Crossover events are becoming more commonplace than ever before. On television, there was the Crisis on Infinite Earths a massive crossover event. It featured characters from the DC universe like the Green Arrow, Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, and various Supermen including Smallville’s Clark Kent.
On film, superhero fans were treated to The Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame combining as many characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe like Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, and many more.
The same kind of thing happens in gaming too. Whether this is bringing together two franchises that have been considered rivals or if its a surprise collaboration between several unrelated games or mediums. Let’s take a look at 5 great crossover games that are available now and 5 that fans still want to see.
10 Great: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Released in 2017, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a turn-based strategy RPG for the Nintendo Switch. In one of the most surprising crossover gaming events in years, there weren’t many gamers that thought to put Ubisoft’s Raving Rabbids in an XCOM style game would have worked so well.
The bright and colorful world in Mario + Rabbids is a breath of fresh air compared to other games in the genre. In addition, it can be a surprisingly challenging title in the later stages of the game but the sense of fun remains whether it is in the single-player or multiplayer modes.
9 Want To See: Mortal Kombat Vs Street Fighter
In the '90s there were two fighting game franchises that couldn’t escape the comparison. These games are the long-running Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat series. There was no denying that the fantasy matchups between Raiden and M. Bison or Ryu against Liu Kang ignited debates among teenagers everywhere at the time.
There’s no escaping the fact that both franchises are stylistically different in terms of speed and brutality. However, one only has to look at how well Capcom handled the Tekken characters in Street Fighter X Tekken to see that such a crossover can be done if handled correctly.
8 Great: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne which is also known as Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer’s Call in European territories was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. It is the third entry in the mainline SMT series and features a post-apocalyptic contemporary Tokyo setting.
Interestingly, Capcom’s demon hunter Dante from the Devil May Cry series makes an appearance in the game as a special character. Despite the differing genres, Dante fits very well in the demonic world of SMT. He has his own story in the game and can eventually be recruited to join the main character's party.
7 Want To See: Tales Of Star Ocean
After the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises, the Tales series is the third best selling Japanese RPG in the world. The series began with Tales of Phantasia which was developed by Japan’s Wolfteam. Three members of that team eventually formed Tri-Ace and created the Star Ocean series.
As a result, it’s easy to see that both franchises share much of the same DNA when it comes to real-time battle systems and their storytelling. An epic action-RPG featuring aspects of both franchise’s science-fantasy themes could work extremely well in a crossover.
6 Great: The Kingdom Hearts Series
The Kingdom Hearts series began on the PlayStation 2 in 2002. Developed by Square-Enix it is a crossover featuring characters and worlds from Disney, Pixar, and the Final Fantasy. It’s a series that shouldn’t work as an action RPG but the stories are both complex and compelling in equal measure.
For players to get the most complete story it is advisable to collect Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter, and Kingdom Hearts 3.
5 Want To See: Dragon Quest X Final Fantasy
Before the 2003 merger between Square and Enix, both companies had the two biggest JRPG franchises in the business with Square’s Final Fantasy and Enix’s Dragon Quest. It was a rivalry that brought out the best in both developers and resulted in some of the best games in the genre.
What’s surprising is since the merger the two franchises haven’t crossed over into their own RPG series Kingdom Hearts style. While the company is protective of both the Dragon Quest and the Final Fantasy universes, featuring both series in a canon or non-canon RPG would make for some incredible fanservice.
4 Great: Street Fighter X Tekken
Released in 2012 for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, and the PC, Street Fighter X Tekken is a crossover of two fighting franchises that fans never thought they’d see happening. With the development handled by Capcom, Street Fighter X Tekken’s gameplay is based on the Street Fighter series.
Despite Street Fighter operating in a 2D plane and Tekken in 3D, Capcom did an incredible job in making both franchises feel like they belonged. All of the Tekken character’s unique moves and skill sets are carefully handled and the game is more accessible than Street Fighter IV and V.
3 Want To See: Tekken X Street Fighter
After the release of Capcom’s own Street Fighter X Tekken, the collaboration was supposed to continue with a follow up using the Tekken engine from Bandai Namco called Tekken X Street Fighter. Unfortunately, the game never materialized and it seems the potentially amazing 3D fighter was put on indefinite hold.
The closest fans have got to realizing this dream crossover in the style of Tekken is the appearance of Street Fighter’s Akuma appearing in Tekken 7. However, lead Tekken developer Katsuhiro Harada asked fans to vote in a Twitter poll if they were still interested in the game in December 2019, so it seems he's still interested in the project.
2 Great: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate continues the series tradition of combining a huge roster of characters and mascots from different games and franchises in one fighting package.
Not only does this fast-paced fighter include exclusive Nintendo characters but it features fighters from other franchises too like Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Persona 5, Banjo-Kazooie and more. If players wanted to set up dream fights between Link from The Legend of Zelda and Cloud from Final Fantasy VII or The Hero from Dragon Quest they finally can.
1 Want To See: Mario And Sonic Platformer Game
There was a time when Sega and Nintendo were the ultimate rivals in the console business and a collaboration between the two seemed like an impossible pipe dream. The Sega Master System and the Sega Genesis had Sonic the Hedgehog and the NES and Super Nintendo had the Super Mario Bros.
Both franchises were the benchmark in platform gaming with fans at the time often debating among themselves which was the best. Since Sega left the console business after the failure of the Dreamcast the two companies have had a great relationship with crossover games like the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series. Unfortunately, the two developers are yet to create the ultimate dream platform game featuring both characters. A crossover event featuring the best of their 2D platforming days would be a dream come true for fans of the games in the 90s.