Fans of the popular Chinese game series "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" were overwhelmed after its theater adaptation was staged in Beijing from Oct. 14-17.
The game, whose first installment was released in 1995, is still regarded as a classic among live-action role-play games enthusiasts. Because of its popularity, it was also adapted into a TV series in 2005 and 2009.
The stage play edition debuted in April this year in Shanghai. Currently, "The Legend of Sword" is on a national tour.
"The Legend of Sword" follows the story of Li Xiaoyao, a careless teenage boy living with his aunt. His dream of becoming a hero comes into life as he takes on an unexpected journey where he meets sword masters and girls with martial art skills and fairy powers.
Though the fight scenes of the plot were a challenging job, the team behind the stage play was able to translate the story into an epic performance because of advanced multimedia and lighting effects.
The team also earned a nod for their detailed presentation of the stage and background design. Chinese elements such as traditional pavilions, lotuses, bamboos, terraces and traditional furniture were injected.
Amid praises, the theatrical production also received criticisms in terms of exploiting its fans for commercial gain. This complaint comes as the "IP (intellectual property) fever" continues to dominate the country.
In this phenomenon, audiences look at the utilization of characters and dialogues from an original work to another filed as a means to accumulate money.
Meanwhile, the production team also announced that they will stage a remake of the game series' third generation next year.