Recursive Adaptation: Difference between revisions

[[File:TCG_Boxart_742TCG Boxart 742.jpg|link=Pokémon (Tabletop Gamegame)|frame|The video game based on the hit card game based on the hit video game! Now with a special card!]]

{{quote|''"I knew Atari were idiots when they let Uwe Boll make [[Video Game Movies Suck|a god-awful action movie out of the franchise]], but I never thought they were big enough idiots to use that film as inspiration."''|'''[[Zero Punctuation (Web Animation)|Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw]]''', [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/130-Alone-in-the-Dark 2008 Alone in the Dark Review]. May not be quite, but close.}}

{{quote|''"[[Grease]] 2: The Musical Based On The Sequel To The Movie Based On The Musical"''|'''Sign''' outside of Springfield Community Theater, ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'' episode "The Monkey Suit"}}

* ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'' had a video game adaption that had an original story, and the story of the game later got adapted into a [[Filler]] arc in the anime.

* ''[[Dragon Ball (Manga)|Dragonball Z]]'' had a double recursive adaption: the fourth ''Dragonball Z'' [[RPG]] for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Family Computer]] was titled ''[[Gaiden Game|Dragonball Z Gaiden]]'', which featured a new storyline written specifically for the game. A two-part video guide for the game was then released that was essentially a ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' [[OVA]] with footage of the Famicom game spliced in between. The animated segments of the video guide were then reused for two [[Full Motion Video|FMV games]] released for Bandai's short-lived Macintosh-based Pippin game console in Japan.

** ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]'' Jump Festa special, ''Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!'', was adapted into a one-shot manga by Ooishi Naho.

** The ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' TV special ''Bardock: The Father of Goku'' featured an original storyline that wasn't in the original manga, years later Naho Ooishi wrote a manga miniseries called ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]: Episode of Bardock'' set after the events of the TV special. Episode of Bardock is now getting an anime adaptation. That makes it an OVA adapted from a manga which is a sequel to an anime TV special which was spun-off from a manga. Also, just to make it more confusing, Bardock as a character received [[Canon Immigrant]] status in a flashback in Toriyama's original manga.

* Behold ''[[Ghost in Thethe Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Anime)|Ghost in The Shell Stand Alone Complex]]'', the manga based on the anime based on the movie based on the manga. Available at a bookstore near you.

* Various recent animated DC Comics properties have received their own continuing comic book series: ''[[Batman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Batman]] Adventures'', ''[[Superman: theThe Animated Series|Superman]] Adventures'', ''[[Justice League]] Adventures'', ''Justice League Unlimited'', ''[[Batman Beyond (Animation)|Batman Beyond]]'', ''[[The Batman (Animation)|The Batman]] Strikes!'', ''[[Teen Titans Go (Comic Book)!|Teen Titans Go]]'', ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (TV series)|Legion of Super-Heroes]] in the 31st Century'' (the last of which ''would'' have used the plot from [[The Resolution Will Not Be Televised|the canceled third season]] had it not itself been canceled a few months later), and ''[[Batman: theThe Brave And The Bold (Animation)|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]''.

** ''[[Super FriendsSuperfriends]]'' goes an extra step. Comic → Toys → Cartoon → Comic. And it's adorable and fun.

** Even weirder is that DC once had a comic based around a Bruce Timm-inspired animated world with its own version of Superman, Justice League, etc. This was before [[Superman: theThe Animated Series|Superman]] or ''Justice League Unlimited'' but seemingly taking place in the world of [[Batman: theThe Animated Series]]. So it was a comic series based on a cartoon that would later have its own [[DCAU|cartoon equivalent]] anyway.

** Special mention must be made for the ''[[Young Justice (Comic Bookcomics)|Young Justice]] / [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]'' loop: YJ was a popular [[Lighter and Softer]] comic, which was adapted thematically into the TT cartoon, which got a comic book version ''drawn by the former artist of the YJ comic''. Now, there is a [[Young Justice (Animationanimation)|YJ cartoon]] based on the [[Darker and Edgier]] TT comic, which has, in turn, gotten ''its own'' comic book adaption taking place before and between episodes of the toon which, in turn, has several episodes ''written by the writer of the original YJ comic.'' Wheels within wheels, folks...

* Dark Horse had ''Adventures of the Mask'', adapting the [[The Mask (Animationanimation)|animated series]] based on [[The Mask (Filmfilm)|the film]] based on [[The Mask (Comic Bookcomics)|the comic]].

* And Marvel has ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] Adventures,'' and a very shortlived ''[[X -Men: Evolution]]'' comic. Basically, "Adventures" in a comic book name is a sure sign that you're reading the comic of the show of the comic, but not ''all'' of them will have "Adventures" in the name.

** Usually only at the end of the title. ''Adventures of [[Superman]]'' was regular [[The DCU|DC Comics Continuity]], while ''[[Superman: theThe Animated Series|Superman]] Adventures'' was, as above, an adaptation of [[Superman: theThe Animated Series|the cartoon]].

* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' went [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage (Comic Book)|comic book]] → [[TMNTTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987|animated series]] → [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures (Comic Book)|Archie comic book]]. Eventually occurred with the [[TMNTTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003|second cartoon]] as well, although the resulting comic book ended up having a much shorter shelf-life than its predecessor.

** There's also comic book → first movie → comic book adaptation written and drawn by the original creators, resulting in the slightly weird case of the Turtles looking just like they do in the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage (Comic Book)|Mirage stories]], but behaving like their [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Filmfilm)|movie counterparts]] (ordering pizza, for example).

* In a slightly different case, the plot of the ''[[Ultimate Spider Man|Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' game was adapted back into the comic as the "War of the Symbiotes" [[Story Arc]].

* The ''[[DuckDuckTales Tales(1987)]]'' comic book series is a comic book based on a [[DuckDuckTales Tales(1987)|cartoon]] based on a [[Disney Ducks Comic Universe|comic book]] based on a [[Classic Disney Shorts|cartoon]].

* [[DC Comics]] used to have a title called ''[[Human Target]]'', about [[Master of Disguise]] Christopher Chance who would disguise himself as people whose lives were in danger in order to draw out their attacker. This recently got an [[In Name Only]] TV adaptation, where Chance isn't a [[Master of Disguise]], he's just an undercover bodyguard. [[DC Comics]] have released a new ''[[Human Target]]'' comic based on this.

** The DVD animated films were also [[Tie-in Novel|Tie In Videos]] to the [[Hellboy (Filmfilm)|2004 and 2008 theatrical releases]], using much of the same cast to provide the voices.

* The ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man (Animationanimation)|Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' animated series has a comic adaptation called ''Marvel Universe-Ultimate Spider-Man''. That's a comic retold as [[Ultimate Universe|another comic]], adapted into [[Western Animation]], adapted back into a comic. The cartoon also incorporates unique elements of the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]], which itself is an adaption of both the [[Marvel Universe]] and [[Ultimate Marvel]].

** Incidentally, 'Ultimate Spider-Man'' had an original character, a new [[Avengers Academy|White Tiger]], become a [[Canon Immigrant]] to the [[Marvel Universe]] before the series even premiered.

** ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Animation)|The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]'' is also getting a comic book adaptation. Like ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', the animated version incorporates elements from the [[Marvel Universe]], [[Ultimate Marvel]], and the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]]. Naturally, it'll be named ''[[The Avengers: EarthsEarth's Mightiest Heroes (Comic Bookcomics)|Marvel Universe-The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]''.

* Fellini's ''8 1/2'' became the Broadway musical ''[[Nine (Theatretheatre)|Nine]]'', a film adaptation of which was released in 2009.

* ''[[Reefer Madness (Film)|Reefer Madness]]: The Movie Musical''

* ''[[Metropolis]]'' is a borderline example. It started out as a movie, then the ''[[Astro Boy]]'' guy made a manga that was [[In Name Only|inspired by briefly glancing at the poster]], and then someone made a feature film out of ''that'' -- which—which actually resembled the original film more than the manga did, as it heavily emphasized the elements of the manga that were ''already'' coincidentally similar to the film.

* If you guessed this has happened to any of the [[Live Action Adaptation|Live Action Adaptations]]s to Dr. Seuss' books, give yourself some green eggs and ham!

* The ''[[Silent Hill (Filmfilm)|Silent Hill]]'' movie is one of these, in a loose fashion. While based on the games of the same name, the original game was based on the movie ''[[JacobsJacob's Ladder]]''; so Film → Game → Film.

* [[Stargate Verse]]: ''[[Stargate (Filmfilm)|Stargate]]'' → ''[[Stargate SG -1]]'' → ''[[The Ark of Truth]]''.

* Both the films ''[[Bram StokersStoker's Dracula (Film)|Bram Stokers Dracula]]'' and ''[[Mary Shelley]]'s Frankenstein'' had new [[Novelization|novelizationsnovelization]]s written, despite being based on classic novels themselves. ''And'' having included the original author's name [[In Case You Forgot Who Wrote It|in the title of the movie]], as if to give an air of authenticity. [[Fred Saberhagen]] wrote the novelization of ''Bram Stoker's Dracula''; Saberhagen reportedly offered his services on the Frankenstein novel as well, solely for the purpose of being able to put "''Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'': From the author of ''Bram Stoker's Dracula''" on the cover. Ah, [[What Could Have Been]]...

* ''[[The Thing (Filmfilm)|The Thing]]'' also had a [[Novelization]]... making it a novel based on a film based on a film/short story.

* Hollywood producers offered Philip K. Dick the chance to write the [[Novelization]] of ''[[Blade Runner]]'', itself a loose [[Film of the Book]] (the screenwriters had not read the original book) of his ''[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]]?'' They would have paid a lot of money to do this, but, feeling insulted he refused. This led to the release of tie-in editions of ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' re-titled and looking for all the world like ''[[Blade Runner]]'' novelizations. Later, when his short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" [[Adaptation Displacement|inspired]] the movie ''[[Total Recall]]''. Having gone through [[Development Hell]] and many screenwriters, the script was essentially an original script with even less in common with its source material than ''[[Blade Runner]]''. By the time of the film's release, [[Piers Anthony]] had written a novelization of ''Total Recall''. The novelization came out in 1989. The movie came out in 1990.

* Two [[Novelization|novelizationsnovelization]]s of [[James Bond (Filmfilm)|James Bond]] movies, for taking only a few elements of the novel (''[[Moonraker (Film)|Moonraker]]''), or [[In Name Only|just the name]] (''[[The Spy Who Loved Me (Film)|The Spy Who Loved Me]]'').

* Several movies based on children's books wind up getting adapted into children's books again. Recent examples include ''[[InkheartThe (Literature)Inkworld Trilogy|Inkheart]]'' and ''[[The Tale of Despereaux]]''.

* ''[[Star Trek: theThe Animated Series]]'' example: the episode "The Slaver Weapon" was adapted by Larry Niven from his own original (unrelated to Star Trek) short story "The Soft Weapon". The episode itself was then subsequently novelised by Alan Dean Foster as a Star Trek novel. This means that there are two print versions of the exact same story, both of which are similar but also startlingly different from each other.

* The run-up to the Jackson ''[[The Lord of the Rings (Filmfilm)|The Lord of the Rings]]'' adaptation inspired [http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=838 this memorable parody].

* The film adaptation of ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' was given the junior novelization treatment. So, book of the film of the book. The same is true of ''[[Cloudy Withwith a Chance of Meatballs]]'', ''[[Jumanji]]'' and ''[[Zathura]]''.

* ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (Filmanimation)|How to Train Your Dragon]]: [[They Just Didn't Care|The Chapter Book]].'' Seriously, that's the actual title.

* ''[[The Fox and The Hound (Literaturenovel)|The Fox and The Hound]]'', a novel by Daniel P. Mannix, and obviously literature to begin with, was very very loosely adapted into a [[The Fox and Thethe Hound (Disneyfilm)|Disney movie]] which was then further adapted into another series of books.

* Significant changes were made to ''[[John Carter of Mars|A Princess of Mars]]'' to get the movie ''[[John Carter (Filmfilm)|John Carter]]'', but at least the novelization included the original novel as an added feature in the back of the book!

* ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'' was based off the book ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit''. The film then led to the book ... ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit''. Not a straight example because only the characters were used but rather close.

* Another quasi-example: ''[[Magic: theThe Gathering]]'' sells a few of the decks used in its ''Duels of the Planeswalkers'' video game as pre-made decks. Of course, there's nothing [[Crack is Cheaper|but money]] preventing the dedicated player from making the decks himself.

* ''[[Street Fighter|Street Fighter II]]'', the game that started the whole fighting game boom of [[The Nineties]] and arguably created the genre, inspired a [[Live Action Adaptation]] simply titled ''[[Street Fighter (Filmfilm)|Street Fighter]]'', which in turn inspire not one, but two fighting games based on it, both titled ''Street Fighter: The Movie''. The arcade version was made by Incredible Technologies. The console version, often mistaken to be a port of the arcade version, plays more like a standard ''Street Fighter'' game (specifically like a slower ''Super SF II Turbo'') and it's generally considered a decent game, albeit not at the same level as the other games in the series.

** ''[[Street Fighter II: theThe Animated Movie (Anime)|Street Fighter II the Animated Movie]]'' also had its own game version, albeit one that [[No Export for You|came out only in Japan]]. Instead of being a traditional fighting games, it was some weird pseudo-life sim where you controlled the newest model of Shadaloo's Monitor Cyborgs and develop his fighting abilities by watching [[Full Motion Video|FMV footage]] of the actual movie (along with new scenes made for the game) and "analyzing" the characters' special moves. There is a ''Super Turbo''-style fight sequence in the end, but the Cyborg's moves are the same ones that Ken has in ''Super Turbo'' (including his ''Shoryu Reppa'').

* ''[[Pokémon]]'' had video game → [[Pokémon (Tabletop Gamegame)|collectible card game]] → [[Pokémon Trading Card Game (Videovideo Gamegame)|video game]]. (And the promotional cards that came with the game and its strategy guide are based on those from the video game, adding another layer...)

** Also, ''[[Pokémon Red Blue and Yellow|Yellow]] [[Updated Rerelease|Version]]'' is video game → [[Pokémon (Animeanime)|anime]] → video game.

*** Which went double-recursive when Ash and Gary finally battled each other in the [[Pokémon (Animeanime)|anime]]: Ash uses Pikachu while Gary uses an Eevee, which are the Pokémon their game counterparts start with in the ''Yellow Version''.

** It gets better. The Surfing Pikachu card is a reference to Pokemon Yellow, and is included in the video game version. That's video game → [[Pokémon (Animeanime)|anime]] → video game → trading card game → video game.

* ''[[Double Dragon]]'' inspired an animated series produced by [[Di CDiC]] and Bohbot Entertainment, which had an American-developed fighting game tie-in titled ''Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls''. [[Double Dragon (Filmfilm)|The Movie]] also had its own fighting game version for the Neo-Geo, which was developed by Technos themselves.

* Hoo boy, ''[[Super Robot Wars]]''. Initially a series of games centered around anime [[Massive Multiplayer Crossover|crossovers]] which eventually got a sub-series of games based on its [[Original Generation]]. Said subseries got its own [[Animated Adaptation]] and an OVA sequel. And ''then'' the first two OG games got a remake that changed plot elements to accomodate scenes from the anime, and a bonus segment based on the OVA. And after ''that'', a [[Gaiden Game]] was released that continued the plot of the bonus segment and threw in elements from what was essentially a ''radio play''. Together with all the [[Canon Immigrant|Canon Immigrants]]s getting tossed around between series and mediums, ''Super Robot Wars'' has more loops than your average roller coaster ride.

** If you want to stretch it that far, ''[[Sonic Spinball]]'' is a video game loosely based on (read: has cameos from) the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (Comic Bookcomics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' [[Sonic Sat AM]] and Archie Comics series (which were, as above, based on the original games), which eventually got its own comic adaptation.

** There was going to be [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnsn0_w6K9Q a straight example of this]--that—that is, a Sonic game based on the SatAM cartoom, which in turn was based on the video games--butgames—but it was canceled.

* ''[[F-Zero]]: GP Legend''--a—a video game based on the anime of the same name, based upon the ''F-Zero'' franchise of video games.

* [[PacmanPac-Man]] → the Saturday morning cartoon Pac-Man → Pac-Land, a sidescrolling platformer based on the cartoon.

* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', the ''[[Triangle Heart 3 Sweet～sweet Songssongs Foreverforever～]]'' added mini-scenario (game) → ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' series (anime) → ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] A's'' [[Play StationPlayStation Portable|Portable]] - The Battle of the Aces (game)

* [[Bomberman (Video Game)|Bomberman]] → [[Bomberman Jetters (Anime)|Bomberman Jetters]] → [[Bomberman Jetters (Videovideo Gamegame)|Bomberman Jetters]] video game.

** Another [[Rhythm Game]] non-pure example; Pac Man and other old arcade games → ''Pac Man Fever'' by Buckner and Garcia → ''Pac Man Fever'' on ''Rock Band'', including a song about Donkey Kong available on Xbox 360 and [[PSPlay Station 3]].

* ''[[Roadside Picnic (Literature)|Roadside Picnic]]'' (novel) → ''Stalker'' (short story<ref> expanded into a script, by the same people plus Tarkovsky</ref>) → ''[[Stalker (Film)|Stalker]]'' (Tarkovsky movie) → ''[[STALKER]]'' (video game adaptation) → numerous novelizations → movie based on one of them.

* ''[[Tak and Thethe Power of Juju]]'' started out as its own game series, became a cartoon, and Tak from the cartoon appeared in [[Nicktoons Unite!]].

* ''[[Rogue Squadron]]'' N64 & [[Game Cube]] games => [[X Wing Series]] comics => [[XStar WingWars: (Video Game)|X -Wing]] PC game => [[Star Wars]] films.

** Another Hasbro franchise to which something similar happened is ''[[My Little Pony]]''. It started out as a line of plastic toy ponies with accessories, and in order to boost sales, an animated series was produced. Three generations later, since ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' was launched, the toys are more and more based on the animated series which in turn is based part on the first generation toys (or how [[Lauren Faust]] characterized them), part on the third generation ([[In Name Only]], though).

* ''[[The HitchhikersHitchhiker's Guide to Thethe Galaxy]]'': [[Radio]] play → Series of books → [[Audio Adaptation|Radio plays based on the last three books that didn't start as radio plays]]. Plus, a fondly-recalled 1980s television series based on the first two books (and, by extension, on at least the first radio series), and a [[Development Hell|forever delayed]] but finally-released 2005 [[Film of the Book|film version]] of the first book, which varied enough from the 'original' for a [[Broken Base]] to result. Plus, a towel. Um, don't ask, but it's [[All There in the Manual]]. Oh, and recently the canon has added a [[Trilogy Creep|sixth book in the trilogy]] by another author, several years after the [[Author Existence Failure]] (a term based on a phrase of his from ''Hitchhiker's'', ironically) of Douglas Adams, the man behind most of the above.

* [[Scrabble]]: [[Board Games]] → [[Scrabble (TV series)|game show]] → [[Home Game|board game]].

* A recurring [[MST]] suggestion for [[RifftraxRiff Trax]] is... ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]] [[The Movie]]''!

* The game of [[Calvin Ball|Mornington Crescent]] on ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (Radio)|I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]'' inspired two books detailing the history of the game: ''The Little Book of Mornington Crescent'' and ''Stovold's Mornington Crescent Almanac''. The later radio [[Mockumentary]] ''In Search of Mornington Crescent'' is essentally an [[Audio Adaptation]] of these books.

* The theatrical version of Disney's ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]''. The theatrical version was notably [[Darker and Edgier]] than the [[Lighter and Softer]] Disney adaption, keeping the dark tone of the book (having Esmeralda and Quasi die at the end, Frollo being a (former) priest, ect,) whilst keeping the plot points from the Disney version (Clopin being a sort of narrator, Frollo being a [[Complete Monster]], the lack of Gringorie, ect).

* A weird one occurred after ''[[Homestuck]]'' cosplay at various convention: A bystander [https://web.archive.org/web/20120626221254/http://ib.skaia.net/post/view/5003 appeared on a photo] and quickly went memetic with [https://web.archive.org/web/20120626220710/http://ib.skaia.net/post/view/12447 fanart], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120626221809/http://ib.skaia.net/post/view/23203 cosplay], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20120626221424/http://ib.skaia.net/post/view/23311 fanart of the cosplay.]