Check out our list of the worst video game adaptations ever

(lr) 'Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'/'Super Mario Bros.'  (1993)

Source: New Line Cinema/Lightmotive

Callie (Carlos) Cadorniga - Author

Players are lucky to have players like The last of us on HBO. The series adapts the critically acclaimed video game Naughty Dog, first released for the PlayStation 3 in 2013. Since its premiere, the show has garnered critical acclaim from critics and fans alike.

You can excuse yourself if you were skeptical of the show’s quality when it was first announced, though, as live-action video game adaptations tend to run the gamut between pretty good and very bad.

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To be fair, no. everyone A game adaptation is a guaranteed stink. detective pikachu it was a carefully crafted Hollywood movie that had a lot of reverence for the source material, as it avoided the strange valley of depicting Pokémon in real life. Even the Sonic the Hedgehog Movies can be squeezed for a lot of charm and meme fodder to help them gain a fan base. But there have been some horrible adaptations that just don’t do the games justice. Here is our list of the worst video game adaptations.

'Unexplored' (2022)

Source: Sony

‘Super Mario Bros.’ (1993)

We can’t talk about the new animation. Super Mario film to be released in 2023 without first mentioning the haunting 1993 fever dream Super Mario Bros. Loosely based on the popular Nintendo series, the film stars Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi, respectively.

Swapping the fantasy aesthetic of the franchise with an ugly and bizarre cyberpunk sewer landscape populated by sweaty dinosaurs, it’s no wonder Nintendo waited 30 years for Mario to make another appearance on the big screen.

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‘Mortal Kombat: Annihilation’ (1997)

Despite its lackluster initial reception, the first Mortal Kombat The 1995 released movie is fondly remembered for its camping, hands-on action, and incredible theme song that would become a staple for the violent fighting game franchise.

However, lightning could not strike twice in this failed film franchise. As a sequel to the first film, Annihilation it’s marred by inconsistent writing, terrible special effects, and some of the best worst acting in movie history.

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‘Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within’ (2001)

Calling this movie an adaptation isn’t entirely accurate, considering that this CG movie uses the name “Final Fantasy” very loosely. The movie doesn’t adapt any of the games in the popular JRPG series instead an original but unappealing space opera that barely works with its source material.

Despite its legacy as the first photorealistic CG film in cinematic history, it is considered a film that does a lot and says so little with incredible CGI over a boring narrative.

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‘Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li’ (2009)

The first of 1994 Street Fighter The movie isn’t necessarily good, but at least it’s packed with hilariously cheesy moments and one-liners to make for a fun movie night. However, this ill-fated reboot centered on the popular kung-fu Interpol agent is completely devoid of joy and entertainment, as actors and pop stars sadly try to breathe new life into the live action. Street Fighter with terrible results.

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‘Unexplored’ (2022)

This one may be a bit of an exaggeration, considering that this adaptation of the acclaimed game series on PlayStation is by no means one of the worst just by metrics. but the original Unexplored game was heavily inspired by the Indiana Jones movies while trying to get the same kind of excitement into the hands of gamers. If he Unexplored movie is simply adapting a game that was already inspired by a movie, this movie production chain rule makes Tom Holland’s stint as Nathan Drake dire from the start.