[SiegfriedFM]

Updated on 2012-03-25 to include a ton of Taito's older titles, more Sega crossovers including Bayonetta and Phantasy Star (which I still need more actual crossovers from, I can't believe all those costumes are the only thing it gets) and more from Koei.

Blog update (beardednerd.se)

Direct link to Universal Game Crossover Chart 1.15 (now on Picpar for hopefully stable non-compressed hosting)


(older versions below)

Another update, mostly adding Ubisoft and loads of rearrangements for better readability. I'm thinking that Phantasy Star Online/Universe/Portable has a load of crossovers but I don't have a comprehensive list, can anyone help? Only characters or creatures actually appearing, not just references, pictures or mentions. Blog update (beardednerd.se) Direct link to Universal Game Crossover Chart 1.14 (Imgur)

Well, of course the last edition of the Universal Game Crossover Chart wasn’t complete. I’ve spent the last few months improving it further. Notable additions include the Wai Wai series at Konami (connecting a whole bunch of new titles), a whole lot of Data East titles that actually crossed over with SNK at one point, the addition of the Queen’s Gate series which pulls together girls from all kinds of games including Arc Systems’ fighters, more Sega stuff and generally new updates here and there. The point of this chart, for those of you new here, is to track all the instances of franchise crossovers, where characters not normally appearing in each other’s universe do so. I’m only counting where characters or creatures actually show up, not when costumes, pictures or other references appear. Adaptations of characters to fit in the new universe are accepted. For example, Sackboy being able to dress up as Ryu doesn’t mean there’s a crossover between Little Big Planet and Street Fighter, but Sackboy appearing as a playable (blocky) character in 3D Dot Game Heroes does. Blog post here Full version of the Universal Game Crossover Chart 1.13 here (hosted at imgur.com)

Based on a huge amount of tips and suggestions from NeoGAF, as well as some additional research, I can now present the updated version of the Universal Game Crossover Chart. Loads of new games have been added along with a few more companies. Some unknown connections caused a major headache, like Mega Man having to have a connection to Boktai and Wario once meeting Bomberman. The fact that Xenosaga characters appeared in Super Robot Wars also presented a challenge, although as with Marvel, Disney and DC I'm only making a brief list of non-game properties. The biggest "oh crap" moment was probably when I found out about Captain Rainbow and Konami Krazy Racing. Like Namco x Capcom they include tons of really old and obscure characters. In fact much like Epic Mickey. Oh, forget I said that. Version 1.20, I guess. For those who missed the first version, the idea is to track and visualize every time a character from a game has appeared in another game, either by the same developer or another one entirely. To keep this somewhat approachable I'm not counting minor cameos like pictures (including cards), outfits or other mentions. A character or a creature has to be there for it to count. This very much limits the connections of Little Big Planet and Monster Hunter, among others. I also added pictures to major crossover series or just when I felt I could spare the space. Hopefully this gives a better overview of how complex this web really is. (link removed for filthy ads, sorry)

(Crossposted from my (mostly Swedish language) blog The Bearded Nerd to get feedback from omniscient GAF.) For years now, we've been seeing crossovers and various guest apperances in games. It's not a new phenomenon, it's been happening for ages in comics and sometimes also in movies (for example in Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Crossovers are often a good thing, it lets you meet your favourite characters in a new setting and see how they interact with unfamiliar faces. It can also, which is obviously one of the reasons for crossing over, make you interested in the other side which you might not have known before. With the increase in crossovers lately, I felt that it would be interesting to visualize just how complex the web of crossovers has become, and also to make kind of a relation chart. In Hollywood terms, can you figure out a "Kevin Bacon index" based on Mario? Or perhaps more fitting, on Ryu? It's also interesting to see that practically every major franchise is somehow connected. To make this anywhere near readable, I've set some limitations. Some links I simply left out, such as Final Fight and Darkstalkers also appearing in Namco x Capcom, and some redundant crossovers like Tekken x Street Fighter and SNK vs Capcom. I'm only listing crossovers happening between series - some series like Final Fantasy have their own internal crossovers as well. I'm not listing crossovers happening in other mediums, like Civil War in Marvel Comics. There is also a definition of what it takes for a game to have a crossover: a character or creature from a game must appear in another game "in person". Mentions, artwork, unlockable costumes or other minor tributes don't count, or Little Big Planet would crossover with everything. However, the characters may appear in another form, like Liquid Snake appears as a cardboard character in Little Big Planet. This chart is created basically off hand and looking up character lists on Wikipedia. There are bound to be countless additions or corrections to be made, and it will be updated as more games are added (The most recent link between Metroid and Dead or Alive needs to be confirmed, for example). What I would really like is some way to link Half-Life (and thus the indie games) to some other series. So, what do you think? Chart here (a reliable imagehost that doesn't shrink my picture would also be nice): http://i54.************/2rzf72q.png

[Stumpokapow]

I'd consider adding Sony but other than that great job. welp, I'm dumb.

Also posting to express my opinion that crossovers are universally awful in plot-based games but okay in non-plot based games.

[Penguin]

I'd consider adding Sony but other than that great job. Also posting to express my opinion that crossovers are universally awful in plot-based games but okay in non-plot based games.

Isn't Sony there?

Or am I missing something.

[SiegfriedFM]

Did you get some non-Sony version without them in the upper left part of the chart? They're there.

[Gravijah]

I'd consider adding Sony but other than that great job.

yeah and where's nintendo ;(

[Stumpokapow]

Did you get some non-Sony version without them in the upper left part of the chart? They're there.

Oh man talk about stupid. I didn't blow up the shrunk version and didn't make them out. Grooooan.

[Visualante]

Might have more luck trawling wikipedia or GiantBomb for the 'also appears in' for certain characters. Blizzard's games have a number of references, to Portal and Plants vs. Zombies. There's probably more.

[Pipomantis]

I need to understand

Kane & Lynch
|
Tomb Raider
|
Legacy of Kain

[snap0212]

On Kotaku in 3...2...

[water_wendi]

Nice work. It might be on there but i just couldnt find it.. Battletoads and Double Dragon is one that immediately comes to mind when someone says video game crossover.

Oh.. also Unreal and Mortal Kombat.

[SiegfriedFM]

I'm not counting references, and if two games just crossover with other games by the same developer I leave them out (like Altair in Prince of Persia, and loads of Taito franchises with Bubble Bobble).

Now if we'd get an actual GlaDOS hanging around in Stormwind somewhere, then WoW would certainly qualify.

[kassatsu]

I need to understand Kane & Lynch | Tomb Raider | Legacy of Kain

Characters from Legacy of Kain and Kane & Lynch are in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

[snoopeasystreet]

Looking good.

Raiden from Mortal Kombat was in Unreal Championship 2. So there's a Epic - Netherrealm link.

[Gribbix]

Altair's outfit is unlockable in MGS4. Similarly, there's an unlockable Raiden skin in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

[Pipomantis]

Oh, nice!

Thank you very much :)

[Spwn]

Doesn't MGS4 have Assassin's Creed's Altair's costume and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood has Raiden (or his suit) as an unlockable outfit?

edit: Too slow!

Oh, right! Sam & Max (season 3?) did have a very important Team Fortress cameo: The dispenser!

[SiegfriedFM]

Taking down notes, that Unreal - Mortal Kombat thing was great. I need to consider whether to add Ubisoft through their MGS connection, but it's mostly costumes, right? I mean, you can play dressed as Altair or Ezio in loads of games now, but I don't think they've had the actual characters in there.

[water_wendi]

[IMG]http://i53.************/2wpujp2.jpg[/IMG]


Sam Max is in Jedi Knight Thats an easy edit for your chart lol
[IMG]http://i56.************/156z2bn.jpg[/IMG]

edit: doh

[V_Ben]

Sam is in Jedi Knight[/URL] Thats an easy edit for your chart lol [IMG]http://i56.************/156z2bn.jpg[/IMG]

That's Max :P

[Clipper]

Sam and Max appear in all the LucasArts Monkey Island games. It depends how much you consider these to be references or appearances, but it's a frequent enough theme to be added I would think.

Here's a list of how they appear, copied from here:

The Secret of Monkey Island: One of the idols near the Giant Monkey Head looks like Sam & Max. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge: Costumes of Sam & Max can be seen in the Costume Shop on Booty Island. The Curse of Monkey Island: The cameo is only visible in Mega-Monkey Mode. During the light-puzzle in the theatre two spotlights will create the likenesses of Sam and Max respectively on stage. Also, there is another cameo of Max in a picture on the left wall of The Barbery Coast in both modes; the player can only see the picture while Edward Van Helgen is playing a wicked banjo solo on the Field of Honour before Guybrush Threepwood beats him with the pistol. Escape from Monkey Island: Mr. Sam N. Max is one of the possible aliases for Pegnose Pete.

That would bring you another step closer to finding a link between the Indies and the rest, give Poker Night and all.

[Spwn]

Just remembered that Noby Noby Boy features The Prince from Katamari series.

The Secret of Monkey Island: One of the idols near the Giant Monkey Head looks like Sam & Max.

And that was changed into the Purple Tentacle from Day of the Tentacle in the Special Edition.

edit: Just gonna put this here because I don't want to add another post:

Vincent from the upcoming Catherine makes a cameo in Persona 3 Portable.

[Clipper]

Oh, and Penny Arcade is not a Telltale game series (it's Hothead Games).

[sixteen-bit]

Really cool chart.

Just remembered that Noby Noby Boy features The Prince from Katamari series.

Prince also makes a cameo in Ridge Racer (PSP) and Tekken Dark Resurrection.

[GhaleonQ]

You can spend weeks on just Namco, S.N.K., Taito, Nintendo, Sega, Konami, and Capcom. THIS IS FOLLY. THIS IS MADNESS. Seriously, just comb the various company wikis and you'll abandon this.

(And, yep, that means all of those are way off. Plus, I don't understand the distinctions you're making between cameos and "in-universe" cameos. Like, a large part of Klonoa canon got a test-run in Namco x Capcom. I know [I won't use their proper names] Mister Driller and Dig Dug man were always son and father, but Namco x Capcom added the Baraduke series, too, which then came into Dig Dug DS.)

[Durante]

Not bad, missing Trinity Universe though.

[Morphis]

Nice job.

I especially like the big Super Meat Boy section :)

[Fersis]

Fatal Fury should be linked to Art Of Fighting, Ryo Sakazaki is part of Fatal Fury 2 Special (SNES)

[The Technomancer]

I love how Super Meat Boy is at its own little nexus of properties.

[GhaleonQ]

Fatal Fury should be linked to Art Of Fighting, Ryo Sakazaki is part of Fatal Fury 2 Special (SNES)

Nearly all of S.N.K.'s biggest series are related. Same with A.D.K. *is a big nerd about canon and video game plots*

[Golden Darkness]

Here's a biggy, Namco X Capcom is tied to Super Robot Wars via the Endless Frontier spinoff games, so you have to include a section for mecha anime/manga.

[SiegfriedFM]

Ouch, Endless Frontier is a gateway to pain. But yeah, nice find.

Good thing this chart is infinitely expandable, it's not just a Photoshop file. I can move stuff around to fit all suggestions in a 1.10 version later on.

[Golden Darkness]

Also forgot some other crossovers for the chart.

There was a Wario vs. Bomberman for Gameboy
Capcom's Megaman Battle Network series had some connection to Konami's Boktai.
Metal Gear and Monster Hunter
Phoenix Wright with Professor Layton, although those two don't crossover with anything else.
And according to this page (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...pcomVsWhatever): Lost Planet 2 has Gears of Wars and Killzone connections.

[Crewnh]

You're missing Boktai (Konami) and Mega Man Battle Network (Capcom).

There's also Mega Man Zero and Mega Man Battle Network crossing over with Onimusha. All Capcom.

[PataHikari]

Ouch, Endless Frontier is a gateway to pain. But yeah, nice find.

This alone will probably quadruple the size of the chart

[Clipper]

There's also a Monkey Island connection to Poker Night. Winslow, from Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island, is the dealer.

[Graphics Horse]

Needs Konami Krazy Racers (adds Goemon and others.)

nice work so far!

There is also a definition of what it takes for a game to have a crossover: a character or creature from a game must appear in another game "in person".

Very wise.


edit: Oh, Mario Kart (Arcade GP) needs to link to Pac-Man, which should also link to Ridge Racer as he drives cars in both games. There's Pac-Man World Rally too, which links a lot of Namco games.

[creid]

KOS-MOS from Xenosaga was also in one of those Super Robot Taisen OG games.

[Ondore]

Can someone find a way to work St Elsewhere into this so everything is a dream of Tommy Westphall?

In all seriousness, I applaud the OP's tenacity.

[Hazaro]

Chart here (a reliable imagehost that doesn't shrink my picture would also be nice): http://i54.************/2rzf72q.png

http://www.abload.de/

[Jackson]

DoA had Link and that Tekken Bald guy in it.

Also Halo universe was in Kinectimals.

[Graphics Horse]

You're thinking of Soul Calibur II, no?

[Sub_Level]

There was a Nocturne crossover in Persona? I know there was one in Digital Devil Saga...

[SiegfriedFM]

Several of the Personas are from other SMT games, Jack Frost being one of them. Of course, you could consider Persona simply a part of the SMT franchise but I wanted to single it out because, well, it's awesome.

[EmCeeGramr]

DoA had Link and that Tekken Bald guy in it.

That was Soul Calibur, which also had Spawn and Star Wars and God of War (and Spawn crossed over with DC comics in comic book world, and DC has also had comic book crossovers with Marvel, and Marvel crossed over with Star Trek in a comic book).

All we need is for one game to turn into a St. Elsewhere style imaginary story and the world of gaming crumbles.

[Graphics Horse]

That was Soul Calibur, which also had Spawn and Star Wars and God of War (and Spawn crossed over with DC comics in comic book world, and DC has also had comic book crossovers with Marvel, and Marvel crossed over with Star Trek in a comic book). All we need is for one game to turn into a St. Elsewhere style imaginary story and the world of gaming crumbles.

I was hoping you'd find this thread.
Looks like Soul Calibur is accounted for.

[EmCeeGramr]

Several of the Personas are from other SMT games, Jack Frost being one of them. Of course, you could consider Persona simply a part of the SMT franchise but I wanted to single it out because, well, it's awesome.

There was a Nocturne crossover in Persona? I know there was one in Digital Devil Saga...

The main character from SMT: If..., an alternate universe take on SMT1, appears as an NPC in Persona 1 and Persona 2. In Persona 2, a Kuzunoha Detective Agency appears employing Devil Summoners, which is a possible connection the Raidou Kuzunoha Devil Summoner games.

[water_wendi]

Oh, there is a Nocturne (not the Megaten one) crossover with the Blair Witch games too. Forgot about that but the word nocturne jogged my memory.

[Kafel]

link between Star Wars and Monkey Island ?

[water_wendi]

link between Star Wars and Monkey Island ?

Guybrush in Force Unleashed i think.

[Brannon]

Sonic is in Crusaders of Centy (Genesis)