Console to Screen: Ninja Gaiden

Ninja Gaiden was the first
game that made you feel
like you were playing
a movie.

In 1988, Ninja Gaiden appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System and changed the way games were played forever. Sure "cutscenes" (as they were called) were used in various games for years, but this was one of the first video games to have 20 minutes of cinematic cutscenes. You didn't just jump from board-to-board without rhyme or reason. You progressed in the game to find your father and help the FBI find a criminal mastermind known as the Jaquio. It was among the most torturous games to NES gamers as losing to the final TWO villains sent you back to the beginning of the stage to work your way back just to face the enemies. If you lost again...yup, right back to the beginning of the stage. Try to find three people you know (and don't meet at an E3 show) that finished any of the Ninja Gaiden series. Ninja Gaiden had two sequels and a rebirth on the Xbox 360, but most gamers remember the days you'd face statues coming to life and cracked open your Nintendo Power for helpful hints.

This is the duel your father "loses"
in the game's intro.

Story: This game that had TWO incarnations in the late 80's. In arcades, Ninja Gaiden was a bloody action game. In homes (and some arcade NES machines), Ninja Gaiden was a story-driven game where you play as Ryu Hyabusha is on a quest to find his father, who disappeared after a duel. On his quest, he meets an archeologist friend of his father's that tells him about his sword's origin and a demon statue that cannot fall into the wrong hands. He tells Ryu that his sword was made from the fang of a dragon... and that the demon statues could result in the end of the world. Along the way, he befriends a female FBI agent Irene Lew- though their friendship didn't start out well since she shot him. They're all after the cult leader called the Jaquio, a man trying to revive the demon called Jashin. The Jaquio was the other man Ryu's father (Ken) fought in the duel. Eventually, the government enlists Ryu to help the defeat the Jaquio and reclaim the demon statues.

The Bloody Malth was an example of
story and cheesy dialogue that
Ninja Gaiden sports.

As the story progresses, you fight the Bloody Malth- the first character with a pre-fight cut scene. Through Ninja Gaiden's cheesy dialogue, the Malth tells you that "you're not as good of a swordsman as your father." After you defeat him, he insists that your father is still alive and you'll see him, but it'll be the last thing you see. The next boss you fight is the Masked Devil- your father controlled by an orb on the wall. Once you destroy the orb, the Jaquio kills your father and awakens the demon with the statues reunited. Ryu gets his revenge against the floating son-of-a-bitch final boss before taking on the awakened demon that seems more fitting for Contra than a ninja story, but by the time you fought this guy you're willing to buy into anything. As you escape, Irene is told to kill Ryu and refuses for a little tongue from the heroic ninja.

Cast:

Josh Hutcherson could be
a budding action star.

Ryu Hyabusha's face is only scene at the beginning of the game when he reads his fathers letter and at the end, but his twenties-look eyes and covered face could make him anyone. They also need to be able to pass for a NINJA so Channing Tatum is out. Unlike some of the other games written about here, Ninja Gaiden isn't dependent on needing a good actor, but which would you rather have: an actor that learns martial arts for the role (Matt Damon, Bourne series) or a martial artist that you get to act (Ray Park, X-Men and Star Wars: Phantom Menace)? I'd always prefer the actor. Perhaps a Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) could be Ryu. Ryu's father is named Ken and his look is pretty American. That pretty good considering it's tough to find a young actor that could grow into this role.

Fiennes did the Titans series,
so he could do a video game
movie.

The Jaquio is a little easier since he doesn't have to fight a hundred men. All the Jaquio has to do is look sinister, laugh maniacally (though better than Chris Cooper in The Muppets) and shoot fireballs. If pressed for a name, Ray Fiennes would be great here. Doesn't have to do much. His voice alone can make people tremble and after the forgettable Titans series, he can't get much worse. Why not chalk up another good villain to his resume?

What's Already In Place:

The scenery in Ninja Gaiden was
used better than any game of it's time.

A good story- not exactly a great one. This could be a very action packed series, done in the typical old kung-fu style movie. It has the usual elements: secret organization, double agents, government involvement, supernatural powers, twists and demons. Sure, there's really no explanation for statues coming to life, but nonetheless it's easier to buy into for this story than other crappy films out this year. The scenery of these games is amazing. Whether it's seeing the Jaquio's castle at the top of a cliff or Ashtar's fortress in the sequel, this game captured it's scenery perfectly. This was the first game that treated the gamer to more than just stage 1-1. It gave you plenty of eye candy. Ninja Gaiden made Off The Marc's list for Best Music in Video Games and it wasn't just great for the action, it was great for the storytelling.

Who could pull this off:

The Jaquio was one of gamers most
hated villains- particularly because
you had to replay the level if you lost.

Normally I say, "Don't sacrifice quality for a flashy direction," but in this case Wanted's Timur Bekmambetov wouldn't be a bad choice.  His action would be welcomed in this type of film and it's not like there's an Oscar winning moment in it. If anything the campiness can work out in his favor. Not many directors maybe good with a sword style combat, though Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter was awful, Timur's action style used in the terrible movie could work here.

Bottom line:
This one's a bit of a cult favorite, but it's not out of the realm of possibilities that it could get it's number called. It's was a ground breaking game, but for a movie could be a massive swing-and-miss if done by a hack...which I recommended- oops. It could fit from cinema scenes to cinemas, but it'll need respect by Hollywood in it's development.

Console to Screen: F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R. set out to scare
gamers and succeeded in
spades.

In the vein of survival horror, F.E.A.R. was a first person shooter game that had a unique story- like a Resident Evil meets the Bourne Idenity. It was one of the few games that was more psychological thriller than simply survival horror where you had to shoot zombie or dinosaurs to make it to the next sequence. F.E.A.R. was also one of the few games that featured interactive flashbacks to the point where you could really think the playable character was losing his mind. The hallucinations the main character was having DURING gameplay didn't help much either. This game was more than just running into a building to save a bunch of hostages and rescue some important figure at the end. It strayed a little from the path of a “typical game”: here's your objective, fight along and have an enormous boss fight at the end. Not the case in F.E.A.R., where the story trumped following the same formula of every game before it, but that's probably what hurts replay value. All in all, F.E.A.R. was a game that stayed in your mind after you finished playing it, but could it ever be made into a movie.

Story:

The game begins like an action movie (as many have since Metal Gear) where Paxton Fettel takes command of a group of telepathically manipulated soldiers at Armacham Technology Corporation headquarters. He kills most of the occupants (security and doctors), but there seems to be something else at work here. Along with Fettel being a bit of a cannibal, there's a little girl (that is reminiscent of the girl from The Ring) who walks around before Fettel screams in pain. At one point in the intro, her footprints become invisible, but also hear her whispers as she says, "Kill 'em all".

Paxton Fettel is one of the
more intriguing villains
in gaming history.

Cut to the special forces group (known as First Encounter Assault Recon) that has to investigate the situation and the “highly touted rookie”, who is the playable character. In that intro, you're told that this rookie tested “off the charts”, so he is ready for his first mission. As the group lands, you get a sense of the game's atmosphere, as mangled corpse after bloody corpse are found until you run into Paxton Fettel within the first ten minutes of the game. Fettel tells you that everyone “deserved to die” and is gone just as quickly. Did you imagine it? That's a question that pops up a lot in the game. As you delve deeper, you learn of the corporation's Project: Origin which details how Fettel was created to become a telepathic military leader and was the son of Alma. Alma is a powerful psychic that projects the child image of her around the base, in haunting flashbacks and even life-threatening situations. The player learns that Fettel was the genetically engineered son of Alma, but that's not all...

The true Alma players
encounter in the end.

Project: Origin put Alma into a coma and injected her with engineered DNA to harvest her psychic abilities. Therefore, Alma has been in this coma since giving birth to her TWO sons and doesn't know she has aged for some time. She gave birth to her first son at fifteen and it was deemed a failure. A year later, she was impregnated and gave birth to her second son (Fettel). When Fettel was screams at the beginning of the game, it's because Alma psychically bonds herself to her son. Fettel searches frantically for the facility to free the physical form of his mother. Eventually, the player encounters Paxton Fettel and is drawn into a hallucination where he learns that he's actually Alma's first son. After fighting in the hallucination, you find yourself where you were- standing in front of Fettel- to blow his brains out. Then it's a race against time as Project: Origin leader Harlon Wade, also Alma's father, frees Alma to relieve his guilt of how Alma was treated by the company. Wade succeeds and is immediately killed by his daughter. With Alma free, the player sabotages the main reactor to destroy the facility, but that's not where the story ends. As you attempt to escape, ghosts (projections from Alma's mind) attack you, driving you toward a direction and encountering Alma herself. As you trying to fend her off, you fall into an operating room and see how you were created. After the facility explodes, the F.E.A.R. Blackhawk retrieves you and the team wonders briefly, “I wonder what happened to Alma,” as Alma is shown climbing into the helicopter as the game closes. In the end credits, a senator is told that the first prototype was a success.

Cast:

Despite not seeing The
Player until F.E.A.R. 3,
Quinto would be a great
choice.

The Player: This is the first of the Console to Screen games that encounters a major problem: there's little backstory and even less of a description of the player's appearance. Now that can be liberating. After all, Hollywood isn't limited and Doom casted Karl Urban as the player without their restrictions. Since I'm trying not to cast too many same actors in these, the only real need is to find an actor that can play the horrifying self-discovery well after looking like a badass throughout the film. A great aspect of not knowing anything about this character can lead a writer to make the backstory about ANYTHING until he learns the truth. The player has ONE line in the game, "I tried to forget. I tried so hard to forget." An unknown could be a good way to go, but that's boring for this type of blog. Therefore, a good choice could be...what the hell... Zachary Quinto. He has the acting chops and in Heroes and Star Trek, he showed that he could be a renewed man with a haunted past. 

Goode can play charming, evil,
maniacal, but let's see his turn
at disturbing.

Paxton Fettel: Casting the perfect Fettel would help too. If you could find someone who can play the dark side really well and be calm doing it because Fettel is a calculated villain as opposed to a madman. Matthew Goode (The Lookout, Watchmen) would be an excellent choice. Goode knows how to be just evil enough without looking crazy or stupid. Goode's performance in Watchmen may have been the best one and he nearly had audiences robbing banks for Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Lookout. As the psychic deranged and brilliant leader Fettel, Goode might be the best choice you could find.

What's Already in Place:

F.E.A.R. is one of the few games since the Resident Evil series first began to actually scare gamers. The interactive flashbacks were one of a kind where you found yourself walking down a hallway, see a bright flash and the next thing you know the hallway is full of blood up to your waist. There's moments all over the game where Fettel just appears out of nowhere and disappears within second. The feeling that your PLAYABLE character is losing his mind is felt from beginning to end. Fettel knows everything and seems to be toying with the Player during the game along with Alma as she scurries around. Bodies of doctors and guards fall out closets, vents and are just laying around. A few encounters with the Project: Origin doctors and office works that are trying to cover their tails are most of the human encounters you get. As far as the format of the game, it's brilliant and can adapt well to the big screen.

As you fight, players let out horrifying screams in pain during combat.

One obstacle is that the point doesn't have a history. A screenwriter will have to create a normal one to make his revelation more traumatic. This would be a Total-Recall-Good-Version-type of moment throughout the film. I know I've used the word "throughout" out a lot, but this isn't the type of story that has "moments". F.E.A.R. shook up gamers as they played, it can do the same to movie goers.

Who Can Pull This Off?

The action in F.E.A.R. is quick and
intense, but who can scare you at
same time?

GREAT question. It's hard to see what recent hack can bring this to life well. It's can't just be a horror movie because it's also a quality action story. There's one little thing to add from the game that will be difficult. As mentioned earlier, the Player tested "off the charts" particularly in reflexes. "Bullet Time" (originally used in Max Payne) is used in F.E.A.R. The problem is that The Matrix made "Bullet Time" seem obsolete by the time Mark Wahlberg did it in the film version of Max Payne. This is a horror-action-total-mind-fuck-style movie that needs David Fincher crossed with John Woo. Since this blog is not about recycling the same name every time, a newcomer would be more than welcome for it. However, as stated in the casting selection, I should make a choice. A possibility could be... Louis Leterrier of The Transporter and The Incredible Hulk. Hulk delivered more on the dramatic side than The Transporter, but he'd be a good choice on the action side. On the psychological side, Rian Johnson of Brick and the upcoming Looper could be another good option.

F.E.A.R. could make a perfect three act structure for itself: Introduction, Corporation cover-up and the horrifying truth. It has a a shocking end twist that audiences will jump out of their seats when they see it. It could be a good alternative to the Resident Evil franchise that's running subpar film after film, but somehow seems successful. F.E.A.R.'s imagery and setting make it a great movie, but it's story- told properly- can make it a great film too. It doesn't have to push for a 3D feature, but likely to have that in there. It's one of the few games that truly scared gamers and -since it has no major ties to systems- can be called on to become a feature. The tricky part would be if the film would become a franchise as the stories get weaker. If done poorly, could be another Resident Evil atrocity.