Game crossovers: How much is too much?

The first crossover game appeared in Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, a classic game that combines popular characters from two franchises to collide in combat. Following the success of this game, the title paved the way for many more crossovers to appear over the years. The most recently released crossover that fans anticipated after a ten-year wait was Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (then Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with new characters and finishes). The Marvel and Capcom franchises did well with the constant addition of new characters to their existing roster. With an ever-growing fanbase of character requests and crossover possibilities, other companies are now doing the same; insert popular characters in a crossover scenario to fight or introduce a new element in the main game.

Crossover games that focus on battles aside, there are games that are developed using crossover characters to solve a mystery. One of the most prominent games is Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney. This was announced in Japan several months ago and the game will be released on 3DS on November 29, 2012. Professor Layton acts as a detective while Phoenix Wright, the main protagonist (lawyer) of Ace Attorney, helps each other solve a mystery. . of a woman convicted of witchcraft. The game is an adventure puzzle game that requires players to follow clues to solve the mystery of this woman and the game’s main antagonist. This game is expected to receive a wide range of positive reviews, as Phoenix Wright is a well-loved character in Japan. As a side note, Phoenix Wright appeared in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as a new playable fighter.

In other settings, crossovers appear in sports settings. Almost thrown in every Olympic event is Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Players can control the cast of Mario and Sonic respectively to participate in sports and upload their scores to the leaderboards. That said, the game is only fun for a short period of time before the excitement dies down. Playing games, choosing characters to participate in events is awkward and cumbersome. For example, using Doctor Eggman to participate in a 100-meter race does not fit his personality. The same goes for Mario, Bowser and the like. Crossovers like this hurt the franchise more than help it. Using beloved characters to act out of place isn’t appealing, especially to players who grew up with these characters. To put it bluntly, these characters must remain in their own niche without further diminishing the franchise.

Crossovers are being overused as a new crossover game is released each year that attracts fans of both franchises, representing their main characters. At the same time, fans of both franchises are forced to buy the game even if the game is plotless and a basic fighting game. Crossovers used to be something fans looked forward to; how the mechanics are going to change in a new game but with the constant ‘crossingover’, the same characters appear and do the same, repetitively. You can easily tell that the concept is becoming outdated and, frankly, boring. If companies are planning to crossover, they should consider including a story with their characters rather than creating another beat ’em up. There are certainly plenty of classic crossover games, but with a list of over fifty titles with the same concept, the crossovers are the same as before.

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