Avatar: The Last Airbender is 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, and Prince Zuko’s redemption arc to reclaim his honor have become beloved stories that fans have continued to cherish well after the series’ finale.
There have been many discussions regarding Avatar’s transition to video games, with some even going the extra mile as to create their own within other titles such as Dreams. Avatar has 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 AAA Avatar game, and if recent reports are to be believed, they may be getting their wish soon.
An Avatar RPG Adaptation Above Other Licensed Games
According to the fan website AvatarNews.co, a variety of Avatar video 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 for Netflix’s live-action remake of The 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 the Avatar universe 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 an Avatar: The Last Airbender video 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 why Avatar, more than most animated franchise, deserves the AAA treatment. With high profile developers such as Platinum Games having a turn at the license with a game based on The 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 own Bayonetta series, many have also wished for an Avatar video game that delved more into RPG aspects, similar to that of The Witcher or Final Fantasy.
With Avatar having delved into the realm of tabletop RPGs with Avatar Legends, the correlation makes a lot of sense as to why fans of The Last Airbender would want to see RPG mechanics be at the forefront of an Avatar game. 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 the Avatar series exceptionally well.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is 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.
Source: Avatar News