10 Best Animated Adaptations Of Video Games, Ranked

Video games are often considered difficult to adapt due to their sprawling stories. Plenty of films fail to adapt the game they’re attempting. It isn’t easy to adapt a 40+ hour into a 2+ hour movie. Television has seen more success when it comes to adapting video games due to a serialized TV show having more real estate to adapt the games’ story.

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The medium of animation has proven to be a reliable one for adapting video games. Netflix has produced many animated video game adaptations. There are still a few shows on the way, such as Ark: The Animated Series but some of the best video game shows are already available.

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10

Pokémon

Probably the longest-running video game adaptation is Pokémon. The story of Ash Ketchum and his friends has been going on since 1997 and is only recently coming to an end this year. The series follows Ash’s quest to become a Pokémon champion. Pokémon sees Ash befriend many beloved characters and Pokemon, who he sometimes has to say goodbye to in heartbreaking moments.

While it’s a beloved show in its own right, it’s not an incredibly faithful adaptation. Ash was originally meant to be a stand-in for Red, the main character from the original game, but eventually, he grew to be his own character.

9

DOTA: Dragon’s Blood

Based explicitly on DOTA 2, DOTA: Dragon’s Blood follows the story of the Dragon Knight, Davion. When he gets in the middle of a fight between an elder dragon and an infected one, Davion becomes possessed by the elder dragon. Now he’s able to transform into a dragon-type warrior, and he’s the only one who can stop the evil coming to the land.

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One thing that video game adaptations struggle with is adapting the world of the game with enough depth to keep audiences engaged while not losing that same audience due to overwhelming information. A TV show shouldn’t struggle with this as much, but DOTA: Dragon’s Blood does to a degree. The show has fun characters to follow but struggles to adapt the world compellingly.

8

Carmen Sandiego

Based on the popular game by Broderbund, Carmen Sandiego follows the titular thief as she goes around the world stealing from another thief. The series takes the educational elements of the game and adapts them for an animated kids’ show that often plays like the kind of shows that would play after school for kids to watch.

The after-school edutainment aspect of the show is a feature more than a fault. It sports an impressive voice cast as well as solid animation. The show takes the iconic main character of the games and faithfully adapts her into an animated TV series that is both educational and filled with adventure.

7

Dragon Age: Absolution

Netflix has made many animated video game adaptations, the most recent of which was Dragon Age: Absolution. This adaptation of the popular Dragon Age franchise follows a group of Mercenaries. They attempted to steal a powerful artifact, but the heist went wrong, and now they must fix their mistake.

Overall, the show is a good representation of what the Dragon Age franchise can offer. The new characters are instantly likable, and their world is accurate to the fault of the one that appears in the games. It’ll be a good entry point into the franchise should fans want to seek it out.

6

Castlevania

Castlevania was one of the first animated video game adaptations that Netflix created. The story follows Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades as they hunt and rid the world of monsters. Initially, they were after Dracula, but after his death at the hands of Alucard, Carmilla filled the power vacuum.

Castlevania had a solid first two seasons, but the quality didn’t last for the second two. The first two are very strong, and the animation was always stunning. The story accurately adapted many elements of the games and was a breath of fresh air for video game adaptations when it first came out.

5

Pokémon: Origins

While Pokémon has had a long history on TV, the show didn’t really adapt the events of the games. Pokémon: Origins was the attempt to change that. It was a four-part miniseries that retold the events of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue. The story follows the journey of the character Red and his rival Blue.

While it may only be four parts, the show is a very accurate representation of that show. There’s not much to a Pokémon story, but they are able to make Red a different character than Ash, which allows Red to stand on his own. There’s some very good animation, and the show represents what those early games were attempting.

4

The Cuphead Show!

One of the more surprising breakout hits in the video game world was Cuphead. Not long after the game took the world by storm, Netflix announced a 2D animated series based on the game called The Cuphead Show. The show followed the two characters of Cuphead and Mughead on their misadventures through their cartoon world.

One of the major appeals that the game possesses is the 2D animation that calls back to old Disney cartoons from the 30s and 40s. While the show uses CG animation for its backgrounds, it still accurately recreates the atmosphere and feelings of those old cartoons. It also keeps the game’s humor and is a very good adaptation. In some ways, The CupheadShow works better than the game at recapturing the tone of the old animation.

3

Sonic The Hedgehog (1993)

Sonic The Hedgehog has seen almost as many animated shows as he has games. One of the shows that stands out is the series that run from 1993 to 1994. The darker-toned Sonic The Hedgehog saw a series where Eggman ruled Angel Island, and Sonic and his friends were rebels trying to overthrow the evil and menacing doctor.

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The series broke new ground by being a darker take on the beloved hedgehog without sacrificing what made the character work so well for audiences of the games. Sonic and friends were still the characters that audiences loved but were transplanted into a somewhat grittier story that made them the underdogs.

2

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Cyberpunk 2077 had a rocky start when it first launched. But that didn’t stop Netflix from producing an animated series based on the game called Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. Set within the world of Cyberpunk 2077, the show follows Kenn, who becomes an Edgrunner in order to buy a better life for himself and the people he loves. Unfortunately, the system wants him to fail.

Cyberpunk: Edgrunners is not an adaptation of Cyberpunk 2077 in the strictest sense of the term. But it’s everything that makes that game in this show. The locations are straight out of the game and, most importantly, the tone of hopelessness within Night City. It’s a near-perfect adaptation with some of the best animation to come out of Studio Trigger.

1

Arcane

League of Legends is a game that has a lot of lore but not a lot of plot. Thankfully one of the biggest surprises of 2021 changed that with Arcane. The Netflix adaptation of the League of Legends video game is unlike anything on TV. The series follows Violet and Jynx as they struggle to survive and find themselves on opposite sides of a major conflict.

Much has been said about the animation, which is stunning, but that’s not its only strength. The show adapts these characters in fun ways, making each of them instantly likable. The action is choreographed well and has a fluid movement that creates a naturalist feel. Most importantly, it adapts the world of League of Legends in a respectful way and doesn’t overwhelm the audience with too much lore.

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