The Lord of the Rings: War in the North that co-operation amongst traditionally antagonistic races is such a major theme in the novels, they wanted to replicate it in the game. Having experimented with two, three and four-player co-op, they ultimately decided to go with three-player, thus mirroring the classic triptych in the novels; Man (Aragorn), Elf (Legolas) and Dwarf (Gimli). Lead designer Andre Maguire explained that "how" players experienced co-op mode was equally as important as them simply playing it; However, according to Tomandl, the focus on co-op gameplay did not mean single-player mode was neglected; "War in the North" is the first "Lord of the Rings" game
The Lord of the Rings (1978 film) historian, described "The Lord of The Rings" as one of two films that demonstrated "that Bakshi was utterly lacking in the artistic self-discipline that might have permitted him to outgrow his limitations." The film has been cited as an influence on director Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. After initially denying having seen Bakshi's film, Jackson admitted to having first encountered "The Lord of the Rings" via Bakshi's film, stating that the film was a "brave and ambitious attempt." In another interview, Jackson stated that he "enjoyed [the film] and wanted to know more." Bakshi is quoted