Welcome back to Top 5 Wednesday. This is a meme started in November of 2013 and is still going strong! If you’re interested in being a part of it please see the group on Goodreads.
This week’s topic is Books That Would Make Good Video Games.
I am a long time fan of video games. My favorites are Final Fantasy, Animal Crossing, Legend of Zelda, Tales of Games, and Stardew Valley. I gravitate more towards RPG or adventure games. They also need to have really good story and characterization or I’m not interested in putting the time in. Right now I’m playing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and it is absolutely wonderful. I spend all my time climbing mountains and wandering around. Oh wait, I’m supposed to be talking about books here right … let’s get to it.
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
I admit, I’m cheating with this one because … it’s already being made into a video game!! And a movie, and a t.v. show. I can’t think of a better property to turn into a game. There are multiple magic systems, excellent characters, storyline and mythology to this game. I think it’s going to be outstanding. Did I mention the Lin Manuel Miranda himself will be writing the music to go with it? I am counting the days my friends!
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
This would be a wonderfully dynamic game. The magic system of pushing and pulling against metal in order to fly through the air, using different abilities depending on which metal you ingest, the multitude of complicated characters, and creatures in the books would make this a great game. Someone will pick this up someday right?
The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
I cheated a little, the second picture is from an anime called Read or Die and it features a magic system that is a little similar to The Paper Magician so I used the pic since there are no illustrations in the book. There is some great fan art out there but I don’t want to use those without permission. Anyway, this would be a lot of fun. It’s a little Victorian/Edwardian, steampunk, magical and romantic. Learning to perfect your magical abilities with certain elements would be fun too.
The Twelve Kingdoms by Fuyumi Ono
Oh these books! Only a few of them were ever translated from the original Japanese into English. Then the anime only went halfway through the books. So I NEED someone to make a game out of this so I can see how it ends! This would be perfect! Young Japanese high school girl is suddenly taken to another world. The book has wonderfully rich storyline and worldbuilding. It would be so fun to play!
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I’ll admit that this is probably not a game I would ever pay. But I can’t help but think that it would really appeal to some gamers. If you’re into post-apocalyptic story, this bleak, terrifying book would be perfect. Just don’t expect a happy ending. Some people would probably love it!
Lost In A Good Book 
Oh I wanted to add Mistborn to my list as well (but chose another series by Sanderdon in the end), the whole series would make such an epic video game. And I really want to read Twelve Kingdoms, remember watching it as a kid and loving it. Sucks that not all books are translated 😦 But great list! x
I could definitely see my son playing some of these,
Oh my gosh! I love the Twelve Kingdoms! I wish all the books had been translated into English. It annoys me to no end that certain things were never explained.
I love this T5W! I am also play Breath of the Wild right now– it is definitely sucking away my sleep, too. 🙄 Oops!
These are some great literary worlds to turn into games. I agree with you about the whole RPG/Adventure game. I feel like The Night Circus might also make an amazing Myst style game; puzzles and storyline, right? Right.
I’ve never read The Night Circus but I’ll take your word for it. 😀 I just finished Breath of the Wild this weekend. What a fabulous game that is!
I am taking my time slowly exploring and completing all the side quests… I’m just not ready for it to end!
I finished by mistake actually. I was wandering around Hyrule Castle trying to find recipes for a sidequest and collecting guardian parts when I walked into the room with Ganon. Luckily I had already gotten the 4 divine beasts and the master sword so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
Hahahaha!!! That’s hilarious! I love that you *accidentally* beat the game.
Does it let you keep playing after? I am looking forward to the upcoming DLC.
You can’t keep playing from that point but you can play from a save right before you walk into the room with Ganon
This might be one of those games I never finish then.
I’m just loving the open world! Thanks for the heads up.
Have you been getting the memories? I have to say I adore this Princess Zelda. She’s wonderful.
I have been– but it hasn’t been high on my list yet. I love how Zelda is so insecure, honestly. Her flaws make me love her more. That said, my roommate says, “If I ever knew anyone who spoke the way she does, I’d just kill them. Who talks like that?!”
…Whatever, I love her.