5 Video Games That Deserve A TV Series Adaptation

Over the years, movie studios have often purchased the film rights to popular Video Games in the hope of finding their next potential hit film, often with dreams of a franchise to follow. After all, if the game is popular, a film should be a no-brainer, right? Unfortunately, the end result has often been films considered sub-par by fans and critics alike.

There are a couple of reasons why the films might have turned out badly. In some cases, it is because the original game was a Beat 'em up or Platformer, both of which are often thin on the plot necessary to stretch into a feature film. Others have the opposite problem: The game being adapted is an Adventure or RPG with too much plot to easily fit into a single film, leaving fans inevitably disappointed with the amount of content left on the cutting room floor.

In the latter scenario, it seems the solution may be to adapt these games for Television instead. The success of The Witcher, and more recently, The Last of Us, shows that an audience for these shows exists when they are well made, and the four-season run of Netflix's Castlevania proves that there is also room for Video Game adaptations in the world of animation.

With this in mind, let's look at some of the Video Games that deserve TV adaptations.

1. Kingdom Hearts

When Kingdom Hearts, a video game collaboration between Disney and Square Enix which would feature both Disney icons and characters from the Final Fantasy franchise, was announced in the early 2000s, there were those who thought that both companies may have lost their marbles. However, the game proved a hit, spawning two direct sequels and multiple spin-offs, with more in the pipeline.

The games initially focus on fourteen-year old Sora, who's plans to explore the world with his two best friends Riku and Kairi are halted when their home is attacked by creatures known as the Heartless, with he and his friends scattered across multiple worlds. Sora unexpectedly finds himself as the Keaybearer, wielder of a rare sword, the Keyblade. He teams up with Donald Duck and Goofy, travelling the worlds of various Disney films to stop the spread of the Heartless, while also searching for Riku, Kairi, and King Mickey. The spin-off games expand the scope of the Kingdom Hearts world, some following other characters and Keybearers.

Ever since the games' were released, fans have been eager for a television adaptation, and rumours have persisted on and off about a series being in the works. Early plans for an animated series adaptation of the first Kingdom Hearts were scrapped when the second game entered production for fear that the projects could encroach one another. In 2020, reports surfaced of a Kingdom Hearts series in development for Disney Plus. There has been little news of progress on the project since. However, with 2023 marking the one hundred years of Disney celebrations, and Kingdom Hearts including so many beloved Disney franchises, now would be the perfect time for the long-awaited series to surface.

2. The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda series has been one of Nintendo's tentpole franchises since the first game was released in 1986. In the years since, the series has grown at pace with advances in game engine and graphic technology, placing the series at the pinnacle of open world gaming, and one of the greatest video game franchises of all time.

The Legend of Zelda games tell the story of Link, a young warrior who must regularly save the land of Hyrule from the evil Ganon, often through preventing him from obtaining the pieces of the Triforce. Link is also closely bonded to Hyrule's Princess, the Zelda of the game's title, and must usually rescue her from Ganon at some point in each game.

Over the years, there have been many rumours about Legend of Zelda movie projects, and at one point, Amazon Prime was said to be looking at adapting the franchise into a family-friendly Game of Thrones style series for their streaming service.

There would be some complicated factors to work through, such as whether to adapt an existing game or write an original story, and perhaps more importantly, nailing the characterisation of Link, who in the games is a silent protagonist. This probably explains why none of the previous attempts at a film or show have yet come to fruition, but with the growing interest in adapting games to TV, it seems only a matter of time before someone takes a stab at Zelda.

3. Jak and Daxter

Before diving into the more hyper realistic style of games like Uncharted and The Last of Us, developer Naughty Dog existed in a more cartoony space, first with Crash Bandicoot, and then the similar visual style but somewhat more story-driven Jak and Daxter series.

Jak and Daxter begins innocently enough, with Jak's initial goal being simply to reverse the accidental transformation of his best friend, Daxter, into an ottsel. However, the second installment, Jak II, takes a sudden, dark twist when the characters are transported five-hundred years into the future by a malfunctioning Rift Gate, and Jak is subjected to two years of torturous experiments by the evil Baron Praxis before Daxter is able to rescue him. The experiments, which involve exposure to dangerous Dark Eco, give Jak the ability to transform into the powerful but creepy Dark Jak.

At the time of the games' release, the original Jak and Daxter trilogy were considered among the very best games on the Playstation 2, and the characters were even popular enough to appear in Playstation All-Star Battle Royale, Sony's attempt at an answer to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. While many fans believe the game's story is worthy of a film, others believe the TV format, perhaps a Netflix animated series, would more easily find an audience.

4. Epic Mickey

In 2010, as part of their attempts to revive the popularity of Mickey Mouse by reintroducing the more mischeivous elements of the character's early days, Disney commissioned the development of Epic Mickey, a game with a plot directly set off by Mickey's mischievous nature. The two Epic Mickey games are mostly set in the Wasteland, a painted world created by the Sorcerer Yen Sid as a safe haven for forgotten characters and ideas, such as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. After stumbling into Yen Sid's workshop, Mickey uses the Sorcerer's magic paintbrush to paint a self-portrait, inadvertently creating the evil Shadow Blot. In a panic, Mickey throws paint thinner on the Blot and flees, not realising that the Thinner had also spilled on Wasteland, ravaging the painted landscape.

Decades later, The Blot, which was not in fact destroyed, drags Mickey to Wasteland. He escapes The Blot, but is finally forced to deal with the consequences of his mistake, taking up the Magic Paintbrush to free Wasteland from the monster he created. The game also includes an extra emotional element by establishing Oswald as Mickey's older brother, both of them having been born from the mind of Walt Disney. Oswald must overcome his jealousy of Mickey's success in order to help him save Wasteland.

Mickey Mouse has recently celebrated his own hundredth Birthday, and Disney has been making great efforts to revive interest in Oswald since reclaiming the rights to the character. A TV series allowing Epic Mickey's tale of these two brothers could prove a perfect way to celebrate both characters.

5. Final Fantasy VI

Over the years, fans have often floated the possibility of films based on entries in the Final Fantasy franchise. There are a couple of reasons this hasn't happened, one being that the box office failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (an original story unconnected to any of the games) probably unfairly soured studios on the viability of a film franchise. The other is that the story of each game runs over many hours, and may be difficult to stretch into a film. So, a TV series may be the answer. While FFs VII and X are the ones that most often come up in conversation, a potentially epic series could be mined from Final Fantasy VI.

Originally released as Final Fantasy III in most Western countries, Final Fantasy VI tells the story of Terra, a half human, half Esper. As a Hybrid, she is one of only a few who can perform magic without the use of Magicite, and after escaping mind control at the hands of the Gestahl Empire, Terra teams up with a group of resitance fighters, the Returners, to take down the evil Emperor Gestahl. However, it soon becomes apparent that the true threat is Gestahl's increasingly insane right hand, Kefka Palazzo, who slips further into madness over the course of the story.

FF6 pushed the limits of what the Super Nintendo was capable of in graphics, sound, and scope, and with fourteen playable characters, has the largest roster of any core series Final Fantasy game. The story of the game would give enough content for at least two seasons of a series, likely even more, and includes an epic mid-game twist that could shock audiences almost as much as Game of Thrones. Despite the popularity of VII and X, many consider Final Fantasy VI to be one of the greatest games of all time. This is a story that deserves to find a wider audience, and if things worked out, other Final Fantasies might also get a chance to shine.

We could be about to enter a new age of Video Game inspired television.