novel adaptations
Trying to avoid more indirect adaptations, i.e. ones based on a movie/tv adaptation rather than the book itself, ones based loosely around a famous character rather than a specific story, ones that are just a sequel to a previous video game adaptation (unless they're based on a particular sequel novel). I'll fudge those rules where I feel like it though.
198 Games
Parasite Eve (Hideaki Sena, 1995)
Metro 2033 (Dmitry Glukhovsky, 2002)
Inferno (Dante Alighieri, ~1320)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
The Witcher Saga (Andrzej Sapkowski, 1994-1999)
The Invincible (Stanisław Lem, 1964)
Water Margin (Shi Nai'an, late 1300s)
Journey to the West (Wu Cheng'en, 1592)
Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy, 1998)
Chaos Legion (Tow Ubukata, 2003)
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937)
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne, 1873)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown, 2003)
The Final Scene ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1989)
The Bluebeard Room (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1985)
Digital Devil Story trilogy (Aya Nishitani, 1986-1988)
The Mystery of the Mother Wolf ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
False Impressions & The Clues Challenge ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1990 & 2001)
Never Deal With a Dragon (Robert N. Charrette, 1990)
The Treasure in the Royal Tower ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett, 1989)
The Blackstone Chronicles (John Saul, 1996-1997)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Haunted Carousel (James Duncan Lawrence (as Carolyn Keene), 1983)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Le Morte d'Arthur (Thomas Malory, 1485)
Digital Devil Story trilogy (Aya Nishitani, 1986-1988)
The Secret of the Scarlet Hand ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
Nansō Satomi Hakkenden [aka The Eight Dog Chronicles] (Kyokutei Bakin, 1814-1842)
The Witch Tree Symbol (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1955)
The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954)
The Thirteenth Pearl (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1979) & Tour of Danger ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1992)
The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Leroux, 1910)
The Broken Anchor (Sharon Wagner (as Carolyn Keene), 1983)
Mystery on Maui (Elizabeth Nugent (as Carolyn Keene), 1998)
Timeline (Michael Crichton, 1999)
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886)
The Wheel of Time series (Robert Jordan, 1990-2005)
Inferno (Dante Alighieri, ~1320)
Red Storm Rising (Tom Clancy & Larry Bond, 1986)
Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe, 1719)
Tai-Pan (James Clavell, 1966)
The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole (Sue Townsend, 1984)
Treasure Island [aka Sea Cook: A Story for Boys] (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (Mary Shelley, 1818)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clarke, 1973)
The Greek Symbol Mystery (Nancy Axelrad (as Carolyn Keene), 1980)
The Mist (Stephen King, 1980)
The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, & The Mystery at Lilac Inn (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1930)
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (Lewis Carroll, 1871)
Children of the Rune: Winterer (Jeon Min-hee, 2001)
Children's and Household Tales [aka Grimm's Fairy Tales] (Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, 1812)
Shōgun (James Clavell, 1975)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865)
The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954-1955)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain, 1876)
Flight from the Dark (Joe Dever & Gary Chalk, 1984)
Treasure Island [aka Sea Cook: A Story for Boys] (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883)
The Cardinal of the Kremlin (Tom Clancy, 1988)
Below the Root (Zilpha Keatley Snyder, 1975)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
The Swiss Family Robinson (Johann David Wyss, 1812)
Tai-Pan (James Clavell, 1966)
Brave Story (Miyuki Miyabe, 1999-2001)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
In and Out of Love ("Carolyn Keene", 1997) & The Crime Lab Case ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 2002)
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone, 1982)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1900)
Murder off Miami (Dennis Wheatley, 1936)
The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Mildred Wirt Benson (as Carolyn Keene), 1931)
The Emerald City of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1910)
Secrets Can Kill ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1986)
The Final Scene ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1994)
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie, 1940)
Dracula (Bram Stoker, 1897)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1900) & The Marvelous Land of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1904)
The Death Gate Cycle (Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, 1990-1994)
Politika (Jerome Preisler, Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg, 1997)
Dragonflight and sequels (Anne McCaffrey, 1968-1979)
The Way of the Tiger series (Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson, 1985-1987)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee, 1960)
Damiano trilogy (R.A. MacAvoy, 1983-1984)
Stay Tuned for Danger ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1987)
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (Spider Robinson, 1977)
Brave Story (Miyuki Miyabe, 1999-2001)
Secrets of the Nile ("Carolyn Keene & Franklin W. Dixon", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1995)
The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes (Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene), 1964)
Ringworld series (Larry Niven, 1970-2004)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Luo Guanzhong, 1300s)
Seasons of Heaven (Nicolas Augusto, 2016)
Azure Bonds (Kate Novak & Jeff Grubb, 1988)
The Colour of Magic (Terry Pratchett, 1983)
Seas of Blood (Andrew Chapman, 1985)
Shadow Watch (Jerome Preisler, Tom Clancy & Martin Greenberg, 1999)
Inferno (Dante Alighieri, ~1320)
The Mardi Gras Mystery ("Carolyn Keene", ed. Anne Greenberg, 1988)
Storm Boy (Colin Thiele, 1964)
Nansō Satomi Hakkenden [aka The Eight Dog Chronicles] (Kyokutei Bakin, 1814-1842)
11 Comments
thanks! I think it came up when I was getting the list together but I was having a hard time figuring out which specific Kenji Miyazawa works it was pulling from and whether it might be better suited for my other list, for games based on short stories? I should look into it further
Hmm yeah possibly the short stories list would be a better fit – I haven’t found much info on the specific stories it’s adapting either, and am not familiar with Miyazawa’s work
I love your list! There are novels that I didn't even know had a game.
Definitely need "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" on here!
"I Have No Mouth" is based on a short story so it's on this list instead https://www.backloggd.com/u/jakobvongunten/list/games-based-on-poems-short-stories-and-songs-1/
You missed Shannara when it comes to Legend Entertainment book adaptions.
There's also the Discworld adventure game trilogy and the Infocom Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy interactive fiction game. Also Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon and Return of the Phantom
Finally I think the Dune RTSes by Westwood would count, unlike the original Cryo adventure game which was clearly based off the Lynch film.
There's also the Discworld adventure game trilogy and the Infocom Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy interactive fiction game. Also Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon and Return of the Phantom
Finally I think the Dune RTSes by Westwood would count, unlike the original Cryo adventure game which was clearly based off the Lynch film.
have added a few of those but Shannara, Discworld Noir, and the Westwood Dune games are all original plots within the setting of their respective series afaik. Not sure why Hitchhiker's wasn't here already, perhaps when i made the list I thought it was primarily based on the radio series?
The Atlus Megami Tensei isn't actually a direct adaption on the novel, it's a sequel the the first 2 novels (before the 3rd novel released and went in a different direction). I don't know too much about the Telenet one but I believe it's a side story rather then an adaption of the novels.
I am glad someone else already did the work of compiling these. Thanks For Making it. Recently this game called "To Hell With The Ugly" was released, which is a direct adaptation of the Boris Vian novel of the same name, if you wouldnt mind adding it.
thanks! (for both the appreciation & the tip)
TeN
3 years ago