Top 10 WORST TV Shows Based on Video Games

Capcom's revolutionary "Street Fighter" franchise didn't have much luck with American adaptations. In 1995, the show was part of the USA Cartoon Express block on Saturday mornings, but was far from a knockout. The premise of an international undercover martial arts squad keeping the peace partially took from the game's live-action film adaptation from the same era. The show was simple-minded in its stiff animation and even stiffer writing. Even the iconic Ryu and Ken were seldom seen and mostly used for painful comic relief. "Street Fighter" the cartoon may have lived to fight a second season, but audiences were left fatigued by another attempt at the fighting game staple that lacked stamina itself.

One of Nintendo's first major IP crossovers followed a teenage gamer who’s transported into his game console. There, he and the N-Team venture through some of Nintendo's most popular realms to prevent the cunning Mother Brain from conquering Videoland. It was an interesting premise, but in execution, "Captain N" was just another typical Saturday morning action cartoon. The stories and animation were silly, with obnoxiously over-the-top humor, characters, and voice acting. The show lasted three seasons and was reworked for syndication. But with no real creativity or faithfulness to the games, it was eventually game over for "Captain N: The Game Master".

Of all the loose TV adaptations of the "Sonic the Hedgehog" franchise, "Sonic Underground" is perhaps the boldest. In a dystopian world, Sonic reunites with his long-lost siblings of royal roots to thwart Dr. Robotnik's tyranny with the power of music. This was a bold idea that caught plenty of viewers' attention across 40 episodes in just one season. Jaleel White deserves some credit for his vocal range as the three hedgehogs. Unfortunately, the plot was a cacophony of big ideas that never quite jammed. The animation and cheesy writing didn't have much rhythm either. "Sonic Underground" admittedly has its place in '90s kids' nostalgia thanks to everyone's favorite blue hedgehog, but it simply did not rock.

At least this short-lived Nintendo-game cartoon got the basic concept of Link and Princess Zelda defending the kingdom Hyrule from Ganon right. But it exhausted that concept with repetitive action and a tacked-on romance, while missing much of the game's classic aesthetic. It also had a hammy comedic tone. Link's infamous turn from the definitive silent hero to an irritable stalker is considered a legendary travesty among video-game adaptations. Gaming culture is especially haunted by his catchphrase: "Well, excuse me, princess!", whined 29 times in just 13 episodes. At least the episodes were mercifully short, airing as part of the variety show that takes the next spot on our list.

In 1989, Nintendo's plumbing duo first hopped onto the small screen with a haphazard variety show. Each episode introduced the Mario Brothers in a live-action sitcom starring two pro-wrestlers, which was even cheesier than it sounds. When the cartoon rolled it featured cheap animation and random creative liberties. The genre and scenery of the Mushroom Kingdom kept randomly changing, not that that brought much variety to 52 episodes of the same basic adventure, gags and Italian stereotypes. At least the show maintained the video games' sound effects. "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!" is now considered a camp classic, which spawned several seminal YouTube memes. But, Mamma Mia, is it not super at all.

After producing three sleeper hit games in the "Tak" franchise, Nickelodeon gave the novice shaman his own CG-animated show in 2007. It was technically ambitious, with long production intervals that definitely didn't help its low ratings. Unfortunately, Tak's magical adventures failed to dazzle fans of the game's more dynamic energy. While the short-lived series polarized critics, audiences felt more cursed than enchanted. Even now, gamers who grew up with "Tak and the Power of Juju" hold little nostalgia for what some consider one of the worst shows in Nickelodeon history.

After several cinematic experiments with Capcom's "Resident Evil", Netflix sought to reanimate the franchise's original vision. Chronicling the outbreak of the Umbrella Corporation's apocalyptic virus, the show had a faithful core concept, but was tonally inconsistent. Sometimes too serious, sometimes too frilly, the writing was just …too busy. “Resident Evil” gamers were particularly harsh, and it wound up being one of the worst-rated series in Netflix history. Timing was admittedly not on the show’s side, coming amid zombie genre fatigue and right after a dismal movie reboot. Canceled after just one season, "Resident Evil" was dead on arrival.

Based on the groundbreaking video game franchise of the same name, "Donkey Kong Country" also broke ground as one of the first CG-animated series. It's a dubious distinction, considering how crude and downright horrifying this animation style was in the beginning. Though it improved with a change in studio for Season 2, the show never grew out of silly plots, awkward humor and obnoxious musical numbers. Fans of the games were also irritated by the show's many liberties, most infamously Donkey Kong's catchphrase, "Banana slamma!". The show gained cult status for its surreal visuals and concepts. But that’s really all that this monkeying around on Kongo Bongo Island offers.

Given its notoriety for violence, “Mortal Kombat” wasn’t an ideal choice to adapt as a Saturday morning cartoon. But the franchise’s success made it somewhat inevitable. The series followed the heroes of Earthrealm as they faced evildoers from other dimensions. In place of violence the show added strained drama full of flat characters, one-liners, and wholesome messages for kids. The action that did make it into the show was sparse, repetitive, and bloodless even by Saturday morning standards. "Defenders of the Realm" was finished after one season, but lives on as a lowlight in the "Mortal Kombat" franchise.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.

A Half-Baked & Cheesy Adaptation of a Beat ‘Em Up Classic

This Robo-Superhero Revision of Capcom's Hero Came Up Low on Juice

The Absurd & Poorly Produced Kung-Fu Fantasy Couldn’t Survive Past Season One

Generic Writing & Crude Animation Made This "Pac-Man" Adaptation Hard to Swallow

This Frantic Racing Game Adaptation Ran Out of Gas After One Season

Capcom's "Darkstalkers" was a groundbreakingly mature and ambitious fighting game. For it to be turned into a standard '90s kid's cartoon is a travesty in concept alone. Producers took drastic liberties with the source material and simplified the story to an alien invasion, while creating an annoying child wizard to help the heroes fight back. Perhaps this premise would have been easier to accept if the execution hadn’t been full of corny comedy, nonsensical writing and subpar animation. "Darkstalkers: The Animated Series" represents everything wrong with lazy-action cartoons of its era. And as far as adaptations of video games for TV, many still consider it the trend's darkest hour.