Video Game Adaptations

Now two decades into the 21st century, video games remain a very popular form of entertainment, but they haven’t entirely replaced their predecessors. Writers of graphic novels, novels, and movies have turned to adapting video games with success. Below you can find a play-by-play of some of the most successful adaptations.

Dynasty Warriors, a 2021 film based on a video game with the same name, is streaming on Netflix worldwide. The video game series is based on the classic Chinese novel Romance Of The Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, which places the film as both a film and a literary adaptation.

Dynasty Warriors is an action film dealing with the struggle to restore the Han Dynasty’s power. The movie plays as if you were watching a video game: characters are introduced in the film with a closeup, and their name is displayed on the screen. The film’s special effects, including flying decapitated heads, also add to the video game style. Dynasty Warriors also includes a bombardment of plot twists, such as an assassination attempt and a suicide attempt. Will the Han dynasty return? Or will it be game over for them? Watch Dynasty Warriors to find out!

The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap, a graphic novel by Akira Himekawa, features Young Link as the story’s small protagonist who learns a lot about how the world works. One day a mage named Vaati turns Zelda into stone, an evil act that might bury Hyrule’s future. More trouble is in store as Vaati has also destroyed The Sacred Sword. Link goes to the Minish Woods to visit the Picori (a race of teeny tiny creatures with their own language) to get their help in restoring The Sacred Sword. Link’s GPS on his journey is a talking cap named Ezlo who shrinks Link to help him see the Picori. Link then has to collect the elements of fire, earth, wind, and water to restore the sword. On his journey, Link meets an interesting cast of characters, such as a singing fairy with a refreshing voice but a fairly short lifespan, and a retired grieving swordsmith with a dull life. Pick up The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and your newfound appreciation of the Picori won’t diminish. 

Critics did not give peachy reviews of the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros movie. I’m not surprised since the film features Daisy instead of Princess Peach. The movie deals with the iconic video game characters Mario and Luigi, who are two plumbers living in Brooklyn. One day, they meet an orphaned college student named Daisy who is keenly interested in archeology (yes, the film really did dig into a backstory for Daisy). Mario and Luigi pursue Daisy after she is kidnapped and taken to an alternate universe, which is not exactly Mushroom Kingdom but a dystopian Manhattan. Its leader is Koopa. Plunge into the Super Mario Bros. film to see a unique take on Nintendo’s iconic brothers.

Love 020 the film is based on the Chinese novel Your Smile Is Very Alluring by Gu Man. Love 020 is a romantic comedy that takes place in the real and video game worlds. Bei Weiwei and Xiao Nai, two college students studying computer science at the same university, are talented players in a role-playing computer game called Mengyou Jianghu. They play under pseudonyms: Bei Weiwei is Luwei Weiwei, while Xiao Nai is Yixiao Naihe. One day, Naihe suddenly proposes to Weiwei in the game, and as a marriage they strengthen their odds in Mengyou Jianghu’s fighting tournament consisting of couples. Is their online relationship just a game? Will their online relationship start up in the real world? Play Love 020 the film to understand the science between these two video gamers’ romance.

Majora’s Mask, another of Akira Himekawa’s adaptations, is a horror story that unmasks the importance of friendship. The horror starts when Link meets Skull Boy, who is wearing a mysterious mask. Skull Boy plans on crashing the moon into Clock Town, located in Termina, during The Carnival of Time. A fairy tells Link to bring four people from the Swamp, Mountain, Sea, and Valley to save Clock Town from its impending demise. Link’s journey involves him collecting and wearing different masks, such as that of an ashamed warrior and a guitarist in a band who is trying to recover the lead singer’s voice, because they allow him to transform and harness the power of the original wearers. Will Link put back the clock on Termina’s demise? Look at The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask to see what will happen to Termina and what is behind all these masks.