There’s always been a good amount of crossover between those who like video games and those who like anime, seemingly even more so in recent years. This is probably why more big-name anime have been getting video game adaptations and tie-ins, though unfortunately, many of these end up being either half-baked arena fighters or generic mobile games.

It’s unfortunate, as the settings and concepts of many well-regarded anime series would almost definitely lend themselves well to a video game format. All it takes is a little imagination, and perhaps some inspiration from other games as a starting framework, and we could have games that are both fun on their own and properly respect the source material.

The big rule here is that we can only choose anime that haven’t already had full, console-based video game releases.

9 SSSS.Gridman

Let’s Samurize, Guys

Over the years, there have been more than a few games based on the tokusatsu franchise Ultraman and its associated stable of Kaiju. These have all been fairly straightforward arena fighters, and on the surface, that’s probably what a game based on SSSS.Gridman would be as well.

However, consider this: the Gridman Alliance isn’t just Yuta and Gridman, it’s Calibur, Max, Borr, and Vit, plus Sho and Rikka operating Junk at the thrift store. Ergo, what if in addition to one player controlling Gridman in a Kaiju fight, other players operate things behind the scenes?

One team of players can work to keep Junk from overheating or blowing a fuse when transporting Assist Weapons, while another team controls the Assist Weapons themselves, either aiding or combining with Gridman as necessary. We could even throw Anti/Gridknight into the mix as things progress and the Kaiju get stronger.

8 Chainsaw Man

More Chainsaws, More Fun

If various arena-based action games like Doom and Madworld have taught us anything, it’s that it’s really fun to swing chainsaws around. It’s not that complicated; it slices, it dices, it goes “brrrr.”

If you want chainsaw-centric action that isn’t that complicated, Chainsaw Man is a perfect candidate. Heck, Denji barely has two brain cells to rub together on a good day, so swinging his saws around is probably all he could think of.

The character-action framework would probably be best for Chainsaw Man, something a la Devil May Cry. Denji could wildly flail his saws and body around, slicing up devils and maybe getting in some air combos.

For extra fun, let us call in other Devil Hunters like Power and Aki to use their abilities for quick attacks, striker-style. Imagine how satisfying it would be to have Aki use his nail sword three times and call up the Curse Devil.

7 Mashle: Magic And Muscles

Punch A Wizard

Making a video game out of an anime with an explicitly overpowered protagonist is tricky, because obviously they’re going to win every fight they get into. That’s a big reason the One Punch Man game didn’t really pan out, for instance.

The big difference between Saitama and Mashle’s Mash Burndead, though, is that Mash is good at intuiting his opponent’s abilities in addition to slugging them. With that in mind, the best avenue to making a Mashle game may be a puzzle-focused brawler.

Mash could use his brute strength to set up an arena or environment in such a way as to limit his opponents’ magical spells, then deliver a proper knuckle sandwich while they’re on the back foot. A similar framework could also work for fights where Mash isn’t there, and you’re controlling other multi-functional characters like Lance or Dot.

6 Cells At Work!

In The Name Of Good Health

Some of the best strategy games require you to strike a balance between keeping the peace at home and driving out the enemy forces that threaten you. The original war of this nature is taking place 24/7 in your very own body, as anyone who’s watched Cells at Work knows.

A game based on Cells at Work would be equal parts management sim and war strategy command. Even when everything’s fine, you need to constantly ensure that every sector of the body is receiving steady deliveries of oxygen and nutrients from the Red Blood Cells, directing them through the circulatory system and calling in the Platelets if anything gets damaged.

When viruses inevitably attack, you’ll need to dispatch the White Blood Cells to the scene to fight them off, as well as supplement the war effort with B-Cell’s antibodies. If things get dire, you can set the Killer-T Cells loose to tip the scales in your favor.

Fun and educational!

5 Zom 100: Bucket List Of The Dead

Undead, Fun-Dead

Right off the bat, the first already existing game you’d probably think of for making a game based on Zom 100 is Dead Rising. This is a sensible choice, as they’re both about tooling around in a large setting and generally not treating a zombie apocalypse with as much pomp and circumstance.

However, the central conceit of Zom 100 is that even a zombie apocalypse can be fun and formative, especially compared to a nine-to-five job. As such, rather than simply surviving or uncovering some kind of mystery, the point of a Zom 100 game should be to have as much fun as possible.

The titular bucket list should be a basis for finding sources of fun throughout the city. Instead of looking for food or water, we should be able to find resources for checking off Akira’s list, like a big-screen TV for marathoning games or canvas and paint to make an oil painting.

4 The Elusive Samurai

The Original Musou

Musou games like Samurai Warriors and Sengoku Basara are set during the Sengoku period of Japanese history, also known as the “Warring States.” Things were pretty hectic during this time, but based on the actual history that inspired The Elusive Samurai, it was quite a scene even before then.

The Elusive Samurai is set between the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, but we still see a lot of the same large army combat in the anime that we see in Musou games. The format would be perfect for this story of nobles and samurai.

Most of the Elusive Warriors like Ayako and Kojiro could take to the field in traditional combat, while Tokiyuki remains on the back lines. In a dire situation, you could also take control of Tokiyuki and use his signature fleeing ability to escape from encroaching danger or lead enemy units around by the nose.

3 Dr. Stone

Everyone Loves Resource Harvesting

At many points throughout Dr. Stone, the story leaps ahead weeks, or even months as Senku and the Kingdom of Science develop their various chemicals and devices. Obviously, this makes sense from a weekly anime perspective, but for a video game? That’s just leaving perfectly good gameplay on the table.

A game of Dr. Stone could follow a similar trajectory to the anime, plot-wise, but instead of skipping all the hard work and science, we could deploy Kingdom members to retrieve the necessary materials. Alternatively, we could assume control of Chrome or Kohaku while they go out gathering.

Once you have materials, we could engage in some Cooking Mama-style mini-games while Senku brews chemicals and Kaseki assembles devices. The whole point of the series is that science is a slow, methodical process, and it could be enriching to properly engage with that.

2 Megalobox

True Skill-Based Boxing

The big hook of Megalobox is that “Gearless” Joe can defeat Megaloboxers equipped with strength-enhancing gear using nothing but his own muscles and boxing fundamentals. There’s already a critical lack of good boxing video games, especially the more bombastic and gimmicky ones like Punch-Out or the Hajime no Ippo games, so this would fill the niche perfectly.

The fact that Joe doesn’t have any gear means he definitely wouldn’t be able to take more than a few direct hits from opponents. This means that you, as the player, would need to be virtually flawless in your combat skills, as there is little-to-no room for error.

Basically, imagine playing through Punch-Out, except that every single opponent has strength on par with the World Circuit fighters, enough to knock you down in a couple of blows. It’s Punch-Out with the training wheels off, and it would be exhilarating, to say the least.

1 Magilumiere Co. Ltd.

Magical Girls As A Business

In most magical girl anime, the heroine just shows up whenever she’s needed, beats up the baddie, and goes on her merry way. In Magilumiere, though, magical girls are salaried employees, and they can’t just be deployed willy-nilly.

A game based on Magilumiere could be split between business management and more traditional magic action. Between jobs, the company needs to network with other offices, secure resources and training, allocate budget for equipment repairs, and more.

Those resources and budget could then be directed toward giving your magical girls the best equipment and skills possible out in the field when it’s time to bust some Kaii. As the in-universe Magilumiere’s big gimmick is that they constantly tweak their magic to the situation, perhaps combat encounters could have special goals and tasks that, when accomplished, increase your magical girls’ overall efficacy.