Video game adaptations have been around in Hollywood for years, and they try to get better, but some do not follow suit. Hollywood has been trying for years to perfect the art of video game adaptations, and among the hundreds of movies and television series over the years, few stand out. The main players in this revolution in Hollywood are Sonic the Hedgehog, The Last of Us, and the newest player, Prime Video’s Fallout series.
While there are other great video game adaptations, such as The Witcher, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Arcane, the immense popularity and media coverage of Sonic the Hedgehog, The Last of Us, and Fallouthave changed Hollywood forever. These adaptations demonstrate that story-based video games and even platforming video games like Sonic can succeed with a loosely based story derived from the games. The Last of Us proved that almost doing a 1:1 adaptation can please both new and old fans while Fallout perfected the art of adding to an existing lore.
Sonic the Hedgehog Opens the Door to Platformers
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Star Teases Shadow’s Introduction
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 actor Ben Schwartz assures fans they won’t be disappointed by the introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog played by Keanu Reeves.
The little blue alien who can sprint quicker than the speed of light has ironically benefited from slowing it down, taking a pit stop to retool and emerge this month as a total crowd-pleaser. – Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press.
Sonic the Hedgehog is the most unique video game adaptation. While Sonic does have a story to follow, it makes an adaptation difficult because it is a platforming video game, and they had to choose the type of story they wished to go with. Sonic the Hedgehog did have an advantage, as many Sonic adaptations have been released on television, including the widely acclaimed Sonic Boom. This allowed the studio to take a calculated risk with Sonic the Hedgehog. With the many TV series adaptations, how well will Sonic translate to the big screen?
Sonic the Hedgehog took a different approach when they decided to make a live-action adaptation. Taking animation to live-action will always spark controversy and start a discussion among fans. Sonic was no exception to this, as the film sparked immense controversy after the first trailer was released and Sonic’s design was revealed. Sonic was initially redesigned for the film to look more realistic. This involved giving him fur, different running shoes, separating his eyes, and an all-around more human-like physique. This uncanny-valley appearance sparked outrage among fans, begging for a redesign. In a rare turn of events, the studio listened to the fans, and the release date was pushed back to accommodate a redesign.
Sonic’s redesign impressed fans and turned the conversation online into something incredibly positive. While the original “ugly Sonic” (a term coined by Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers) design will never be forgotten, the new redesign and the fans’ effect on the movie also will never be forgotten. The fans’ advice was heard and influenced the movie, something Hollywood can learn going forward. Although the fans are not always right, there are instances where something can be improved upon, and this certainly was one occasion, and it paid off, with the third film set to release in December 2024.
Fallout Took Fans on an Original Adventure
10 Ways the Fallout TV Show Is Better Than the Video Games
From visuals to character depth, the Fallout TV series excels in areas the video game franchise was limited in.
It is, if you’ll pardon the pun, an absolute blast. Goggins is wonderful as both the unsullied golden boy Cooper and the wretched Ghoul, Moten brings such nuance to what could easily be a one-note role and Purnell performs Lucy’s fall from innocence brilliantly. – Lucy Mangan, The Guardian.
Fallout premiered on Prime Video on April 10, 2024, and all 8 episodes were released simultaneously for a binge-watch format. Ella Purnell leads an incredible cast with amazing on-screen chemistry. The show became so successful that it received a 93% critic score and an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It quickly became a contender for arguably one of the best video game adaptations ever,rivaling the likes of The Last of Us.
Fallout took an approach that is rarely seen with video game adaptations: making its main protagonists original characters. Fans followed Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), Maximus (Aaron Moten), and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) along an original story based in the Fallout universe. It utilizes the base story behind the lore of Fallout, and there are a few appearances from characters in the games and settings from the games, such as Shady Sands and New Vegas.
Steering away from the typical approach to video game adaptations, Fallout‘s original story does not adapt a story from any of the Fallout games. Fans get to see the world of Vaults 31, 32, and 33; Vaults that have not made an appearance in the games. This approach allowed Fallout fans to love the show, and outsiders who know nothing about Fallout can follow the simple yet complex story. Both groups can share the same positive outlook without relying on prior video game knowledge.
The Last of Us Goes Scene-for-Scene with the Game
The Last of Us Season 2 Photos Reveal First Look at Older Joel and Ellie
New images reveal a first look at Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us season 2, invoking familiar video game moments.
Druckmann and Mazin have taken this unforgettable story and made it richer and more impactful, letting us live with these characters and this world in a way that we couldn’t in the game. The Last of Us is a monumental success, and in this universe of incredible darkness, Mazin and Druckmann show us the light that makes this story so powerful. – Ross Bonaime, Collider.
The Last of Us‘ approach was to adapt the video game of the same title one to one. The fans were eager for the show to debut after the first trailer was released. After premiering on Max on January 15, 2023, the show rapidly gained widespread acclaim and became renowned as one of the most successful and beloved video game adaptations in history. It received similar ratings to Fallout, with a 96% critic score and an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Last of Us decided to adapt the video game’s story accurately, and many scenes in the series are copied straight from the video game. The online community wasted no time in creating side-by-side comparisons of the series and the game. It’s fascinating to see how many scenes in the show replicate the shots and dialogue from the game with precision. One of the most popular is the heartbreaking opening scene and the incredible performance from Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller.
RETRO REVIEW: Fallout 76 Is A Much Improved, But Still Flawed, Experience
War may never change, but Fallout 76 has. Is Fallout 76 worth playing now, especially after its infamously bad launch?
An advantage of The Last of Us is that the series was produced by Naughty Dog, the company that created the video game. In addition, Neil Druckmann, the creator of The Last of Us video game, created, wrote, and produced the show. The hands-on involvement of the game’s creator and co-president of Naughty Dog immensely helped the show’s success as an adaptation. Adapting a story-based game like The Last of Us is cause for a ton of pressure on the show’s creators and writers, as altering too much of the story can spark immediate outrage from fans. However, the internal involvement allowed the story to remain faithful to fans and attracted a new audience of non-gamers, thanks to the series’ creation.
Video game adaptations have consistently struggled to please fans. Halo veered too far away from its source material to be recognizable and movies like Assassin’s Creed failed to recapture the magic and experience of the games. Sonic the Hedgehog, Fallout and The Last of Us provide roadmaps for three different styles of adaptation that all successfully brought their source material to life.
-
Fallout
In a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles brought about by nuclear decimation, citizens must live in underground bunkers to protect themselves from radiation, mutants and bandits.
-
The Last Of Us
After a global pandemic destroys civilization, a hardened survivor takes charge of a 14-year-old girl who may be humanity’s last hope.
