The general belief is that no video game adaptation to cinema can be good, however, the industry has tried to go in the opposite direction many times, with equally negative results, or even worse. In fact, one of those attempts only confirmed its collapse... but one understands the temptation. If the movie breaks the box office, how can you not expect the game to do the same? Below, I offer you twenty examples of advertising for games inspired by movies.
RoboCop
The trained eye probably remembers the arcade scene from RoboCop 2, with the Data East logo on almost all machines. This advertisement belongs to the first game, and as much as many people enjoyed it at the time... for me it was bad.
WarGames
Technically the game box and not an advertisement, but no one in their right mind could ignore a classic like WarGames. Personally, I don't remember playing it, and all the versions I've seen show an gameplay that is indecipherable...
E.T.
He's scared. He's completely alone. He's three million light years from home. He is E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial, and he came to destroy an entire industry. Poor Warshaw, with five weeks he couldn't work miracles...
Total Recall
I'm not going to go so far as to say the Total Recall adaptation for the Nintendo NES was "good", but I admit it didn't try to stray too far from the movie. Quaid's fight with his "non-wife", the subway fight, the wet towel on the head, it's all there...
Raiders of the Lost Ark
(sigh)... horrible, or rather, another Warshaw creation that tries to offer a certain level of complexity, and ends up ruined by hardware limitations. Better than E.T. without a doubt... but Pitfall! had devoured the entire adventure category on the 2600.
Rambo
If we consider the content of the game, I think it would be more correct to say "Rambo II", but it doesn't deserve too much attention to detail either. I mean... the first levels are basically Rambo fighting wasps and snakes with a clean knife.
Back to the Future Part II
Honestly, I don't remember this... but I can say there is more than one game with that title. On one hand, there are Image Works developments, and on the other there is "Back to the Future Part II & III" by Beam Software and Acclaim for the Nintendo NES.
Arachnophobia
I was nine years old when I saw this movie on VHS, but the humorous component prevented me from ending up dreaming about spiders for a week. The game is very simple, and in a way serves as a technical demo of the Disney Sound Source.
The Rocketeer
Movie, yes. Especially with a wonderful Jennifer Connelly on screen. But game is... weird. The voices and effects are good, the VGA palette is there, and the comic format doesn't go unnoticed. The rest... falls too short.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventure
Yes, the first Bill & Ted movie had a video game. And no, it doesn't have anything outstanding judging by 1991 reviews... with the exception of Nintendo Power which gave it a 3.6/5. It doesn't make sense to sabotage your own platform after all, right?
Back to the Future Part III
The sequel to the game I mentioned above. Legend has it that both movies were actually one at first, but the density of the plot led to splitting its content in two, and they were filmed back-to-back. Of course, none of that helped the (limited) quality of the games...
Darkman
Available information tells me that Nintendo released the Darkman movie game on both NES and Game Boy, but their differences are quite large. The image belongs to the portable version, which can be finished in just over half an hour.
Firefox
LaserDisc! Atari joined forces with Warner Bros. to create this arcade game, and at the time of its launch it did quite well. Personally, I think the gameplay is too chaotic, but if the idea was to make money, it definitely worked.
Ghostbusters
Despite the lack of time for its development (David Crane had no more than six weeks) the version of Ghostbusters for the Commodore 64 had some very interesting technical details, such as the ability to remember user backgrounds, enabling a kind of NG+.
Batman
Batman t-shirts, Batman socks, Batman keychains, Batman underwear... I was obsessed with Batman. Today I can't spend more than fifteen minutes watching Tim Burton's movies, and I'm going to die in that trench.
Lethal Weapon
The '80s and '90s gave us many iconic images that represent the best of action, and this is one of them. Unfortunately, the third installment (this is the image of Lethal Weapon 3) was not well received, and the game did nothing to change that situation.
Aladdin
If there is an exception to the rule, this is it. Aladdin has been celebrated several times as one of the best games on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive, and it is essentially a must-stop for anyone who wants to get their feet wet in that ecosystem.
GoldenEye 007
Same as Aladdin, but it's James Bond on the Nintendo 64. The people at Rare did a solid job with this adaptation, and it was burned into the minds of an entire generation of players. Its spiritual successor, Perfect Dark, received a PC port.
Super Star Wars
And of course, Star Wars. The three original movies received Nintendo's "Super" treatment, and they still remain in the collective cloud as "relatively good" Star Wars games, something notable considering we've seen many horrors in that franchise.
Bonus Track: The Chronicles of Riddick - Escape from Butcher Bay
Why do I include this? Because the game took a completely different direction, and the only thing it shares with the movie is its name. The result? One of the best stealth FPS ever made. There's supposed to be a fourth movie. Will it be?
Thanks for watching!
