20 replies to this topic

[Speederino]

Sonic isn't a stranger to crossovers. There have been three Mario & Sonic games (None of which are platformers, for SHAME), Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and the Sonic & Sega All Star Games, one of which guess stars Banjo-Kazooie. Now as much as I want to see a legitimate Mario & Sonic platformer, that last one really got my brain rolling.

Sonic and Banjo-Kazooie have to be two of the most compatible franchises in existence. They both star talking animals, they both take place in worlds with bright and colorful settings, pollution is a recurring theme in both of them (It doesn't take center stage in B-K, but it's there), Chao and Jinjo's are both strange little creatures with weird abilities or magic powers...am I crazy or is there some serious potential in this? And no, I'm not talking about fanfiction that I'm sure already exists. But from a story perspective, I could totally imagine Eggman stumbling across the island and teaming up with Gruntilda. I haven't played Nuts & Bolts, so I would like to think of this as taking place shortly after Banjo-Tooie. Eggman decides to set up his base at the already constructed Cauldron Keep (which suits him). There he comes across Grunty's skull and builds her a robot body, and they join forces to take over the island.

Imagine if they tweaked B-K's island to resemble Sonic levels, all of the typical level themes are already there. Others would still fit in well.

-Spiral Mountain or Treasure Trove Cove would make excellent first levels.

-Clanker's Cavern could be an underwater level, complete with a giant robot whale. Maybe even an entire Act could be spent inside Clanker. Jolly Roger Bay would work, too.

-Freezeeasy Peak. Sonic running on a giant snowman. Yes, please. There could also be a sledding sequence.

-Click Clock Wood

- Witchyworld could be converted into a Carnival/Casino Night-esque stage.

- Rusty Bucket Bay or Grunty Inc as factory/machinery levels

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Every single level from both N64 B-K games would lend themselves perfectly to a Sonic game.

Now how would the bear and bird themselves fit into all of this? Well...that's where my thinking hits a snag. They could just remake all of the previous levels and roboticize all of the enemies, but it would probably be cooler to give them the reverse treatment: take some of Sonic's levels and turn them into wide-open stages that focus on exploration and character interaction.

Am I the only one who sees this? What other crossovers would you like to see with Sonic, if any?

BTW, imagine Knuckles playing the same role as Bottles. For some reason I find the idea of Knuckles popping out of the ground to hand out tutorial messages rather funny.

Edited by Speederino, 16 November 2011 - 04:37 AM.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

That sounds nice but I do not want a Banjo-Kazooie/Sonic crossover ever.Because then that game will be an Xbox exclusive (since Microsoft owns Rare) and that would piss me off since I can't ever play it.

If Sonic's going to do a crossover game, it has to be with Crash or Spyro so the games can be multiplatform.

Edited by Crystaline Starlight, 16 November 2011 - 05:10 AM.

[Speederino]

Yeah, I miss when Rare was allowed to make multi-platform games. Heck, I miss the times when Rare actually made games.

*sigh*

[Fluttershy]

Still waiting for my Mario & Sonic crossover platformer that I know Nintendo and Sega are diligently on for release on the Wii-U in 2015...

/Delusion

[VEDJ-F]

If Sonic's going to do a crossover game, it has to be with Crash or Spyro so the games can be multiplatform.

*About to open her mouth to say something on this*


...Actually, best not speak. :/

[Dr. Crusher]

I hate to be the guy that goes with the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro crowd, but I'm afraid I'll have to resort to being the guy that goes with the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro crowd. Their worlds (at least originally) are just too perfect.

Maybe the original Mega Man, if only so Dr. Light can deduce that finding dat Def Egg will let dem find Doctah Row-Bawtnik.

I'd also have a heart attack of the unexpected surprise variety if I saw Sonic venturing into channels with Gex Gecko. Egg Rez anyone?

Edited by Dr. Crusher, 16 November 2011 - 03:03 PM.

[FFWF]

I don't really have anything specific to say right now on the subject of a potential crossover, but I would like them to try it. Preferably not with Crash or Spyro though, since as far as I know they're considerably deader than Sonic and the association would not do him any good - whereas the current cartoony era of Sonic games seems pretty much ready-made for a Mario crossover and that's something that could lift Sonic up without Mario being dragged down.

[Inferno]

That sounds nice but I do not want a Banjo-Kazooie/Sonic crossover ever.Because then that game will be an Xbox exclusive (since Microsoft owns Rare) and that would piss me off since I can't ever play it.

If Sonic's going to do a crossover game, it has to be with Crash or Spyro so the games can be multiplatform.

Not that it really bothers me anymore since I own both a Wii and 360, but like, it's the same deal with the Mario and Sonic games. Because of the Mario half, it stays exclusive to the Wii and if you don't own one then you're out of luck. Same kinda thing, but from the perspective of the owners of the other systems. Just saying that it's not impossible for such a thing to happen, even though it'd suck.

Edited by 'Ferno, 16 November 2011 - 03:19 PM.

[midori]

A Sonic and Jet Set Radio crossover would be godly. With JSR's funky style and Sonic's speed and graphics combined.

Just imagine roller-blading around Generations stages... and grinding about... and spraying grafitti all over... and running away from crazy GUN units... all that while listening to the awesome JSR music.

It could be the best game in history.

[Speederino]

I don't really have anything specific to say right now on the subject of a potential crossover, but I would like them to try it. Preferably not with Crash or Spyro though, since as far as I know they're considerably deader than Sonic and the association would not do him any good - whereas the current cartoony era of Sonic games seems pretty much ready-made for a Mario crossover and that's something that could lift Sonic up without Mario being dragged down.

I can see the potential in a Crash or Spyro crossover, but yeah, I think it's ten years too late for that. It's easy to forget and/or entirely miss a new game in either of those series. They never get any hype, they never get any coverage...only the really die-hard fans seem to know when a new game is coming out. Skylanders is a bit of an exception, as the toy collecting gimmick has received some attention.

However, I'm very much aware that the same logic could be applied to Banjo-Kazooie. Only in their case, the reason they haven't been relevant or noteworthy for over a decade is because they spent eight years in *almost* complete silence (I liked Grunty's Revenge, but no one ever seems to talk about it). When Rare finally did bring them back, they couldn't even be bothered to make the Banjo-Threeie game they had once promised.

[Sora]

I always wanted to see mega man with sonic but a crash/spyro crossover would also be cool.

Or maybe a DC one(Flash anyone?)

[Diogenes]

The problem with Sonic and crossovers is finding some way to mesh the gameplay together. Sonic gameplay, whether you're looking at classic or modern, really doesn't mesh with any other series I can think of; platformers are almost exclusively slow-paced and blocky in design, nothing like the high speeds and twisty-curvy geometry that Sonic goes for. For it to really work you'd have to bridge the gap both ways, and create some gameplay that is simultaneously true to Sonic and true to whatever you're crossing it with. And that's one hell of a big gap to bridge.

And if you just intend to sit two disparate gameplay styles next to each other, you're just mashing them together for the story. And if that's the case, you might as well write a fanfic; you'll be able to explore the subject deeper than the developers would have the balls to anyway.

Though, there is the option of dodging the matter of gameplay entirely by doing something outside the scope of either series. But considering that's what the MaSatOGs are doing and people aren't really satisfied with that, I doubt it'd satisfy people looking for a "real" crossover.

edit: Although, there is another option I didn't consider...pull a Heroes Advance 3 er, can someone give me a teamwork kinda game that doesn't suck eggs? Uh...Banjo-Kazooie, kinda maybe not really but...? ...anyway point is, instead of trying to make one truly unified gameplay style, or simply placing the two different styles back-to-back, you go for more of a loose intertwining of styles and let the player switch between characters as is necessary. Take a Sonic and Mario game, for example; when you get to a big hilly area, switch to Sonic and use his speed and rolling, when you get to a tighter area that you need to climb up, switch to Mario and make use of his jumping skills. This isn't an "easy" solution, though; you still need two series with enough overlap that the areas flow well and so there are places where you can choose by preference rather than being forced, but they also need to have separate, fitting, and clearly-defined roles rather than having one dominate the bulk of the gameplay and the other being largely dead weight.

Edited by Diogenes, 17 November 2011 - 04:41 AM.

[Chaos Nightmare Moon]

Sonic vs. DC comics.

Awesomeness

Shadow vs. batman ftw.

[Dr. Crusher]

Sonic vs. DC comics.

Awesomeness

Shadow vs. batman ftw.

No.

Mephiles VS Calendar Man.

[The future]

A Sonic/ Mario crossover would be great. Imagine Knuckles battling Wario? Sonic going head-on against Bowser? Tails against goombas?

or Mario going against Metal Sonic?


and the powerups would be godly.

[midori]

If nobody seems to care about JSR, then I'll add ChuChu Rocket to the list. A Sonic and ChuChu Rocket crossover! Tails has a Chu² bomb in Sonic Battle already, so the game could be about directing the bombs on robots before Time Eater clones eat them! Brilliant!

[Tmsp]

A Sonic/Rayman one would be cool.
After playing Rayman Origins I can kinda see it working with Rayman new fancy pants style gameplay.

[ForgeCircuit]

Sega vs Capcom.

roster would include
Ryo, Lan Di, Chai, Quizhan (Shenmue)
Hotsuma (Shinobi)
Akira, Dural, Kage-maru (Virtua Fighter)
Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, Dr. Eggman (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Alex Kidd (Alex Kidd)
Axel, Blaze, Skate, Max, Shiva, Mr. X (Streets of Rage)

I would buy that i a heartbeat

[JezMM]

Man, I am such a grinch when it comes to this sort of fanwankery. I can't imagine Sonic being a "perfect fit" for any of the other franchises mentioned here, Banjo-Kazooie only fit in to All-Stars Racing to me because it was lots of different franchises already. I'm not sure how Mario and Sonic get away with it but it's probably because it's a party game. I still don't know if I'd even want a crossover platformer with these guys. I'd rather Mario be Mario and Sonic be Sonic, and keep them on mutual ground for the crossovers.

Edited by JezMM, 20 November 2011 - 01:37 PM.

[Gabe]

Yeah, I miss when Rare was allowed to make multi-platform games. Heck, I miss the times when Rare actually made games.

*sigh*

You're not alone. Unfortunately, the Rare you speak of is long gone. *thinks about GoldenEye 007 and Diddy Kong Racing*

Anyway, the only thing i can think up is crossover fighting games a la SSBB, crossover racing games, or crossover platformers.