A Retro Gamer’s 12 Days Of Christmas: The Seventh Day, The Warriors

On the Seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me, seven swans a-swimming

It’s hard to believe some of the ideas that get greenlighted when it comes to adapting movies or TV shows to video games and vice versa. Some go well, like M.A.S.H for the Atari 2600 or the original The Italian Job for the PSone. Some go not so well, like The Matrix (any platform) or, of course, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. And sadly, some do not get made at all! Hello, how did Big Trouble in Little China not become a video game? Sometimes, I pretend Mortal Kombat is part of the same universe in which Wang Chi is Lui Kang and Jack has been kidnapped so he has to fight in the tournament to rescue him. Just isn’t the same without Egg Shen though. Nostalgic disappointments aside, The Warriors is one of the best movie to video game adaptations your Amazon gift card can buy.

The Warriors movie was released in 1979 and if you keep it in the context of the late 70’s early 80’s cinema world, it is a good movie. Yes, the actors wear too much lip color and they were all forced to attend The Purple Rain School of Brooding and Over-Acting but the plot was sent from video game heaven. Swan, the leader of The Warriors, must guide his wrongly accused gang through enemy territory back to their home turf in Coney Island. The first time I saw the movie it reminded me of a cross between River City Ransom and Double Dragon.

Usually video game movie tie-ins are released at the same time but The Warriors game came out on the Original Xbox and PS2 in 2005. The game is a classic brawler with a bit of open world exploration thrown in for a unique gameplay experience. The vibe of the game stays true to the artistic style of the movie but with a little less guyliner.

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