Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings has proven surprisingly versatile, with successful RTS titles, movie tie-ins, and original games to its name.

Star Wars would probably take top honors in that department (its combining of fantasy storytelling with science-fiction settings, as well samurai and western influences would make it a strong candidate for video game transitions even without its insane popularity to consider), but other franchises have proven to have a decent amount of reliability in the video game department as well. Going a step further, there are some franchises that seem to segue into the video game medium with a sense of consistency. There are exceptions, however, with some licensed games – such as Duck Tales on NES and Goldeneye 007 on Nintendo 64 – being fondly remembered. After all, they’re more often than not little more than advertisement for whatever property they’re representing, than they are games in their own right. Licensed video games are usually a bit of a gamble.