Crossovers can be a beautiful thing. They can also feel like the drunken ramblings of a madman come to life by some stroke of fate. And I don’t just mean things like Smash Bros, Mario & Sonic, or Mario + Rabbids; everyone knows about those by now. There are some crossovers out there, some quite recent, that you wouldn’t imagine in your wildest dreams. I’m gonna talk about four of them here, and these are not just simple guest appearances in games that can otherwise do without them:
**[Mario X Puzzles & Dragons](https://youtu.be/OkDxCwg0U4Q):** P&D is an incredibly popular mobile puzzle game in Japan, and it got a crossover with Mario in 2015 for the 3DS. It’s a mix of a three-match puzzle game and a monster collecting RPG, and in the Mario version the monsters you collect are Mario baddies, like a Koopa riding a Cheep Cheep. I’m not a big puzzle guy myself, but I do enjoy Dr. Mario from time to time. This series is still going on the Switch today, but they haven’t taken a stab at another Mario collaboration since. It’s pretty cheap on the eShop!
**[Zelda X Crypt of the NecroDancer](https://youtu.be/oYd_pph6RnI):** Crypt was a rhythm-based roguelike that originally came out in the mid-2010s, with music done by the composer for Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac. One morning in 2019 during the Nindies Direct that also announced Cuphead for Switch, Nintendo and developer Brace Yourself Games drunkenly stumbled in and announced their lovechild, Cadence of Hyrule, a sequel to Crypt that would be a collaboration with Zelda. It was released in June with a DLC season pass coming the following year.
**[Pokemon X Nobunaga’s Ambition](https://youtu.be/SaG5c-hZNBU):** Let’s take one of the most accessible RPG series around and combine it with one of the most complicated genres in gaming. Pokemon Conquest was announced and quietly released in 2012 for the DS, a whole year after the 3DS was out. This combined the vast roster, type matching, and evolutions of the core Pokemon games with the grid based map of a tactical RPG and set it in a region inspired by feudal Japan. And the story actually treats Arceus with more gravitas and respect than anything else up to that point! This was a key player in Nintendo and Koei Tecmo’s relationship, as it would eventually lead to the Nintendo Warriors games and KT’s involvement for Fire Emblem Three Houses.
**[Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei](https://youtu.be/L_gYQCOlW9E):** So funny story. Atlus originally pitched this idea as a crossover between Fire Emblem and Pokemon, but the aforementioned Pokemon Conquest was already in production at that time. So a crossover with SMT it was then. Atlus was given free reign to create an RPG they never had before, so wave goodbye to the demons and phallic monsters of the SMT series and say hello to the bubbly pop idols and bright colors of contemporary Tokyo! This would give the game its namesake: Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Gameplay relies on the traditional “press turn” system of previous MegaTen titles, only now with combo extenders called Session attacks and Fire Emblem’s weapon triangle. Also your party members wield FE characters as JoJo stands, and Marth goes Super Saiyan and sings in Japanese at one point.
by Asad_Farooqui
24 Comments
Let’s not forget the Mario and Dragon Quest crossover about property management and stocks: Fortune Street.
I haven’t played the Mario x Puzzles one but the other three are very good games imo.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions was something else! Bright and colorful, but I felt the battle system was a bit obtuse compared to its respective predecessors. Or maybe it was the Persona-esque style of your FE, but something about it just rubbed me the wrong way, and I’m a fan of both FE and SMT/Persona. I don’t think I specifically was in the intended audience but I support the massive balls they had to release such a game, to critical acclaim no less!
What about something like Captain Rainbow ? Does that count
Mario P&D becomes pretty challenging and can sometimes become a bit grind-heavy. I like that about it.
We all know Mario + Rabbids is the absolute wildest. Taking the Mario gang, throwing them in a Ubisoft game with a universally hated secondary meme character of a dead game series, making it a tactical turn-based affair, AND GIVING MARIO AN EFFING GUN
God Pokémon Conquest was one of the greatest games ever made. So freaking great. And it had a perfect roster of Pokés too.
This more a Capcom crossover game on a Nintendo console but Project X Zone was a pretty decent action rpg on the 3ds.
I’m think Star Atlas would fall into this category with the Star Fox crossover. I’ll also throw in the Mario Bros crossover with NBA Street. And Link showing up in SoulCalibur as a fighter.
Did you know about Mario x skylanders
Skylanders is an old toys to life game that got a crossover with Mario in its fifth entry which added bowser and donkey Kong as playable characters with their own figures that even function as amiibo as well
*Ahem*
Mario Sports Mix
Where you fight Behemoth with the power of SPORTS
SSX on Tour had Mario, Peach and Luigi as playable characters
The Pokémon crossover absolutely broke my heart. I expected it to be Final Fantasy Tactics with the art style, ohhhhhh how disappointed I was when my Pokémon could only learn one move! I was forever betrayed. 😢 Taught me to wait for games to be out and watch proper post-release reviews.
Not to the same degree, and it sort of makes sense, but I do find it hilarious that you can drive Mercedes Benz cars in Mario Kart 8.
I really need to get around to playing Tokyo Mirage Sessions. I bought it on Wii U shortly after Super Best Friends had started it, because I passed on it originally, but didn’t actually play it. And then bought the Switch version when it came out, and still haven’t gotten around to it.
My list of JRPGs to play keeps getting bigger D:
Y’all sleeping on that Mario basketball crossover with Square Enix. Moogle dunking on the whole cast is just funny af.
How about *Fortune Street* and *Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix*?
Tetris DS was pretty awesome.
What about Wario Blast, a bomber man game with Wario in it.
Tokyo mirage sessions was an amazing game I really wish if they could make a sequel 🥺
Oh well I guess I could just replay it again 🥲
I’m genuinely curious how a Legend of Zelda x Fire Emblem game would go.
nowadays we really just accept that mario and sonic only really cross over in minigame collections based on the olympic games huh
Mario x P&D (specifically P&D Z) is hands down my favorite puzzle game. It’s so underrated it has to be a crime. Actually the Mario P&D game is balls hard but fun. P&D Z is more balanced and I found it tj be more enjoyable.
It’s a shame because the 3ds was THE hardware for these games. Also they released a sequel, P&D X but it was Japan exclusive. It was the fame that had me seriously consider importing a Japanese 3DS.
Not a cross over, but Link had a cameo in soul caliber 2.