If Sonic crossed over with a seemingly really unfitting franchise...

[Big Panda]

You know the Kingdom Hearts series, right? The video game series that merges the universes of Disney and Final Fantasy? The crossover that sounds like total madness when put down on paper, but surprisingly actually work really damn well together?

Well, what if Sonic entered into a crossover like that? What other franchise (any media, not just videogames) that is completely different from the stuff you'd ever see in Sonic, do you think could actually work surprisingly well when done right?

[MightyRay]

For some bizzare reason I kept thinking up a Sonic X Gears of War crossover. I'd called it Freaks of War. You basically picked your Gear then you had a small team of Sonic characters to tag along with you. You then could use the characters in different ways i.e. if your Gear was stuck on a cliff and couldn't get down you'd get a Fly type to lower you down or lift you higher. Power types could build walls to give you cover. Speed types would distract the enemy while you do your thing. The game would feel like an Ratchet and Clank game in tone for the most part. 

Also if you gave Tails enough parts from the robots you smashed up he could upgrade your weapons for better usage. And the special stages your gear would get a special jet pack and would have to fly through rings to catch the emerald with a Sonic character on top grabbing rings to keep your jet pack going.

I have no idea if this could be done right if at all since both franchises are WORLDS apart from each other but I reckon it could. I kind of misread what you were ask there Earnest-Panda so sorry if this post looks out of place.

[Stardust]

That's a great question, but I'm afraid it's a difficult one to answer. At least for me, that is. The comics did a crossover with Megaman. I don't know how the fans responded to that, but it was a clever way to get Sonic to become popular within a larger fanbase.

But to make an in-game crossover, where characters visit Sonic's universe wouldn't quite work. It's a very specific universe, with peculiar laws and bizarre elements when compared to other franchises. Giant loops, ring collecting, talking hedgehogs that are super fast, a mad scientist that roboticizes animals, etc. The speed element would be a major hindrance. Can you imagine Samus Aran travelling in Sonic's speed? Or Mario? Everything is built very specifically to suit Sonic's speed. So unless you reshape that world to be more welcoming to other styles of gameplay and/or give Sonic new abilities, so he can adapt well to new worlds where running and spin dash don't do the job on their own, then it won't work.  

Sonic's personality is also typically aloof, happy-go-along, with no past and no memory that gives him an identity, which makes it difficult for him to solidify an interaction with other characters, who have a past, a history built in a stream of games they were on, dreams and ambitions that are all too familiar for players. Sonic is the very opposite of all that in the sense that "he's your generic hero, a goody two-shoes that sprung out of nowhere to defeat the villain and save the day".  

The only way I see it working is if Sonic and his friends are themselves transported to another universe - or universes - and made to interact with the heroes - and villains - of that universe in order to return to their own world. Ironically, that was the premise of Sonic X. And in a way, it's also the premise of Kingdom Hearts.

For a crossover to work, it would be necessary to develop a minimal history for Sonic and friends, one that gives the hedgehog all that's been missing so far: a childhood, a life of his own and clearly defined episodes of how he met his friends. Considering the story between all games is fragmented, it would be a formidable task for any writer. The fact is, Sonic needs to have a leitmotif other than "defeat Eggman". And he doesn't have it. Not in the games, where he was born.

We're nearing Sonic's 25th Anniversary and he's still just "that blue hedgehog that runs super fast and defeats Eggman." Even Mario has a tad bit of history: he was a plumber before becoming a hero. He led a boring life, like so many of us. He's understandable as a character. Maybe it's a stupid reason, created to justify why his travelling method is a mysterious green plumbing system that leads everywhere. But in the end, that's better than Sonic's non-existent life, because at least it gives the players something to work with.

 

So to answer your question: either Sonic's world starts having a history other than Sonic vs Eggman or a crossover is only possible if it repeats the premise of Sonic X, where Sonic and pals land on another hero's universe and the story starts from there.

[Big Panda]

Just a reminder that it doesn't have to be an in-universe thing. The universe of Kingdom Hearts is entirely its own thing, without it being canon to other Disney or Final Fantasy stuff.

In other words, it could he an entirely new universe where Sonic characters and the whatever-franchise characters coexist.

[Hyp3hat]

They'd have to cross over with something where anthro animals wouldn't seem.... super out of place? I mean, the most difficult enemies I've encountered so far in FFVII alone are a sentient wall and five frogs, never mind the Triceratops Tank and Russian Doll. Disney isn't so incongruous, even with the separate universe caveat. 

That said, I'm stumped.

 

 

 

[Haalyle]

Don't know if it has to do with me going from Resident Evil to Sonic, but I often think about what a crossover of Sonic and Resident Evil would be like.

Not kids rated, that's for sure.

[Blacklightning]

You know it's kinda strange how people advocate a platforming Mario/Sonic crossover so much, because there's practically no middle ground between them. Sonic controls loose and fast, Mario is tight and blocky - either you make a game in which the level design favours one a hell of a lot more than the other, or you compromise with the equivalent of some kind of bland grey sludge for levels which appeals to nobody. Blech.

But as long as we're going completely silly and unrealistic anyway, part of me is kinda curious how Sonic would work in a Prototype-like setup. There's a lot of fancy running involved, fighting is often really dynamic and can range from punchy dodgy stuff to jump kicking some unfortunate sod from a whole fucking city block away - if Sonic is ever to have a combat-focused game, it really ought to have that kind of scope to it. It's only in the tonal sense of the games that the comparison starts falling apart =V

[Diogenes]

It's been done before, and I'm not really sure it qualifies as "really unfitting", but I still think Sonic and Megaman mesh surprisingly well, aside from their gameplay. Blue main character, mad scientist villain, robot enemies, genius ally, red ally that you sometimes butt heads with, black rival that you sometimes cooperate with, etc.

2 hours ago, Stardust said:

Can you imagine Samus Aran travelling in Sonic's speed?

Yeah, speed booster upgrade.

2 hours ago, Stardust said:

For a crossover to work, it would be necessary to develop a minimal history for Sonic and friends, one that gives the hedgehog all that's been missing so far: a childhood, a life of his own and clearly defined episodes of how he met his friends.

I don't...what? Why is this required for a crossover?

[Tara]

If the New 52 weren't so awful, I think a Sonic and Batman crossover would be pretty cool. (Note: For once, I'm not referring to the animated series or kid-friendly incarnations of Batman such as the Lego brand)  Namely, because  I feel like even with differing ideologies, Sonic and Batman would actually get along fairly well, so it wouldn't be a complete retread of the whole Batman v. Superman rivalry.  And I mean, it's not like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (who actually are currently engaged in a crossover with Batman at the moment) are any more fitting or less out of place.  So it would be just a fun little thing.  Not something I would want to be canon, but why the heck not, you know?

Well, a good number of reasons why not, but still.

I'm not sure if Jet Set Radio counts as a totally unfitting franchise or not.  The game is also made by Sega, and the tonality isn't too far removed from Sonic, but the gameplay styles and plot synopses do radically contrast with each other.  The gameplay would probably compliment Sonic, though, and it would be interesting to see Sonic's take on taking down a corrupt government regime through acts of petty vandalism.  Plus, it would make for some cool collab music from Jet Set Radio and Sonic Rush's composers. XP

[Drawloverlala]

ohh i reminded the Angry birds crossover! ahahah

it wasn't pleasant to me, the birds' 3d animations were kinda creepy and akward XD and then there it wasn't way to quit them from the characters selection.. we had to delete the apk.. XD  (besides it was getting boring )

ohh but well... a well ejecuted possible crossover with something un-fitting... um... dunno.. like i don't really see Sonic teaming up with other franchises outside Nintendo and Sega ones and  Pacman  or Megaman ..or crash.. or something like Ratchet and Clank or Jack ...

but if its well ejecuted of course it would be interesting..

 

 

 

 

[Heckboy]

6 minutes ago, Blacklightning said:

You know it's kinda strange how people advocate a platforming Mario/Sonic crossover so much, because there's practically no middle ground between them. Sonic controls loose and fast, Mario is tight and blocky - either you make a game in which the level design favours one a hell of a lot more than the other, or you compromise with the equivalent of some kind of bland grey sludge for levels which appeals to nobody. Blech.

Actually, I wonder how a Mario/Sonic RPG would turn out. Like a Mario & Luigi sort of game, but featuring Sonic characters and elements. Granted, Sonic doesn't have the same history with RPGs that Mario does, but still...

 

1 minute ago, Diogenes said:

2 hours ago, Stardust said:

For a crossover to work, it would be necessary to develop a minimal history for Sonic and friends, one that gives the hedgehog all that's been missing so far: a childhood, a life of his own and clearly defined episodes of how he met his friends.

I don't...what? Why is this required for a crossover?

I'm kind of confused, too. All you'd need for a crossover (this type, at least) is a general idea of what type of person he and the others are, not some super-complex, cohesive mythology with a hard timeline. Knowing where he was born (Christmas Island, for the record) and how he met Tails are pretty irrelevant -- it's the characters' personalities and interactions with others that make them interesting, IMO. I'd even argue that Sonic's personality is more defined than Mario.

Besides, I personally don't think Sonic is the type of character that absolutely needs a concrete backstory. Like, his whole character is built on the fact that he's an adventurer who lives without regrets -- he doesn't have time to look back since he keeps moving forward. I mean, there's some old material that mentions he was born on Christmas Island before his love for travel called him away, and that's not much more complicated than "Mario was a plumber, then he became a hero."

[Dizcrybe]

Sonic X Zootopia. Sonic has anthros, Zootopia has anthros. Beyond that, I dunno how it'd work out, but it's a start at least.

[KHCast]

The Flash episode of Supergirl had little to no backstory for Barry, and it still worked. You don't always need to set up backstory and catch up pieces for crossovers to work. 

 

As for the topic at hand, hmm, I wouldn't mind a Sonic X Power Rangers crossover. Idk, oddly enough it seems like it'd mesh well. 

 

Also Metal Gear and Sonic would be pretty funny to see. After the codec dialogue in Brawl, could be interesting to see how Snake would interact with Son-ohwaitKonami. Nevermind.

[Big Panda]

15 hours ago, Blacklightning said:

You know it's kinda strange how people advocate a platforming Mario/Sonic crossover so much, because there's practically no middle ground between them. Sonic controls loose and fast, Mario is tight and blocky - either you make a game in which the level design favours one a hell of a lot more than the other, or you compromise with the equivalent of some kind of bland grey sludge for levels which appeals to nobody. Blech.

But as long as we're going completely silly and unrealistic anyway, part of me is kinda curious how Sonic would work in a Prototype-like setup. There's a lot of fancy running involved, fighting is often really dynamic and can range from punchy dodgy stuff to jump kicking some unfortunate sod from a whole fucking city block away - if Sonic is ever to have a combat-focused game, it really ought to have that kind of scope to it. It's only in the tonal sense of the games that the comparison starts falling apart =V

Make it like Sonic Generations: Mario and Sonic both have different types of gameplay, and they go through locations from both universes, but the gameplay changes to suit the hero regardless of what universe it's from. For example: a Mario-fied Green Hill Zone.

[Nepenthe]

Again, I feel like a Mario and Sonic crossover could work if you just treated it like a remade Banjo-Kazooie or even a good Sonic Heroes (and honestly I feel like the platformer genre could've expanded in interesting ways with the "two character" sub-genre but I digress): Keep the characters together, either through some magical force or just silly animations where they grab each other to lead the other through their obstacles, so that the player is in effect controlling a single entity with a plethora of different moves at their disposal with which levels are to be designed around. Give Sonic the running and speed options and some aerial assault abilities a la Kazooie, and give Mario the basic platforming, jumping, and swimming abilities a la Banjo. Throw in some context sensitive moves that make use of their abilities around the field in unique ways, such as dash pads or warp pipes, as well as items like costume suits and skateboards. I think it could've been really fun. Banjo Kazooie is still certainly a riot even to this day.

[Dejimon11]

5 hours ago, Nepenthe said:

Again, I feel like a Mario and Sonic crossover could work if you just treated it like a remade Banjo-Kazooie or even a good Sonic Heroes (and honestly I feel like the platformer genre could've expanded in interesting ways with the "two character" sub-genre but I digress): Keep the characters together, either through some magical force or just silly animations where they grab each other to lead the other through their obstacles, so that the player is in effect controlling a single entity with a plethora of different moves at their disposal with which levels are to be designed around. Give Sonic the running and speed options and some aerial assault abilities a la Kazooie, and give Mario the basic platforming, jumping, and swimming abilities a la Banjo. Throw in some context sensitive moves that make use of their abilities around the field in unique ways, such as dash pads or warp pipes, as well as items like costume suits and skateboards. I think it could've been really fun. Banjo Kazooie is still certainly a riot even to this day.

You know i always thought about them doing it the generations style of gameplay except Sonic goes through Mario themed stages and vise versa but actually this doesn't sound like a bad idea. I haven't played a Banjo game the closest to that was DK64 but the general complaints that I've heard from that series is that Banjo really felt useless and Kazooie was doing most of the work. I would have it be split 50/50 between the two. 

[Nepenthe]

In the first game, Kazooie is good for speeding things up if you want to run, swim fast, or get up a steep incline, but honestly her best moves are context sensitive (flying, high jump) or based on items (speed shoes and protective boots). Banjo pulls his weight considering you have better control of him when platforming, his rolling move is more useful than Kazooie's arsenal for taking on ground enemies or opening beehives, and he can climb up trees and pipes, which is more useful considering the jiggies you need for full completion are commonly found up in higher areas without access to a flight pad. Also, he is the character you take control of during Mumbo's transformations.

Can't tell you about the second because honestly the level design was so frustrating I couldn't continue for too long. =P

[Salamander]

I wonder if merging Disney and Final Fantasy is quite so outlandish as is presented above.  After all, both are actually very broad franchises containing many different worlds and types of story.  This suggests that, if you were to try to cross Sonic over with something "unfitting," you might also want to pick a franchise with more of a multiverse than any central organising narrative.

With that said, I too would like to see a Sonic/Mario crossover that actually crosses them over; merged level tropes, badnik versions of regular Mario enemies and magic versions of regular Sonic badniks, an Eggmobile Clown Car, that sort of thing.  Visually, probably musically too, it has the opportunity to be really quite fresh and original.

[SBR2]

23 hours ago, KHCast said:

 

As for the topic at hand, hmm, I wouldn't mind a Sonic X Power Rangers crossover. Idk, oddly enough it seems like it'd mesh well. 

 

 

I'd love that. For obvious reason's but I think it'd need to play on the stupid "Power Rangers Killed SatAM" mentality that a lot of SatAM fans have. Boom and Archie could do it as a mini-series.

For me Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be one I'd also love to see. Outside of being anthros they don't have too much in common but I could see those worlds meshing really well. Maybe have the Turtles go to Sonic's World and feel tempted to stay because it's a world they don't have to hide in.

[Multikaris]

Sonic and Ren and Stimpy.

 

Ren and Stimpy get drafted into Robotnik's forces to collect animals on the Lost Hex. After three solid hours of this, with plenty of typical R&S interactions, they get to go back to Robotnik's base, and there they end up taking an interest in the women on board the Robotnik operations. Robotnik finds a point to sending the pair out on sundry missions in various places. Meanwhile, Mr. Horse opens up a new shop somewhere on Mobius. Mr. Horse now receives Fiona Fox among his new patients. Reverend Jack Cheese ends up hiring Shade to experiment in high-tech advertising, and the Chaotix as general workers. Coral suddenly becomes fond of Muddy Mudskipper. Ren and Stimpy soon decide to take Cassia and Clove home with them, but under the threat of Roboticization, Sonic and Powdered Toast Man save them. Tails hears of the History Eraser Button and tries to get rid of things in life that didn't pan out well. Sven Hoek ends up having to stay with Sticks the Badger for a night, and they both become friends.  (And then George Liquor has a love affair with Lara-Su) Of course, none of this is canon.

 

And I second the Sonic and TMNT crossover.

[AdventChild]

Sonic and DMC. Despite one being lighthearted and the other being a bit darker.

> Starring a fun loving, snarky and fast paced hero in a game with fast paced and stylish action. Check.

> Has a brooding and angst 'Twin' that wants to destroy or beat the hero. Check.

And just have Platinum Games take care of the action beat em up/hack-and-slash gameplay and blend and balance out the dark and light aspects of each franchise and it'll be a great crossover. Well, it'll be better than RoL nonetheless.

[Singapore Sling]

On 4/23/2016 at 3:07 PM, Ernest-Panda said:

You know the Kingdom Hearts series, right? The video game series that merges the universes of Disney and Final Fantasy? The crossover that sounds like total madness when put down on paper, but surprisingly actually work really damn well together?

Kingdom Hearts makes perfect sense on paper (Disney and Final Fantasy are both inherently derivative foundations adapting or remixing old stories or old archetypes; is there REALLY a difference between the 80's "Greed is Good" influenced Aladdin and FF's Gilgamesh, at their core?), but in execution is stupid anime bullshit that has nothing to do with what either Disney or Final Fantasy were originally about. So I question your premise.

That being said, Square should make a Sonic game set in the Fabula Nova Crystalis setting for absolutely no reason. Or if they have to give it a reason, make it as arbitrary as possible.