Gaming plays a very important part in our culture. This is no longer a hidden thing that only geeks do. Gaming has impacted pop culture largely. Big media companies are adapting various games as movies or series now. But generally, video game adaptations get a lot of backlashes. The reasons for this could vary from not having enough funding to poor writing. Most game adaptations suffer from the same faith as live-action anime adaptations. This does not mean that games don’t have captivating enough storylines. Some people play games for the story and some for the gameplay, while other gamers play for both aspects. So, here we have listed ten anime that are based on video games.
Anime has proven to people how well games can be adapted. Most adaptations pose just as fan service. They have mediocre storylines and expect only fans of the game to watch it. But everyone can watch the anime mentioned in this list. You don’t need to have any kind of background knowledge and can dive right in. This list only contains anime directly inspired by video games. Stories that revolve around games are not involved. Also, since we are talking about anime, we’ll be including series originating from Japan only. So hit series like Arcane and Castlevania are not a part of this list. Keep reading below to see our top picks.
10. Dramatical Murder
The story is set in a dystopian future. We follow the story in a fictional called Midorijima. The main demographic of this show is shoujo. Aoba Seragaki is the protagonist of the show. He is usually a very kind and caring person. But soon, everything takes a strange turn. Aoba is invited to play a virtual reality game called Rhyme. In this game, either you can genuinely help or hurt someone. So the protagonist starts losing hope of ever having a peaceful life. The series is lauded for its visual aesthetics. And it is a decent adaptation as well.
9. Tales of Abyss
This is a 26 episode series that ran from 2008 to 2009. This series has also been adapted into three mangas. We follow this adventure story in a fantasy world. The protagonist is Luke Von Fabre, a sheltered young swordsman. His life takes a bizarre turn after a religious-military organization starts following him. So he gradually gets to know that his birth is the reason for his current scenario. And he sets on an adventure with his friends. While doing this, he also tries to find out about the “Score”. The Score has supposedly doomed all of humanity. The series mostly stays true to its source material.
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8. Danganroppa: The Animation
This anime is inspired by a visual novel with the same name. The main character of this series is Makoto Naegi. Along with his 15 other classmates, Makoto gets locked in the “Hope’s Peak Academy”. They are met with a very strange situation. If the students want to get out, they need to kill another. Along with this rule, the students can’t get caught in their acts. Monokuma, a bear-like human, threatens all of the students in this situation. The series has a very engaging plot that pulls in the viewers from the first episode.
Danganronpa’s plot sees the characters living their lives within the school as the students slowly try to get out. In doing so, they end up killing the other children. The remaining people, even the culprit, are given time to find out clues and evidence to either flesh out the killer or accuse an incorrect culprit. If they pick the right culprit, only that culprit is executed, and others stay alive. If that is not the case, the culprit walks free. So, eventually, this story focuses a lot on trust. Danganronpa is a visual novel game and was adapted into one of the best anime based on video games.
7. Fate/Stay Night
A high schooler named Shirou Enimiya is the protagonist of the show. He accidentally joins the Fifth Holy Grail War. The concept of masters and servants is dominant in this world. And Saber is Shirou’s servant here. Here masters are the reincarnations of various historical figures. Then a great war further unfolds in this supernatural world. This series was one of the most anticipated series during 2014. And it received a lot of praise for both its visual and plot quality.
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6. Final Fantasy
Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV is the most well-received anime from this Franchise. The episodes were released for free on Youtube and Crunchyroll. Fans gave a high verdict to this show as the characters are very well fleshed out in the show. The main themes are friendship and brotherhood, and the setting is in a world called Eos. We see in the series after many years of war; there is peace between Lucis and Niflheim. As part of the peace agreement Noctis Lucis Caelum, The Prince of Lucis, along with the princess, is now Niflheim’s hostage. This series has great visual components and character development.
5. Idolmaster
The series comprises 13 idols wanting to make their way to the top. So they all want to become the top celebrities. But this is something that they can’t gain without any sacrifices. And soon, they start coming apart as a family. All of the characters in this series are very diverse in nature. This is a very refreshing slice of life series. The over-ambitious aims of the girls might give a shounen vibe. But overall, most of the characters are well written and have optimum screen time.
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4. Higurashi: When They Cry
The series is one of the most brutal anime shows. A group of friends living in Hinamizawa are the main characters of the show. These friends carry a cruel blood legacy. Mysterious deaths have occurred in the last four years, and in each case, one person is murdered, and one disappears. This story takes place during the 5th year of these events. If you are someone who enjoys watching dark series once in a while, then you might love this show. This anime is one of the few horror anime to be based on video games.
3. Rage of Bahamut
We follow the plot in the magical world of Mistarcia. Here, humans, gods, and demons live together. Earlier in the timeline, Bahamut, a beast, has tried to destroy everyone. But the humans, gods, and demons have stopped the beast. Now an era of peace has been maintained for 2000 years. Until a person named Amira appears, and along with her appearance, the tension starts rising again. This causes a clash between all living beings. As this series’ studio is MAPPA, one can expect stunning visuals from the series.
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2. Clannad
This is a love story between Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa. Tomoya is a high school student whose life seems to move only in a monotone. Then he meets Nagisa and starts falling in love with her. His life starts getting colorful once again. On the other side, Nagisa goes through her own struggles. She suffers from an ailment that makes her immune system weak. Both of the characters try to figure out their various ups and downs together. Jun Maeda, the author of this show, is heavily influenced by Haruki Murakami. His other notable works include Angel Beats and Charlotte.
1. Steins Gate
This is one of the highest-rated anime to come out. The main character Rintaro Okabe along with Makise Kurisu, Itaru Hashida, and Mayuri Shina, set out on a journey. This group of oddballs tries to invent time traveling. But none of them is able to imagine the dire consequences of this. Soon they all get engulfed in huge chaos. The original anime has 24 episodes. And later, a movie was released in a different timeline. Another version of the story was released as Steins Gate 0. This Franchise has gotten a lot of critical claims.
Steins Gate stands out within the list of anime that are based on video games. There are various other video game adaptations. Anime provides a lot of scope in terms of diversity. As both of the mediums are animated, game adaptations tend to do better in this format.
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