The world of gaming is full of odd crossovers. Super Smash Bros. is probably the most famous, bringing in tons of series under one roof. It's a testament to love of the various gaming worlds that so many companies and collaborators can come together to celebrate each other. But those are the massive crossovers; what about smaller fare?
It's easy to come together when franchises are under someone like Nintendo or Capcom's roofs. But when it comes to studios collaborating on smaller crossovers, it can be harder. Language and geography barriers can make crossovers difficult, as well as trying to decide how to format it. It can even be hard when both franchises are owned by the same parent company! But even still, fans clamor for more crossovers of their favorite gaming rivals.
Street Fighter x Mortal Kombat
Street Fighter has crossed over with a lot of games. It's clashed with its arcade rivals King of Fighters and Tekken, and The World Warriors have even gone up against Marvel's X-Men. But one crossover possibility has been stewing in minds of fans since the 90's: and that's Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat.
At first glance it makes sense; the brands are number one and two in fighting games, and have similar gameplay. But there are a lot of problems with a possible crossover. Thematically, Street Fighter isn't nearly as gory as the violent Mortal Kombat. And Kombat is basically an unknown franchise in Japan, SF's home. This drastically cuts down the odds of fans ever seeing these two titans clash.
Bayonetta x Devil May Cry
Bayonetta and Devil May Cry can both trace their action game lineage back to one man. This man is Hideki Kamiya, Twitter troll and head of game studio Platinum. Both games are combo-heavy action games with over the top lead characters. Unfortunately, despite the shared creator, one is owned by Sega and the other Capcom.
The series might both be third person action games (often called character-action), but they've diverged mechanically. DMC now pulls from a large variety of fighting styles that can be switched on the fly, while Bayonetta focuses more on ranged combat with time manipulation elements. This gives them a reason to face off, as mechanically they're quite different. Fans have speculated a link between Bayonetta and Dante's lineages for years, so they'd definitely be excited to see them meet.
Minecraft x Terraria
Minecraft is the most popular game in the world, so of course it has imitators. But not all copies are uninspired garbage; Minecraft-inspired indie hit Terraria is actually the highest rated game on Steam. While the games both include a lot of mining and crafting, they go about this in different ways. Most notably, Minecraft is 3D and Terraria is 2D.
The differences go further than that, though. Minecraft's mechanics are all in service of exploration and building structures. Terraria's mechanics are about building weapons for combat. While any crossover would have to get over the dimensional barrier between the two products, but middle ground crossover would be great.
Ratchet And Clank x Jak And Daxter
Technically, both of these franchises are owned under the Sony umbrella. But much like Crash and Spyro before them, fans want to see these two titans of PS2 platforming come together. Ratchet & Clank continue to be relevant with their recent excellent outing on the PS5. But Jak and Daxter haven't had a recent outing, so it would be great to see them again.
Both of these 2000's franchises are duos with a focus on weapon combat. They also both got more gritty as they both went on; famously Jak's first words in the sequel contained "Kill." After the fantastic Rift Apart on PS5, it could be time for Ratchet & Clank to explore other universes. So far their only major crossover is in Playstation All-Stars, and that isn't enough.
Pokemon x Digimon
The two titans of the monster collecting of genre have both silently stayed in their niches for a long while now. But in the 90's, it was head to head between the Pocket Monsters and the Tamagotchi spin-off. Pokemon VS Digimon was a big rivalry alongside Mario and Sonic. Although with the benefit of time, people have accepted both are doing their own thing.
But that's what would make Pikachu x Agumon's meeting interesting. Pokemon is more focused on its collection and combat. But Digimon, being a successor to Tamagotchi, focuses more on virtual pet aspects. There's already a natural route for a crossover: the digital boxes in the Pokemon series. Hopefully the two premiere Mon franchises will make music together eventually.
Dragon Quest x Final Fantasy
The top JRPG franchises originally were competitors, published by Square and Enix separately. But of course, these days the two have merged into Square-Enix. So it's surprising that series have never crossed over in a major way. Outside of minor nods and cameos, the only substantial crossover between Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are in Fortune Street and Super Smash Bros..
Some might say that the true crossover are games where staff from both worked; like the famous Chrono Trigger. And while that game is fantastic, it's not a true crossover. As both series are very self-contained, simply seeing Slimes and Moogles alongside each other would be enough. So it makes one wonder why Cid and Erdrick have continued to be separate.
Ace Attorney x Danganronpa
Capcom's Ace Attorney and Spike-Chunsoft's Danganronpa are big visual novel series in gaming. Both are trial-based mystery games, although they both take different approaches to it. Ace Attorney inspired Danganronpa, but both have shown their appreciation for the other. Since Ace Attorney already crossed over with Professor Layton, it's time to give Danganronpa a go.
Ace Attorney's murder mystery format is episodic, but Danganronpa takes a more "dwindling party" approach. Still, Ace Attorney has bridged structural differences before in the aforementioned Layton crossover. Perhaps a gameplay median could be found, combining courtroom antics with Danganronpa's weird minigames. In any case, some absurd mysteries are sure to result.
Resident Evil x Silent Hill
Much like with Ratchet and Jak, here are two titans of the Playstation. These horror titles are the work of Capcom and Konami, and approach the genre differently. Resident Evil is often thought of as an action game in the modern era. Whereas in the modern era, Silent Hill just does not exist.
Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. Silent Hill has made several cameos and guest appearances, even appearing alongside Resident Evil in Dead By Daylight. There's definitely at least a small desire to bring the brand back despite it not having a game in years. So Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield may be able to end up shooting their way through Silent Hill.
Uncharted x Tomb Raider
When it comes to iconic gaming characters, big personalities are the name of the game. And two of the biggest are the stars of the archaeology adventures Uncharted and Tomb Raider. Nathan Drake and Lara Croft are both big personalities with legendary status. While Sony owning the rights to Uncharted may make it difficult for a crossover, Lara and Nate should definitely meet.
Both characters are also icons of the Playstation, despite Croft's third party status. While Croft's rebooted form may not be the version people remember from PS1, it would be a shame to not see any form of her meet Nate. Whether it's the more quippy original or the more realistic reboot Lara, the twin pistols must meet gaming's best climber.
Mario x Sonic In A Platformer
Technically, Mario and Sonic already crossover all the time. They're well known for the Olympic Games series of crossovers, as well as Sonic appearing in Smash Bros. But aside from those spin-offs, these rivals from the console wars haven't crossed over in their mainline forms. Gamers need a Super Mario meets Sonic the Hedgehog platformer.
While the Olympics is nice and symbolic of the better relations between their developers, it's not each other's main appeal. Sonic's speed and Mario's jumps have to be scaled down to work in the events. A game where both characters are allowed to bring their own physics and power-ups to progress would be really neat. Plus, imagine the fun interactions between Luigi and Tails, and Bowser and Eggman! It sounds like a 90's dream come true.