Movie tie-in video games can be a bit hit or miss; GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo 64 is no stranger to ‘greatest games of all time’ lists, meanwhile, the failure of Atari’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is the stuff of landfill legend.
Though less common these days, there was a time when video game adaptations based on movies, even bad ones, were practically expected. The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, … Bee Movie? So, it seems odd that there was one particular multi-million dollar franchise in the late ‘00s, filled with mystical powers, iconic characters, and merch to boot, that didn’t get the tie-in treatment: Twilight.
While 2008, the year of our sparkly Lord and Saviour Edward Cullen, saw the release of major titles like Fable II and Grand Theft Auto IV, film and TV IP also remained popular. The Incredible Hulk, Lost, The Mummy, and plenty of others, all saw adaptations released that same year. I’m not suggesting they were any good, but they existed.
So, on the 15th anniversary of the first film’s release, I’m just going to say it… out loud … why not Twilight? Sorry but ‘Scene It?’ on the Wii doesn’t count.
The birthdays that my fellow Team Edward members and I spent gifted with notebooks, unauthorised calendars, t-shirts or just about anything you could screenprint those perfect Cullen cheekbones onto, prove that fans will part with cash, regardless of whether the product is good or not. Had Twilight been around in the ‘90s or early ‘00s, I’d bet my Hot Topic collection that I’d not only be in possession of a Twilight bubble bath gift set right now but also a heavily scratched PlayStation disc, likely, pardon me, preferably, with very little relevance to the plot of the saga.
Personally, I’d have opted for something in the style of defunct publisher Acclaim Entertainment’s Mary-Kate and Ashley series. You know, those ‘made for girls’ mini game collections that were based on popular IP and centred around an entirely superfluous story? They had dance offs, wardrobe selections, mini golf courses, and photo ops set in time-frozen magical malls and unsupervised high schools. In short, they were great.
In this cartoonish, yet fittingly blue-filtered version of Forks, Washington, you would kick things off at the Swan house with a dress-up sequence to decide between our heroine Bella’s green henley, mustard coat or everyone’s favourite Crown Bowling shirt. You’d hop in your red truck to Forks High School where a series of mini challenges would ultimately help get you to that fairy light-showered gazebo on prom night.
Maybe you could help classmate Eric find a new story for the school paper after Bella scuppers his front page? The level would be called ‘Feature’s dead, Angela’, and you’d snap photos of your friends on Angela’s camera while looking for tips … though I think we can forgo the “Speedo padding on the swim team” headline. Perhaps after school you’d be tasked with helping out at the Carver Cafe where Bella and Charlie have an awkward exchange over a ketchup bottle. There’d be no solid reason for you to be behind the counter, of course, but you’d need to serve up as many garden burgers and peach cobblers as you could in under two minutes.
Next would be a trip to La Push with a classic racing challenge: Bella’s Chevy versus Tyler’s van. And how about a surf competition while we’re there with a points system indicated by sticks of red liquorice? And are any of these adventure games complete without some kind of rhythm element? You could have Edward teaching Bella to play “Clair de lune” on the piano, or perhaps you’d need to create a DJ mega mix just in time for prom using clips from the film’s iconic soundtrack. I’m thinking something along the lines of the quintessential 1998 music video game, Spice World. This would be followed by another dress-up sequence, naturally.
If pointless but fun mini games aren’t your thing, how about a sports title? If Mario can have his soccer, the Cullens deserve their baseball. Imagine Alice pitching you the ball with that entirely unnecessary but iconic kick, and a rotation of auto-triggered catchphrases like ‘My monkey man!’ whenever Emmett gets a home run. Unlockable characters would include gym class Mike and Jessica, and Chief Swan, who I figure has a half decent swing in him given his penchant for a classic sports and Rainier beer night. Why we didn’t get a Cullen Cup baseball game that took advantage of the Wii’s motion controls is, as one moody vampire might say, “a tragedy.”
Alternatively, Twilight could have made for a passable platformer. You’d traverse through Forks woods as Bella, collecting apples that would also symbolise your health, perhaps culminating in a showdown with the Volturi. Or maybe schlock could meet schlock in a Resident Evil style survival horror where Bella needs to pick up different puzzle pieces to uncover who the Cullens really are while nomadic vampires James, Laurant, and Victoria serve as cannon fodder. That dramatic ballet school finale was made for an arena style boss fight.
And if you really want to get ambitious, imagine an open world scenario, ‘Twilight: Covens’, that could bring in all of the various vampire clans from around the world. Think of the fun we could have had completing side quests with the Denali sisters, and playing with special abilities from elemental control to electrokinesis. Seriously, guys, it was right there!
As the first Twilight movie marks its 15th anniversary, a resurgence seems to be on the cusp. A combination of Netflix picking up its streaming rights in 2020, and Olivia Rodrigo’s Edward Cullen in-ear monitors, seem to have reignited a community of fans, and indoctrinated a generation of new ones. Throughout that decade and a half, Twilight has been fairly criticised for its flaws and, unfortunately, like a lot of media that finds an audience amongst young women, dismissed, but there is a shift happening. It’s not a tectonic one by any stretch, but enough to recognise that there’s more to this saga than shirtless werewolves and pretty boys in peacoats.
If Twilight were to have its moment now (and with a reboot television series apparently in the works with Lionsgate, who knows, it might), about one thing I am absolutely positive (I’m almost done now, I swear), a Twilight video game wouldn’t be such a stretch.
For more on TWILIGHT’s fifteenth anniversary, pick up STARBURST Issue 484 (out now!) to read our interview with director CATHERINE HARDWICKE
