Top 10 Anime Adaptations from Video Games That Are Worth Watching

The track record for video game adaptations is notoriously spotty. Often disappointing at best, and laughably terrible at worst, the curse of the gaming-to-screen transition has haunted fans for decades. However, amidst the mediocrity, there are always some hidden gems that manage to perfectly capture the charm of their source material, or at least deliver entertaining reimaginings of familiar storylines.

While live-action adaptations have only recently started to renew their reputation, anime has been quietly producing a surprising amount of amazing adaptations since the 80s. Though we are cautiously optimistic about upcoming shows like the anime based on Death Stranding, Gnosia, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, these video-game-inspired classics give us hope for the future of the medium and confirm that a great video game adaptation is indeed possible.

The Best Anime Series Based on Video Games

1. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Few games have made a surprise comeback quite like Cyberpunk 2077, and that’s largely thanks to the incredible Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. While the game was still recovering from its disastrous launch, the anime delivered an unforgettable introduction to the harsh underworld of Night City. It managed to convince even the harshest critics to give 2077 a second chance, cementing its place as a phenomenal, standalone story.

• Story: Focuses on David Martinez, an ordinary teen who becomes an augmented mercenary, or “edgerunner,” after losing his mother, joining a gang to chase a dream of becoming a local legend.
• Strengths: A non-stop emotional rollercoaster, stunning animation from Studio Trigger, and a deeply poignant character-driven story about survival in a corporate dystopia.
• Key Detail: The series is a short, 10-episode ride that doesn’t waste a second of its runtime, delivering explosive action and a heartbreaking finale.

2. Steins;Gate

Based on the highly-acclaimed visual novel, Steins;Gate is considered one of the greatest sci-fi psychological thrillers of all time, perfectly balancing comedy, romance, and tense drama. It’s an incredibly faithful and high-quality adaptation that captures the core spirit of the source material.

• Story: Follows Rintaro Okabe, an amateur scientist who accidentally creates a functional time machine, only to learn that rewriting the past—even for seemingly innocent reasons—can have devastating consequences.
• Strengths: Delivers one of the most compelling and “realistic” portrayals of time-travel in fiction, with charming characters and a masterful genre-shift from a mundane slice-of-life to an intense thriller.
• Key Detail: Once you get past its slow start, the story properly takes off, delivering a relentless drama full of surreal twists and heart-wrenching reveals.

3. Castlevania

While technically an American-Japanese production, Netflix’s Castlevania is an animated gem that honors the gothic horror and complex characters of its namesake. Loosely based on the story of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, it quickly evolves into a smart, character-driven epic.

• Story: Follows Trevor Belmont, the cynical last member of a legendary monster-hunting clan, who is forced to live up to his family’s legacy when Dracula returns with an army of monsters to wage war on humanity.
• Strengths: Features excellent art direction, consistently smart writing, and complex characters with fleshed-out backstories that add an extra layer of moral ambiguity to both heroes and villains.
• Key Detail: It takes creative liberties with the series’ lore but almost always makes changes for the better, making its heroes and villains more memorable.

4. Persona 3 The Movie

Persona 3 was a pivotal entry for the Persona series, combining JRPG dungeon-crawling with a high-school life sim. This four-film series manages the impressive feat of delivering a faithful and emotionally resonant retelling of the game’s dense, 80-hour experience in just under five hours of runtime.

• Story: Centers around Makoto Yuki, an apathetic transfer student who awakens the power to summon spiritual entities known as “Personas,” leading him to join a secret organization investigating supernatural phenomena.
• Strengths: Retains the original game’s slow-burn mystery and tense character drama, while arguably improving the overall experience with stellar visuals and brilliant direction that emphasize the game’s bleak, mature tone.
• Key Detail: The grim atmosphere of the original is even more prevalent in the anime, with the gorgeous animation making the most emotional scenes hit even harder.

5. Gungrave

In stark contrast to its cult-classic, over-the-top third-person shooter source material, the Gungrave anime acts as a lengthy prequel, chronicling the rise of Brandon Heat and Harry Macdowell through the ranks of the criminal underworld.

• Story: A slow-paced, grounded crime drama that chronicles the origin stories of Brandon Heat (who would become “Beyond the Grave”) and Harry Macdowell, showcasing how their close friendship is tested as they rise within a powerful crime syndicate.
• Strengths: Completely re-imagines the game’s one-note villains as morally complex and deeply sympathetic figures, providing far more depth and nuance to the main characters than the game ever did.
• Key Detail: This might be the only anime retelling that definitively improves upon its inspiration in every way, offering an emotionally rich character study.

You may also like:

• Best Anime Series of the 2000s — Top 10 Ranked Classics
• 10 Best Anime for Beginners: The Perfect Shows to Start With
• Top 10 Best Short Anime Series for Busy People – Fast and Fantastic!

6. Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture

Fighting games consistently inspire some of the best anime adaptations, and Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture is a prime example. Though it might not boast the deepest story or the best animation, it’s a wonderfully cheesy and energetic love letter to its source material.

• Story: Follows world-famous martial artist Terry Bogard as he’s dragged into a globe-spanning quest to prevent a group of mysterious villains from obtaining god-like powers.
• Strengths: Full of energetic martial arts battles, tons of deep-cut references and cameos to the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters games, and a surprisingly fun story carried by an endearing cast.
• Key Detail: It’s a must-watch for anybody who loves charmingly cheesy ’90s action anime, and a true treat for long-time fans of the SNK fighting game universe.

7. Nier: Automata Ver1.1a

Nier: Automata Ver1.1a may look like a straightforward retelling of the original game, but this anime adaptation introduces numerous significant changes that make it a fascinating companion piece.

• Story: Follows androids 2B and 9S on their mission to reclaim Earth from machine life forms, only to discover the machines have inexplicably begun to imitate human behavior, prompting them to question the true purpose of their mission.
• Strengths: Accompanied by stunning animation, the series uses its structural changes to explore new themes and “what-if” scenarios that the original game never delved into, adding more depth to the world and characters.
• Key Detail: The anime excels at replicating the original game’s melancholic art direction and delivering an intensely emotional and thought-provoking story.

8. Devil May Cry: The Animated Series

The 2007 Devil May Cry: The Animated Series offered an unusually subdued take on the famously hilariously over-the-top, wacky, and stylish action franchise. It shifts the focus from spectacle to character.

• Story: Follows Dante, the demon-hunter-for-hire and super-powered half-demon, as he takes on a different, low-stakes demon-hunting mystery in almost every episode.
• Strengths: Shares more in common with a noir detective mystery than a traditional action anime, offering a glimpse into the everyday lives of the franchise’s larger-than-life characters through a series of “cozy mysteries.“
• Key Detail: It avoids copying the bombastic climaxes of its video game counterparts, instead providing a unique, low-key perspective on the Devil May Cry universe.

9. Mass Effect: Paragon Lost

Set between the events of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, Paragon Lost is the series’ only film adaptation and stands as one of the best side stories to come out of the franchise’s extended universe.

• Story: A side story centered around Lieutenant James Vega, showcasing the mission that led him to join the N7 program and become a member of Commander Shepard’s crew.
• Strengths: The action scenes perfectly capture the excitement of the original trilogy’s best moments, and the inclusion of iconic weapons and small details makes it a true Mass Effect film.
• Key Detail: Seeing the game’s universe from Vega’s perspective helps highlight the horror of the Reaper invasions and the unsettling implications of Cerberus’ shady dealings, making it an important companion piece.

10. Zone of the Enders: 2167 Idolo and Z.O.E. Dolores, i

These two technically separate anime are best viewed as two halves of a cohesive story that flesh out the world of the Zone of the Enders mech series. Both explore major events that took place before and during the mainline games.

• Story: 2167 Idolo tells the tragic, gritty story of a pilot testing an experimental orbital frame, while Z.O.E. Dolores, i shifts to a lighter-hearted comedy following a middle-aged space-trucker and his naive, cheerful orbital frame.
• Strengths: Despite their wildly different tones, both are underrated mecha classics that retain the chaotic action and darker themes that have always defined the Zone of the Enders franchise.
• Key Detail: 2167 Idolo stays true to the gritty spirit of the series, while Dolores, i offers consistently hilarious characters and writing, making the pair a well-rounded exploration of the setting.

Conclusion

The stigma surrounding video game adaptations is slowly but surely fading, thanks to high-quality projects like those listed above. These anime masterpieces prove that with careful writing, a respect for the source material, and a willingness to explore new narrative angles, a successful screen translation is not only possible but can also stand on its own as excellent entertainment. As more studios recognize the potential of gaming worlds, we can look forward to even more phenomenal adaptations hitting our screens in the near future.