In general, great games don't often make for good anime. When it comes to JRPGs, something essential is inevitably lost in translation: the player. Protagonists like Joker of Persona 5 are great within the context of the game, but dull to watch as separate entities. So many protagonists are stand-ins for the player, it's not surprising that the transition from console to TV is disappointing.
With the notable exceptions of the Fate adaptations and Steins; Gate, anime based on video games are almost universal disappointments. And for every game that feels cinematic enough to merit an anime, there are just as many that would be better off left alone.
10 Deserving: Breath of the Wild
Once it may have seemed a fool's errand. Link is a silent protagonist, and the joy of Breath of the Wild is the freedom players have in defining not just how he looks but how he behaves. Having said that, the world of anime has come a long way when it comes to representation.
Link doesn't speak, but he gesticulates, and many fan headcanons establish him as a character unable to talk. Imagine an anime adaptation that embraced the idea that Link is mute or perhaps signs to communicate, and consider how beautiful such a story could be if produced by, say, Brain's Base, the same studio bringing To Your Eternity to vibrant life.
9 Undeserving: Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a therapeutic, beloved game. But fans who think it would be fun to watch as a series may be deluding themselves and forgetting the central charms that help AC succeed.
During the onset of the pandemic, many players turned to New Horizons for solace. In a world where the majority of life's decisions felt stripped from humanity, imaginary rural towns populated with animals became a real respite. Sure, bug-catching, fishing, and fossil-hunting would be a snooze-fest to watch. But Animal Crossing already exists exactly as it should.
8 Deserving: Nier: Automata
It's hard to think of many anime that have nailed the "cool factor" so well as the Nier franchise. While being "cool" is no guarantee that an anime will be worth watching -- so many shows have become style over substance -- one genre that anime has always excelled at is science fiction.
Just as Advent Children succeeded in capturing an ambitious story and rich otherworldly setting, so could a Nier anime. It helps that the character designs are memorable, the villains creative and often haunting, and the aesthetic is so strong. Most importantly, these characters exist separately from the players, and it's obvious that 2B would be taking care of business even without a controller.
7 Undeserving: Anything in The Mario Universe
Look, adaptations of Mario games quite frankly do not work. In addition to the infamous live-action film from the 80s, Mario and Luigi have enjoyed their fair share of animated features, but few are worth mentioning. The essence of what makes Nintendo successful doesn't necessarily translate into other mediums.
Fans don't play Mario Party because they care about the story, but because it's fun. No one expects to be psychologically challenged by Smash Brothers, and that's fine. Sometimes, games should be enjoyed solely for what they are.
6 Deserving: Fire Emblem: Three houses
Few games in recent memory have encouraged such a rabid fanbase as Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The cast of characters is nuanced and engaging, so much so that almost any one of the students at Garreg Mach could have helmed a game of their own. Though Byleth, the player character, is deliberately reserved and even vacant at times, they serve as a necessary foil to the overwhelming charisma of the Golden Deer, Blue Lions, and Black Eagles kids.
With so many characters made of protagonist material, the biggest challenge for an anime studio would be deciding which characters and stories to fixate on. The Faerghus Four alone, for example, share a backstory harrowing enough to fuel at least a dozen episodes. The options are endless.
5 Undeserving: Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima is inarguably a fantastic game, but the characters prove somewhat hard to love. In a video game, a bland lead can get pretty far on the basis of design alone. A player doesn't need the protagonist to be that interesting, so long as the story is immersive and they can fall into it. But watching a tv series is different, and this is the pitfall of many anime game adaptations.
While the rich setting is extremely gratifying for a gamer, it's hard to imagine that the highlights would be quite as affecting in an anime, where realism is harder to achieve. Those looking for Edo-period dramas, fortunately, have other options.
4 Deserving: Yakuza
The Yakuza games are nothing if not entertaining. More than that, they depict life in Japan with a gritty degree of realism, yet not without a sense of playfulness. The success of the games has already led to film adaptations and live-action tv series, and a hefty dose of critical acclaim. Besides, yakuza and yanki anime have a real precedent in anime, with entries ranging from the surreal, a la Beastars, to the action-packed, a la Black Lagoon. It helps, too that creators have several successful Yakuza games to choose from.
3 Undeserving: Silent Hill
The Silent Hill franchise has existed for more than two decades, and if anything, psychological horror has only become more marketable during that time. Yet much of what makes Silent Hill terrifying is atmosphere rather than story, and when it comes to mediums beyond gaming, that alone rarely cuts it.
In 2006, the first Silent Hill film was released, and subsequent sequels followed, but none of them lived up to the impact of the early games. Additionally, fans have been disappointed by the trajectory of Konami. Given this, it's easy to imagine that an anime adaptation would fail to satisfy.
2 Deserving: Okami
There's no good reason why Okami isn't already an anime. Shows featuring anthropomorphic characters have become more popular in recent years, given the success of Beastars, Brand New Animal, and Aggretsuko. And even if that proves to be a short-lived trend, Okami's artistic and folkloric merits are timeless, simultaneously traditional and inventive.
A period setting imbued with an interesting magic system, a cohesive storyline showcasing Shinto myths, gods, and goddesses, and an aesthetic to die for all suggest Okami could make the anime transition more effectively than most modern games.
1 Undeserving: BloodBorne
The Bloodborne aesthetic is certainly something to behold, but the infamously difficult gameplay has proven an effective deterrent for many would-be fans. While the general cinematic quality of the worldbuilding deserves to be appreciated by an audience beyond hardcore gamers, there's not necessarily enough by way of a propulsive plot to justify reworking this universe for another medium.
Though there's certainly a niche for atmospheric anime, such as Mushishi and even Land of the Lustrous, those series tend to have what Bloodborne lacks: compelling central characters and stakes that don't rely on gore and terror.