The Anime of the Game



In the same vein as The Film of the Book: when a popular game is adapted into an anime. Extremely common in the case of Visual Novels. A sister to Animated Adaptation, only the source is Video Games instead of Live Action TV or Film. The difference being that video games, by their very nature, are already animated.

May involve Bleached Underpants depending on the source. RPGs in particular tend to have sprawling plotlines narrowed or cut entirely.

If you're looking for the reverse of this trope--that is, the game derived from the anime--see Licensed Game.


 * .hack//SIGN is an aversion. It's not an adaptation as much as a side story for the game, and a cross-promotional thing. However, others in the .hack// franchise exist. .hack//G.U. Trilogy The Movie is a CGI Alternate Universe of the G.U. games.
 * SIGN acts more as a prequel but .hack//Liminality is a full blown side story.
 * Eleven Eyes
 * Adventure Island was very loosely adapted into the show Bugtte Honey, which in turn had it's own game adaptation.
 * AIR
 * Amagami
 * Angelique has 4 OVAs (2 of which make absolutely no sense if you don't play the games and read the stand alone mangas associated with them) and 2 separate TV series.
 * Animal Crossing
 * Ape Escape got one in the form of Saru Getchu -On Air-
 * Arc the Lad
 * Art of Fighting (the Battle Spirits TV special)
 * Battle Arena Toshinden had a 2-part OVA.
 * Blue Dragon
 * Bomberman has Bomberman Jetters, which was adapted back into a game.
 * And prior to that, Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden, in both manga and anime forms.
 * Canvas 2
 * Castle Fantasia: Seima Taisen
 * Chaos Head
 * Chrono Trigger had a Nuumamonja OVA.
 * Clannad
 * Cosmic Fantasy
 * Comic Party
 * Cosmo Warrior Zero: Based on a First-Person Shooter in the Leijiverse.
 * Da Capo and its sequels.
 * Danball Senki
 * Dantes Inferno. No, not the "piece of classic literature" one. I mean the game. They made an OVA based on it, and then Dante spun in his grave so fast that he went back in time.
 * Darkstalkers (Night Warriors: Darkstalker's Revenge OVA), separate from the Western series.
 * Devil May Cry the Animated Series occurs after the first Devil May Cry but before DMC4, according to Word of God.
 * Disgaea
 * Dinosaur King, which then got adapted into another game.
 * Dragon Age: Blood Mage no Seisen. For a very loose definition of Anime, anyway.
 * Dragon Knight
 * Dragon Quest: Dai's Great Adventure.
 * Dragon Quest Legend of the Hero Abel, based on the third game.
 * Ef a Fairy Tale of The Two: was adapted to ef ~ a tale of memories and then ef ~ a tale of melodies.
 * EL was adapted from the Eroge of the same name.
 * Fatal Fury (the two Battle Fighters TV specials and The Motion Picture)
 * Fate/stay night
 * Final Fantasy Unlimited
 * And the OAV FinalFantasy: Legend of the Crystals, although it was more of a sequel.
 * There's also Advent Children and Last Order, but those are sequels instead of spinoffs.
 * Fire Emblem had a two-part OVA based on Mystery of the Emblem (which in turn was a partial remake of the original game).
 * F Zero: GP Legend/The Legend of Falcon, best known for spawning ascending the FALCON PUNCH Me Me.
 * Ganbare Goemon (aka Legend of the Mystical Ninja) had a single OVA (Jigen Jō no Akumu), which parodied other Konami games (namely Castlevania, Gradius, and Twinbee), and a TV series which lasted 23 episodes and a movie (as well as a tie-in manga).
 * Galaxy Angel, which turned Pragmatic Adaptation (the game was delayed but the anime wasn't) into an art form to create a downright hilarious Gag Series.
 * Galaxy Fraulein Yuna (Most non-Japanese fans probably don't even know the games exist. Granted, they're kinda old .. but they did come first.)
 * Gate Keepers
 * Green Green
 * Gungrave
 * Hakuouki
 * Halo Legends. Unique in that it is not an adaptation of any game but rather an Expanded Universe anime anthology of a Western series, tailored exclusively for a Western audience.
 * Hammerin Harry has several online webisodes.
 * Happiness
 * Hoshizora E Kakaru Hashi
 * THE iDOLM@STER to Idolmaster Xenoglossia
 * The iDOLM@STER
 * Inazuma Eleven
 * Kanon
 * Kid Icarus Uprising has three: Thanatos Rising (by Production IG), Medusa's Revenge (by Studio 4 C), and Palutena's Revolting Dinner (by Studio Shaft).
 * The King of Fighters: Another Day (web series produced as a tie-in to KOF Maximum Impact and King of Fighters 2003)
 * Kiniro no Corda
 * Kirby of the Stars. Unique in that Masahiro Sakurai, Kirby's creator, was directly involved and as such, most Kirby fans love it.
 * Koihime Musou
 * Legend of the Mystical Ninja
 * Maji De Watashi Ni Koi Shinasai
 * Maple Story
 * Mashiro-iro Symphony
 * Mega Man: Upon a Star - A three episode educational anime based on the original series that was produced to teach western children about Japanese culture. The blue bomber is even addressed by his overseas name "Mega Man" in the original Japanese dub (one scene even has a Japanese kid inserting an NES Mega Man 5 cartridge on a new model Family Computer).
 * Mega Man NT Warrior - A more conventional anime adaptation of Megaman Battle Network that lasted 209 TV episodes and The Movie.
 * Mega Man Star Force - A follow-up to NT Warrior based on the Star Force games that lasted 76 episodes.
 * The Day of Sigma - A prologue OAV that was included with Maverick Hunter X, the Updated Rerelease of Mega Man X.
 * Monster Rancher and its anime.
 * Nanatsuiro Drops
 * Ninja Gaiden - 1991 Japan-only OVA loosely based on the first two NES games.
 * Oretachi Ni Tsubasa wa Nai
 * Otome wa Boku Ni Koishiteru
 * Panzer Dragoon OVA
 * Parappa the Rapper
 * Persona -trinity soul- is the loose sequel to the popular game Persona3.
 * Persona 4: The Animation, a seemingly straight adaptation of, well, Persona 4.
 * Easily also one of the most visually impressive anime from a game as well.
 * Phantom ~Requiem For The Phantom~ an adaptation of the visual novel Phantom of Inferno. It also got a short OVA that is mostly forgotten these days.
 * Pokémon: Easily the most successful anime based on a game. They only loosely reference each other though.
 * Hell, Pokémon has a couple hundred more episodes than The Simpsons.
 * Power Stone
 * Princess Lover!
 * Professor Layton
 * Puyo Puyo
 * Ragnarok the Animation
 * Rance
 * Sakura Taisen known as Sakura Wars in the west, had various OVAs, a TV series and a movie.
 * Salamander which were OAVs based off the Gradius universe.
 * Samurai Shodown had the Motion Picture (actually a made-for-TV special), which completely deviated from the game's plot and characterizations, and in the case of Amakusa, gender.
 * There are also two other OAVs that were never released outside of Japan. The first was a preface to Samurai Shodown: Warrior's Rage, while the second was based on a Japan-only visual novel game starring Nakoruru.
 * Sands of Destruction
 * School Days
 * Sengoku Basara
 * Shuffle!
 * Sin
 * Shukufuku no Campanella
 * Sono Hanabira Ni Kuchizuke Wo got a one-shot Hentai OVA of the thrid game.
 * Soul Link
 * Sister Princess
 * Sonic X, which totally redid most of the plot and setting of the two Adventure games.
 * Also, the Sonic OVA.
 * Star Ocean EX
 * Star Soldier is a very unique (not to mention odd) case, not only because the movie was released alongside the game to promote it (probably the first to do this), but because it is actually about how the game was made!
 * Steins Gate
 * Street Fighter
 * Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie - Theatrical film.
 * Street Fighter II V;; - TV series based on the Street Fighter II games.
 * Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation - A 2-episode OVA based on the Alpha series.
 * Street Fighter Alpha: Generations - A single-episode OVA made specifically for the American market.
 * Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Binds - An OVA tie-in that was released as a bonus with the console version of Street Fighter IV.
 * Suika
 * Super Mario Bros
 * Super Mario Bros.: The Great Plan to Rescue Princess Peach - a Japan-only theatrical film released around the same time as Super Mario Bros. 2 (Lost Levels). It was notorious for pairing Peach with a Canon Foreigner named Prince Hal (needless to say Mario/Peach shippers were not happy).
 * There were also a trilogy of OVA tie-ins to Super Mario Bros. 3 that adapted the Japanese folktales of Momotaro and Issunboshi, as well as an adaptation of "Snow White" (with Bowser in a drag as the evil queen).
 * Super Robot Wars Original Generation
 * Super Robot Wars Original Generation: The Animation - A 3-episode OVA semi-sequel to the second game.
 * Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Divine Wars - TV series re-telling of the first game from one protagonist's perspective.
 * Super Robot Wars Original Generation: The Inspectors - A 2010 TV series based on the second game.
 * The Tales Series has a Tales of Symphonia OVA series, a Tales of Phantasia OVA series and a Twelve-Episode Anime of Tales of Eternia. There's also Tales of the Abyss, which aired in the fall of 2008. Tales of Vesperia is getting a Prequel movie.
 * Tayutama
 * Tears to Tiara
 * Tekken the Motion Picture
 * To Heart and To Heart 2 and the three To Heart 2 OVA series.
 * Touhou Musou Kakyou, a fan-made Touhou anime. Which somehow managed to nab professional actors.
 * The Tokimeki Memorial series has three anime adaptations - a two-episode OVA based on the first game, a 25-episode TV series (plus one DVD-exclusive episode) based on the now-defunct online entry in the series, and another OVA that serves as a prologue to Tokimeki Memorial 4.
 * Tokyo Majin
 * Touka Gettan
 * The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk and The Tower of Druaga: The Sword of Uruk are based on the Tower of Druaga series of dungeon crawlers and set sixty years after the first one. One episode even focuses on references to the game and old style gaming arcades.
 * Triangle Heart 3 Sweet Songs Forever
 * And while we're at it, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, adapted from a Spin-Off of the above that most fans don't even know exists.
 * Tsukihime [[media:there_is_no_tsukihime_anime.png|(What is this doing here?)]]
 * Don't deny it! If Disgaea and Viewtiful Joe are enough to be listed here then surely Tsukihime anime would make the list.
 * Twinbee Paradise is kind of a weird case, as it may have been based off of the Radio Dramas that were based on the video games.
 * Utawarerumono
 * Valkyria Chronicles
 * Variable Geo
 * Viewtiful Joe
 * Virtua Fighter
 * Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer (three part OVA titled Gowcaizer: The Voltage Fighters)
 * Welcome To Pia Carrot
 * When They Cry:
 * Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
 * Umineko no Naku Koro Ni
 * Wild Arms: Twilight Venom is not an adaptation of one of the games, but a story separate from the game, but set in the same universe.
 * Wizardry
 * World Destruction
 * Xenosaga, but it was only based on the first game...
 * Yami to Boushi To Hon no Tabibito
 * Ys
 * Yosuga no Sora
 * Yumeria
 * Zone of the Enders: Dolores, i is not an adaptation, but a side-story that takes place both before and after the first game.
 * Specifically, the Idolo OVA takes place before the first game, and the actual Dolores, i series takes place between the original and Second Runner.

Examples of games adapted to Western Animation

 * Ape Escape now has a Nicktoons flash-animated cartoon.
 * Backyard Sports had a TV special, NFL Backyard Basics: Football Tips from the Pros.
 * Battle Tech
 * Battletoads had a pilot episode aired as a try-out for a potential series. It bombed on a spectacular level.
 * A Bubsy pilot was made and broadcast. Calling it a "crime against humanity" is entirely too kind.
 * Captain N the Game Master is a borderline case, since it is a Massive Multiplayer Crossover in an original setting.
 * Darkstalkers had a short one-season series.
 * Donkey Kong Country, unique in that its adaptation was French (though granted, the games themselves were British at the time)
 * And it was the Japanese that created Donkey Kong. Case of Germans Love David Hasselhoff?
 * Double Dragon - 26-episodes in 1994 and 1995. It barely had anything to do with the original games as Billy and Jimmy were turned into twins separate from birth and were given beam-shooting swords and dragon masks. It had a tie-in fighting game for the SNES, Genesis, and Jaguar.
 * Dragons Lair
 * Dungeons and Dragons
 * Earthworm Jim, which was also one of the few Western Animation examples that was well-received.
 * An Eternal Champions series was planned, but the franchise as a whole was stopped dead in its tracks early on in its life to pump Sega of Japan's Virtua Fighter (also, the games were gorier than Mortal Kombat and yet slipped past the watchdogs...)
 * The first Eternal Champions title is fairly light on gore. The Sega CD installment however, is indeed gorier than Mortal Kombat by virtue of anatomical correctness (like if someone explodes, you don't get fourteen legs and five ribcages; you get shredded flesh, bone and organs).
 * Heavy Gear: The CGI series suffered from Adaptation Decay to the point where the tabletop RPG retconned it as in-universe Southern Republic propaganda.
 * Super fighting robot... Mega Man!
 * This one is an interesting example, as it was a joint effort between Ruby-Spears and a Japanese animation studio, and has a somewhat Animesque artstyle.
 * Mortal Kombat Defenders of the Realm, which also marked the debut of antagonist Quan Chi, who would go on to later appear in future games, starting with Mortal Kombat Mythologies Sub Zero and Mortal Kombat 4.
 * Mutant League had a cartoon that ran for two seasons, which is pretty lengthy considering most video game cartoons don't last past one season.
 * Pacman
 * Pole Position, In Name Only
 * The Power Team (aka Acclaim Masters), a cartoon co-produced by DIC Entertainment, Bohbot Entertainment and Acclaim, which took the basic premise of Captain N and inverted it by having five characters from different Acclaim-published video games (NARC, Wizards & Warriors, Arch Rivals, Kwirk, and Bigfoot ) transported to the "real world" in order to protect it from either Mr. Big and his gang (from NARC) or the evil wizard Malkil (from Wizards and Warriors) depending on the episode. The cartoon originated as a series of shorts that aired within the first season of Video Power (i.e., when it was a game reviewing show). When Video Power became a game show in its second season, the Power Team segments were then re-edited into half-hour episodes.
 * Rayman had a 3D series that only lasted four episodes. A full season was planned, but it's rumored that the company didn't have a large enough budget for the rest of the episodes.
 * Sam and Max Freelance Police is another borderline case, based on a game based on a comic.
 * Saturday Supercade had several: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Frogger, Pitfall and Qbert. In the second season, Kangaroo and Space Ace replaced Frogger and Pitfall.
 * Sonic the Hedgehog had three, with "SatAM" being the most popular amongst the fandom (Youtube Poop fans may have to disagree with that, though). There's also the two anime (above).
 * Street Fighter, although this one was actually written as a semi-sequel to the movie.
 * Super Mario Bros Super Show is technically a live-action series, but it had animated segments based on Super Mario Bros 2 (with Bowser/King Koopa substituting for Wart) and The Legend of Zelda. It was retooled for the second season as a purely animated show based on Super Mario Bros 3 and for its third and final season, it was reduced to 15-minute segments based on Super Mario World alongside Captain N.
 * Tak and The Power of Juju; this caused slight Adaptation Displacement when the characters appeared in the Nicktoons Unite series alongside other Nickelodeon TV series (It doesn't help that Hal Sparks, Tak's TV actor, voices the protagonist here and there instead of Jason Marsden, his game VA.).
 * The original game was actually supposed to come out shortly before/around a TV series, but it got delayed so much that it became more famous for a game series.
 * Tomb Raider had an online series on Gametap.
 * Viva Pinata
 * Wakfu
 * The animation is part of an MMO/cartoon/TCG cross-media, but the game's universe was the first to be established, it being a continuation of its predecessor Dofus.
 * Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego
 * Wing Commander Academy, done by the same guys that made Exo Squad.

Examples of games adapted to Live Action TV:

 * Kindred the Embraced (Based on Vampire: The Masquerade)
 * Maniac Mansion
 * Mortal Kombat Conquest
 * As mentioned before, Super Mario Bros Super Show.
 * Where in The World Is Carmen San Diego
 * Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego (which spawned an updated game, Carmen Sandiego's Great Chase Through Time, based on it)

Examples of games adapted to Web Animation:

 * The popular Arfenhouse Flash movies were loosely based on a series of freeware spoof RPGs using the OHRRPGCE engine.