Street Fighter X Tekken – not the best crossover (pic: Capcom)
Readers imagine swapping the main characters of one game with another, with Mario in The Witcher and Bayonetta in God Of War.
The subject for this week’s Hot Topic was suggested by reader Onibee, who invited readers to pick any two games, regardless of whether they’re in similar genres or not, and swap the lead character. What would happen and do you think it would be fun?
There were lots of peculiar ideas, as well as full-blow crossovers between similar franchises, but everyone seemed to agree that crossovers are fun and there should be more of them.
Street Kombat
The biggest crossover I dreamed of as a kid was Street Fighter vs. Tekken but that happened and it was kind of a big fat nothing, they really didn’t put much effort into it. Basically every Capcom Vs. game is better but I do love them, especially the really weird ones like Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom.
The dream now though is Street Fighter Vs. Mortal Kombat. I know NetherRealm want to do it but Capcom don’t want their characters’ heads being ripped off, which is totally understandable. It is a shame though, as I don’t believe DC Universe Vs. Mortal Kombat had that level of gore (it’s been a while though) so I’m sure Mortal Kombat could tone things down a bit.
It’s a direct rivalry that deserves its own game and it’s interesting there aren’t really many others in gaming, unless you count Gran Turismo vs. Forza Motorsport. There’s no longer an obvious competitor for Call Of Duty and I don’t think Fortnite vs. Apex Legends would really mean anything.
There is Devil May Cry vs. Bayonetta but if they didn’t do that in Smash Bros. I don’t think it’ll ever happen.
Ratso
Dragon Effect
I feel crossovers happen so often now that they’ve kind of lost some of their charm, but I do like it when it’s two really big franchise. I’d love a DC vs. Marvel fighting game or Star Wars vs. Star Trek, but they could never have a good story as neither would ever want to lose to the other.
One thing that might be interesting, and easier to arrange, is across franchises that the same company owns. Like, what happened if the Mass Effect crew travelled to the Dragon Age world? Or the Resident Evil cast had to contend with dinosaurs.
I was always surprised to learn that Warhammer is not meant to be the historical past of Warhammer 40,000, they’re two different universes, but that always seemed odd to me. It is all a bit gimmick though so maybe it’s best to leave it to things like Smash Bros. and MultiVersus (who’s novelty seems to have worn off very quickly, I notice).
Racer
The man with the golden batarang
Generally, I’m not fussed about the actual character I play as but there are exceptions where ‘being’ this person is essential to the experience. Two such examples I really enjoy are GoldenEye 007 and Batman: Arkham Asylum, and conveniently both characters have pretty interchangeable skills and gadgets.
Obviously Batman wouldn’t carry around a Walther PPK and Bond wouldn’t grapple hook relentlessly between gargoyles but they’d fit each other’s games reasonably well I think – especially if you broaden the Batman games to include the Batmobile sections from Arkham Knight and swap it out with an Aston Martin.
Instead of Alfred you’d have Q or M, so that fits. Batman would be batarang-ing like crazy at times to make up for not having an RCP-90, which doesn’t so much.
Actually, one thing I’d love to see is a multiplayer in the style of GoldenEye either pitching Batman against Bond or even better just in the Batman universe, so you’d have Robin vs. Batman vs. Penguin vs. Joker, all on a split screen. Inbox magic please?!
Andrew Wright
GC: We’re sure there must be a James Bond analogue in the DC universe, perhaps a more comics savvy reader knows.
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Souls May Cry
Ah, these kind of crossover game ideas always make my mind boggle with excitement, ever since I first saw a few jokey crossover mock-up titles in Skillz magazine – anyone else remember that?
Anyway, I usually come up with stupid ideas, like Sonic and Dante changing games, or even Spongebob and James Bond. The problem is that in the few instances where video game protagonists have swapped/crossed over, the games haven’t been good – the Crash and Spyro Fusion games on the GBA were a couple of bad mini-game collections rather than the brilliant crossovers we’d all been hoping for, ever since the two mascots appeared in each other’s games.
But, of course, we now have mods that make these kind of swaps possible without being tacked onto lacklustre games. Whether it’s something as simple as a skin so you can look like Master Chief while playing Skyrim or a change so that the movesets of one characters game are implemented for another.
On that subject, what I’d really like to see is someone mod Dark Souls so I can play as Vergil with all the moves that character usually comes with – I enjoyed my time with Dark Souls but I never completed it as after 40 hours. I’d seen most of what the game had to offer (hard bosses that take a lot of time to beat) and couldn’t stomach another 40 hours of the same thing, so having a character that’s as OP, yet still vulnerable, as Vergil would be great, just so I can get through the game in half the time, if nothing else.
Sunny
Dude Raider
Love this idea for a Hot Topic! You could definitely have some fun with this one.
First up I would switch Geralt from the Witcher with Mario from… well… Super Mario World, etc.
The Mushroom Kingdom wouldn’t know what hit it, with Geralt leaving a bloody trail of destruction in search of Bowser.
Mario on the other hand… Well, let’s be honest, jumping on the head of most of the beasties in Velen won’t cut it. Poor Mario.
Secondly, and for a totally different reason, I would switch Lara Croft from Tomb Raider and Nathan Drake from Uncharted.
I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. They would just be cracking on adventuring as usual, barely even noticing anything out of place, then another character would come up to them and say ‘Lara, hey, you’re not Lara, what’s going on’
Nathan would say ‘who the hell is Lara? I’m just doing my adventuring’.
Existential crisis or something ensues as they experience a world that is almost, but not quite, the one they are used to.
And the same in the other game. The confusion amongst the leads and other character would, I think, be highly amusing.
Make it so!
The Dude Abides
Hogwarts Cell
It’s probably just because I’m a few years too old but I’ve never been a fan of Harry Potter. I’ve always found it to be strangely unimaginative and the magic abilities very ordinary. There’s almost nothing that can’t just be replicated with modern (or even relatively old) technology.
Need to breath underwater? Wear a scuba tank. Need to defeat an evil wizard with a magic wand that shoots… stuff? Shoot him with a gun. Even Quidditch could be done with drones.
So I nominate swapping the main character in Hogwarts Legacy with… Sam Fisher. I’m sure he could sort out whatever problem is going on in five minutes flat.
Bannish
Witch of Sparta
I’d have Bayonetta in the God Of War games. She definitely won’t feel like a fish out of water in any way whatsoever. Adapting to this new environment will be second to none within the Greek or Norse surroundings. Slamming the enemies into the next realm and beyond, as Bayonetta uses way quicker and seemingly more arcane attacks than Kratos, who’s strength is an asset but compared to Bayonetta is so slow.
The fact both protagonists are used to taking on enemies much bigger than themselves is one of many similar skills both heroes have. Crossing dimensional boundaries and the domains of the gods is just an everyday occurrence to these protagonists.
The main differences, apart from the story, is the fact one is more laid back than the other. Imagine Bayonetta ripping through the sound barrier and the antagonists, who will just see a black blur whizzing around the screen and turning into horrifying shadowy demonic presence.
As I type this I am already imagining the possibilities as more moves are unlocked and enjoying the more upbeat nature of Bayonetta’s wit, compared to the always serious and non-humorous tones of Kratos. Don’t get me wrong, listening to Christopher Judge’s voice and dialogue is so awesome and I would not change it for the world. I like the God of War style, but to spice it up with the ultimate Umbra witch is something I’d definitely pay to see happen. Oh, yes!
Alucard
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Readers imagine swapping the main characters of one game with another, with Mario in The Witcher and Bayonetta in God Of War.
