In the golden age of retro gaming, merchandisers thought of game consoles as marketing platforms rather than entertainment systems. Their devious plot was to create games that were basically commercials for some beloved franchise.
That included the adventures of various brand mascots, as well as today’s topic, video games based on movies.
The problem was these movie marketers didn’t know the first thing about making video games. And worse, they’d outsource to game companies who knew nothing about their franchise, either. Usually, the final product of such a venture was a barely playable game that only resembled the movie in the most random ways possible.
Today, we wish to share with you the best of the worst video game based on movies. Check out these hilarious ways that retro video games have rewritten our favorite movies.
Key Takeaways
- Many retro movie-based games had bizarre plots that barely resembled the films they were based on.
- SNES and NES adaptations often turned beloved characters into strange or violent parodies.
- These reviews come from real gameplay experience using original cartridges on classic hardware.
The Table of Contents
These summaries are based on real gameplay experience with original cartridges on SNES and NES hardware.
Wizard of Oz (Super Nintendo, SNES)
Okay, the whole point of a movie-based game is to increase the sales of the movie, right? So why would anyone make an SNES game to advertise an over 50-year-old movie that everyone in the world has already seen?
Oh, we don’t know the answer. We were hoping you did.
The Movie
Dorothy wishes for a magical place where no one’s trying to kill her dog and where the Great Depression isn’t happening. She tries to run away, but a tornado launches her to the magical, technicolored land of Oz.
There, she accidentally crushes a witch with her house, accidentally melts another witch with a bucket of water, and exposes the Wizard as a fraud. Now that Dorothy has learned to value home, sweet home, Glinda the Good Witch sends her back.
Hooray, Dorothy’s wishes have been granted! Or, it’s all a concussion-induced hallucination. We’re still trying to figure this out.
How the Game Tells It
- Dorothy and Toto are totally safe, lazily napping in the grass. And yet, she still wants to run away for some reason.
- She doesn’t, though. Instead, she literally sleeps through a violent tornado strike that lands her on the yellow brick road in Oz.
“Why is life so hard, Toto?”
Dismembered Witches
Next, she’s approached by the floating head and upper torso of Glinda the Good Witch, who poofs the Ruby slippers onto Dorothy’s feet. She commands Dorothy to deliver the slippers to Oz and to never take them off. Half-Glinda also gives Dorothy her wand so that the Y button has something to do.
Suddenly, the floating head of the Wicked Witch bunts Half-Glinda aside, exclaiming that she wants her slippers back. But, instead of taking the slippers, she steals Toto and leaves. Understandably, Dorothy is stunned beyond belief and says nothing.
“Uh, sure, I’ll trade. I don’t need magic slippers. So, I’ll just take my dog back and—you’re gone. You left the slippers and took the dog. Great.”
Pure Insanity
For the rest of the level, she basically avoids lemons, friendly birds, and angry armchairs that live inside trees. The rest of the levels are equally ridiculous and even less related to the film.
In level 2, she wanders through the desert, kicking mean clouds and disintegrating rabid cats. Later, she kicks floating clocks, swims through lava, and terrorizes several villages inhabited by Baby Groots. For about half of this, the yellow brick road is nowhere in sight.
“Well, I was Groot.”
Dorothy vs The World
Throughout the game, Dorothy beats up giant monsters to free her iconic Oz buddies. Bizarrely, the Cowardly Lion is held captive by a rat in the sewer.
The best part, though, is the demise of the witch. Here, there’s no water bucket and no accident. Dorothy straight-up kicks her in the crotch until there’s nothing left of her.
“I just want my slippers! Seriously, what is wrong with you?”
Still Not The End
Unfortunately, the story continues for at least another half an hour. Finally, Dorothy gets the ruby slippers to the Wizard. But then, he whines that she used up all the slippers’ magic, and now they’re just worthless shoes nobody wants.
And yet, he still thanks her and sends her back to Kansas. That’s right, he sends Dorothy back. Apparently, the Wizard of OzSNES Oz is the real deal.
“Oh, the man behind the curtain? He’s just here to fix the furnace. I told you to pay no attention to him.”
Super Star Wars (Super Nintendo, SNES)
As you know, there are loads of excellent Star Wars games on almost every console. And, gameplay-wise, this super-fun SNES game is no exception. Still, it’s completely bonkers, especially to those who have seen the film (AKA, all of us).
The Movie
A long time ago, in—well, you know. Luke wants to help his buddies fight the war against space Hitler, but his uncle says he can’t. But then his uncle dies so now he can.
And he’d better get a move on because the Empire’s building the Death Star, a planet-destroying super weapon. With help from a wisecracking pilot and the ghost of a British space wizard (and a laser sword and the Force), Luke blows up the Death Star.
Oh, there’s also a growling big foot and a princess. The end.
How the Game Tells It
- In this version, Luke’s not too busy to fight the Empire because he’s bogged down with chores.
- Instead, he’s running around, torturing and exploding animals for no reason.
- He also keeps jumping into monster-filled sandpits instead of going around them.
“Beware of monsters, huh? Heroes laugh at warning signs!”
Luke: Genocidal Maniac
Next, he finds a stranded C-3PO who sends him on a quest to save R2-D2 from Jawas. (Jawas are the hooded dwarf creatures who sold Luke the droids in the movie.)
Luke then proceeds to murder the crap out of a million Jawas and decimate their place of business. Hilariously, they scream, “TEE-HEE!” as Luke’s laser blasts send their bodies flying.
“TEE-HEE! That tickles!”
Murder, Murder, Murder
Next, R2 plays Leia’s message, prompting Luke to search for Obi-Wan. Naturally, Luke does this by reducing animals to puddles of snot and blasting the humanoid natives to smithereens.
Finally, Luke receives his fated lightsaber. 3 seconds later, he realizes that it’s nowhere near as effective as his other weapons, so he puts it away and never uses it again.
“You want me to use a sword? Against an army of armored gunfighters? Are you insane?”
Yup, More Murder
Luke then arrives at Mos Eisley where, in the movie, Obi-Wan uses stealth and Jedi Mind Tricks to avoid causing a scene. And by “a scene,” we mean “excess violence that will get everyone killed.”
In this version, getting everyone killed is Luke’s answer to everything. So, he busts into town, guns blazing, and blows up anything that moves.
We think you can see where things go from here. The game repeatedly takes obscure Star Wars creatures out of context and has Luke execute them with extreme prejudice. Here, we see Luke battling that Claymation monster from Chewbacca’s chessboard.
No caption necessary.
When modern gamers think of video game based movies, they might recall awesome titles like Jurassic World Evolution. Old-school gamers have a different association—namely, a horrible one.
But as we booted up these abominations, our favorite game systems betrayed us with insulting mockeries of the films we loved most. Case in point, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on the Atari 2600 is still held responsible for the 1983 video game crash even today..
That is the downside. The good part is, we can now laugh at the games that once made us cry.
Specifically, beneath the truly awful gameplay of these games, we find hilariously insane retelling of famous movies. Read on to see what game programmers consider “close enough.”
Home Alone 2 (Super Nintendo, SNES)
Who doesn’t love the Christmas classic Home Alone 2: Lost in New York? That was a trick question. It’s your favorite.
The Movie
This film follows Kevin McCallister, a ten-year-old boy who already survived the neglectful abandonment of his family last Christmas. And yet, this horrible family loses him again so that he’s, you know, lost in New York.
To our benefit, he still finds a way to mangle the same criminals who broke into his house/served as target practice the previous year. Unique and unexpected enjoyment follows!
How the Game Tells It
- The game opens with the credits and the text, “In Memory of Tom Heidt.” That’s right. This game killed someone.
Sorry, Tom.
Everyone Hates Kevin
Next, we overhear a phone conversation with the concierge, played by a mysterious face that wasn’t present in the film. He tells strangers that Kevin’s a jerk. Meanwhile, on a different phone, Harry and Marv also express their hatred of Kevin to characters we don’t know.
When the gameplay starts, you’re immediately strangled to death by the concierge—twice. By the third time, you realize that this is the actual game, not some kind of scene or demo.
After that, you run for your (Kevin’s) life while the entire world tries to kill Kevin, including sentient vacuum cleaners and punching bags. Kevin eats snacks to stay alive, breaks into random hotel rooms, and fights bosses like elevators and an angry chef.
You finally escape the hotel and land in the hands of Harry, Marv, and—wait, who’s that lady? Okay, there’s also some lady standing around, oblivious to the kidnappers, who are screaming their master plan in all caps. She slaps them for being nerds, and Kevin escapes.
She’s so surprised that her head turns backward and her hand flies off her body.
Beating Strangers in the Park
Kevin runs through Central Park, shooting people with his fist-gun. His victims include monks, uncle Fester from The Addams Family, and anyone else in sight. The homeless Bird Lady attacks him in a sewer cave, and they become best friends.
I’ll have you know, I’m not joking about any of this. But at least they include a few slapstick scenarios for Kevin to bring down on Harry and Marv.
Christmas Tree Battle
For the climax, Harry, Marv, and a second Harry attack Kevin in the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree until birds magically fly Kevin away. Apparently, though, Second Harry is Kevin’s mom.
Kevin explains that he ran away because “NEW YORK IS THE BEST PLACE TO BE !” Harry and Marv are angry in prison, the end.
Predator (Nintendo NES)
Action movie historians remember Predator as one of the highlights of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career. Modern audiences remember that crappy one they made in 2018.
The Movie
Mr. Schwarzenegger kills thousands of expendable nobodies in the jungle with an arsenal of explosives, heavy things, and the best/worst one-liners ever written. We soon forget the forgettable reason for his mission because his team is attacked by a killer alien.
In true action-hero fashion, Arnold bests the high-tech monster with mud, sticks, and enormous biceps. Then, presumably, he’s picked up by the chopper.
How the Game Tells It
- The intro of the game explains the setup of the movie, the same as we described above.
- Likewise, the first level is also the same: soldiers in a jungle, fighting their way through.
- Although, there are scorpions the size of large dogs.
The Underwater Level
This is where things start to get weird. Stage 3 seems to take place underwater, where Arnold (Dutch) can still jump, shoot, and breathe. There, he battles giant seahorses, jellyfish, amoebas, cartoon fish ghosts, and seaweed that shoots fireballs.
Hmm.
The Ruins
In Stage 4, Dutch meets the predator. But first, he hops around ancient ruins, shooting moths and generic anime monsters. Then, he finds dead soldiers and vows, “I will find whomever did this!”
Proper, and yet, not.
The Underwater Level 2
Now Dutch is underwater again, only he’s twice the size as last time. He must kill bubbles before bubbles kill him. Yeah.
From here, the game pretty much loops this pattern over and over again. The point is, 80% of this game looks more like an alien planet than the jungle.
Finally, after wandering endlessly through a land of pure nonsense, Dutch is attacked by the predator’s giant floating head. After the floating head is subdued, the game pretends that you didn’t just fight a floating head. Instead, it explains the movie’s ending, as if it has anything to do with this insanity.
…the stupidest game you’ve ever played.
Enjoy These Terrible Old Video Game Movies
If you think these video game based movies are terrible, share your thoughts in the comments below.
In the mood for more game-bashing fun? Check out some of the worst nes games ever made.. Or if your new to our website, you sell unwanted games through our website. See how much cash your old games will bring you!
Frequently Asked Questions About Video Game Movies
What video game movie made the most money?
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) — about $1.36B worldwide, the highest-grossing video game movie to date.
What is the best video game movie of all time?
- Critics and fans often cite Detective Pikachu (2019) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) as the most consistently well-received.
What is the worst video game movie?
- Alone in the Dark (2005) is frequently ranked the worst, with House of the Dead (2003) close behind.
What video game is the movie Uncharted based on?
- Uncharted (2022) adapts Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series, pulling set pieces mainly from Uncharted 3 and Uncharted 4.
What video game is the movie Rampage based on?
- Rampage (2018) is based on Midway’s 1986 arcade game Rampage.
