今天，遊戲改編動畫早已成為全球娛樂產業的重要一環，從《Pokémon》到《超級瑪利歐兄弟電影版》，無數作品在電視與大銀幕創下驚人成績。然而，這股風潮其實始於四十多年前。從街機遊戲到電視動畫，再到CG動畫電影，數部劃時代作品共同開啟了遊戲改編動畫的新時代。
Today, video game adaptations have become a major force in global entertainment. From Pokémon to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, countless franchises have successfully crossed into animation. Yet this journey began more than forty years ago, with several pioneering productions that transformed simple games into beloved animated worlds.

中文

遊戲改編動畫的歷史，並沒有單一的起點，而是經過多個重要里程碑逐步發展而成。1982年，美國動畫公司 Hanna-Barbera Productions 將NAMCO街機名作《Pac-Man》改編成同名電視動畫，於ABC電視台播出，普遍被認為是全球第一部由電子遊戲改編的電視動畫。由於原作幾乎沒有故事背景，動畫團隊為主角Pac-Man設計了完整的家庭生活，包括妻子Pepper Pac與孩子Pac-Baby，同時加入反派Mezmaron與幽靈軍團等全新角色，使《Pac-Man》首次擁有完整世界觀。動畫播出後收視表現亮眼，也開啟了歐美將熱門街機遊戲改編成動畫節目的先河。1983年推出的《Saturday Supercade》更集合《Donkey Kong》、《Frogger》、《Q*bert》等多款知名遊戲角色，證明遊戲動畫開始受到主流市場重視。

第二個重要里程碑出現在1986年的日本。任天堂人氣作品《超級瑪利歐兄弟》被改編成動畫電影《超級瑪利歐兄弟：碧姬公主救出大作戰！》，成為全球第一部遊戲改編的日本動畫電影。雖然劇情與遊戲設定有不少差異，例如角色造型與故事發展皆與後來系列作品不同，但它比1993年的真人版《超級瑪利歐兄弟》電影早了七年，也是瑪利歐首次登上大銀幕的重要歷史紀錄。

1997年，《Pokémon》電視動畫正式播出，成為遊戲改編動畫史上最具影響力的作品之一。動畫忠實結合Game Boy遊戲世界觀，講述小智與皮卡丘踏上冒險旅程，迅速風靡全球。此後，《Pokémon》動畫累積播出超過千集，推出多部劇場版，並於世界各地播放，成功建立「遊戲、動畫、玩具、卡牌、電影」相互推動的跨媒體商業模式，成為全球娛樂產業最成功的案例之一，也證明遊戲不再只是互動娛樂，而能發展成長壽的文化品牌。

2001年，Square推出《Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within（最終幻想：靈魂深處）》，再次改寫遊戲改編動畫歷史。電影由《Final Fantasy》系列之父坂口博信執導，耗資約1.37億美元製作，是早期追求真人寫實風格的全CG動畫電影代表作之一。電影中的人物表情、皮膚材質與光影效果，在當時均達到世界頂尖水準，對CG動畫技術發展帶來深遠影響。然而，由於劇情與《Final Fantasy》系列關聯不大，加上票房未如預期，令Square承受巨大財務壓力，也成為日後與Enix合併的重要因素之一。

回顧四十多年來的發展，遊戲改編動畫並非一蹴而就，而是不斷隨著技術與市場需求演進。《Pac-Man》開創了遊戲改編電視動畫的先河；《超級瑪利歐兄弟：碧姬公主救出大作戰！》讓日本遊戲首次躍上動畫電影舞台；《Pokémon》建立全球跨媒體娛樂帝國；《Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within》則推動CG動畫技術邁向新的高度。正因為這四個重要里程碑，今日玩家才能看到《The Super Mario Bros. Movie》、《索尼克》系列電影、《Minecraft》及更多遊戲改編動畫與電影，持續將遊戲文化帶向全世界。

English Version

The history of animated adaptations based on video games did not begin with a single production. Instead, it evolved through several landmark projects that gradually demonstrated how interactive entertainment could become successful animated storytelling.

The first major milestone arrived in 1982 when Hanna-Barbera Productions adapted NAMCO’s arcade hit Pac-Man into a television series for ABC. Widely recognized as the world’s first television animation based on a video game, the series expanded the nearly storyless arcade original by creating a complete family for Pac-Man, including Pepper Pac and Pac-Baby, while introducing new villains such as Mezmaron and his ghost army. The show became a Saturday morning success and proved that video game characters could thrive beyond arcade machines. Its popularity encouraged further adaptations, including the anthology series Saturday Supercade, which featured characters from Donkey Kong, Frogger, Qbert*, and other arcade classics.

The second milestone came in Japan in 1986 with Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!. Released seven years before Hollywood’s live-action Super Mario Bros. film, it became the first Japanese animated feature based on a video game. Although its story and character portrayals differ considerably from the modern Mario universe, the film marked Mario’s first appearance on the cinema screen and demonstrated the growing influence of video game characters within Japanese animation.

Another revolutionary chapter began in 1997 with the debut of the Pokémon television series. Faithfully expanding the Game Boy games into an ongoing adventure following Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, the anime quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. With more than a thousand television episodes, numerous theatrical films, and global broadcasting, Pokémon established one of the most successful multimedia franchises ever created, combining video games, animation, trading cards, toys, merchandise, and films into a single global entertainment ecosystem.

The fourth milestone arrived in 2001 with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Directed by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, the film represented one of the earliest feature-length productions to pursue highly realistic computer-generated human characters. Produced with a budget of approximately US$137 million, it showcased groundbreaking advances in digital animation, facial performance, lighting, and visual effects. Although the movie underperformed commercially and placed significant financial pressure on Square, it demonstrated the enormous potential of computer-generated filmmaking and contributed to technological advances that influenced both the film and video game industries.

Looking back across more than four decades, animated adaptations of video games evolved through continuous innovation rather than a single breakthrough. Pac-Man opened the door for television animation, Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! brought video games to Japanese animated cinema, Pokémon transformed game adaptations into a worldwide multimedia phenomenon, and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within pushed computer-generated animation toward unprecedented realism. Together, these four milestones laid the foundation for today’s thriving world of animated and cinematic adaptations, allowing modern audiences to enjoy productions inspired by Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Minecraft, and countless other gaming icons.