Best on-screen video game adaptations

Bringing video games to the silver screen or your TV has never been easy. For most of history, live-action movies of video games have been met with criticism and disdain. But we have come a long way from the likes of the disaster, that was Street Fighter. There haven’t been remarkably good movies based on video games since then, but animated series have actually hit the mark. So before the Sonic movie or The Witcher Netflix series are released, here are a few of the best on-screen video game adaptations that will be well worth your time, in no particular order: 

Pokémon (Series) 

Though it gained popularity as an anime, in India and other countries alike, the Pokemon video games came out much before the series. The series was a tremendous success, perhaps one of the most successful of the best on-screen video game adaptations on this list. The fact that people tend to identify Pokémon more to the series than the video games speaks volumes. 

Mortal Kombat <1995> (Movie) 

Mortal Kombat did not really have a solid plot, but it did justice to the video games by being true to the characters. They had the same fighting styles and the costumes were on point. Also, the movie had a ton of fan service.  

Resident Evil (Movie Series) 

The series did not do well with critics, but the fans enjoyed it. Its mixing of action, horror and fan service and inclusion of Nemesis and the Red Queen combined Mila Jovovich’s performance made it a box office success that spawned a six-movie series 

Sonic Sat AM (Series) 

This Sonic series has nothing in common with the games, but the plot was well thought out and the animation was brilliant. It took place on the planet of Mobius where its residents were all andromorphic creatures who were ruled by Robotnik (a.k.a Eggman). Sonic was a freedom fighter, who, along with other of his freedom fighter friends, tried to overthrow Robotnik.   

Castlevania (Series) 

Castlevania was one of the most successful games of its time, and now the Netflix adaptation has made it one of the best on-screen video game adaptations. The plot is inspired by Castlevania 3, with the series following Trevor Belmont and Alucard in their quest to defeat Dracula. The series is gritty and dark, and Dracula is a complex character. The only drawback is that both the seasons have been short: the first one only 4 episodes long of about 25 minutes each and the second one only 8 episodes. 

Silent Hill (Movie) 

Even though the critics found it senseless due to its complex plot, the movie did what it wanted to do: scared the living crap out of anyone and everyone. It does not have big jump scares or a lot of action, but it is tense throughout and the psychological horror is actually disturbing. The fact that the music score form the game was used along with amazing production to replicate the disturbing atmosphere makes it one of the best video games movie to date. 

Detective Pikachu

Based on the beloved anime which was based on video games, this movie is enjoyable. The CGI for Pokemon is amazing and the PG 13 Pikachu is to die for. Fans of the series will definitely love this movie.