Crossovers are prime opportunities. Businesses like them because they draw multiple consumer groups toward one product and guarantee a greater profit. More importantly, they can breed renewed creativity and bring fans of wildly different interests together in their love of pop culture. Those same fans might discover a new favorite franchise that they would have otherwise ignored.
Gamers have certainly seen their share of incredible crossovers through the years, but not all of these products are winners. Through incompetence or failure to understand the source material, several crossover titles have missed the mark and tainted the properties they’re meant to expand. As much as it’s worth condemning the misfires, though, it’s also important to celebrate those games that successfully fuse two series.
10 Loved: Kingdom Hearts
This remains one of the weirdest mashups ever put to screen. Combining the worlds of Disney and Final Fantasy should have been a disaster. Through stylish presentation and infectiously corny creativity, Kingdom Hearts melds these two properties into a sprawling universe that’s genuinely exciting to explore.
This is backed up by the robust action RPG gameplay, which offers a nearly perfect balance of customizable depth and fast-paced skill. It all adds up to one of the most thrilling experiences Square Enix has ever put out.
9 Didn’t Love: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
While some crossover titles try to blend their properties together into an organic whole, this game is constantly pulled in two different directions. At first glance, it seems like one of NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat or Injustice titles, complete with a lengthy story mode practically unheard of for a fighting game. Indeed, the combat functions well enough, but it’s unpolished and lacking an identity.
It doesn’t have the measured brutality of Mortal Kombat, but it also lacks the grandiose power of DC. This is emblematic of the whole piece. Neither franchise can stretch its legs in terms of their concepts, aesthetic, or mechanics. In the end, it’s one giant piece of middle ground.
8 Loved: LEGO Games
Any trip to the store reveals that LEGO has created playsets for every popular property under the sun. While their comedic sendups of big film series never get old, it’s during their romps through larger universes that they truly come alive. Whenever they tackle huge worlds like Marvel and DC, they make ample use of each franchise’s toybox.
Ever want to see Spider-Man team up with Wolverine? How about the Riddler battling Darkseid? They throw in seemingly every character in existence, with tools and abilities faithfully included. They’re put toward puzzle-solving and exploration of vast-lively settings, and the solutions are as creative as they are amusing. The gameplay may be simplistic, but it’s relentlessly addictive. Players will always want to go for that last unlockable character, vehicle, or cheat code behind the next nook or cranny.
7 Didn’t Love: PlayStation Move Heroes
Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, and Sly Cooper are some of the most beloved series on the PlayStation 2. Among their other strengths, all three of them are renowned for their gameplay, which stands as the apex of 3D platforming.
Why not throw all that out the window in lieu of minigames? When these characters collide, what should be a grand adventure turns out to be a bunch of mundane challenges utilizing the motion controls of the PlayStation Move. Most of these have nothing to do with platforming and are more focused on shallow gimmicks. The fact that the villains are a couple of annoying purple blobs is just the icing on the cake.
6 Loved: Super Smash Bros.
Everyone knows about party games. Well, this is a party fighter, an utter free-for-all where players bash each other’s brains out on a multileveled 2D battlefield. Nintendo has always been popular with its competitive games, and the Super Smash Bros. series maintains much of that wide appeal.
The controls have enough depth to require finesse but are simple enough to pick up and play. It’s hectic at times, but there’s no denying the primal joy of diving into battle as fan-favorite icons and smacking the ‘stache off Mario. Each entry fuels this giddiness with an ever-expanding character roster, even throwing in non-Nintendo characters. All that’s left is to find out who’s next, and fans definitely have their wish lists.
5 Didn’t Love: Crash Bandicoot Purple/Spyro Orange
While Jak, Sly, and Ratchet were the platforming powerhouses of the PS2, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro the Dragon ruled that root on the original PlayStation. The former excelled at tight challenge, and the latter enchanted players with its open-world collect-a-thon charm. Also, like their PS2 successors, Crash and Spyro’s big crossover event completely misses the point.
These two Game Boy Advance titles pelt unsuspecting fans with platforming so clunky that it wouldn’t pass in a video game design class. Fret not, though, as it’s frequently broken up by a slew of uninspired vehicle segments and a lazy story containing none of the mischievous personality that the franchises are known for. It’s no wonder Crash 4 ignores it along with all the other lousy entries.
4 Loved: Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sure, it’s derivative or Mario Kart and other racers. It’s also a celebration of Sega’s long history of games, both widely beloved and cult classics. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing combines characters, tracks, and music from numerous titles in the company’s history. It goes beyond the titular hedgehog; this game pays tribute to the likes of Super Monkey Ball, Samba de Amigo, and Billy Hatcher.
Not only does this add the variety needed for any competitive game, but it makes for a heaping helping of fan service. It’s all wrapped into an exhilarating cart racer, one that retools tried-and-true mechanics and even builds on them in certain areas. What more could Sega supporters ask for?
3 Didn’t Love: Soulcalibur IV
Like many fighting franchises, the Soulcalibur series often spices up their roster with guest characters. Sadly, one of the most high-profile additions garnered a lukewarm reception. The fourth mainline entry lets players take control of three Star Wars fighters: Darth Vader, Yoda, and Vader’s secret apprentice from the upcoming Force Unleashed game. Plucked from a galaxy far, far away, these guys must battle their way through their Soulcalibur adversaries to get home.
Not only did this come off as a shallow gimmick for the sake of cross-promotion, but many felt that these sci-fi icons didn’t fit the franchise. They especially took issue with Yoda, who’s too short to hit with normal attacks. At least the developers redeemed themselves in later titles with Kratos from God of War, Ezio from Assassin’s Creed, and Geralt from The Witcher.
2 Loved: Marvel vs. Capcom
What initially seems like a bizarre combo is actually more of a culmination. Capcom had already established themselves with previous Street Fighter titles and even fighting games centered on Marvel characters, and this crossover builds on that foundation with bombastic yet entertaining results.
Not only does Marvel vs. Capcom boast a robust roster of characters, but the anime art style blends their universes together surprisingly seamlessly. This aesthetic also fits the flashy, frenetic (if somewhat chaotic) combat like a glove. It’s all such a rush that it’ll get anyone’s heart racing after just one match.
1 Didn’t Love: Jump Force
Shōnen Jump has built quite a legacy with its manga series, practically defining the anime medium for countless audiences. What should have been a glorious team-up and tribute to its 50-year history landed with a resounding thud.
So many aspects of Jump Force reek of laziness. The clumsy combat is recycled straight from the Dragon Ball Xenoverse titles. The ugly visuals make the expressionless, claymation characters clash more than they already did. Worst of all, the repetitive story shortchanges every one of its iconic fighters, the very creations supposedly being honored. That is a cardinal sin for any crossover.
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