Top 5 Crossover Games

When a series runs dry of creativity and you need something new, there’s nothing like a healthy dose of ‘crossover gaming’ where two worlds are enmeshed to form one solid gaming experience. More often then not, the results are disastrous, but we’re here today to talk about those that aren’t. Here are 5 of the best crossover games ever made:

Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team
Platforms: NES, Sega Mega Drive, SNES
Released: 1993

Back in 1993, two of the most awesome sidescrolling beat ’em ups - Rare’s Battletoad and Technos Japan’s Double Dragon - were fused together to build a roster of few of the most bad-ass side-scrolling veterans who knew how to kick ass in style. The game featured some bad-ass co-op action and was a real challenge, until later versions of it had the difficulty level toned down to suit a wider audience.

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As expected, the storyline didn’t make much sense - the Battletoad’s archenemy ’the Dark Queen’ comes back to Earth years after being defeated. This time she’s got a huge-ass spaceship called the Colossus under her command, and it’s up to the unlikely alliance of toad and man to foil whatever plans she’s made.

Marvel Vs Capcom 2
Platforms: Arcade, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox
Released: 2000

Marvel Vs Capcom 2 was the forth installment in the Marvel Vs Capcom series, and was credited for making the franchise more accessible to the masses. Previous games seemed really complicated for all but die-hard fans, but gameplay was toned down quite a bit in this one, which had a great effect on sales, making it a smashing success.

Imagine all your favorite Marvel characters in a Street Fighter Alpha Zero-styled game! There were over-the-top combos, amazing super-combos, and some really deep, yet simplified gameplay to make the game really tactical, yet fun. The game’s being re-vamped for the Xbox360 (July 29th) and PS3 (August 13th) with a stronger multiplayer online backbone (borrowed from Street Fighter II HD Remix) with better visuals and smoother gameplay. So if you didn’t taste the ‘win’ back in the day, you’ll get another chance soon enough!

Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe
Platforms: Xbox360, PS3
Released: 2008

The biggest crossover game of recent times - Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe brought together two worlds with a massive fan following each. Since there was a comic book giant involved, violence levels were understandably mellowed down to suit younger audiences (Fatalities were skimmed down), but the game still played great and added its own flavor to the mix to form an experience different from the old Mortal Kombat games.

The most popular characters were chosen from each franchise to form a huge roster of really powerful characters from both universes. The storyline went a little like this - after Raiden’s forces blasted Shao Kahn into the portal and Superman defeated Darkseid, the two were combined and created Dark Kahn, a force that merged the two worlds.

Soulcalibur IV
Platforms: Xbox360, PS3
Released: 2008

Soulcalibur IV’s crossover wasn’t the traditional type, but the game allowed PS3 owners to play as Darth Vader, Xbox 360 owners as Yoda, and featured another guest star from the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - Apprentice Starkiller.

EAch character used the Force to wreak havoc on the two player battlefield. Darth Vader used his telekinetic powers to slam and choke the opponent, the little green bundle-of-pwn ‘Yoda’ showed some crazy acrobatics and swordplay, while Apprentice Starkiller used lightening and other dark-side moves to decimate his foes.

Traveller’s Tales’ Lego series
Platforms: Across all platforms
Released: 2005

Whether you’re a fan of Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Batman, you’re bound to love the Lego games developed by Traveller’s Tales. These titles have become a hallmark for crossover games, by breaking the bounds of straightforward remakes, and instead adding some really fun and unique gameplay, an enamoring Lego art-style and injecting a healthy dose of witty parody humor that’s sure to tickle fans of each of these series.

When it comes to crossovers, Lego’s games are unbeatable; so if you’re a fan of any of these series, do yourself a favor and try the Lego game based on the same.