A lot of video games are completely original stories. They may be inspired by myths and legends or end up getting a movie or TV show based on them, but the majority of them are original pieces of work that the development team puts a lot of time and energy into crafting. But, that’s not necessarily always the case and definitely hasn’t been throughout the history of video games. There are a lot of games that take inspiration straight from the movies, some with more success than others.
Throughout the years, there have been a lot of games that are based on movies that have been released. Some of them have been pretty good games that become really popular in their own right, but then there are some games that are just strange and become mostly forgotten after the hype of the movie dies down. These games are still fun for major fans of the film or serious collectors of a certain console to try to track down, but they’re games most other people forget about. To see 10 of the strangest video games based on movies, keep reading!
10 Nacho Libre (Nintendo DS)
Nacho Libre is a movie that stars Jack Black and was released in 2006 and is based on the traditional style of Mexican wrestling. Although Jack Black may be drawing attention in for his gaming YouTube channel recently, it’s not his first foray into the world of video gaming.
In the same year that the movie was released, a Nintendo DS game was released based on the film. The movie has players control one of 21 Luchador characters, 18 of which are featured in the film, and features a story mode which follows the same basic storyline of the movie.
9 Madagascar Kartz (Nintendo DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
The massive popularity of the Mario Kart series has lead some other game development companies to try to make their own version of racing games. Some of them are a ton of fun, while others are mostly forgotten soon after their release. Madagascar Kartz is a Mario Kart-style racing game that features the characters from the animated series Madgascar.
This game was released into 2007 on a variety of consoles: Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. The game features different courses that are based on scenes from the movie and there are characters from other film franchises like Shrek and Monsters vs. Aliens featured in the game.
8 Addams Family Values (SNES)
Games based on movies are nothing new, although many of the ones on this list are from more recent times and consoles. Meanwhile, 1995’s Addams Family Values for the SNES is proof that the movies-into-games phenomena has been around for a very long time.
Between 1989 and 2001, there were several Addams Family games released based on the different movies and TV shows about the quirky family. Addams Family Values was based on the 1993 movie by the same name and follows Uncle Fester as he desperately tries to find the recently kidnapped baby Pubert.
7 High School Musical: Makin’ The Cut! (Nintendo DS)
Disney released three films in the High School Musical franchise and released games based on each of the films, starting with High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut!, released in 2007 on the Nintendo DS.
This game features characters from the movie series, though the songs are not performed by the same actors as in the movie and are instead performed by cover artists. The game features the characters from the film as they prepare for a music competition. The gameplay is similar to the music-based game Elite Beat Agents.
6 Little Nicky (Game Boy Color)
Little Nicky is a game that stars Adam Sandler as the well-meaning son of Satan as he’s sent from the underworld to Earth in order to retrieve his brothers before they cause too much trouble for the mortals. The movie was released in 2000 and that same year, a game for the Game Boy Color was also released.
The game is like other movie-based games in that the events in the game very closely follow the plot of the movie. The game features several platforming levels that are based on things that happened in the movie as well as a few mini games.
5 Sharknado: The Video Game (Mobile)
Sharknado is a series of sci-fi disaster films that began airing on the Syfy channel in 2013 with the release of the first film. Along with multiple movies released in the series, there’s also a video game that was released on iOS based on the second film in the series.
This game is an endless running-style game, similar to other games like Temple Run. The game follows the main character of the film, Fin, as he weaves back and forth through the streets of New York City, dodging roadblocks like cars and sharks.
4 Napoleon Dynamite: The Game (PSP, Nintendo DS)
Napoleon Dynamite: The Game is a game based on the 2004 movie by the same name. The game was released in 2007 on the PSP and Nintendo DS. Unlike other movie-based video games, this game isn’t actually a game with a story that follows the events of the film. Instead, it’s a series of mini games that feature characters and locations from the movie.
There is a slight story in which the player controls Napoleon as he wanders around his small hometown, but it’s basically just a way of unlocking the mini games more than it is a real story in the game. The game’s art style has a unique sketchbook-inspired style like the art from the movie’s poster.
3 Fight Club (PS2, Xbox)
Fight Club started as a novel by Chuck Palahniuk in 1996 before being adapted into a beloved cult film in 1999 and then again in 2004 as an all but forgotten video game. The game was released on the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox.
The game features characters from the film and has a pretty standard format for fighting games. It’s similar to other games in the genre, like Street Fighter and Tekken as well as having a story mode in which the player goes through various fights until he befriends Tyler Durden.
2 White Men Can’t Jump (Atari Jaguar)
White Men Can’t Jump is a film that was released in 1992 and stars Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson as a pair of street basketball players. In the film, Harrelson plays Billy, a streetball enthusiast who tricks people into playing him on the assumption that being white means he can’t play well and then hustles them out of cash when he beats them.
In 1995, a game based on the movie was released on the Atari Jaguar. This game has players either playing against the computer or against other players in streetball games that use the same basic rules as in the film.
1 Saw (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Saw is a series of horror films that feature people being put into life or death situations, in which they’re forced to play a “game” to prove that they value their lives and get out alive. The first film was released in 2004 and a video game, set between the first film and the sequel, was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2009.
The game follows the same basic plot of the movies. It’s a third-person survival horror game that follows detective David Tapp, who is trapped in Jigsaw’s asylum. The player controls Tapp as they try to find their way out of the asylum without falling victim to one of the traps. A sequel, Saw II: Flesh & Blood, was released in 2010.
