Usually, many shudder at the idea of seeing video game adaptations come to the big (or small) screen. Over the years, Hollywood has tried to leverage video game franchises. More often than not, it completely misses the mark. That could be due to a bad script, bad CGI, and a general lack of understanding of what made the game special in the first place.
That said, we may have finally reached a turning point where video game customizations have a better chance of turning out well than ever before. Recent success stories such as the critically acclaimed Castlevania on Netflix, as well as well-received movies like Sonic the hedgehog and Detective Pikachu, are proof that video game adaptations can work. And it is now becoming more and more a normal phenomenon.
The top of the class
Castlevania
For many fans, great video game adaptations are the ones that faithfully recreate the plot points of the source material as they were originally. Still, fans of the supernatural action games in the Castlevania series should be aware that the story in those games is not its strong point. Castlevania as a video game franchise excels at creating atmospheric and fun action platformers with beautiful art and catchy music. On the other hand, the stories are often cheesy and the subject of many memes. So instead of choosing a single game to adapt, the Netflix team made the wise decision to let the showrunners create an original story that taps into established lore. They were given the freedom to perform a new story in the Castlevania universe.
Vlad Dracula Tepes has risen and unleashed an army of demonic creatures on the poor people of 15th-century Wallachia. It’s up to well-known characters like Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades to save the day. Instead of using Dracula as a one-note villain, the story sets the tone by giving him more depth than ever before. He has genuine motivations for his actions, making him a more convincing villain than he was in the earlier games.
It’s a story of good and evil, but it also takes advantage of the superstitious nature of humans and how fear and reason often clash in people’s minds. The result was a sublime story that was intertwined Castlevania‘s characters with a surprisingly mature plot that pays tribute to the franchise. And it’s all wrapped up in a package of slick visuals and solid voice acting.
Sonic the hedgehog
We’ve been down this road before. Iconic gaming mascots like Mario have undergone adaptations in the past, but they all failed for one reason or another. Even Sonic the hedgehog was originally set up to fail thanks to a terrible design for the character. But in one of the rare instances where fan complaints resulted in a positive change, Paramount Pictures took the feedback to heart and changed the look for the better.
When Sonic the hedgehog was eventually released, it turned out to be a well-made film that showed a lot of respect and reverence for Sega’s signature blue fade. It centered on a simple story revolving around Sonic having to find his trusty rings before meeting Dr. Robotnik defeated, but it also sprinkled with a heartwarming theme of friendship.
By keeping things simple, Sonic the hedgehog film didn’t have to take itself seriously, and that gave enough space to include Easter eggs and references to the classic Sonic spell. To top it off, Ben Schwartz did an admirable job of bringing Sonic’s energetic enthusiasm to life on the big screen, while Jim Carrey’s over-the-top Robotnik was hilarious. The sequel took it a step further, introducing familiar faces like Knuckles and Tails, expanding on the established story very well. Both films have served as solid adaptations for fans of Sonic’s games.
Arcane: League of Legends
League of Legends (LOL) is an unruly beast of a game. The ever-popular MOBA now has a growing cast of over 150+ characters. While fans have occasionally enjoyed the movies and stories of these colorful personalities, that knowledge rarely has any relevance to the gameplay of the game. LOL. With that in mind, Riot Games made the perfect decision: create an origin story that focused on a specific subset of the LOL form.
Arcane: League of Legends is an animated series created by the French studio Fortiche. It can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of your familiarity with LOL, because it does not rely on prior knowledge of the game. It turned out that that was the right decision. never touched LOLI and many others were moved to tears by the captivating story on display.
Several factions are in conflict in the town of Piltover and a cast of memorable characters are brought to life with glorious attention to detail and impeccable voice acting. While large-scale issues loom, it balances this out with a strong focus on three-dimensional characters like Jinx and Vi. Its shocking twists, moody soundtrack, and stunning aesthetic have set themselves apart from a crowd of similar 3D animated content in recent years. As far as video game customizations go, things don’t get much better.
head
head is special for many reasons, but the one that stands out the most is the art style. StudioMDHR is a small team that has spent years creating an art style that looks like it was plucked straight out of a 1930s cartoon. Playing the game it feels like artistry is in flux, and the bizarre array of characters inhabiting the world were ripe for exploration. The eponymous Netflix cartoon does just that. head on Netflix uses that same beautiful animation style to give fans a little more time with the characters and the world from the game. The animation comes across as a bit cleaner than a true classic cartoon, but it still has the same spirit as its video game counterpart.
The show turns Cuphead and Mugman into memorable characters thanks to talented voiceover work, as well as their outrageous and often humorous slapstick comedy. Characters like the Devil and King Dice are given plenty of time to shine, and the show even throws a spotlight on Elder Kettle, who proves to be a fun character in his own right. The short and standalone episodes each deal with the duo’s various misadventures, and it also has time to introduce enjoyable musical numbers, and a comedic tone that crosses the line between cartoons like Tom & Jerry and Spongebob Squarepants.
Detective Pikachu
Nobody expected a game series like pokemon could have successful live-action adaptations. It would take a lot of extensive CGI work to bring the pocket monsters to life, and it would still have to tell a cohesive story with the cute critters to boot. So, instead of making a traditional one pokemon adventure, the first live-action pokemon movie was wisely based on the Detective Pikachu spin-off game instead.
In the same vein as the game it adapts, the story is about a teenager who is looking for his lost father. Tim Goodman is different from other characters in the franchise in that he has become disillusioned with the creatures. That sets the audience up for a fun story where the main character learns to care about Pokémon again, and it highlights what makes them special. That’s most apparent in how well the movie treats the Pokémon itself. In its futuristic utopia, Pokémon feel like a natural part of the world.
Some Pokémon roam in packs in the wild, while others work in cafes with their owners. Charizard looks menacing, Psyduck is hilarious and Mr. Mime is just as creepy as expected. It’s a world that pokemon fans have always dreamed of seeing, and Detective Pikachu does it justice. Most importantly, in the film, Ryan Reynolds plays the wisecracking, coffee-drinking detective Pikachu. His humor works for both children and adults in a self-confident performance that steals the show.
But we’re not there yet
The movies and shows just mentioned are all examples of how video game customizations can shine in the right hands. Unfortunately, we’re not quite out of the loop when it comes to bad game tweaks. In recent years Mortal Kombat was generally loved, but it made the traditional mistake of introducing a new original protagonist that fans of the series just couldn’t care less about. More recently, Netflix’s Resident Evil series was poorly received by many fans, with some positive performances being overshadowed by strange story decisions.
Obviously, the trend of adapting video games to TV shows and movies is only getting more common, but we hope recent success stories are a sign that things are finally on the right track.
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