Fallout
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
Fallout has long seemed like a potential candidate for a TV series or film, especially last year after an impressive fan-made pilot released. The setup of Fallout’s universe, however, is what could really hold potential. The Wasteland of the series holds many stories, ones that you could tell quite easily in an episodic format. Maybe each episode of an animated show focuses completely on a different story from the world of Fallout. The show being on Netflix means you wouldn’t be restricted to 20 minute episodes, and could run closer to 40 minutes for each. Or maybe a whole season focuses on a different traveler going through the Wasteland, with some overarching plot.
There really is some interesting potential that could be tapped into here, and putting the show on Netflix means you don’t have to crack down on any of the trademark violence and mayhem of the Fallout series.
Halo
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
Halo has always been perfect for a TV series, ever since the early rumors of a series being worked on by Steven Spielberg. In fact, Halo has seen its fair share of animation already with animated shorts like Halo Legends, which really just shows the potential for a cohesive show. There are so many stories to tell within the Halo universe, as evidenced by the ever growing list of expanded novels, comics, and games like Halo Wars 2.
Ramping up the action with a Netflix series would provide a great version of Halo that we haven’t seen before, maybe something similar to the cutscenes of Halo 5. The show could be done in either a Voltron animation style, or something like Knights of Sidonia that has a more 3D look to it in order to take advantage of the worlds, lore, and video game roots of the series. Either way, Master Chief and other Spartans need to grace our TV screens with some kind of show.
Splatoon
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
Splatoon is an obvious choice for an anime thanks to its quirky aesthetic and colorful art style. The splashing ink and emotive characters would fit perfectly into animation, and you can just imagine how gorgeous Splatoon might look as a TV series. At the same time there’s some wonderfully wacky characters in the world of this series just begging to be explored more. A Netflix series could serve to give us more of a look into the life of the inklings, and what Inkopolis is all about, outside of the one square that we get to see in the games.
At the same time a potential partnership between Netlfix and Nintendo could open up the door for more properties to be adapted. Do we really need any more explanation? Just look at Splatoon and think of anime, enough said.
Mass Effect
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
Mass Effect is yet another expansive sci-fi series begging to be explored more in other mediums. The series has gotten an anime before, however, with the film Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, telling the story of James Vega before Mass Effect 3. There’s still so much more to dig into in the franchise though, especially if you look to the past. The First Contact Wars between the Humans and Turians would serve as the perfect setting, giving us a look at how humanity made its way into council space, while also giving us original characters and story.
A Mass Effect anime series could be compared to something like Gundam maybe, filled with plenty of intense action, melodrama, and of course, romance. Being on Netflix means that you don’t have to tone down any of these elements, free to pursue everything that makes Mass Effect what it is.
Monster Hunter
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
Monster Hunter has seen its popularity explode over the last few years and for good reason. There’s just something inherently fun about hunting down giant beasts that can easily squash you in just a few moves. Of course, it’s just as fun to watch a crazy anime with giant monsters and intense action, which is just where a Monster Hunter show fits in. The series already has a rich bed of lore and characters to pull from, and the aesthetic of Monster Hunter is certainly unique. A Netlfix adaption could focus on one hunter or a group of hunters as they make their way through the world taking down different marks.
Just imagine if each episode of the show focuses on hunting one imposing beast, almost feeling like the missions you take on in the game itself. If the Castlevania show has showed us anything, it’s that absurd anime action can be done right on Netflix. Make it happen.
Dynasty Warriors
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
Speaking of absurd action, you can’t get any more over-the-top than Dynasty Warriors. This historically inspired series is well known for pitting you against thousands of enemies as you hack and slash your way to victory. Action is the name of the game for Dynasty Warriors, and a Netflix series means you can go as absurd and ridiculously violent as you want. Of course this doesn’t mean gory, as that’s not exactly the style of Dynasty Warriors.
An anime series is just the perfect thing to capture the craziness and drama of Warriors, and could easily follow the series’ poster boy Zhao Yun through the War of the Three Kingdoms period. It might be even more interesting, however, to switch perspective between the forces of Wei, Wu, and Shu on the fly. This would help give off the feeling of the games, as you see the war and battles from each of the three kingdom’s perspectives. There’s so much story and history already accessible for Dynasty Warriors, that you could easily split it into multiple seasons with a consistent release schedule. With Dynasty Warriors 9 hugely changing the series, maybe it’s time for something else big to happen too.
Dishonored
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
Dishonored is one of the most fascinating game worlds of recent memory, with Dunwall’s mix of gothic and steampunk setting, not to mention Karnaca from Dishonored 2. The two games also play with dark and violent themes, almost taking on a Game of Thrones vibe at times with the number of political schemes and betrayals at hand. This makes Dishonored a prime candidate for a Netflix series, and some gorgeous animation could go a long way for representing the dark alleyways of Dunwall and the mystical powers of Corvo and The Outsider.
This could be something similar to Fallout, telling different stories from the city of Dunwall or Karnaca. Or you could even follow the actions of Corvo before Dishonored, or any other number of characters and plot lines. There’s a lot to choose from with Dishonored, but a dark and violent anime would feel right at home for the series.
Killzone
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
Killzone would be a perfect fit for an animated series even if only for the sole fact that the Helghast would look incredible in an anime. This sci-fi series has always been known for its massive shootouts and memorable enemies, something easily translated into an anime form. Polygon Pictures, the studio responsible for Netflix’s Knights of Sidonia and Ajin, would be a perfect fit for this series as well. They’ve done a fantastic job at adapting sci-fi series, and their upcoming animated film, Godzilla: Monster Planet, looks like it could hold true to that.
Killzone would works best in a 3D CG style, adding dimension to the characters and world. Intense shootouts and epic space battles are key for Killzone, both things that Polygon Pictures has proven they can do. By nature of being on Netlix, the series doesn’t need to be concerned with toning anything down and it could even stretch its storytelling legs by having longer episodes, giving us more context on the universe of Killzone. While Guerrilla Games is busy at work on Horizon, it’d be great to see the Killzone series come back in a fresh and exciting way.
Metroid
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
After a long hiatus Metroid is finally coming back, with not one but two different games by the end of 2018. The series’ dark and moody style would make it perfect for an animated adaption, and what better way to celebrate the return of Samus? Metroid has always been about a sense of discovery, that something more is happening in the background. Despite not being outright terrifying games, there’s a sense of dread that seeps into nearly every Metroid experience, something that could be easily emulated with a dark anime.
Metroid could easily stand up with the best of horror anime and animation like Tokyo Ghoul and Vampire Hunter D. The nature of the series also means that you could tell a totally original story set in the Metroid universe with Samus investigating some kind of ancient civilization with a deep dark secret. Just think of how a sleek animation style could benefit Metroid, as Samus does battle with the terrifying Ridley, Kraid, and Mother-Brain. We certainly hope to see the series come back in more than one way, and Metroid is another prime candidate for a Nintendo/Netflix collaboration.
Bayonetta
Games Perfect For a Netflix Series
Let’s be honest, Bayonetta is practically an anime already with its ridiculously over-the-top action and tongue in cheek sexual style. There’s almost no better candidate for a Netflix adaption than Bayonetta honestly, as the streaming service would allow the show to delve fully into the antics of the Umbral Witch.
Seeing Bayonetta’s absurd hair-changing combat style in full animation would be a joy to behold. It wouldn’t be the first time Bayonetta was turned into an anime, however, as an adaption of the first game called Bayonetta: Bloody Fate was released in Japan in 2013. The key difference, however, is that the film was a straight up adaption, while a Netflix series would allow us to explore the character and world even more. Maybe set the story well before the Bayonetta games and give us a glimpse at more of her past, or even set it after the end of Bayonetta 2 and let us look at the future. Whichever way you go, an animated Bayonetta series would be ridiculous all-out fun.
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