5 box office flops that changed video games

How do you measure the worth of a creative work like a novel, a video game, or a movie? Our first unfortunate instinct is to ask ourselves "Well, how much money did it make?" and judge according to those numbers. A creative work that manages to rack up Big Money is forever regarded as a "success," even if we look back on that work years later and decide it wasn't so hot after all. Lord knows re-examinations of old hype is a major fuel source for half-hour YouTube essays.  

But when a movie craters at the box office, it's not necessarily doomed to eternal irrelevance. Given enough time, even the biggest film flops can fertilize the imagination of other creators. Game developers, for instance. Here are some examples of hit video games and game franchises that might not exist without certain "failed" movies.

Jacob's Ladder (1990)

1999's Silent Hill brought psychological horror to the PlayStation with its mist-choked streets, nightmarish enemies, and a hapless everyman at the center of it all named Harry Mason. Silent Hill's creative team has never been shy about sharing its influences for the series' chilling atmosphere, with Silent Hill 2 artist Takayoshi Sato shouting out Hitchcock, David Lynch, and paintings by Francis Bacon in a 2001 interview with IGN. More than one interview also references "Jacob's Ladder," a 1990 horror-thriller movie directed by Adrian Lyne. The movie and the game don't share a lot of story in common, but Jacob's Ladder made all of us—including Silent Hill's creative team—think differently about subway stations and hospitals.

Jacob's Ladder protagonist Jacob Singer may not be haunted by demons for the same reason as Harry Mason, but the leathery, eyeless monsters that stalk the two men are the same flavor of eldritch horror. Said demons also like to hang out in similar places, like hospitals with viscera-covered floors, forgotten patients that scream in the depths of madness, and filthy gurneys with bockety wheels. 

Jacob's Ladder was ultimately a disappointment at the box office. Happily, its legacy lives on through the horrifying antics of Silent Hill mainstays like Pyramid Head, and—wait, Jacob's Ladder had a remake? Oh, yuck. Yeah, the butcher with the weird head is the better legacy for Lyne's opus. 

Labyrinth (1986)

Some of my male acquaintances get a little faint when they hear women swear or otherwise use crass language. I would advise these gentlemen to avoid a showing of Jim Henson's "Labyrinth" that's attended by women. I can attest that all commentary on the movie spirals out of control the second David Bowie shows up on screen as the Goblin King Jareth with his crotch bulging from his pants like a ripe cantaloupe. And don't get us started on the blouse, the cape, the knee-high boots, or the tousled hair. As bulgy-eyed cartoon wolves like to declare, "Va-va voom!"

Ahem. Labyrinth, like most everything related to Jim Henson, is a delight to watch even if you're not planning on drooling over David Bowie. (OK, but hear me out: You should.) Unfortunately, the movie cratered at the box office—but like other movies on this list, it received a second life thanks to home media. That may be why every bishonen RPG villain resembles Jareth a little bit, even to this day. And if you want a more direct comparison, legendary RPG character designer Mutsumi Inomata (who we sadly lost this year) designed Dragon Quest IV villain, the angry elf Psaro, to resemble Jareth almost exactly. Psaro's design has since been changed, but when a series as influential as Dragon Quest takes inspiration from your movie, you've done something right. 

Streets of Fire (1984) 

1984's "Streets of Fire" is a dark action "rock and roll fable" directed by Walter Hill. Michael Paré stars as Tom Cody, an ex-soldier who sets out to rescue his red-dressed girlfriend from a motorcycle gang. A lot of fighting happens in grimy city streets and other locales that remind you of Final Fight's oft-sleezy backdrops. Sometimes people shoot guns, but they also throw their fists. Streets of Fire's Cody happens to be handy with a knife. Sounds like another Cody we know. That Cody walks away from his girl once she's rescued, same as the other Cody walks away from his girl once she's rescued, and—

Well, I'm completely spun around. If you want a full list of how Streets of Fire influenced Final FIght, visit Flying Omelette's delightfully "Web 1.0" breakdown of the movie versus the game. You can also take a look at one of the variant covers Udon publishing made for its new Final Fight comic. The stark character outlines of Cody and Jessica standing behind a blend of deep blues and dark reds mirrors Streets of Fire's movie poster. 

Streets of Fire did very poorly at the box office, but its gritty, rain-slicked aesthetic lives on in media like Final Fight. Too bad 2006's Final Fight Streetwise took things beyond the beyonds. 

Legend (1985)

This one's a bit tricky. 1985's "Legend," starring baby Tom Cruise and Tim Curry as history's most devilish incarnation of Satan, can be mistaken for a Legend of Zelda movie at a glance. A forest-dwelling boy is called by destiny to save his true love and fight the encroaching evil of the Dark Lord. He's assisted by faeries and other magical creatures. 

It's not likely the original Legend of Zelda was inspired by Legend, as the former was released a mere year after the latter. But Ocarina of Time, released in 1998, makes a better case for the inspiration. Interviews with Ocarina of Time artists Yusuke Nakano, Satoru Takizawa, and Yoshiki Haruhana reveal Link's model was based on a "good-looking" Hollywood actor. Said actor is never named, but Tom Cruise from Legend is a popular guess. But Leonardo DiCaprio is also a good guess, given the success of "Titanic" around that time.

That said, Ocarina of Time's Great Faeries bring to mind Legend's Oona, the wild-haired, scantily-clad faerie who is, frankly, horny for Jack. And at the end of Link's journey in Ocarina of Time, he fights a version of Ganon that's much more demonic than usual. Sorry to talk about Ganon's feet, but it's hard to miss the fact the piggy-dog lacks his usual toes in Ocarina of Time. That's because he's got enormous hooves now. Big, meaty hooves. And if there's one scene from Legend that's impossible to forget, it's that bit where Tim "Satan" Curry clomps into the dinner scene hoof-first. Maybe I'm dead wrong, but I feel good calling this one. It's all about the feet. 

The Dark Crystal (1982)

Four years before David Bowie stuffed his pants for our amusement and titillation, Jim Henson and Frank Oz tried their hands at dark puppetry with "The Dark Crystal." The Dark Crystal follows a "Gelfling" named Jen as he seeks to repair a crystal corrupted by the vulture-like Skeksi race. Skeksis are vicious, merciless beings that gobble up Gelflings' life essence to maintain their decomposing bodies for as long as possible. 

The Dark Crystal is as dark as its name implies, which might have hindered its success at the box office. The Dark Crystal brought in $41.4 million on its $25 million budget in the theatres, so it did turn a profit, albeit not a huge one. 

Those modest gains would pay off with interest some years later when the creative team for Final Fantasy IX found themselves enchanted by The Dark Crystal's twisted fantasy world and its Gelflings. If Final Fantasy IX's characters look a little Gelf-ish to you, that's by design. The Dark Crystal's pure-hearted "Mystics" are also a dead ringer for the doglike Nu Mou race that populates Ivalice. (i.e. the settings of Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Advance, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII, and parts of Final Fantasy XIV.)    

There you have it: Five movies that didn't light the theatres on fire, but still found a way to burrow into the brains of video game creators. Just goes to show that no work of art is truly a waste, even if it doesn't make an immediate impact. Be proud of what you create. With any luck, it'll haunt someone's dreams somewhere down the line, and their trauma will bubble back up in the form of a horrible monster that slaughters people in some video game. Now that's an accomplishment.

Nadia Oxford

Contributing Editor

Nadia has been writing for and about video games since 2004. She also podcasts on Axe of the Blood God and Retronauts. Children scream and faint at her approach.