Although the video game landscape is already pretty firmly in the ninth generation (with games like Grand Theft Auto 6 already looking to push the bounds of current-gen consoles), there’s still a lot to admire and be inspired by in eras of gaming long past. Not only is the current state of gaming indebted to the bygone days of arcade cabinets, but Hollywood, in its ever-present search for new IP to mine, isn’t afraid to go back to the classics.
There are, of course, the juggernauts of classic gaming: Mario, Sonic, Castlevania, all of which have received the adaptation treatment at this point. But you don’t have to be extremely iconic or immediately recognizable to get a movie or a TV show, as evidenced by the upcoming Paramount+ animated adaptation of the Golden Axe games. As the creators of the series, Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler can tell you, all it takes is having a fanbase that remembers you fondly.
