Crossing the Multiverse: What are Some of the Best Crossover Games of All Time?

Video games are slowly taking over the mainstream, and carving a place in pop culture as one of the biggest entertainment industries. Long gone are the days when these things were viewed as mere children’s entertainment. Game developers now create video games for all ages. Children, teens, and adults can all enjoy a romp through the various games that have come out.

What are Crossover Games?

What most people remember from classic games are the titular, iconic characters, that made playing the game feel like fun. For example, the relatively simple platformer that is the Super Mario Bros. game, would not be the same without the titular plumber, whose charming design won over audiences, even in the 8-bit era.

The love that people have for these characters is likely what spawned the idea for crossover games. Put simply, a crossover game is a video game where characters from different franchises come together to face a common enemy. Knowing that, it would be nice to know what the best crossover games are. So, without further ado, let us look at crossover games that have stood the test of time.

Poker Night at the Inventory

Creating games centered around chance and skill is nothing new. Since the Nintendo era, we’ve seen adaptations of card games. Additionally, many online platforms, like Karamba, which are becoming increasingly popular, offer digital versions of various games, including spinning wheels and card-based challenges. These games have all been developed by experienced creators, so referring to them as video games would not be an exaggeration.

The reason we are talking about this is that the first game on our list is video game where the rules of poker make up the primary gameplay. Poker Night at the Inventory is exactly what it sounds like; a poker game that takes place at a video game inventory. The twist, however, is that all of the players are some noteworthy video game characters.

Heavy RED (Team Fortress 2), Max (Sam & Max), Strong Bad (Homestar Runner), and Tycho from the now incredibly famous Penny Arcade web comic apparently have a tradition. Every week, after performing their video game and web comic duties, they come together at the inventory, set up a table, and play a few rounds of Texas Hold ‘em.

There is not much to be said gameplay-wise. It is just a poker game after all. What makes this one special though, is the interactions between the characters from different franchises. It is guaranteed to make you laugh, whether you are familiar with the different games or not. If you are a fan of poker, we suggest you give it a try.

Super Smash Bros.

The fighting game genre is no stranger to crossovers. Whether it be the various guest stars in Mortal Kombat, or Captain Falcon’s inclusion in the latest installment of Tekken, fighting games have, for a long time, been the crossover standard in gaming. However, there is no crossover game that does it quite like the Super Smash Bros. franchise.

Dreamt up by Masahiro Sakurai and Satoru Iwata, the game’s prototype was created in its developers’ spare time, as a side project that might have never gotten the light of day. Luckily, it did, with the first installment being released in 1998. From then, we’ve gotten several sequels, including Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and of course, most recently, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

For those who may be unaware, the Super Smash Bros. franchise brings together iconic characters from Nintendo, and pits them against each other in various arenas. Players get to take control of Super Mario and fight against Link, from Legend of Zelda. Other playable characters include Kirby, Simon Belmont, Samus Aran, Star Fox, and even some Pokemon have gotten included in the roster.

Kingdom Hearts

Up until now we’ve discussed video game crossovers that, to some extent, make sense. These are all characters that have featured or debut in video games, so coming together in one big game is not much of a surprise. So, when the first installment of Kingdom Hearts dropped in 2002, people were, understandably, shocked.

After all, who could have foreseen that a crossover action-RPG game between Final Fantasy and Disney would be such a huge hit? Players could see iconic characters like Donald Duck, Goofy, and Mickey Mouse (dubbed King Mickey in this universe) interact with some noteworthy people from the Final Fantasy franchise, like Cloud Strife and Sephiroth.

The strange part is that the game developers behind Kingdom Hearts played the premise completely seriously, never once giving way to ironic, self-satire. Even stranger is that the game franchise works. It is fun, exciting, and often regarded as one of the best action RPGs ever, spawning sequels, prequels, and spin-off titles, in which people are invested in to this day.

Marvel vs. Capcom

For our final entry, we are looking at another fighting game franchise. This time, however, we are taking a look at a game that brings together noteworthy video game characters, and pins them against the strongest super heroes and villains of the Marvel comic book universe. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it would be like if Spider-Man took on Ryu, of Street Fighter fame, now you can.

The game franchise originally began as a crossover between the characters created by Capcom, a popular Japanese video game company, and the X-Men, one of Marvel’s flagship titles at the time. The first game, titled X-Men vs. Street Fighter, released in 1996, to great success. Of course, Capcom followed the game up by expanding the character list and featuring characters outside the two franchises.

Naturally, the title had to change, becoming Marvel vs. Capcom. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, the series remains popular even to this day, with the last title being released in 2017, 21 years after the initial game. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, is a modernized take on the original games, featuring the tag team battles, which the original franchise was known for. The game series remains a hit, and we may just see a new installment in the future.