Whether he is called “the Grey,” “the White,” or simply, “a disturber of the peace,” Gandalf stands as one of the most popular characters in both theLord of the RingsandThe Hobbit. As such, he manages to appear in nearly every video game title related toLord of the Ringsand is playable in the majority of the games he appears in.
Oddly enough, even in titles where players don’t start the game as Gandalf, gamers often assume his role during crucial events of the books and movies like the fight with the Balrog or for the defense of Minas Tirith. Despite the majority of titles appearing around the time that theLord of the Ringstrilogy was released, Gandalf has been appearing in games for nearly 40 years at this point.
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Shadowfax (1982)
Much likeSpider-Man’s video game adaptations, Gandalf’s begins humbly as a blob of pixels in a simplistic setting. The goal ofShadowfaxis straightforward, ride through waves of Nazgul while blasting them with lightning. While it may be difficult for fans to distinguish Shadowfax’s rider in the game, a quick glance at the description on the box reveals him as none other than Gandalf, making for his earliest playable appearance.
War in Middle Earth (1988)
Gandalf’s next playable appearance is not for another few years followingShadowfax. Upon his return, Gandalf makes his debut as a unit in a real-time strategy game. As to be expected, Gandalf is extremely strong compared to other units inWar in Middle Earth,more than capable of handling small armies on his own.War in Middle Earthmanages to include a ton of elements from the books including most of the major characters such as Frodo, Sam,Boromir, Faramir, and the like.
Riders of Rohan (1991)
Riders of Rohansees Gandalf return for another small role. While the game, likeWar in Middle Earth, primarily centers around real-time strategy, a brief tutorial puts the player in control of Gandalf as he battles againstone of the Nazgul. He is also available as a special unit within the game, and, like before, he is an extremely powerful and useful character.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1 (1994)
For better or worse, this is likely the first game that most gamers were exposed to with regards toLord of the Rings. It achieved a bit of popularity just by virtue of being anRPG on the SNESbut never received a sequel due to its relatively poor sales. Gandalf is not intended to be a playable character in the game, but players can take control of him by using cheat codes. Sadly, inJ.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 1, during his fight with the Balrog, Gandalf does not fall to an implied off-screen death like in the films but is instead reduced to a skeleton in front of the Fellowship.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ringdebuts the format in which subsequent titles molded themselves. It offers a playthrough of the entire first film with players assuming control of various characters for key events. For Gandalf’s part, players assume control of the wizard during the adventure in Moria, following the battle with theWatcher in the Waterand up until his “death” against the Balrog.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
AsLord of the Rings' popularitycontinued to grow following the release of The Two Towers, a whole slew of games were hastily produced and released. In the console release ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, players traverse through the events of the first two films as Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, but in the Game Boy Advance version, which looks and feels like an entirely different game, players are able to assume control of Gandalf during the events of theFellowship of the Ring.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingactually covers the events of both the second and the third films. This time around, however, players were able to assume control of Gandalf in both the console and handheld versions of the game. It plays much likeThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, with classic hack-and-slash action and upgrades available at the end of each stage.
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (2004)
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Agebrings Gandalf in for yet another short appearance. He briefly joins the party for his most well-known scene in theFellowship of the Ring, the fight against the Balrog. For the rest of the game, players assume control of a party that is comprised mostly of minor characters or characters that are inspired by the main cast.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth 1 & 2 (2004 & 2006)
Gandalf appears as a unit in the original game, the sequel, and the expansion. At this point, it’s well established that Gandalf is a devastating unit in anyreal-time strategy gamehe appears in, and theBattle for Middle-earthfranchise is no exception. InBattle for Middle-earth 2, Gandalf is equipped with an ability called Word of Power, which destroys weak units and sends any survivors flying a couple of hundred feet in the air.
The Lord of the Rings: Tactics (2006)
Unfortunately for Gandalf,The Lord of the Rings: Tacticsopens up in Moria with the battle against the Balrog, meaning that he is eliminated from the game before the party even passes their first level. But, luckily, he returns for the later events like thebattle at Minas Tirith. WhileThe Lord of the Rings: Tacticswas an inventive new way to play through a familiar story, it performed poorly mostly due to being tied to the PSP.
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