Although it may sound repetitive, the show actually gave a lot more depth to the game-plot and added more personality to the main characters, giving them and their respective animation sequences a completely fresh look to every fan’s delight.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Who doesn’t like the super speedster, Sonic, the hedgehog? The number of games and the corresponding TV adaptations made on Sonic to date is enormous, and they far outshine the 2020 film made on the famous character.
With his charm and charisma, Sonic won many hearts and became more fun and relatable to watch on the TV shows, which added more depth to his already cool and cheeky character in the games.
The Witcher
Probably the most undisputed TV show adaptation of all time, The Witcher has redefined the video game TV series culture and has set a new bar for others to match. The series managed to capitalise on the exciting gameplay to build a more captivating drama based on the dark fantasy setting it already had. It accurately displayed the live-action sequences of the immensely popular game, which reignited the interest of many fans worldwide.
Conclusion
The video game industry has been present for many years, and now with TV shows being made based on these video games, the fun has doubled. Let’s hope this list has given you some suggestions that suit your preference.
