Top 10 Albums of 2013

First of all, welcome to 2014!
It seems like just the other day when I was posting Top 10 Albums of 2012. Alas, another year has passed by and it's been a pretty good one for music so let's get started, shall we?

(Note: The albums here can be clicked on to be viewed in higher resolution.)

10. Shpongle - Museum of Consciousness

When it comes to anomalous trippiness, there are few artists who do it better than Shpongle. I would still consider the debut album, Are You Shpongled?, to be his undisputed best work, but Museum of Consciousness may just be the greatest since. This album is markedly brighter and smoother than most of Shpongle's previous works and it has more of a flow to it. This sound is created in part by the heavy implementation of flutes and other woodwind instruments and it makes this whole album very soothing in nature. While the usual gibberish vocals are commonplace here, there is plenty of clearly worded english as well, which is a bit unusual for Shpongle, but it works, just like everything else.

9. October Falls - The Plague of a Coming Age

The Opeth inspired ambient/folk/dark metal band, October Falls released their fourth studio album this year and it doesn't disappoint. Labeling this album as one specific genre would be difficult as it's mood is all over the place. It goes from folk to doom to progressive to black all in 51 beautifully ambient minutes. The usage of clean vocals are reminiscent of mid-period Katatonia while acoustic interludes bring to mind influential bands like Agalloch. The greater number of tracks in this release compared to their other works allow the band more experimentation with dynamics and tempo and it's just another thing that makes The Plague of a Coming Age unique and varied.

8. 8 - Uneven Structure

No, I'm not giving this album the number eight spot just so I can say eight is 8 (the eighth song is titled 8 and it's eight minutes so I can already say eight on 8 is 8 for eight minutes). Uneven Structure has such a strong progressive feel to it and 8, despite being a 25 minute EP, is an amazing work of djent that's deserved of much more recognition than it's currently getting. The Meshuggah inspired group is full of distorted screams and blends polyrhythmic-passages and low bass tunings with heavy layerings and ambience and the result is something you just have to sit back and listen to. 8 is a work that flows from beginning to end and if heard all at once, it can be difficult to guess where each song ends and the next begins. Well worth 25 minutes of your time.

7. In Vain - Ænigma

Norwegian, progressive death/black metal, sextuplet, In Vain released their third full-length album titled Ænigma this year. Equal parts melodic, abrasion and atmosphere; incredibly and surprisingly catchy hooks, brutal riffing and impressively tight tremolos are all amazing features of this work but they are not what make it a standout gem. Rather, the varied vocal working which transitions from core-inspired guttural growls, screams and shrieks that borrow from black metal, hauntingly beautiful clean vocal segments and musically complex more energetic singing and shouts make for an experience that can't help but captivate. The lyrical themes of war, inner-struggles for meaning, loss and questioning the future of humanity only make for an even darker ambience that gives me chills every time I hit replay.

6. Ulver - Messe I.X - VI.X

Experimental is a broad genre that the tenth studio album by Ulver, Messe, could be found under. I'm not sure there are too many albums that quite capture dark and mournful ethereality as Ulver does with this masterpiece. While Ulver is well known for their start in the black metal genre with legendary albums such as Bergtatt still holding a formidable title within the metal community, they have long since strayed from traditional music forms and Messe I.X-VI.X is an elaborately eerie work. With almost no vocals to speak of, all of them clean, Ulver has pulled a serious 180 since their days as black metal in the early and mid 90's. Messe is an atmospheric landscape that simply takes you somewhere else when you're listening to it. As one EM reviewer put it,

"This album is a great example (even for today's cynical and over-experienced standards) of contemporary academic music mixed with the very edges of the Ulver brand, post-industrial ambient."

It's a haunting work that I've found myself playing over and over again. It is stripped of rock and metal elements and remains only the bare and chilling soul. A modern classical masterwork.

5. Aborym - Dirty

Yet another album that I repeatedly find myself replaying over and over again, Dirty by industrial-black metalists, Aborym is just as the title says, quite dirty indeed. It's music that has been referred to as "jaundiced" but in a positive way. It's a sticky and thick sounding work that is plagued with rampant distortions and moments that almost sound like glitches. It's far from anything beautiful, rather it has a filthy luster to it that is sprawling and enticing to the ear. It may not be as unrelenting as some other harder black metal influences, but it's still a great album to play at full blast and it's catchiness makes up for that completely.

4. Deafheaven - Sunbather

Before you accuse me of jumping on the Deafheaven bandwagon, hear me out. Sunbather is probably one of, if not, the first and only black metal album to receive resounding acclaim and to almost be regarded as something close to popular. It has made it's way into to all sorts of praising including NPR's top 50 albums of 2013 (a remarkably unbiased list that's worth checking out, by the way) and rightfully so. Deafheaven have gone beyond the confines of stigma and genre to create a sound that is wholly theirs. It combines traditional and post-black metal elements with contemporary rock sounds and bright, romantic acoustics, interludes and choral progressions. The vocals are screeched and sound authentic and pure and what has generally been regarded as an aberrant and contrast works amazingly well in Sunbather. Deafheaven may very well have created an entirely new genre with this release, time will tell if it can garner a following.

3. Apocynthion - Sidereus Nuncius

For the atmospheric connoisseurs, Sidereus Nuncius is about as airy and ethereal as it gets. Drawing inspiration from other masters of the genre and even naming the group after a track by artist, Nhor, of the same name, Apocynthion is a dramatic post-black metal and post-rock fusion that while maintaining a strongly atmospheric tone manages to sound wholly raw when the metal actually kicks in. I've played this album probably more than a dozen times and I still feel as though there are pieces and meanings buried beneath it that I have yet to uncover. With a low production value, it's amazing that this album sounds as good as it does and if Apocynthion are ever picked up (and I do hope that they are) they could be putting out some seriously game-changing works that appeals to more than just the metal crowd but also branches out to the rock groupies as well. A great album that sounds like the music of nebulae in deep space and has a strongly off-earth feel to it.

2. Thrawsunblat - Wanderer on the Continent of Saplings

In stark contrast to the spacey, anything-but-here vibe that comes from Sidereus Nuncius, Thrawsunblat has a predominantly folk/black metal sound and is about as earthy as it gets. This as-of-yet unsigned Canadian trio has folk down pat but also manages to remain effectively melodic in nature. With songs such as Once Fireveined fleshing out the band's variability and utilizing both screams and clean vocals reminiscent of bands like Windir; others such as Maritime Shores that showcase the band's affluence with true, unbridled folk music, serving as a great break from the heavier material and also managing to be distinguished and not simply filler; and finally to heavier tracks like Borea that are unrelenting and almost thrashy; Thrawsunblat sounds very authentic and undistorted which perfectly accentuates the natural focus of the album. A captivating work and one of my favorite folk metal pieces.

1. Nhor - Within the Darkness Between the Starlight

In all of my purest honesty, my words cannot effectively describe this masterpiece of an album. It is dark and emotional, eerie and atmospheric, earthy and ethereal. This one man project, who is referred to only as Nhor, is as beautifully vibrant as it is devastatingly mournful. It seamlessly flows from soft, sorrowful scintillating piano pieces into anguished and echoed black metal passages. It's a patient work but requires your full attention the entire time. It's a very unpredictable album that's shrouded in a somber haze and the music feels distant as if it were a memory.
Tracks like the title song, along with it's intro piece, are intensely melancholy; their slow pace allowing for introspection and imagery to work their ways into the mind. After having listened to the intro track, A Forest Draped In Moonlight, hearing next song kick in with Nhor's reverberating screams is among the most chilling experiences I've ever had with metal. The following tracks are just as essential and the album keeps pace with itself, never losing that darkened tone or rushing itself. Piano interludes abound, the longest being on The Temple of Growth And Glimmer Ascends. Never do these seem boring or like filler; they set up the melody and give contrasting accent to the harsher parts making them all the more effective. It is in this way that Nhor has the incredible ability to utilize the silence as if it were an instrument of it's own and it's a beautifully somber work because of it.
That's what this work does so masterfully; it paints such vivid images into my mind. When I close my eyes, I can see the pinpricks of light in the velvet black of night, taste the faint bite of winter and feel the longing nostalgic breezes. It's comparable to stepping out of reality and into a dream. I cannot understate this album. From beginning to end, it utterly captivates me and I find myself so deeply enveloped in it's spell that any outside rousing seems jarring to me. There is no point that is any weaker than the last. It's poetry in a non-verbal form.

Honorable Mention

Imperium Dekadenz - Meadows of Nostalgia

October Tide - Tunnel of No Light

Impending Doom - Death Will Reign

Means End - The Didact

Entities - Aether

I would also like to point out that had I made the 2012 list now, it would look a bit different. Most notably Ashen Eidolon by Gallowbraid would be in the top slot as the best album of that year. It's amazing and you should check it out.

Top 10 Black Metal Logos

One of the major staples of black metal, the leading paradigm of bad stereotypes and concerned mothers in music, is their flamboyant usage of often illegible artwork that they display as their logo. These artworks generally include the band's name and are often quite impressive and intricate works. Today I'll be counting down my top ten and believe me, it was difficult to choose out of the many runners up.

10. Xasthur

This depressive American one-man-band is known for the usage of topics of suicide, despair and other comforting emotions as musical basis. The name Xasthur is a combonation of the name Xastur and Xenaoth, two spirits from some pagan thing or another. Another fun tidbit, the original band name was going to be Xasthuriath but it was shortened to just Xasthur in 1997. But fuck, that logo, man. It's like an explosion of angst.

9. Anataeus

This one has all kinds of shit going on in it. Look, for instance, to the top of the logo, you should be able to make out a 6-6-6. Anataeus is a classic, straight-up satanist band that is every bit as cliche as you've heard black metal is. That's all fine and dandy for some but the rhetoric is a bit tired and it's good to see the genre taking new strides in the past decade.

8. Wolves In The Throne Room

Good fucking luck reading that one. Every time I think I see the words lining up, they always manage to disappear on me. WITTR is a black metal duo of brothers who've been around since 2004. They fancy themselves with subjects such as mysticism and the natural world which gives them a less angry vibe than a lot of other black metal bands. I like that.

7. Agalloch

Still one of my all-time favorite metal bands, the Oregon band, Agalloch, has been going strong since 1997 and hopefully won't be stopping any time soon. Delivering music that is both calming as well as hellish seems impossible but is pulled off flawlessly by the foursome. I like that the logo looks wooden and gnarled like dead trees.

6. Nhor

And speaking of bands that are just as serene as they are deathy, the one-man-artist, who simply goes by Nhor, is my personal favorite ambient black metal band and is right up there with Agalloch for all-time best black metal. Nhor has all his artwork done by an artist who goes by Sin-Eater. Sin-Eater designs the many monochromatic and bleak as well as beautiful and inspiring works that accompany Nhor's music. It's a great compliment considering Nhor's heavy emphasis on nature within his works.

5. Ayat

This one has clearly crossed the line between trying to make out the words and simply trying to make out any letters at all. The band is called Ayat and yes, if you look hard enough, the letters are all there. This Lebanese, straight-black band pretty much just hates all of humanity. Fun stuff.

4. Aifur

This is one of those bands that obnoxiously refer to themselves as nihilists which is basically a fancy word for atheist. If you're not a theist you're an atheist, you don't have to pretty it all up. Regardless, just look at that fucking logo. The way the roots make up the letters is just awesome.

3. Exiled From Light

Now that is what I call a fucking black metal band. This is complete with a forest of long, gnarled tendrils; dark, silhouetted birds; a callous sliver of a shrouded moon and ominous, stygian shadows. Another lone artist, this guy likes to refer to himself as Mort... He should hang out with Gort, the giant robot cyclops from The Day The Earth Stood Still.

2. Forestfather

Yes. Here we can see the obscure, international, atmospheric/folk metal band, Forestfather, taking the formula from Exiled From Light and perfecting it. While it's true there isn't any crescent moons involved, the way the words form a tree, complete with crows alighting upon it's branches; the way the letters are wispy and include tiny details such as the dozens upon dozens of minuscule branches and twigs reaching off of it... this logo is just beautiful. Bravo.

So what could possibly beat this one?

1. Coldworld

I'm not really sure why, but I really love this one. It's so simple but at the same time, imposing. Coldworld is yet another one-man project that has released two albums since 2006. The logo is minimalist in black metal terms. It's design perfectly compliments the gray, austerity of it's artworks. Truly awesome design, well-done.

Runners up:

Unsurprisingly, there were several bands who didn't quite make the cut, however, I'd like to pay them homage as well.

Korgonthurus

Darkthrone

Addaura

Bosque                                                     Triste

Senthil

October Falls

Woods of Pestilence                                                        Dark Fortress

Austere

Those were just my top favorites. This was a hard list to make because even discluding the logos above, there are dozens of other bands I could've chosen. Did I miss any good ones?

Top 10 Albums of 2012

Yeah, I know it's a little late.

But I haven't been posting enough about music and I've been thinking about the best albums released in 2012. I've said before that how "good" music is is an entirely taste-based thing, so this is in my opinion. Also, note that I don't listen to every single album that gets released so if you think I missed something substantial, I probably didn't ever listen to it.

Okay. Let's begin.

10. True Defiance by Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter has been around since the early 2000's and their one of the bands that got me into the metal scene. Demon Hunter made a full recovery since their slight disappointment of the previous title, The World is a Thorn.

9. Sedition by Hour of Penance

Demon Hunter is certainly a bit lighter on the spectrum of metal which makes this album a near 180. Hour of Penance has never been better with last year's Sedition; a raging explosion of some of the heaviest metal there is with tracks like Decimate the Ancestry sounding like the band was trying to find out just how heavy a song can be. It's vehemently anti-religion stance may be obnoxiously cliche, but it doesn't detract from the album's brutality.

8. The Royal Thousand by Glass Cloud

This band's debut album, The Royal Thousand is a just solid from beginning to end (insert dick joke here). With every song on it's track listings being memorable, save for maybe two of them, it's great. It has heavy usage of clean vocals, which may be a turn off for some listeners, but they sound nice without being too whiney so it works.

7. Abnegate by Signal the Firing Squad

This is STFS's second album and actually was the first I'd ever heard of the band. While tracks like Abominator and Into the Mouth of the Leviathan stand out to me, Abnegate doesn't have a single weak point. It's growling, earth shattering brutality through and through.

6. Emerald Forest and the Blackbird by Swallow the Sun

Swallow the Sun is one of the best names in Doom these days and their most recent album, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird, is among, if not, their finest work. It starts off with it's title song which is rather beautiful in my opinion and it keeps it's mood throughout which is, rather surprisingly, less melancholy as one would think, the telltale sign of a Doom band being gloomy and bleakness but it works and I like it. Furthermore, I really like the name of the album, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird. Puts a nice image in my head.

5. Throes of Absolution by 7 Horns 7 Eyes

You may notice that the top few slots are largely dominated by Prog metal, which is what I consider to be my favorite genre. The unknown seattle band, 7 Horns 7 Eyes debuted their first EP back in 2006. In 2012 they finally release their first full record, Throes of Absolution, a beast of an album that thrives heavily on it's atmospheric tones that are surprisingly uplifting at times. The growls are among the best I've heard and the guitars are fast and beautiful.

4. The Weight of Oceans by In Mourning

Just barely beating out 7 Horns 7 Eyes and equally unkown, The Weight of Oceans is by far In Mourning's best work. Taking heavy influence from both Prog and Melodic Death Metal, it's an amazing blend of melodies and growls. It's opening song, Colossus is only the icing on the cake that is The Weight of Oceans. Every song feels very connected, almost as if they tell a story which may not be far from the truth because every song is has the same subject matter: sailing. Don't confuse this with that dreaded Pirate Metal though, because that's not what this album is about. A fantastic work that deserves more recognition than it's getting.

3. Neverbloom by Make Them Suffer

Another debut, Neverbloom is such a flawless masterpiece that calling it deathcore is an insult. The album is relentlessly attacking and with tracks like Maelstrom and Weeping Wastelands barely gives you time to breathe. It's heavy usage of atmospheric tones make for a dark, dramatic experience and fully orchestrated sections and some of the best lyrics in metal only heighten that. Every song is a standout song. A pulse-pounding blast of in your face metal that goes way above and beyond deathcore's dreary standard. Can't wait to see more from this group.

2. Other Slices by Slice the Cake

If there was ever perfection in a metal band, it is the international trio with an unassuming name, Slice the Cake. The Prog metal band released it's first and second full album in 2012, the latter of which being Other Slices. This incredible symphony of music is everything it's been hyped up to be by other reviewals. It's practically perfection with multiple structured and creative instrumental interludes that add a great deal to the album rather than just existing for taking up space. The full songs are just as brutal as they are beautiful. A few songs have some clean vocals mixed in which work nicely with the rest of the music that transitions frequently, as is typical of Prog metal. An amazing work of art.

1. The Man With No Face by Slice the Cake

That's right, this band gets both the 1 and 2 slots because that's just how fucking badass they are. The Man With No Face is a masterpiece of music. It goes from angry to emotional to dark to emotional along with other dips and dives showing that this band can do more than the same thing over and over. It starts off strong with Rational Thinking and gets better and better from there with titles like Of Gallows which features some clean vocals being the more emotional part and As Written in Pnakotus being the darker side. It all crescendos flawlessly in the twenty-one-minute title song, The Man With No Face. This isn't some cheap five minute song with fifteen-minutes of silence and then a short joke track, it's a full arrangement that sports six movements and never does it disappoint. An amazing work of art.

This album stands at a daunting full hour but I guarantee that every minute is worth it. Barely a year old and I already know it backwards. The Man With No Face is nothing short of the best album of 2012.

Top 10 Anime Openings

It's an anime tradition that every episode of every show is kicked off by a two minute AMV. Almost every anime has this and it basically serves as a preview of the show. Rather than watching trailers, as you would with American (and most) movies, you simply watch the opening. They're generally very well animated and artfully done. Everyone has their opinions, but I picked out my personal Top 10 anime openings. So enjoy these catchy tunes and check out the shows.

10. Phantom - Requiem for the Phantom (Opening 1)

To be honest, this opening is better than the show. Phantom - Requiem for the Phantom wasn't that bad, it was actually pretty darn good for awhile, but it fell apart in the third act of the show and it's an unsatifying conclusion to the 26 episode endeavor. I think it still may be worth watching because what's good about the show can almost override what's bad. Anyway, good opening.

9. Bleach (Opening 3)

I'm sure that every anime fan at least knows about this show. It's pretty popular and by "pretty" I mean, "very". It was tough to choose between the first opening and this one, the third, but I think this one is better. This show is too long for it's own good and I never got past episode ninety-something. It'd be better if it ended right after season 3, but whatever, it's an imperfect world.

8. Claymore

I talked about this one before. Claymore is my sword-fighting drug of choice. It's badass, monster-slaying action and it stays strong over all 26 episodes. Now if only someone would make a second  season.

7. Dragon Ball GT

As bad a rep as this show gets, and I'll admit I've added to it, it's actually pretty good. I wouldn't recommend it to any casual fan of DBZ, but to the hardcores, it's mandatory. If you can stomach the absurdly over-the-top power levels, it's fun.

6. Soul Eater (Opening 2)

I watched this show on recommendation. It's 50 episodes long and stylish as all hell, as you'll probably observe from this video. My only serious complaint is the ending, which blows.

5. Full Metal Alchemist (Opening 1)

If you're an anime fan, you've seen this show by now. If you haven't seen this show by now, you're not an anime fan. Each succeeding opening this show had was progressively worse. Of it's four intros, this is the best by far.

4. Darker Than Black (Opening 1)

I actually like this song a lot and I have it on my music library. I never watched any of the spin-off series's, but this show in itself is awesome. It's very story driven and doesn't spoon-feed you anything. Watch it.

3. Highschool of the Dead

The anime that dominated 2010, HOTD is the best thing that's happened to zombies since George Romero. Next to his films, this is my favorite zombie story and damnit it needs a second season.

The Walking Dead can suck this shows cock.

2. Deadman Wonderland

Again, a show I've already talked about. Deadman Wonderland did to 2011 what HOTD did to 2010 and is an anime I highly recommend. It's fucked, to be sure, but I think it's designed to make the viewer feel a little insane themselves.

1. Death Note (Opening 2)

I'll admit, it was real hard to choose between this and the runner up. In the end, this obviously won. It's crazy, trippy and I love the way it tells you nothing about the show. Also, it's badass. Just like the show itself.

Top 8 Potential Videogame-Based Movies

If you're a video game fan

Then you must know how disappointing it is to wait and wait for your favorite title to be adapted, only to have it be done by Disney or star Angelina Jolie (i.e. suck major dicks). I can't think of any video game movie that left me not pissed off much less satisfied. This happens for many different reasons. A lot of times, it's just because the game doesn't have a lot of plot to it. Mortal Kombat isn't exactly known for it's rich storytelling and yet they attempted it nonetheless. Other times, it's because the game has too much plot. This is often the case with adventure games and RPGs especially. Seriously, try to cram an Elder Scrolls game into two hours. Not easy.

Another issue is that the directors and generally everyone involved in the filmmaking process, were not part of the generation that played the games therefore, they don't have any real respect for it. Of course there are less excusable reasons as well. Sometimes, it's just because the filmmakers had no understanding of the game at all and were simply too damn lazy to ask the creators or the fans and just gave it their own interpretation. And of course, there are the douchebags who just cash in on the name of the franchise and don't even try.

I'll be damned if this man so much as touches a fan-fiction.

But at any rate, weather or not game-based movies can be done well, I've compiled a list of what I think are the games with the best potential to be done well. Not saying any of them should be adapted just because of that rant up there, but if it's ever attempted, it'd damn-well better be someone who knows what they're doing. I'm going to exclude the ones that are absurdly obvious, e.g. Alan Wake, considering it's practically a movie as it is. Let's go.

8. Dead Space

I think Dead Space could be adapted into a pretty respectable sci-fi/horror movie as well. I think it could be done well if put in the right hands. It'd certainly be an edge of your seat thriller... oh yeah, it'd have to be gory as hell, otherwise, I wouldn't accept it.

7. Bioshock

And while I'm on the subject of horror games, this was one that got rumored a ton a year or so ago (maybe two). It could be made into a very good suspense/thriller/horror movie and it has a unique and interesting plot that's much more intelligent than most of the movies coming out these days. I'd see it.

6. Metroid

Who could say that this wouldn't be awesome? A tightass space bounty-hunter flies around on her ship and fucks up gnarly looking aliens. That has Hollywood written all over it. The main issue with making this movie would be getting the rights. Nintendo is really stingy with that sort of thing; I've read about what the guys down at Wreck-It Ralph had to go through, but if those rights could be acquired, it'd be a bitchin' movie. I think having Nintendo breathing down the filmmakers necks, as they tend to do, would actually help in this situation. No one wants to see a Mario Movie made out of Metroid. This movie is actually being rumored about right now, I hear. I've learned to ignore rumors because they're typically too good to be true, but you never know...

5. Halo

Yeah, you must've known that was coming. I remember this was rumored to be released in 2007 and it seemed pretty legit from the online hype and garnered some mention in some gaming magazines. I got really excited and then 2007 came around and nothing. I think that Halo has one of the best plots in it's genre, as far as shooters go. If anything, it'd make a badass summer blockbuster that would annihilate the box office. But who would ever think that making one of the most popular gaming franchises into a movie would be a good idea? And yes I know "H" is a stupid name, these posters aren't too easy to find, y'know what I'm dealing with here?

Yeah.

4. Uncharted

Remember when you could look forward to an Indiana Jones movie? Crystal Skull was a let down, for sure, but that doesn't mean that that style of movie can never be reproduced. Meet Uncharted. A game that is, at the core, very much Indiana Jones inspired and it's got a great and dramatic plot to boot. It'd certainly make for an memorable adventure movie.

3. Assassin's Creed

This series definitely falls into the category of having an overwhelmingly complicated and large plot, but I think it could be done very well if handled with care. Start with the first one, which would be the easiest. It has the least plot development, but it's gritty and suspenseful. If/when they ever made a second one, then that'd be where the plot really picks up. Maybe try to merge ACII with Brotherhood? It just takes some careful writing. It's all a matter of deciding what can be left out and what can't. Then you work from there.

 2. Mass Effect

I just published my Mass Effect article and mentioned that I would've certainly put it on this list had I had prior knowledge of the game at the time of it's writing. Thankfully, with the internet, I can edit this article and throw this in. Mass Effect is already a very cinematic game so, adapting it to a movie wouldn't be all that difficult. Just cut out much of the quests but keep the core storyline, with Saren and whatnot, intact. Also, keep the finale exactly the same. It was badass as hell. This would, of course, be the first of a trilogy which would make great summer blockbusters, if nothing else.

1. The Legend of Zelda

Duh. Of course. No shit. Obviously.

How could I not put LoZ here? The iconic series of games could be easily adapted into what could be an unforgettable fantasy film. I don't think anyone would want anything other than the main candidate for the source material to be The Ocarina of Time. That would be my choice too. It wouldn't be extremely hard to adapt, it's a very (very) unique plot, and it's probably the most beloved of all of the games. You don't have to look far to see all kinds of shit like that poster there surrounding this movie that probably will never exist. There are even entire fake trailers that have been made.

If you think about it, there are so many distinguished moments and scenes from OoT alone to make a movie. The Deku Tree, the Time Chamber, pulling the Master Sword, the Ocarina ect. Yeah, you could cut out a lot with all of that medallion collecting shit and probably all of the children quests if need be, and fill it with whatever else, it really doesn't matter much as long as the core story is the same and the iconic moments are still there... and of course it's important that it resembles the  games, I know this, non-existent commenters. Unfortunately, like Metroid, Nintendo would not sacrifice the rights to Zelda so easily, you'd have to convince the shit out of them. If the cards were played right and it was done by a true fan, The Legend of Zelda could very well be one of the greats of cinema.

Tying this all together...

It's hard to imagine a videogame-based movie being critically praised and going down in history but there's no reason to say that it's not possible. Movies are based off of other things most of the time anyway, hell they once based an entire movie off of a commercial. My point is, is that the only thing that's holding us back from achieving that goal of a great videogame movie is doubt and a lack of respect and appreciation for games which can and should be held to the same standards of cinema or literature. They're all just ways of expressing a compelling story and there's no good reason why mixing them won't work.

Pictured: A compelling story