Crossovers happen all the time. Love them or hate them, it's a chance to see how beloved (or reviled) characters would fare outside their element. Whether it's Mario and Sonic competing for the gold at the Olympics or Isabelle trouncing Solid Snake in Super Smash Brothers, sometimes it turns out a character missed their calling.
We've taken a look at some iconic heroes, anti-heroes, and even villains to see which characters would do well in a different genre from their own game. We probably won't see any of these prospects become reality anytime soon, but it's certainly fun to imagine!
6 Sabin (Final Fantasy 6) Belongs In A Fighting Game
One of Final Fantasy 6's many heroes is Sabin Rene Figaro, a musclebound prince who gave up his royal status to seek inner peace through martial arts. He's utterly selfless, loyal to his friends, and strong enough to hold up a house (which, yes, he does during the game). Sabin's discipline and physical prowess put him on the same level as Street Fighter stalwarts Ryu and Ken, but the similarities don't stop there.
In his game, Sabin's unique battle command is Blitz, which allows the player to access a variety of moves by entering fighting-game-style button combinations. One of his starting moves, Aura Bolt, even uses the same inputs as the famous Hadoken. Between his brawn, his personality, and his fighting style, Sabin would probably fare better in a fighting game than he did as a JRPG hero - and that's saying something.
5 Mike Haggar (Final Fight) Would Dominate City Management Sims
Final Fight is a classic arcade beat-'em-up, and its best-known character is undoubtedly Mike Haggar. A professional wrestler who was elected mayor of Metro City, Haggar makes it his business to clean up crime personally, one pile-driver at a time. Presumably, he takes some time away from busting skulls in the name of justice to actually run the city, too.
Considering that Haggar was mayor for at least six years (the original Final Fight debuted in 1989 and Final Fight 3 was released in 1995), we know that he was re-elected at least once since mayoral terms in Japan - where the game was made - are four years long. The series also canonically takes place in the Street Fighter universe, and a statue of Haggar can be seen in the background of the construction site stage in Street Fighter 4. Clearly, Haggar did a good enough job as mayor to not only get a second term but also to have a statue erected.
All this is to say Haggar would make a fantastic player advisor in city-builders like SimCity or Cities: Skylines. Heck, his presence alone should be enough to reduce crime rates - after seeing what he did to the Mad Gear Gang, felons would give his city a wide berth.
4 Eggman (Sonic the Hedgehog) Would Run A Mean Factory
Sonic's nemesis may be a megalomaniacal buffoon, but his ability to mass-produce robots is second to none. No matter how many times his plans are foiled, Eggman always manages to get the resources to create more gargantuan facilities and mechanized guards, seemingly on his own. With that kind of ability to plan and automate assembly on a massive scale, Eggman would be a wonder at games like Satisfactory or Factorio.
It's unclear if the convoluted designs of Eggman's facilities are meant to enhance production or simply there to make it harder for Sonic to infiltrate them. You wouldn't expect a shuttle loop to have any place in a robot factory, but for all his bluster Eggman is still a genius - maybe those loops are particle accelerators or some other fancy gadgets. Even if they're simply cosmetic, the intricate, outside-the-box builds of Eggman's projects would be even more marvelous to behold in a factory sim.
3 Doomguy (Doom) Would Be The Terror Of The Nether
It's already well-established that Doomguy, AKA the Doom Slayer, is a force of destruction in first-person. The original FPS protagonist has been violently dismantling the forces of Hell since 1993. He'd make the transition to Minecraft with ease, though it's questionable how much crafting he'd realistically do. Doomguy would quickly adapt to Minecraft's health and armor system, which is somewhat similar to that from his own game, and start obliterating every mob in sight.
The lack of his usual arsenal likely wouldn't faze Doomguy - once he figures out how to make swords and bows, he'll leave a trail of bloody pixels in his wake. While he's probably wary of constructing inter-dimensional portals given his previous experiences with them, once a Nether Portal is up and running Doomguy will be right back where he belongs - slaying demons on their home turf. Finding the Citadel and unlocking the End Portal is in many ways just a classic Doom level - find the keys, open the door, rush to the exit, all while killing monsters. The Ender Dragon doesn't stand a chance.
2 The Payday Gang (Payday) Would Be The Guild To Beat In Any MMO
The sharply-dressed, masked criminals of Payday are among the most brazen, successful thieves the gaming world has ever seen. Whether they're knocking over a jewelry store for some quick cash or executing a carefully-planned heist that could alter the course of history, the Payday Gang has shown time and again that nothing will get between them and their next big score. The nature of their game means that their playgrounds are limited in scope, constraining the havoc they wreak to a relatively small area. Giving them free rein to explore the world and plunder it as they see fit would lead to pure, unending anarchy across the server.
While their talents are probably best-suited to crime MMOs like GTA Online or ruthless, cutthroat games like EVE Online, Dallas and his cohorts would be just as successful in more traditional entries like Final Fantasy 14. Their coordination and calm under pressure make them the ultimate raid guild - they've already faced off against SWAT teams dozens of times, so why should they be afraid of dragons and the like?
1 Andrew Ryan (Bioshock) Would Destroy Gaming And The Planet Via Exploitative Blockchain Games
Andrew Ryan is one of the most enduring villains in gaming, despite only appearing in person once. The Bioshock mastermind built himself an undersea paradise free from the constraints of oversight, regulations, and basic human morality. Even if he and Rapture had survived, it's unlikely he would have lived to see the rise of the blockchain as he would have been well over 100 by now. That's a good thing because if anyone would have found the surest way to make a buck off of crypto and NFTs at the expense of everyone and everything around him, it would have been Andrew Ryan.
A devoted libertarian inspired by the works of Ayn Rand, Ryan would have been an early adopter of cryptocurrencies - heck, given his prowess he might have invented them before the turn of the twenty-first century. He certainly wouldn't shy away from suckering people into paying thousands of dollars for literally nothing, or from announcing projects then vanishing with investors' money. If he got caught, he'd probably just start moralizing about objectivism and claim it was his victims' fault for being so gullible.
Game publishers from Ubisoft to Team17 would seek Ryan's guidance on incorporating blockchain and NFT technology into their games, and he'd convince them to kindly stay the course despite player and developer protests. Given that everything about Ryan's philosophy is unsustainable (which was largely the entire point of his game), the whole thing would eventually collapse around him, and he would remain unapologetic and defiant to the end.