Platformersare perhaps the most iconic genre within gaming. Shooter heroes like Master Chief or Doomguy may have their fans, alongside fighting game figures like Ryu or Terry Bogard. Yet they only have an iota of fame compared toSuper MarioorSonic the Hedgehog.
Related:‘Super Mario Bros’, ‘Tetris’, & More Inducted into Video Game Hall of Fame
Those two managed to leap out of the video game console and appear everywhere. Cereal boxes, lunchboxes, The Simpsons, movies, and TV shows. They even made it intoanime, but they weren’t the only ones to do that. Here are tenplatform game heroes who made it into anime.
9Sonic The Hedgehog
Before the 2020 film defied expectation and produced an okay movie instead of a disaster, ADV Films put twoSonicOVA episodes together and called itSonic the Hedgehog: The Movie. It was released to coincide withSonic Adventure 1’s US release in 1999, despite originally being made in 1996.
The film follows Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles as they attempt to save Sara, the President’s daughter, from Dr Eggman and Metal Sonic. It’s pretty cool in that Sega Enterprises made two full-on shows in the style ofSonic CD’s lovely, animated intro. Plus, the final battle between Sonic and Metal Sonic gets rather exciting. Still, it can be quite clunky in the dialogue department.
8Sonic X
Why stick with an OVA when there’s a 3-season anime?Sonic Xreached 4Kids, Jetix, and a hundred other channels. The show was kind of a reverse-isekai, as Sonic and his friends emerge from their world into the real world. It even managed to adapt large chunks ofSonic Adventure 1and2.
The show had its ups, but it also had some big downs, mainly with its original characters like Chris Thorndyke. Today, it’s mostly remembered for introducing Mike Pollock as Dr Eggman, a role he’s still playing in the games to this day. Also, Sonic’s habit of breaking into English in the original Japanese dub is kind of funny. Particularly whenhe used swear words.
7Popful Mail
Popful Mailwas a cult classic RPG/Platformer crossover that made it to the West via the Sega CD. It was one of the few reasons to bother with theGenesis’ maligned add-on. The only bit of drama was that it was going to be released as aSonictie-in calledSister Sonic, with its heroine Mail becoming a female hedgehog. The fan backlash stopped that plan in its tracks. Or so the story goes anyway.
The game had anime cutscenes and adverts, but not a full-on anime show or movie. Though it wasn’t without trying. Studio Fantasia put together a 5-minute pitch back in 1994 to get an OVA funded. Unfortunately, the pilot didn’t take flight, but it’s a nice look at what could’ve been.
6Kirby: Right Back At Ya!
OrHoshi no Kirby (Kirby of the Stars)in Japan. The show is simple show.Kirbycrashes onto Planet Popstar and makes friends with the locals. He doesn’t talk beyond the odd word or chirp, etc., but helps his more verbal pals Tiff and Tuff wheneverKing Dedede acts up. Like when he went into Wispy Woods with a chainsaw because he wanted to build a golf course.
Related:Things Only Fans Who Watched the Anime Know About Kirby
The show reached the West through 4Kids, who did their usual weird editing tricks. Like removing all text from the front covers of books. One notorious episode, ‘Shell Shocked’, even became lost media for a while because it was only broadcast once, then never again. The jokes about King Dedede’s snail friend Escargoon getting stripped of his shell were a little too racy for them.
5Super Mario Bros: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Daisakusen!
From the DiC cartoons to theupcoming Illumination movie, the Mario Bros have been adapted by Westerners more often than the Japanese. But they did beat everyone else to the punch with this 1986 anime. It’s technically the first video game-based movie ever made, though at 61 minutes it’s not really feature-length.
The plot is simple; Mario and Luigi must rescue Princess Peach from King Koopa (Bowser). But it has some differences. The Mario Brothers first learn of Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom via Mario’s Famicom, and go there via pipe, making it one of the earliest isekai anime. They also work as grocery store clerks instead of plumbers, and some scenes suggest they’re Mexican instead of Italian.
4Megaman Maverick Hunter X: The Day Of Ʃ (Sigma)
Interestingly, the onlyMegamento get full-on series were the ones from the Game Boy Advance games. ButBattle NetworkandStar Forcewere tactical RPGs, and got rather cold receptions. Luckily, Xebec Studio also animated the cutscenes forMegaman Maverick Hunter X, the PSP remake ofMegaman X. For an extra touch, they made a 26-minute OVA calledThe Day of Ʃthat showed how Sigma went from a fellow Hunter to the series' main villain.
It was okay for what it was as well, and spiced up what was already a good reason for Mega-fans to get a PSP. Even if Sigma’s moral switch contradicted how he turned evil in the otherXgames. Though with Zero’s repeated resurrections, Sigma’s constant comebacks, and pretty much everything in X6, it wouldn’t be the biggest plot hole fans had to swallow.
3Saru Getchu -On Air-
Oh yes,Ape Escapemanaged to get an anime. It even ran for 77 episodes across two seasons. It sort-of followsApe Escape 3and two Japan-only entries;Million MonkeysandSaruSaru Big Mission. A tame monkey called Kuuta gets caught by aliens called Pipotrons, who put a special helmet on his head to give him extra intelligence. As a result, he changes his name to Specter, and calls upon his monkey brethren to cause trouble across the world.
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It’s up to Kakeru and his friends Hiroki and Kuuta’s owner Natsumi to catch all those escaped apes with a variety of gadgets provided by the Professor. They even get help from Charu, a virtual girl, and Haruka, a mech genius, as they foil Specter’s plans. It sure sounds like anApe Escapestory. It was also made by Xebec, though its quality didn’t end up matching that ofDay of Ʃ.Nonetheless, it’s a good find for eagerApe Escapefans.
2Viewtiful Joe
Group TAC adapted the first game into a 51-episode anime broadcast across 2004 and 2005. Joe and Silvia go to see a Captain Blue movie, only for one of the evil Jadow forces to reach out of the screen and pull Silvia into the film. Joe gives chases and, under the tutelage of Captain Blue himself, becomes Viewtiful enough to fight the Jadow.
26 of those 51 episodes were dubbed and shown on Kids’ WB. Critics and audiences liked it for being faithful to the games, but they weren’t too fond of the dialogue. Joe spouts so much hip lingo to be down with the kids that he comes off like someone’s try-hard dad. Maybe it’s fitting for a guy who transforms by saying ‘Henshin-a-Go-Go, Baby!’, but viewers will still have to brace themselves for the dialogue.
1Castlevania
“ButCastlevaniais a Western cartoon.” Yes, one staffed with many people who previously worked on anime in Japan. The producers wanted the show to resemble the concept art done by Konami’s Ayami Kojima, and follow in the spirit of dark fantasy manga likeBerserk. It’s close enough to count.
Likewise, the series is based onCastlevania III: Dracula’s Curseon the NES, which played more like a platformer than the ‘Metroidvania’ style later games would adopt. It’s a pretty popular adaptation too, and one of Netflix’s few remaining highlights.Castlevaniais a must-see recommendation for its drama, action, and sweary banter. Especially when it’s gota sequel serieson the way.
