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While not nearly as common today, licensed video game tie-ins were once a highly profitable staple of the industry. Whenever a blockbuster movie released or a TV show would start to gain popularity, there was a good chance a video game based on it would follow. The quality of these titles vary greatly, and some genres naturally lend themselves to video gaming better than others. For instance, an action flick or a hit game show is much safer bet for a video game adaptation than say…a sitcom. But occasionally that’s exactly what you’d see. So today we’re looking at five TV sitcoms that received video game adaptations.
Side note: we excluded animated sitcoms (such as The Simpsons) and children’s sitcoms (such as Hannah Montana) from this list, as you’ll find plenty of games based on those.
The Addams Family (Fester’s Quest)
By the time Fester’s Quest released in 1989 for the NES, the show that served as its source material (which itself was based on a 1930s comic strip) hadn’t been made in over 23 years. Still, The Addams Family maintained a place in public consciousness thanks to syndication and its status as a classic 1960s television series. Released by Sunsoft, Fester’s Quest is a shoot ’em up game starring Uncle Fester – the bald and jovially deranged member of the Addams clan – as he battles an alien invasion. It was certainly a strange idea, and the release ended up receiving mixed reviews.
Home Improvement (Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit!)
Successfully launching comedian Tim Allen into superstardom, ABC’s Home Improvement was a smash hit that ran from 1991-1999, landing huge with audiences and garnering a number of awards. But its family-centric themes and suburban setting didn’t exactly lend themselves well to a video game experience. That didn’t stop Absolute Entertainment from releasing Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit!, a platformer for the SNES in which the player controls the show’s main character Tim Taylor (played by Allen) on a quest to retrieve his cherished power tools. While definitely not a classic, it has some playable elements thanks in part to the contributions of David Crane of Atari and early Activision fame.
Friends (Friends: The One with All the Trivia)
Unlike the others on this list, Friends: The One with All the Trivia does not put the player in the role of the shows characters. Instead, it takes the safer trivia game route, having players answer questions about the series itself. The game – which released in 2005 for PlayStation 2 and Windows PCs – is clearly targeted directly at Friends fans. Released after the show’s finale and hosted by supporting cast members, players are quizzed on plot points, characters, and various details of the show’s 236 episodes, augmented by video clips from the show and its signature laugh track. Since it would be no easy task to try and adapt the antics and relationships among six New York City residents into a platformer or adventure game, this might be the best Friends game one could hope for.
The Young Ones (The Young Ones)
One of the more curious and lesser known entries on this list, The Young Ones borrows its name and basis from the BBC sitcom starring four undergrads from London who share a dingy house together. The series aired on BBC Two from 1982 to 1984 with only a twelve episode run. Its clever humor derives largely from the characters’ diverse backgrounds and has since become a cult hit in North America. What many don’t know, however, is that in 1986 a PC game based on the show was released for the Commodore 64, the Amstrad CPC, and the ZX Spectrum. Choosing one of the series’ four main characters, the goal is for the player to quickly move out of the house with all needed possessions while the other characters interfere.
Gilligan’s Island (The Adventures of Gilligan’s Island)
Another classic 1960s sitcom to receive a video game decades after its run, Gilligan’s Island centers around the bumbling titular character and six additional castaways and their comedic efforts at trying to escape a remote island. In 1990, the game The Adventures of Gilligan’s Island was released for the NES, placing players in the role of Skipper with Gilligan following behind. Levels consist of puzzles and various items to be collected while occasionally encountering the additional castaways, who act as helpful NPCs with the goal of trying to find a way off the island. Gilligan’s usual antics, however, frequently hinder the ability to move forward.
