Video games are always a special kind of fantasy that only gamers can experience that is why countless developers make sure to make the perfect game with original stories. With that said, some video games have actually too good of a story that it is no wonder they have spawned other media productions such as films, stage plays, and even animated series. Here are some of the animated series that have been produced and are the worthiest among the many adaptations that stay true to the original stories of the respective video games.
“Pokemon: The Original Series”
The “Pokemon” animated series is based on the “Pokemon” video game series, which Nintendo first released in 1996. The animated series made its debut on television thru TV Tokyo in April 1997 and it is still running until now. With a current total of 947 episodes and more to come, the anime series have already spawned arcs that focused on the Original, Advanced Generation, Diamond & Pearl, Best Wishes!, XY, and the current Sun and Moon arcs.
The best season of the series would most likely be the original one, which ran for 276 episodes. “Pokemon: The Original Series” featured the popular characters, Ash Ketchum, Misty, and Brock along with their trusted gang of Pokemon sidekicks that consisted of Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. These series became so popular worldwide that it even got movie adaptations and official soundtracks sung by famous artists. Watching these series will introduce new players to the backstory of “Pokemon” and meet the pocket monsters as well as the legendary ones that everyone has been hoping to get on the “Pokemon GO” mobile game.
“Digimon Adventure”
This anime series became as popular as “Pokemon” because of its similar characters wherein the protagonists consist of a group of teenagers and their digital pocket monsters. But that’s where the similarities end as the animated series of “Digimon” had a more complex plot than hunting down and catching monsters. The series was adapted from the franchise when “Digimon” started out as a virtual pet toy, something like the Tamagochi.
“Digimon Adventure” is the first season of the series and was aired in March 1999. The story revolves around a group of young friends namely Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, T.K., and Kari who are all DigiDestined. Partnered with their respective digital monsters that can evolve into various higher levels and powerful forms, they fight off monsters that have gone haywire to save their world and the Digital World, too. “Digimon Adventure” was continued in the second season, “Digimon Adventure 02” and a new ongoing series called “Digimon Adventure Tri” follows the lives of the original characters a few years later.
“Steins Gate”
Probably one of the most breath-taking anime adaptations thanks to its fluid and flawless art and animation, “Steins Gate”, stylized as “Steins;Gate” bring players further into the video game’s story with the anime series. Released in 2011 with 24 episodes and one original video animation (OVA), the anime follows the original story of the video game wherein the main characters have to utilize time travel to prevent a series of unfortunate events from taking place in the present time. The video game series was developed by 5pb and Nitroplus and the latest installment, “Steins Gate 0” has been released in 2016 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Microsoft Windows.
