Celebrating Michael Jackson: Video Game Tributes to the King of Pop

Image via Complex Original

Apparently there are a lot of people with nothing better to do than recreate famous MJ moves in video games. That's fine with us, since we then get to watch said recreations.

This one occurs in World of Warcraft, a game which already demands its players devote most of their waking hours to it. In a lot of ways, this is fitting, though, since many consider Jackson the King of Night Elves. Wait, maybe we just made that up. Hmm.

So this guy built a stage in Minecraft and apparently needed something to perform on it. What better than the classic "Thriller"? He even gave his little Minecraft guy a Michael Jackson costume to wear. Aw. As for the performance itself, well, we've seen better.

We're not sure if there's a reason behind this beyond that it's awesome, but Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 contains a nice little tribute to Jacko's most famous dance move, the moonwalk. Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi does the dance justice, though we wonder whether he's as good in real life.

What can we say? It's a popular dance. Marvel's devil-may-care mercenary Deadpool may not have Michael's sense of style, but at least he's moonwalking for a good cause (beating on Captain America's preachy ass). We're not actually sure what's going on for the video's final fifteen seconds, but we think it has something to do with furries.

As Michael Jackson fans, we're not surprised the KoP could lay the beat down on all these little critters. And even though you can't make jokes about someone molesting kids after they've died, we'll excuse this one, since it was made in 2008. Still, as Pokemon fans, we have to wonder why a level 30 Manectric is moving first in this match, and why MJ's "Star Kick" attack is so weak. The guy's level 80, for pete's sake.

The 1995 music video for "Scream" saw Michael and his less-popular sister, Janet, cavorting through a space ship (or something) in reaction to Michael's infamous molestation trials. The obvious highlight (other than Janet aggressively playing with her own breasts) is their game of futuristic Pong, right down to the boomerang Wii remote-things they're holding. Pop in at 2:10 for that (and the boob grab happens right, too).

We always knew there was something missing from the original Mario Bros. games. Now we realize that thing was an all-powerful MJ sprite moonwalking up walls and collecting coins in his magic hat. Not to mention that he gets to skip to the very end of the game by kicking a warp pipe into oblivion. He even rescues the princess, something Mario never got to do (at least when we were playing).

Apparently Jackson was a playable character in Midway's 2000 Dreamcast title Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2. We weren't previously aware of this, since the only boxing game we've ever played has the words "punch" and "out" in the title. Still, we've got to admit it's pretty cool watching Jacko in his prime, pounding away at an obese woman in the ring. The one white boxing glove is a nice touch, as well.

We're happy to see one of our favorite games pay tribute to one of our favorite performers, even if it seems a little insensitive in retrospect. Of course, he was still alive when they designed Zombie Michael Jackson, and they've taken him out of subsequent versions of the game (of which there are plenty—thanks Popcap). Still, we count this among the many, many ways the King has been successfully immortalized over the years.

We would pretty much give anything to see this actually happen. We would even listen to a Justin Bieber song. Okay, maybe not an entire song.

Regardless, we're going to have to settle for the Fight Night Champion version, which is fine with us, because it means we get to watch Bieber get destroyed over and over and over. In real life, we're not sure what would have happened, but at least we've gone this entire paragraph without making a molestation joke. Phew.

Let's not forget the most recent MJ video game, Michael Jackson The Experience. There's probably no better way to learn all the King's dances step-by-step, though to be honest, The Experience works better as an idea than in practice. Still, there are worse ways to spend $60. Like this $55 Michael Jackson cup.

Yay, another recreation of Thriller. We mean that. It's probably the best music video ever, and imitation is the best form of flattery. Second Life isn't exactly the best game, though it may be the weirdest, and we think Jacko may have appreciated it for that reason alone.

Someone obviously put a lot of work into this one, though we think it suffers from the lack of a certain central character (where's Michael)? Still, well done.

Apparently (judging by the one of the comments on this video), the players involved were attempting to sync up their own version of the "Thriller" dance in Guild Wars, when a NPC named Gwen rolled in and laid them all to rest with fireballs from the sky. Which was supposed to happen, only not in the middle of their dance. Oh, and the dancer in the back sucks (you're doing it wrong!).

It wasn't too long ago that MJ began making his own forays into the world of gaming. Actually, it was over twenty years ago. But still—Moonwalker is actually remembered by many as a pretty decent game.

It follows Jackson as he saves the children of the world from a forward-looking drug dealer who wants to get all the kids hooked at a young age by kidnapping them and getting them high as balls. Why it falls to Jackson to right this wrong is beyond us, but it made for some good platforming, at least.

Our favorite tribute to MJ comes from Video Games Live, the concert series that's been touring on and off since 2005. Their special montage inserts Michael into classic games ranging from Galaga to Tetris to Yoshi. Their use of the Moonwalker sprite is extremely creative, and their message at the end heartwarming:

"To a Legendary Artist, Idol, Performer and Gamer—you will be remembered by all…"

We couldn't agree more.