Unfortunately, while the roster was one of, if not the most hyped-up part of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, it failed to fully satisfy fans of the various series that made the PlayStation lineup what it is. Despite the fact that the game successfully brought several memorable characters from PlayStation’s history, the game either neglected just as many key iconic characters (especially from the 90s), or was simply unable to get them. What soured this even more is the presence of characters that have little to no history with PlayStation. Despite these unfortunate circumstances, a second PlayStation All-Stars has the potential to fix the original’s mistakes.
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Over Four Consoles of Representation
Despite not having a cohesive posse of series representatives like Nintendo, the PlayStation name has just as many hit titles in its belt. Even if some series have been multiplatform in any capacity, several of them had an impact on a PlayStation console’s longevity and worth. That means that, unlike Super Smash Bros., whose third-party characters mostly had specific ties to Nintendo’s history, another PlayStation All-Stars has plenty of third-party characters to choose from. These characters would only be there to please fans, but because part of their series’ identity is tied to PlayStation in some way.
Some series that belong to this category are Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. The former was even Sony’s answer to Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog in the 90s. Their absence from the original PlayStation All-Stars was the most felt, and with Microsoft planning to own both franchises, the characters’ chances of being represented in a future PlayStation All-Stars entry are not guaranteed. Among other series that were never or are no longer Sony exclusives, with a strong history on PlayStation, are Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and Silent Hill. Ironically, over half of these series have been represented in Super Smash Bros.
The original PlayStation All-Stars did gather characters of diverse backgrounds and eras. Some well-represented series include Sly Cooper, God of War, LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted, Infamous, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Twisted Metal, and Parappa the Rapper. Not only should a second game keep these franchises in the roster, but it will also aim to represent other series that have been introduced since then, most notably with The Last of Us.
If a second PlayStation All-Stars can secure the original’s best character-related decisions, get most of the other series that actually represent PlayStation’s history on board, and limiting the number of advertisements for new games, like Big Daddy and Isaac Clarke in the first PlayStation All-Stars, then it would have an ideal roster for a crossover. A lot needs to be done for it to actually captivate potential fans, but these roster fixes are a good start.
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
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