10 Best Fighting Game Guest Characters Who Aren’t From Fighting Games
Ezio #Ezio
Guest characters are such an oddity in the fighting game genre. Each fighting game series has a set universe and story, which makes it all the more bizarre seeing The Walking Dead’s Negan fighting Kuma in Tekken. While a series such as SoulCalibur has embraced guest characters, others like Guilty Gear have mostly shied away from them.
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However, there’s real value in including guest characters. It draws fans of that character or the franchise they originated from to that fighting game. The fighting game genre is a niche genre, so any time a new player picks up a fighting game, that’s a win not only for that respective series, but the fighting game genre as a whole. There’s no better way to do that than including video game characters as guest characters, which increases the likelihood that prospective players are already familiar with that character.
Link Was A GameCube Exclusive In SoulCalibur II
The Legend of Zelda’s Link is no stranger to fighting games, given his long history in the Super Smash Bros. series. However, surprisingly, Link also makes a guest character appearance in SoulCalibur II. Link was an exclusive guest character for the GameCube version of SoulCalibur II. The PlayStation 2 had Tekken’s Heihachi Mishima, while Xbox had Spawn, who later appeared as a guest character in Mortal Kombat 11.
SoulCalibur II HD Online, sadly, did not receive a Nintendo Wii U port. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions each had Heihachi and Spawn. Had a Wii U version existed and contained all three guest characters, it would’ve been the definitive version of one of the best fighting games ever made.
Starkiller Can Fight Yoda Or Darth Vader In SoulCalibur IV
SoulCalibur II began a trend in the SoulCalibur series by featuring guest characters. SoulCalibur IV has some of the most recognizable guest characters, including two iconic characters from the Star Wars franchise.
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The PlayStation 3 has the exclusive Darth Vader guest character, while the Xbox 360 has the exclusive Yoda guest character. In addition, both versions have another guest character in The Apprentice, or Starkiller, from the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed series. Regardless of which version is played, players can have a thrilling lightsaber duel with SoulCalibur’s fine-tuned sword gameplay.
Ezio Auditore Da Firenze Brings His Hidden Blade To SoulCalibur V
The Assassin’s Creed series truly took off during the “Ezio Trilogy.” One doesn’t have to go too far to find Assassin’s Creed fans who still consider Ezio Auditore da Firenze’s games to be the peak of the Assassin’s Creed series. So naturally, SoulCalibur wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to include Ezio in SoulCalibur V.
Ezio brings the tools of his trade, including a sword, a gun, and his hidden blades. However, Ezio wasn’t enough to save SoulCalibur V as SoulCalibur V remains divisive in the SoulCalibur fanbase for its questionable roster, story, and gameplay decisions.
Geralt Of Rivia Is Disappointed He Can’t Play Gwent In SoulCalibur VI
After SoulCalibur V, SoulCalibur fans feared their beloved fighting game series was history. Unfortunately, Bandai Namco’s other fighting game series, Tekken, wasn’t in a good place either. Thankfully, SoulCalibur was given another chance with SoulCalibur VI, which put the SoulCalibur series back on the right track.
SoulCalibur VI launched with The Witcher’s Geralt of Rivia as a guest character. Geralt’s inclusion in SoulCalibur VI came three years after the universally acclaimed The Witcher III: Wild Hunt was released. Geralt’s gameplay utilizes his experienced swordsman abilities and the ability to cast powerful Signs, or spells. Geralt is also heavily featured in SoulCalibur VI’s story, similar to Street Fighter’s Akuma in Tekken 7.
Fans Of NieR Don’t Have To Go Far To Play As 2B In SoulCalibur VI
Geralt isn’t the only video game character to be a part of SoulCalibur VI’s roster. YoRHa No.2 Type B, or 2B, from NieR: Automata was an early DLC character for SoulCalibur VI.
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2B is a battle android that serves as the protagonist for Route A of NieR: Automata’s story. Unlike Geralt, 2B is not a part of SoulCalibur VI’s story. She is, however, fully customizable. On top of that, players can create original NieR’s Kaine using the character customization parts similar to how players could create Devil Jin in SoulCalibur V.
Cole MacGrath Inclusion In Street Fighter X Tekken Is Infamous
Street Fighter X Tekken is one of gaming’s biggest missed opportunities. Capcom taking the foundation of the phenomenal Street Fighter IV and including Tekken characters was the stuff of dreams. However, poor decisions such as the gem system and on-disc DLC led to Street Fighter X Tekken becoming a failure, leading to the uncertain future of Tekken X Street Fighter.
One of the more bizarre choices Capcom made was providing Sony with exclusive characters, with Cole MacGrath from the inFAMOUS series being one of them. Despite being neither a Capcom nor Bandai Namco character, Cole is still a really fun character, and the game takes advantage of his electric-based superpowers. Cole is also joined by feline Sony Japan mascots Toro and Kuro. Cole and Toro did both appear in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale as well.
Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum Takes A Break From His Road Trip In Tekken 7
When Tekken 7 was released, Final Fantasy XV was still receiving content. So while Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum wasn’t the first Final Fantasy character fans hoped to see in Tekken 7, he was the one Square-Enix needed to promote. In gameplay, Noctis utilizes his Royal Arms and his cheap warping abilities. Noctis also has a Hammerhead Station stage that looks like it was pulled straight from Final Fantasy XV.
Final Fantasy VII’s Tifa Lockhart was a heavily requested guest character for Tekken 7 due to her brawling fighting style fitting well in the Tekken series. While she never joined the Tekken 7 roster, she’s an easy bet to appear in Tekken 8 with the remake of Final Fantasy VII in progress.
Killer Instinct Got A Big Xbox Guest Character In Halo’s Arbiter
Killer Instinct got a much-needed revival in 2013 as a free-to-play launch title for the Xbox One. The classic arcade fighting game series went dormant after 1996’s Killer Instinct 2. Hopefully, the wait for Killer Instinct 4 won’t be as long since the fantastic Killer Instinct (2013) deserves a sequel.
As if having enjoyable gameplay and being free-to-play wasn’t enough, Microsoft gave Killer Instinct (2013) a major boost by including Xbox characters as guests. Halo received a representative in Arbiter, a Covenant Elite of the Sangheili race that plays a pivotal role in the first Halo trilogy, particularly in Halo 2, where he was playable to the surprise of many first-time Halo 2 players.
General RAAM Also Joined Arbiter In Killer Instinct
Halo is Xbox’s flagship franchise but isn’t the only popular franchise in its catalog. Gears of War, later Gears, was one of the best exclusive IPs introduced for the Xbox 360. Gears also received a Killer Instinct (2013) representative in General RAAM, a high-ranking general of the Locust Army in the original Gears.
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Arbiter and General RAAM aren’t the only Xbox guest characters to appear in Killer Instinct (2013). Rash from Battletoads also gives Killer Instinct a unique collection of characters throughout Xbox’s history. All three guest characters joined the Killer Instinct (2013) roster during its third season.
Kratos Finds A Different Set Of Gods To Kill In Mortal Kombat
It’s extremely difficult to find a better match between a video game character and a fighting game series like God of War’s Kratos and Mortal Kombat. Kratos’ vicious attacks and violent bloodlust fit perfectly in Mortal Kombat (2011). Kratos was exclusive to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions of Mortal Kombat (2011).
Mortal Kombat wasn’t Kratos’ first guest character appearance. To little surprise, Kratos was also a guest character in a SoulCalibur game! Kratos starred in SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny, a 2009 PlayStation Portable game based on SoulCalibur IV. Kratos was also playable in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
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