One of our favourite things is seeing how talented artists and developers reimagine classic sitcoms and TV shows in the format of a video game. Earlier this year, for instance, saw the software developer Mechazawa announce a Persona-Esque RPG based on The Golden Girls. And before that, there was also Jacob Janerka and Ivan Dixon's incredible pitch for a point-and-click adventure set in the world of Seinfeld.
One reinterpretation, however, that completely slipped past us was Tom Waterhouse's incredible pixel-art mockup for a licensed beat 'em up based on the TV show Frasier. Waterhouse first tweeted the image on January 2022, where he credited DoctorPizzaMD with the original idea, but recently he brought it up again as he considered doing more with the premise.
The image is a thing of beauty, showing Niles and Frasier Crane squaring off against Daphne Moon's brothers (played by Anthony Paglia and Robbie Coltrane on the show) in the KACL booth. Out of the two playable Cranes, Niles seems to be the more agile of the pair, with Frasier meanwhile able to lift a heavy piece of audio equipment.
The image brings to mind classic belt scrollers like Final Fight and Street of Rage 2, with the UI and colour palette paying homage to the arcade beat 'em ups of the past. We'd obviously love to see Waterhouse develop the idea further, including letting us find out who the two other optional players would be, but we can imagine IP lawyers may be a continuing concern.
If, like us, you were totally blown away by this mock-up, we recommend following Waterhouse on Twitter or taking a look at his portfolio website to view more of his incredible art.