The Silicon Valley 10 & 1 3.24.10: Top 10 Games That Should Have An Animated Series!

Posted by Justin Weinblatt on 03.24.2010

From Kingdom Hearts and Metroid to Mega Man Legends and even Psychonauts, 411’s Justin Weinblatt lists the games that should be made into an animated series! Check out the full article to see which games made the list and why, and then enjoy some eye candy with Asia Carrera!



Hello and welcome back to The Silicon Valley 10 & 1 by Justin Weinblatt. Steve Gustafon has moved on to bigger and better things, so I'll be your temporary replacement. I've got some big shoes to fill, but hopefully I can bring you some good lists and hot girls!

Before I start, I'm going to take this opportunity to plug my other column.
On Fridays Check Out: Loves it or HATES IT!

Last week: The Silicon Valley 10 & 1. Top 10 Movies That Should Have Video Games!

Comments still go on the bottom of the page. Emails should now be sent to [e-mail].

Let's take a look at...



Hmmm responding to another writer's comments. I feel like I'm sleeping with another man's wife.

10. Guest#4734 The Great Escape, Titanic, and Die Hard all have videogames. And they all sucked. Also the Die Hard game im talking about is the one for the Gamecube. Not the shitty PSOne games. Believe it or not, I actually played the Titanic game. It was a point and click adventure, which was loosely based on the movie. Worst birthday gift ever btw.

9. Guest 1932: Anything with Hugh Grant in it. How about a Hugh Grant game where you pick up transvestite prostitutes?

8. The Jew: Honestly, and I'm not even trying to troll, that was really one of the worst top ten lists I've ever seen. If it weren't for the hotness at the end, there would have been zero good to say about this column.
Not trying to troll eh? Well, I'll let readers be the judge of that.

7. Guest# 0516: Horrible list the number one movie that should be a game is Halloween!

6. JWestMoreLand: how about a Forrest Gump game! That would be sweet! He could go running, and mowing lawns, and driving a shrimp boat.

5. MBD: More Denise!

4. Kurruption "Debbie Does Dallas the game! Come on, how could you go wrong in this open world game where you guide Debbie as she goes on her epic quest to Do Dallas! DLC up the A, no pun intended with different citys in Texas, the Houston DLC, Austin DLC, etc!

3. Grymmbear: Brother No Holds Barred, Suburban Commando, Mr. Nanny and Santa with muscles should all be games dude! TNA! TNA! TNA! TNA!


2. Guest #2238: mortal kombat annihilation! ;)

1. Steve The Goose: Aww...you guys are the BEST! I forgot to mention that some of them already had games. I'm talking about games that are worthy of the movie. I apologize for ruining your day. And I apologize in advance for ruining all of your days.



Video games and cartoons go together like peanut butter and jelly. Or at least they should. More frequently, they go together like fish and an old sneaker. Still, there are a ton of games out there that could make very good animated series.

Top 10 Video Games That Should Have Animated Series!

There are an assload of video game based cartoons, but I can count the good ones on one hand. Maybe less. With video games becoming more mainstream, the time is right to create some awesome video game based animation. So I racked my brain for weeks and weeks (despite getting the column a few days ago) to think of video games which would work as animated series.

And now...The LIST!

10. Punch-Out

Probably the strangest entry in this list. Punch-Out doesn't have too much story to work with. What it does have is ridiculous stereotypes that would make for a hilarious, offensive, ridiculous cartoon. The series would tell the tale of Little Mac as he trains for and battles each of his foes, from the cowardly Frenchman Joe Glass, to the drunken Russian Vodka Drunkinski... errrr I mean Soda Popinski, eventually culminating in a title fight against Mr. Sandman. Each boxer could have one episode devoted to him, showing some in and out of ring antics. As long as the show didn't take itself too seriously, it could be great entertainment. While Nintendo would never do it, I'd love this as an Adult Swim type show, with a lot of mature content. Maybe they could even get Mike Tyson to do the show. He could use the money.

9.Banjo-Kazooie


Banjo-Kazooie is a franchise in crisis. The older gamers, who remember the bear and bird duo, don't seem to care any more, and the younger kids don't know who the hell they are. What better way to reintroduce Banjo and Kazooie to the kiddies than a Saturday morning cartoon series? Banjo-Kazooie has always been (or at least has tried to be...) a humorous series, so I'm thinking of a Shrek like tone for this show. A tongue and cheek satire of the mascots games/cartoons of the 90's. Have them repeatedly fight off Gruntilda each week, but add enough sarcastic humor and double entendres to keep older fans snickering.

8. Mega Man Legends

Another show for the younger set. There have been at least 2 Mega Man cartoon series to my knowledge. There was one really crappy show with a comically over sized Mega Man, and an incredibly well developed Roll, and one based on the Battle Network series which seemed ok from the one or two episodes that I saw. Anyways, I think that the all but forgotten Mega Man Legends series would make for a great animated program. Follow Mega Man and Roll as they fly across the world collecting zenny, destroying reaverbots, and taking names. The Bonne family would be great as comically inept villains who confront Mega Man with a new ridiculous machine each week. And let's not forget about the Servebots. In fact, you could probably make a great series with just Servebots. As the series goes on they could delve a little deeper into the series' mythology. Mega Man Juno, Elysium, the Mother Load, and such. And maybe they could finally resolve that cliff hanger. Poor Mega Man has been on the moon for far too long.

7. Shenmue

And speaking of unresolved cliffhangers... Shenmue was conceived as a trilogy, but due to relatively low sales (Shenmue actually sold decently. Unfortunately, it's budget was so high that it wouldn't have turned a profit unless every Dreamcast owner bought two copies), and the death of the Dreamcast, we never got to see how Ryo Hazuki's quest ended. Sadly, I've given up hope on ever playing Shenmue 3, but perhaps the series could be resolved in an anime. The series could run for three seasons, the first of which would cover Ryo's journey from his father's murder until his trip to Hong Kong. The series would conclude with the eventual confrontation with Lan Di. Treat it as a mystery/ revenge series, and I'll be a happy man.

6. Psychonauts

Psychonauts takes place in one of the greatest video game locales, Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. It's kind of like Salute Your Shorts meets X-men. During his summer vacation, Raz, Psychonaut's protagonist, deals with bullies, experiences young love, goes on scavenger hunts, saves the world, and blows stuff up with his mind. That's gold Jerry, GOLD!

Psychonauts was a hilarious game, so I have no doubt it could be a hilarious cartoon. In Psychonauts you travel through the subconscious minds or various characters. It worked well in the game, and can work great in an animated series. Splice the psychic action together with typical awkward summer camp experiences and you have a winner. Hopefully, some of the writers from the game could be brought in to work on the series.

5. Killer 7

For those of you who haven't played Killer 7, probably all of you, it is a tale of the never ending struggle between Eastern and Western cultures, and more particularly between the United States and Japan. The game is incredibly twisted, violent, confusing, and abstract. The game already felt like anime to me. Something along the lines of Serial Experiments, or Paranoia Agent.

The series would revolve around the Smith Syndicate, an elite group of assassins, as they're contracted to wipe out the Heaven Smiles, a terrorist organization which arose at a time when peace was thought to have been achieved. There is a ton of material to work with here. On one level the series could work just based on the violence and imagery. On another it could serve as a poignant political work.

4. Street Fighter


Before you jump down my throat, I'm well aware that there has been a Street Fighter cartoon. There was a decent but somewhat strange Japanese series (2V), a downright awful American series, two good movies, and one awful movie (not the live action one). With the franchise being revitalized by Street Fighter 4, now would be the perfect time to have a new animated series. Udon has made a series of Street Fighter comics with fantastic artwork (I believe they also worked on Turbo HD Remix). If an animated series could be made with this style of artwork, it would be amazing. The plot isn't all that important. Just create some awesome fight scenes.

3. Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts basically writes itself. Team up Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and have them travel to a different Disney world each episode, helping the inhabitants with their various problems. This could be a great opportunity to introduce kids to Kingdon Hearts, and to some older Disney properties. As the series continues Kindgdom Hearts' own mythology could be added in; heartless, nobodies, Organization XIII, and all that jazz. Hopefully though, the animated series could avoid getting too bogged down in its own mythology, like the game series
.
2. BioShock


BioShock has an incredibly rich story to be explored. The series should be a prequel to the original BioShock. At the beginning, we are given a tour of Rapture, narrated by Andrew Ryan. On the surface, Rapture seems like a utopia. Next, we have episodes devoted to exploring small parts of rapture. We join Dr. Steinman as he goes on his brutal quest for perfection. We watch as Sander Cohen creates his art. We see the creation of the Big Daddy and the Little Sisters. Each episode would have its own unique flavor and visual style, like the Animatrix.

Once we've been introduced to the players of Rapture, the various subplots will come together, and we'll watch what happens when genius runs free, without morality. We'll see Rapture rip itself apart, down to the last gory detail.

1. Metroid

And here we are at #1. If done right, Metroid would make a fantastic animated series. If done poorly it could be awfully boring. So, how do we do it right? First of all, keep Samus silent. Samus is such a compelling character because of the mystery surrounding her. Her personality is contained within her metal shell. Having her speak, or making her inner monologue audible, ruins the effect.

A silent Samus, covered at all times by her power suit, creates a unique challenge for animators. How do you show emotion without any words, and without facial expressions? Take Samus through one of her classic missions, spanning perhaps four half hour episodes, and show all of Samus' emotions through her body language and actions (and of course the music). And while you're at it, make sure you capture the palpable sense of isolation the franchise is known for. Like I said, it will be a tremendous challenge, but done correctly the results could be truly spectacular.


What about you? What makes YOUR list of Video Games That Should Be Animated Series? Remember, THERE IS NO WRONG ANSWER!



When Asia Carrera is not busy making exquisite films, she is busy fragging opponents in Unreal tournament. She is by her own admission addicted to gaming, and she is smoking hot.







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