History SpiritualAdaptation / VideoGames

* The {{Infocom}} InteractiveFiction game ''Starcross'' is essentially ''RendezvousWithRama'' with the SerialNumbersFiledOff. It's probably because a more obscure company called Tellurium actually got to do a licensed text adventure (not to be confused with ''VideoGame/{{Rama}}'', a 1996 FMV game).

** The emphasis on drifting and tight suspenseful mountain pass duels in Carbon make it a pretty good ''Manga/InitialD'' game.

** The tight suspenseful mountain pass duels and heavy drifting element in Carbon make it a pretty good ''Manga/InitialD'' game.

** ''Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure'' also seems remarkably influenced by the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' films.

* Many people have bemoaned the fact that ''VideoGame/ActRaiser'' never got a real sequel which featured the combination of town-building sim and real-time action (''[=ActRaiser=] II'' was a sequel InNameOnly and fully ditched the city-building aspect while making the platformer nigh-impossible.). But it did. It was called ''VideoGame/DarkCloud.''
** ''Terraria'', despite being made as a 2D equivalent of Minecraft and it shows, actually feels more as a sequel of ActRaiser due to the improved combat aspect and NPC interaction (it also crosses with ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' too).

* If you're an ''Videogame/AceCombat'' fan but also exclusively a PC gamer whose machine can't properly handle PS2 emulation, ''Videogame/{{HAWX}}'' and ''Videogame/VectorThrust'' can help you scratch that itch.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has had a couple of decent games to its name, but by far the best ones are ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and ''VideoGame/DarkSouls''.

* And speaking of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', it is being called the best ''Anime/{{Berserk}}'' games due to sheer amounts of ShoutOut [[note]]WordOfGod explictly stated that they liked the ''Anime/{{Berserk}}'' and drew many elements from it[[note]], the Age of Fire being a CosmicHorrorStory itself also helps. Even though there's an actual ''[[VideoGame/BerserkMillenniumFalconHenSeimaSenkiNoSho Berserk]]'' game, it's not as popular as its spiritual adaptions.

** ''{{Starlancer}}'' is also noteworthy for having a backstory that's basically the original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}'' [[SerialNumbersFiledOff thinly disguised]] by having DirtyCommunists instead of Cylons. It's also rather better than the officially licensed BSG game for the Playstation 2 and UsefulNotes/XBox despite being made by ''the same studio''.

** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' looks and plays a lot like the ''{{VideoGame/Driver}}'' games that started on the PlayStation. Essentially, it's ''Driver'' with a criminal VillainProtagonist and on-foot controls that actually work -- something that it took Reflections, the makes of ''Driver'', four games to get right (something that is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d more than once in the ''GTA'' series), by which point it was ''them'' who came off looking like Johnny-come-latelies.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' (the first one at least) is often regarded as the best 3D ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' game that Capcom ever made. It helps that the first game's director, Creator/HidekiKamiya, LOVES [[VideoGame/{{Castlevania|I}} the first Castlevania]].
** The third game is either in the same league or surpasses ''[=DMC1=]'' in this regard. The majority of ''Dante's Awakening'' may takes place in a Gothic tower, but it has the trappings of a ''Castlevania'' game. The NintendoHard difficulty of the classics ([=CV1, CV3, & CV4=]) and the exploration/backtracking of the {{Metroidvania}}s with a white haired HalfHumanHybrid hero (''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'').
** The PC version of ''Devil May Cry 4'' (and the Special Edition on both consoles and PC) on Legendary Dark Knight is the best ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' game ever made.
** Dante, with his wise-cracks, his breaking of the fourth wall, and his massive arsenal, has been compared to Deadpool.

* The original ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' was intended to be an ''Anime/AstroBoy'' game, so you could say that the ''Mega Man'' games are the best ''Astro Boy'' video games created (at least until ''VideoGame/AstroBoyOmegaFactor'' was released).
** ''Anime/NeoHumanCasshern'', a series about a boy who becomes an android in order to fight a big army of robots, with his robot-dog companion who can turn into vehicles. There also is an evil-protype twin-brother and a girl as protagonists/antagonists. [[SarcasmMode Any resemblance]] ''Mega Man'' [[SarcasmMode might have to this is only coincidence]].

*** Comparisons between Casshern and Dio, could also easily be brought up with Capcom's [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante and Virgil]].
* The ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' series was heavily inspired by two major sources: [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disneyland]]'s original PiratesOfTheCaribbean ride, and the Creator/TimPowers novel ''Literature/OnStrangerTides'' (in not-at-all related news, the fourth ''POTC'' movie was ''coincidentally'' based on the same book).

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'': The whole series can be summed up as ''Manga/DevilMan'': The Video Game; especially ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne''). ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne'' on the True Demon Path is also considered a pretty good distillation of ''Creator/FriedrichNietzsche'''s entire philosophy.

* ''WebOriginal/SuperBunnyhop'' [[https://youtu.be/CXWbUJXAVE0?t=11m argues that]]''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'' is a pretty good, unofficial ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda''.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'': The whole series can be summed up as ''Manga/DevilMan'': The Video Game; especially ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne'').

* ''VideoGame/MetalStorm'' is perhaps the best NES adaptation of ''VideoGame/{{Thexder}}''.

* Do you want ''Film/TheRunningMan'': The Video Game? There are four options: ''VideoGame/SmashTV'', ''VideoGame/MadWorld'', ''VideoGame/MondayNightCombat'', or ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}''.

* ''VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon'', in addition to being an amalgam of pretty much every action movie from [[TheEighties '80s]] and [[TheNineties early '90s]], can also be considered be an awesome ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'' game, as well, with its over the top weapons, cheesy one liners, and retro-futuristic visuals.
** ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' is essentially ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' (Which is, in turn, and adaptation of ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness''), only set in a war-torn country in Africa.
** ''VideoGame/FarCryPrimal'' is a pretty good Film/TheBeastmaster with the protagonist [[RedBaron being called]] that. Being able to tame the predators of his prehistoric land, one of his abilities being able to see through the eyes of his owl like Dar does through his hawk's. It also could be considered a ''Tarzan'' game considering the grappeling and swinging Takkar does as well as riding mammoths, or for any license that is set in prehistoric times.

* Capcom did make another Franchise/BreathOfFire game for the [=PlayStation=] 2 (and arguably a better installment than ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter''). It's called ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission''.

* With its premise of gathering 80's and 90's action heroes to blow bad guys to smitherness, ''VideoGame/{{Broforce}}'' could be considered as a better video game adaptation of ''Film/TheExpendables'' than the film's own video game tie-in.

* With its theme of cyberterrorism, EverythingIsOnline, and hacking through a smartphone, ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' could be considered as a DarkerAndEdgier take on ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork''.

* If Creator/LucBesson made a game, ''VideoGame/RememberMe'' would be it. A) It features a [[WaifFu petite]] [[ActionGirl butt-kicking female protagonist]] who uses tons of SheFu. B) It has a strong French influence, since it takes place in, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Paris]] and the creators of the game are French. C) It takes place in a distinct science fiction setting with rich visuals and hammy writing which evokes the "cinema du look" style of Besson and other French films of the TheEighties.
* ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'', ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'', and any further sequels thereafter, are some of the best ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games ever made.

* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' takes numerous story and thematic cues from ''Series/TwinPeaks'' and ''Series/TheTwilightZone''.

** It's often been cited as the best video game adaptation of ''Film/DonnieDarko'' ever made (and a ''much'' better take on a {{gender flip}}ped ''Donnie Darko'' sequel than [[Film/SDarko the one that we actually got]]), with the game containing several {{Shout Out}}s to the film. Both works focus around an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who goes on a TimeTravel[=/=]AlternateUniverse adventure with countercultural themes and a heavy dose of MindScrew, seeking to prevent an apocalyptic calamity from occurring in the next few days/weeks. [[spoiler:Said calamity is caused by a TemporalParadox that the protagonist is connected to, and in order to close it and save the world (in ''Donnie Darko'') or their hometown (in ''Life Is Strange''), they are forced to make a sacrifice at the end. (In ''Life Is Strange'', of course, [[MultipleEndings you can choose not to do this]].]]

** It's often been cited as the best video game adaptation of ''Film/DonnieDarko'' ever made, with the game containing several {{Shout Out}}s to the film. Both works focus around an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who goes on a TimeTravel[=/=]AlternateUniverse adventure with countercultural themes and a heavy dose of MindScrew, seeking to prevent an apocalyptic calamity [[spoiler:caused by a TemporalParadox that they're connected to]] from occurring in the next few days/weeks. [[spoiler:Both also end with their respective protagonists forced to make a sacrifice to close the TemporalParadox and save the world (in the case of ''Donnie Darko'') or their hometown (in the case of ''Life Is Strange'').]]

** It's often been cited as the best video game adaptation of ''Film/DonnieDarko'' ever made, with the game containing several {{Shout Out}}s to the film. Both works focus around an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who goes on a TimeTravel[=/=]AlternateUniverse adventure with countercultural themes and a heavy dose of MindScrew, seeking to prevent an apocalyptic calamity [[spoiler:caused by a TemporalParadox that they're connected to]] from occurring in the next few days/weeks. [[spoiler:Both also end with their respective protagonists forced to make a sacrifice to close the TemporalParadox and save the world (or at least their hometown) -- ''Donnie Darko'' ends with Donnie sacrificing himself, while ''Life is Strange'' ends with Max choosing whether to go back in time and allow Chloe to die in order to save Arcadia Bay, or to have her live and doom the town.]]
** As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPzDCPbM_2k this video]] points out, the inciting incident of the game and the fallout from such also resemble the ''Franchise/FinalDestination'' films, of all things, albeit with far less {{gorn}}. ''Life is Strange'' opens with Max watching her old friend Chloe being murdered, then going back in time and saving her, while each of the ''Final Destination'' films revolves around a person who has a premonition of an imminent disaster who uses that vision to get themselves and those around them out of harm's way. In both cases, this messes with the universe's plans and merely creates bigger problems down the road as [[YouCantFightFate fate adjusts to the change in plans]] -- in the ''Final Destination'' films, the survivors start dying in freak accidents in the order they would've perished in the disaster, while in ''Life is Strange'', Chloe has frequent brushes with death that only Max can prevent, [[spoiler:and her continued survival sets off the aforementioned TemporalParadox that threatens to wipe out the entire town]].

** As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPzDCPbM_2k this video]] explains, the inciting incident of the game and the fallout from such also resemble the ''Franchise/FinalDestination'' films, of all things, albeit with far less {{gorn}}. ''Life is Strange'' opens with Max watching her old friend Chloe being murdered, then going back in time and saving her, while each of the ''Final Destination'' films revolves around a person who has a premonition of an imminent disaster who uses that vision to get themselves and those around them out of harm's way. In both cases, this messes with the universe's plans and merely creates bigger problems down the road as [[YouCantFightFate fate adjusts to the change in plans]] -- in the ''Final Destination'' films, the survivors start dying in freak accidents in the order they would've perished in the disaster, while in ''Life is Strange'', [[spoiler:it sets off the aforementioned TemporalParadox that threatens to wipe out the entire town]], while Chloe has frequent brushes with death that only Max can prevent.

* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' has often been cited as the best video game adaptation of ''Film/DonnieDarko'' ever made, with the game containing several {{Shout Out}}s to the film. Both works focus around an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who goes on a TimeTravel[=/=]AlternateUniverse adventure with countercultural themes and a heavy dose of MindScrew, seeking to prevent an apocalyptic calamity [[spoiler:caused by a TemporalParadox that they're connected to]] from occurring in the next few days/weeks. [[spoiler:And just as ''Donnie Darko'' ends with Donnie sacrificing himself to save the world, ''Life is Strange'' ends with Max choosing whether to go back in time and allow Chloe to die, correcting the TemporalParadox and saving Arcadia Bay, or letting said paradox grow out of control and destroy the town.]]