WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Knuckles.
Paramount+’s Knuckles, which brings the titular character and some of his lore to the small screen, is the latest example of a solid video game TV show that raises the bar for future adaptations. Similarly to the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, Knuckles combines elements from the games with original characters created for the live-action franchise. While the lack of established Sonic characters and locations in the limited series can be disappointing at first, Knuckles succeeds in keeping the same tone from the films with a funny, heartwarming adventure that works for all ages.
The Knuckles series comes shortly after the release of Prime Video’s Fallout, which successfully brought the unique post-apocalyptic world of the games into live-action. More than 30 years after Super Mario Bros., the first video game movie ever made, the “adaptation curse” perceived after dozens of poorly-received projects based on multiple video game IPs has ended. Not only have there been great video game movies and shows recently, but they have come in different formats and genres. Knuckles couldn’t be more different from Fallout, yet they both indicate a positive shift in how video game adaptations are made.
With a 93% Rotten Tomatoes critics score, Fallout is already one of the most well-received video game adaptations of all time. As a comparison, HBO’s The Last of Us season 1 currently sits at an impressive 96% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas films like Mortal Kombat: Annihilation or Street Fighter could barely get past 10%. This massive difference between the reception of older video game adaptations compared to modern ones indicates a positive trend in which studios and creators have finally cracked how to make the most of beloved game properties.
While Knuckles’ Rotten Tomatoes score is not as impressive as Fallout’s – 69% as of the writing of this article – it is on par with Sonic the Hedgehog2’s critical reception. Aimed at younger audiences but full of Easter eggs and references that only long-time fans will enjoy, the Sonic the Hedgehog movies have found the perfect balance between pleasing fans of the source material while also bringing in new audiences.Knuckles achieved something similar, delivering a fun adventure featuring the titular echidna that, while self-contained and with limited appearances from video game characters, is still a love letter to the franchise.
Stream Knuckles on Paramout+
Stream Fallout on Prime Video
There have been some solid video game movies in the last few years, including the Sonic the Hedgehog films and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. However, the best video game adaptations are arguably on TV. Shows like Castlevania, Arcane, Castlevania: Nocturne, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, The Last of Us, Fallout, and Knuckles all succeeded in bringing their source material to a different medium with great visuals, acting, and writing. Most importantly, these shows reveal that there are multiple ways of adapting a video game universe screen, particularly for the TV medium.
Arcane dove into League of Legends lore and told an original story that has since been confirmed as part of the franchise’s larger canon, revealing the origins of some of the game’s most important characters and artifacts. Castlevania, on the other hand, took elements from different games in the series and reworked them into a cohesive story centered on one of the many Belmonts depicted in the source material. Its sequel, Castlevania: Nocturne, went for a similar approach and followed a different member of the Belmont family hundreds of years later.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners further proved how well the animation format suits video game adaptations and delivered one of the best anime series of 2022, if not the best. Whereas Arcane and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners felt like extensions of their respective source materials, The Last of Us season 1 was a faithful adaptation of the first Last of Us game. Multiple lines and scenes from the game were perfectly recreated in the TV adaptation, which also included original storylines such as Bill and Frank’s episode. Fallout, on the other hand, told a brand-new story set in the same continuity as the games.
Knuckles, very much like the previous two Sonic the Hedgehog movies, combined elements from the franchise’s extensive library of games with original characters and storylines. The Sonic movies brought their titular character to the “real world” in a Sonic X type of premise, meaning it had to find creative ways of integrating classic Sonic visuals and characters into the human world. The Knuckles show does not include that many video game characters and instead focuses on the funny dynamic between the echidna and Wade, who first appeared in the first Sonic the Hedgehog film.
Following the critical and commercial success of shows like The Last of Us and movies like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, there will naturally be more video game adaptations released every year. However, the bar is now much higher for the genre compared to a few years ago. Between the inconsistent Resident Evil films and the failed attempts to transform IPs like World of Warcraft and Assassins Creed into blockbuster franchises, it seemed like video game adaptations would never find their place in Hollywood. Fortunately, the positive streak of video game movies and shows proves that it can be done.
For example, after Mortal Kombat (2021)’s underwhelming critical reception, Mortal Kombat 2 must be a significant improvement over its predecessor. Even though Mortal Kombat (2021) was technically more game-accurate than the 1990s films, it had several issues and failed to be the definitive live-action MK movie the franchise lacks. Mortal Kombat 2’s cast features a lot more characters from the games, including fan-favorite Johnny Cage and villains such as Shao Kahn and Quan Chi. Faithfully translating the tone and the visuals of the games is important, but adaptations also need to be good stories in their own right.
After years in development hell, the Borderlands movie is finally happening and will arrive in 2024. The Borderlands cast includes names like Cate Blanchet, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black, with the first official images revealing accurate costumes and a comedic approach. 2024 will also see the return of Sonic the Hedgehog franchise to the big screen, with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles bringing an old game joke to life. Sonic 3 will have to deliver on the expectations set by the previous two films while also diving more into the games’ lore, especially through Shadow the Hedgehog.
