Avatar: The Last Airbenderis one of the biggest franchises to come from Nickelodeon. The original animated series, which ran from 2005 to 2008, received widespread critical acclaim for it’s expansive world-building, thematic storytelling, and it’s fully-realized ensemble of young characters that evolved, grew, and matured over the course of the series’ tenure. The legend of Avatar Aang’s journey to defeat the Fire Nation, andPrince Zuko’s redemption arcto reclaim his honor have become beloved stories that fans have continued to cherish well after the series’ finale.
There have been many discussions regardingAvatar’s transition to video games, with some even going the extra mile as to create their ownwithin other titles such asDreams.Avatarhas dabbled in the realm of video games while the series was still airing, with games based on specific seasons of the show, as was par the course for many licensed games that were being published at the time. However, fans have become attached to the idea of a modern AAAAvatargame, and if recent reports are to be believed, they may be getting their wish soon.
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An Avatar RPG Adaptation Above Other Licensed Games
According to the fan website AvatarNews.co, a variety ofAvatarvideo games are in development under the leadership of Avatar Studios, the newly created production company headed by series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The two were previously serving as showrunners forNetflix’s live-action remake ofThe Last Airbender, before departing the project due to creative differences with the company. Thus, the duo instead partnered with Nickelodeon to create Avatar Studios as a means to create new stories within theAvataruniverse across various different forms of media, spanning from an animated film due to start production, to a possible new animated series.
It stands to reason that anAvatar: The Last Airbendervideo game would fall into the various forms of media discussed during the company’s creation. According to the rumor from AvatarNews, at least four different games are in the development stage: One slated to be an RPG title for consoles following the original series cast of characters, and another that is referred to as an MMORPG set in the wider universe. There are no specifics as to when these games will see the light of day, but this rumor makes the claim that it will be much sooner that people think.
There are a multitude of reasons as to whyAvatar, more than most animated franchise, deserves the AAA treatment. With high profile developers such as Platinum Games having a turn at the license witha game based onThe Legend of Korra, it’s clear that many developers have ideas for how to create games based on the franchise, and what sort of design philosophies have gone into their creation. While many have enjoyed the developers’ title, with its fast-paced gameplay resembling Platinum’s ownBayonettaseries, many have also wished for anAvatarvideo game that delved more into RPG aspects, similar to that ofThe WitcherorFinal Fantasy.
WithAvatarhaving delved into the realm oftabletop RPGs withAvatar Legends, the correlation makes a lot of sense as to why fans ofThe Last Airbenderwould want to see RPG mechanics be at the forefront of anAvatargame. Particularly if it was to take the route of an action RPG; from a massive world to explore and activities to engage in to level up characters, to the various ways the different nations bend their respective elements that lend to unique combat skills to learn. There are a variety of details that make for a great action RPG that would fit theAvatarseries exceptionally well.
Avatar: The Last Airbenderis a series that lends itself to video games and the action RPG genre perfectly, and it’s high time that a AAA studio had the chance to tell their stories in this vast expanded universe.Avatar’s popularity appears to be never-ending, and the series transition to video games could reach an even wider audience that can fall in love with the franchise, too.
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