Marvel vs Capcom vs SNK!

There are few tools in entertainment media that are as powerful as the crossover. Seeing one set of characters and their world mesh with another can generate an almost palpable sense of excitement. Where once this was a rarely used 'gimmick' on TV, in today's world, the crossover is so thoroughly utilized that it's not uncommon to see whole game worlds collide. With this in mind, it's somewhat strange to think that at one point a crossover as strange as Marvel Comics and Capcom Games was an uncertain gamble. Yet it's arguably this series that showed the world crossovers in games are a fan service like no other. So this month at Emuparadise, we want to share with you some of the great crossovers that led to now iconic series, as well as some of the related entries that you may not have heard of:

X-Men: Children of the Atom

Systems: Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation

While most may expect this list to have started with the first "Marvel vs. Capcom" game, it all really begins back in 1994 when Capcom released an X-Men fighting game through a partnership with Marvel Comics. While not technically a crossover title, the game did feature a secret character from Super Street Fighter 2 – Turbo; Akuma. Injected into the world of X-Men as a secret boss, and a secret character you could select with a code at the character screen, the idea was loved by fans and it no doubt was the inspiration for the next title in our list.

X-Men vs. Street Fighter

Systems: Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation

In 1995 these worlds finally collided with the release of "X-Men vs. Street Fighter". This game proved to be a massive success, bringing together fans of the 2 unrelated series, and letting people find out who would win between Ryu and Wolverine, or Gambit and Chun-Li. Once this game came out, Capcom quickly realized there was a lot more they could do with the series and began working on a myriad of titles in their crossover series.

PRO-TIP: Press UP at the top of the character select screen to play as Akuma.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

Systems: Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation

After the success of "X-Men: Children of the Atom", Capcom also made another Marvel fighter titled "Marvel Super Heroes". Like its predecessor, it wasn't really a crossover fighter (though it did have Anita from Darkstalkers as a secret character). That game established the base of what would become "Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter". Following in the footsteps of the last entry in the list, this game added characters from the Street Fighter roster in order to fight Marvel legends like Spider-Man and Captain America for the very first time. While not too technically different from the first crossover, it delivered another great experience that led to the birth of the full series as we know it by adding other Capcom properties into the mix with "Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes" and "Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes".

The success of these games was massive, and it showed the world that doing crossovers in video games wasn't only possible, but it was pure gold. This led Capcom to look into crossing over with other companies and ended up giving us the match-up of the millennium...

Capcom vs. SNK - Series

Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Systems: Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 Systems: Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation 2 Marvel vs. Capcom was a worthy match-up, but everyone knows that Marvel's true rival is DC... So then who is Capcom's true rival? For the time, that was a company called SNK. If you're not familiar, SNK was a powerhouse presence in the arcades of the 90's with their Neo Geo system. Their library has a major focus on fighting games, but no game is more iconic for the company than "The King of Fighters" which is actually somewhat of a crossover of SNK fighters itself. The match-up of these 2 powerhouses was one for the ages, and many die-hard fighting fans still clamor for a new entry to this day.

SNK vs. Capcom – Series

SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom Systems: Neo Geo, Sony Playstation 2

SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium System: Neo Geo Pocket Color

While Capcom vs. SNK was made by Capcom, this side of the series is SNK's take on the crossover. Starting with "SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom", these fighters inject the Capcom roster into the standard King of Fighters style game. With some different fighting mechanics, and unique characters like Zero from the GBA title "Mega Man Zero" this was the one no fan of the series should have missed, but sadly it flew under the radar. Even more under the radar though is the handheld title. Many fans of the series know there are a number of 'card battler' handheld games, releasing as recently as the Nintendo DS. However, there was a single fighting entry on SNK's handheld that fit right in with the other fighters on the system, but given the systems underwhelming sales, never got much spotlight.

Still not enough crossover or you? Well, there's one more interesting aspect about these titles that a lot of people have never experienced. During these years, SNK had a great relationship with SEGA. This shines through brightest of all by way of using a cable to connect a SegaDreamcast to a Neo Geo Pocket Color. Because of this collaboration, you could use the titles in conjunction to unlock points, characters, and levels in the compatible titles. Sega, Capcom, and SNK all working together? What a time it was to be a gamer...

Capcom vs. Tatsunoko

System: Nintendo Wii

Last on our list today, is the most recent crossover series from Capcom. "Capcom vs. Tatsunoko" If you haven't heard of Tatsunoko, it's hard to fault you. Their properties ranging from toys to animation are not well known in the west, but are quite beloved in the east. With that in mind, it's not hard to understand that initially, this game was exclusively released in Japan. However, just the fact it was a Capcom crossover led fans to bombard them with requests to localize the game... and it worked! Not only was the title localized, but it also introduced some extra characters, like Frank West of Dead Rising or Zero from Mega Man X, that were not in the original! If that isn't a testament to how much we love the crossover, we don't know what is!

We hope you enjoyed this whirlwind journey through all these different worlds! Dive in to your fantasies and think about some of the best crossover games you would like to see. Share your ideas with us and other retro gamers on Twitter and Facebook.

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