6 animes that would make great video games

When Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was first adapted as a video game, the man some refer to as Japan's Walt Disney was said to have hated them. In fact, the experience was so bad that Miyazaki effectively wrote off video games, refusing to allow any of his work to be adapted until Ni no Kuni came along more than 20 years later. A pity, really - Nausicaa could have been a great video game.

That's where our latest wishlist of anime adaptations begins - with a classic that deserved better. The rest run the gamut from magical girl to mecha, with a dash of survival horror thrown in for a good mix. The common thread? The world would be a better place if these shows and films were adapted as video games.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Suggested genre: Open-world RPG

Ni no Kuni was an interesting step in the right direction for Studio Ghibli, which has been famously reticent about video game adaptations, but most of us would rather explore more established worlds. For instance: Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind - a beautiful film set among the ruins of post-apocalypctic civilization. It's the perfect counterpoint to Fallout, exchanging dark humour and retro stylings for glorious artwork and a more philosophical outlook on war. It doesn't even have to be a retelling of the original film. It would be just as interesting to explore another settlement with its own story.

As mentioned above, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was adapted for games on the PC-88, MSX, and PC-6001 in the 80s. However, those games comprised two terrible shooters and one incredibly ugly adventure game - not exactly the best way to remember what has long been hailed as one of the best anime films ever made. As one of Ghibli's finest films - and an anime classic - Nausicaa deserves a fresh start in the video game world.

Full Metal Panic

Suggested genre: Strategy RPG

Popular enough to warrant a U.S. release back in the late 2000s, Full Metal Panic has nevertheless fallen between the cracks. Despite its cult following in both the U.S. and Japan, it's never earned a full-blown video game, appearing only in ensemble titles like Super Robot Taisen and Another Century's Episode. That's a shame, because it really deserves better, despite living in the shadow of more recent shows like Code Geass.

It should be noted a template already exists for a good Full Metal Panic video game. Back in the day, Sakura Taisen did an admirable job of mixing the storytelling of an interactive television show with simple mech combat. It would be fun to see FMP take that concept and run with it by building the story into something resembling a Persona game, while sprinkling in strategy reminiscent of Square Enix's Front Mission. Of course, that would require much more ambition than is typically afforded a licensed game. But it sure is fun to think about, isn't it?

Kill la Kill

Suggested genre: Action

It's not easy to describe Kill la Kill, except to say that it's a magical girl anime on speed. Its creators, both of whom worked on the similarly insane Gurren Lagann, are known for being over the top. Actually, over the top doesn't even really do it justice. Kill la Kill just doesn't care whether it makes any sense, which is part of its charm. You see an enemy running with a super-powered tennis racket, and you just go with it. In that sense, Kill la Kill is a perfect fit for a Platinum-style action game, where hair is a weapon and protagonists routinely destroy whole rooms of enemies while munching on a slice of pizza. In fact, why isn't this already happening? Someone give Hideki Kamiya a call, stat.

Gatchaman Crowds

Suggested genre: RPG

The premise of Gatachman Crowds begs to be turned into an RPG. In the near future, a special mobile app encourages people to help one another by assigning missions, with points being given upon completion. In essence, it's gamification write large, with aliens and superheroes thrown in. In that context, it's not hard to imagine an RPG featuring the heroes as the protagonists, with the GALAX app being used to handle the sidequests. Bonus points if the app became a metagame of sorts, with online leaderboards tracking points earned from completing randomly generated quests.

The Big O

Suggested genre: Episodic adventure

If Bruce Wayne patrolled Gotham City in a giant mech instead of a bat costume, you'd have The Big O. A beautiful, non-traditional mecha anime with distinctly noir-ish trappings, its witty writing and simple-but-attractive art style makes it perfectly suited for a Telltale-style episodic adventure game. Alas, like Full Metal Panic, The Big O's only video game appearance was in Super Robot Taisen. It's nice to see Roger Smith and company getting a share of the spotlight, but he and The Big O deserve their own chance to shine.

Shiki

Suggested genre: Survival horror

With all the interest in returning vampires to their gory roots as terrifying monsters, Shiki would make for an interesting survival horror game. The structure is similar to that of Salem's Lot - a strange epidemic takes hold of a town, which is eventually revealed to be the work of vampires. Frankly, we need more games like Alan Wake, which is one reason that Shiki is worthy of a mention here despite being less well known than some of the other games on this list. And hey, whoever said that an anime adaptation had to be an RPG or an action game?

Did we miss something? We might have already covered it in our earlier feature, The Anime We'd Love to Play.

Kat Bailey is a freelance Pokemon Master. You can follow her on Twitter at @The_Katbot.