10 Licensed Game Adaptations That Have Been Forgotten

Video game adaptations of licensed materials are common enough, and some end up being quite popular, such as Star Wars, Marvel, and DC games.

However, there have been some licensed games released over the years that leave you wondering what was happening in the room that greenlit them, because the adaptation itself is so unexpected and unnecessary.

A number of game adaptations were clearly made for the sake of advertising a product or business in a way meant to be more entertaining than a standard advertisement.

While that kind of adaptation was certainly more interesting than a normal commercial, most of them have long since been forgotten with other licensed games.

10 Eragon

An Adaptation That Was Worse Than the Movie

In 2006, Stormfront Studios released an Eragon video game. It wasn't well-received, and you can find that the average scores it got for reviews were between 4 and 5 out of 10. This isn't surprising when you realize that the developers made a crucial error when creating the game.

I don't know if the devs decided on this or the publisher, but the Eragon game is based on the movie instead of the books. Considering the movie was generally not liked by viewers who read the books, it makes sense that the game didn't get much love and fell into obscurity.

9 Fester's Quest

Yes, Fester from The Addams Family

We're going back to 1989 for this game, which is when Fester's Quest was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. I can see potential for the Addams Family to be adapted into a game, and I think there are ways to make it well-designed, which Fester's Quest was not, although part of that is likely due to the age of the game.

Everything about Fester's Quest is rather strange. The title doesn't connect it to the Addams Family, but the cover art is obviously Uncle Fester. The plot is also quite wild, because you play as Fester and battle aliens who have abducted everybody in the town. It's a fever dream made real.

8 The Grinch

A Surprisingly Decent Christmas Game

You don't see many Christmas games on the market, but The Grinch is the kind of game that's both bad and fun, which might be what Christmas games need. Rather than being based on the Dr. Seuss book, this game is based on the movie from 2000 that stars Jim Carrey as the Grinch.

There's a lot of jank in this game, which tends to make the platforming sections unnecessarily difficult at times. However, the game isn't the worst platformer you could play, and the effort that was put into its creation is obvious.

A Platformer that Should Have Been a Job Sim

Home Improvement, as a TV show, doesn't scream that it has the potential to be a platformer, but that's exactly what kind of game adaptation it received in 1994 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

The plot is that Tim's tools have gone missing, and he has to go through sets where other shows are being filmed to find them for Tool Time. It's not a bad platformer, but it's such a strange choice for a game. Now, I'd love to play a Home Improvement game that's more like a job simulator, but wasn't exactly a genre at the time that this adaptation was made.

6 Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time

Modern and Already Forgotten

This adaptation is more recent, having been released in 2020, but it didn't get much attention and was mediocre overall in ways that have already left it forgotten in less than a decade.

Samurai Jack used to be a popular show, and I bet that the timing of the game compared to the timing of the show's height in popularity didn't help it avoid obscurity.

The game itself was fine. It didn't stand out among other choices, and it relied mostly on being connected to the show. However, it would've been better to make it much earlier and advertise it during the TV blocks that aired Samurai Jack.

5 Pepsiman

A Weirdly Fun Beverage Advertisement

Pepsiman is a blend of a superhero game with the endless runner genre that has you avoid obstacles in a way that's meant to be fast and action-packed. As far as game adaptations go for brands, this one might be the best because it keeps the gameplay simple and fast.

The plot is that you play as Pepsiman, who has the ability to give Pepsi to people in need of a beverage. It's not trying to be complex or trying to avoid seeming too much like an advertisement. This game knows its identity and sticks to it, which is somehow good in a way that doesn't make sense.

4 Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R

A Property Perfect for Game Adaptations

It's incredible that Sailor Moon didn't receive more than a few game adaptations, especially when it could be a decent life sim, superhero game, fighting game, or RPG. The content itself is so versatile, and it's become a classic series that continues to receive new releases today. Yet none of those releases are video games, and I'm quite bitter about it.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon was a series of games made by Bandai, and Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R was actually the second entry, although the entire series has been largely forgotten. These games were largely side-scrolling beat-em-ups, and it's a tragedy that we don't have recent Sailor Moon games to enjoy.

3 Sneak King

In Case You Want to Be the Burger King

If you want to step into the role of Burger King, then you'd want to play Burger King's game, Sneak King.

It's a short game that feels like navigating a fever dream, but it could've benefited from a crossover with Pepsiman. The pure variety that comes from these adaptations from brands is admirable.

As a playable commercial, the concept and gameplay of Sneak King are straightforward. It's a stealth game where you sneak up on hungry people and give them burgers. While it's a weird experience, that's what makes it fun to play, regardless of your feelings about the fast food chain.

2 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future

Exactly What You'd Expect From a Jojo Game

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure had a few video game adaptations, but most of them have since been forgotten. Still, Heritage for the Future tends to be considered the best of the bunch, offering a decent fighting game experience with limited fan service, which meant that the gameplay got more attention instead.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure's content is perfect for fighting games, and it would be great to see the show partner with other fighting games to bring the characters into them as playable options, which isn't unheard of. Otherwise, a remaster of this wonderfully weird game would be an acceptable alternative.

1 Shaq Fu

A Game So Bad, It's Good

Shaq Fu is the strange kind of game that you block out from your memories until it's relevant information in some way, and the rest of the time, it's left forgotten. Despite being a game that's often considered the worst fighting game ever made, there's a fair amount of nostalgia around Shaq Fu for its difficulty and terrible quality.

The game itself is called impossible to play in some respects, which is largely due to the controls not being responsive enough and combos being difficult to execute. As far as bad games go, it's one of the best and worth playing for that reason alone if you get the chance.

While game adaptations of licensed material are still common, I'd love to go back to the trend of making adaptations that are wild and unexpected in ways that Sneak King and Shaq Fu are. I Love You, Colonel Sanders did a decent job of reviving this trend for a moment when KFC released it as a free-to-play option, but we need more than a few new bizarre adaptations a year.