The parallels between video games and anime only increase as time goes on, with both mediums sharing many of the same interests and themes. This can be a problem for anime, though, to the point where some would’ve been better off as a game.
This could be the case for different reasons, like the story fitting episodic missions better than a longform series or because the author left the cheats on. Not counting animated game adaptations and ignoring these shows' own-pre-existing games, some anime are better off in Steam sales than on Crunchyroll.
10 Golgo 13 As A Stealth-Action Game
Golgo 13 notably has some games, though the two biggest ones were on the NES, a system not nearly powerful enough to do the property justice. As an anime centered on the eponymous legendary assassin who executes impossible hits per episode, Golgo 13 could work better as an episodic stealth-action game in the vein of Hitman.
The problem with Golgo 13 is that it gets predictable fast; Golgo always gets his target no matter what, and watching him go through the methodology of reconnaissance gets tiring during a binge watch. Having players do the recon and set-up themselves, though, provides a different kind of thrill that the anime doesn’t.
9 Ghost In The Shell As A Proper Cyberpunk RPG
Ghost in the Shell is a venerated anime institution, but it’s been on a slump. Both its latest show— SAC: 2045— and the live-action Hollywood movie were met with bewilderment and mockery, leaving the franchise on a crossroads of sorts. Maybe it’s time for Ghost in the Shell to try video games and become the sprawling cyberpunk RPG its dystopian Tokyo is just begging for.
There’s already a couple of Ghost in the Shell games, but they were cult classics at best and have been largely forgotten, not to mention largely only focusing on the franchise's action elements. Turning the anime’s action-packed and philosophically-charged world into an RPG won’t just make for a good cyberpunk game that fulfills Cyberpunk 2077’s failed potential, but also serve as a much-needed return to Major Kusanagi’s story.
8 The Saga Of Tanya The Evil As A Tactical FPS With Cheats
The Saga of Tanya the Evil may be a war anime, but it barely feels like one. There are no stakes or challenges to speak of, as Tanya annihilates enemies in seconds while her godlike nemesis Being X complains from the sidelines. In fact, it feels like a tactical squad-based first-person shooter with cheats on— which is what the plot literally is, given Tanya’s knowledge of basic history.
The anime’s entertainment comes from the militaristic power fantasy Tanya represents, but this is something better evoked in a game. Where the anime gets one-sided and predictable, an FPS version (with optional God Mode, of course) would make the same story more engaging by letting players become the unstoppable battlefield savant that Tanya is. This a better alternative to making viewers watch her spawn camp noobs all day.
7 Junji Ito Collection As A Psychological-Horror Game
Horror is the one genre anime struggles the most with. Case in point, the lackluster Junji Ito Collection. Despite being based on the most acclaimed horror manga of recent memory, it only bored people to death. A theory for this was that the move from paper to screen lost the interactive nature of reading horror fiction, which was integral to Ito’s paneling and illustrating.
That said, Ito’s stories would work better as a video game, where audiences experience the terror firsthand instead of watching some guy get spooked by land-sharks. If it helps, Ito was rumored to be involved in Hideo Kojima’s tragically cancelled Silent Hills. Though he didn’t even sketch a monster for the game, the mere idea of a Silent Hill-tier nightmare based on Ito’s works says it all.
6 Food Wars! As A Competitive Cooking Game
Food Wars! made a name for itself with its hilariously over-the-top depictions of food tasting and how excited it makes its characters, but minus that, it’s a formulaic shonen anime that replaced the roundhouse kicking with cooking. If not for equating tasting delicious flavors to receiving physical pleasure, Food Wars! would barely stand out in the already crowded scene of competitive shonen stories. Giving it an interactive spin could better its chances.
Since Cooking Mama is already a thing, a more competitive and hot-blooded version of it can exist through Food Wars! The anime’s story lends itself handsomely to games as well, with Soma Yukihara’s mission to surpass his father’s cooking legacy by entering the Tosuki Saryo Culinary Institute serving as the perfect backdrop for a fighting game centered on the culinary arts instead of the martial kind.
5 Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler As A Puzzle Game
As a school-based gambling anime, Kagegurui has its moments, but the novelty quickly runs dry. Yumeko always wins, and if she loses, it was all according to her keikaku, anyway. The stakes aren’t too convincing, even though the high-risks games in the elitist high school with a gambling addiction are dangerously over-the-top.
Yumeko gambling her way up the social ladder can work better as a story-driven puzzle game (think Catherine, but even more risque), where players outsmart the student council’s expert gamblers to win big bucks and survive. Simply watching Yumeko beat cocky rivals at their own games doesn’t carry the same thrill as a gamer spotting a tell and doing the outwitting themselves.
4 Scum’s Wish As A Visual Novel
Emotional as it was, some felt that Scum’s Wish wasn’t, well, scummy enough. Besides that, it also felt rushed and incomplete. This was most egregious when characters are suddenly introduced but forgotten by the end. Additionally, some viewers were so invested that they got mad at Hanabi and (especially) Mugi for doing/saying the stupidest things possible.
With the sheer volume of viewers who felt that they would’ve made the smarter decisions if they were in the characters’ shoes, Scum’s Wish would work better as an adult-oriented visual novel. Not only would the format allow for a longer story with better fleshed out romantic conflicts complete with branching paths, but players could get the chance to teach Akane a lesson themselves.
3 Interspecies Reviewers As An H-Game
Beyond its cult status thanks to getting hastily pulled off the air, Interspecies Reviewers is just a standard raunchy comedy with monster girls. It’s what you’d expect and not much else. Interspecies Reviewers could see second life and even improvement as an H-Game— basically the "adult" version of a dating sim— where it’s arguably better suited.
The anime already functions like an episodic H-Game, where Stunk and Zel sleep with a different woman from a different fantasy race per episode before comparing scores and notes. Another benefit is that as a game and barring extreme circumstances, it’s less likely to get unceremoniously canned. Given that a second season is highly unlikely, this may be the only route forward for Interspecies Reviewers.
2 Goblin Slayer As A DOOM Clone
Despite the initial infamy of its polarizing pilot episode plus controversial depictions of assault against women, Goblin Slayer is yet another dark fantasy where a stoic hero rediscovers his humanity by hanging out with unlikely friends.
Still, Goblin Slayer found its audience who loved it for being the closest thing to an official DOOM anime. The titular Goblin Slayer and Doom Slayer (DoomGuy to fans) share a lot in common, from their imposing armor to how they make mass murder look easy. A DOOM clone and Goblin Slayer are the perfect bloody marriage just waiting to happen.
1 Gantz As An Actual Video Game
Gantz appears to criticize violent video games and those who enjoy them, but in truth, it’s a misanthropic screed against everything and everyone. Whatever it was trying to say was lost amidst gore and unhinged manifesto-like rants. To wit, the manga petered out with one of the most notorious anticlimaxes ever read while the marginally restrained anime didn’t fare better.
There is potential in Gantz, especially its criticisms of FPS games seen in how it turned gameplay loop and logic into terrifying reality. That said, it would be better if it were told through the medium it’s condemning. Like how Spec Ops: The Line exposed the underlying self-righteousness and jingoism of modern military shooters, Gantz can use gameplay to better get its observations across.