When it comes to “be all, end all” fighting games with an ultimate cast of characters, nothing can beat Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which continues to grow with each passing year.
However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t acknowledge other companies that gave the formula a try – like Sony.
Yes, at one point, the creators of PlayStation tried their hand at the Smash Bros. brawler with a fun little jaunt released back in 2012, with the help of the developers at Superbot Entertainment. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale may not have been the best seller that the publisher was hoping for, but it had more than enough fun moments to make it worthwhile. And even though it wasn’t fully appreciated, it does have its place in the PlayStation lexicon.
A Brawl For All
One big thing that Battle Royale has going for it is its abundant cast of characters. Along with a number of Sony favorites like God of War’s Kratos, Parappa the Rapper and even Jak and Daxter (remember them?), there are also third party stars like Big Daddy from BioShock, the dark- haired Dante from DMC: Devil May Cry, and Isaac Clarke from Dead Space. They all come together into a game that offers a great deal of personality in its own right.
Not only that, but a number of Sony-based worlds mesh together in interesting ways. For instance, a large robot from the Resistance universe goes head to head with an enlarged Master Onion in Parappa’s world. And elements of WipeOut somehow managed to collide within a world from Heavenly Sword, with surprisingly astounding results.
There are also a number of match types, as well as different unlockable costumes that cater to each character. True, the roster didn’t grow as much as expected, since Sony decided to halt expansion aside from the initial DLC. Still, there was more than enough content here to satisfy, and it’s still there today.
A Different Set of Rules
There’s a lot of punching, kicking, special attacks and more in All-Stars. However, unlike Smash, there’s only one particular way to earn “kills”, and that’s with special moves. Each character can power up to three times with these moves, and the more they charge up, the more effectiveness it has.
A lot of players cried foul over this change, thinking that “kills” should’ve come much easier.
But the truth is this adds a great deal of strategy to the game, so that you time your special attacks for when they truly count. What’s more, some players would even try to stick it out to level three, boosting the effectiveness of how many players they take out at a time.
That, and Superbot did a great job personifying attacks for each of the characters, from Sweet Tooth’s brutal nature (carried over from Twisted Metal) to Kratos’ hack-and-slash to Parappa’s hip-hop moves. Even Sly Cooper looks, well, sly, to say the least.
All of these come together in a game that deserved more attention than it received. In fact, we’re a bit baffled as to why we haven’t seen it on PlayStation Now yet. Licensing? A lack of interest? Whatever the case, this is the time for players to discover it again, especially if they went into the PlayStation 5 camp instead of Nintendo Switch. (Of course, smart players own both, but not everyone has the budget right now.)
Well Worth Checking Out Again
Even though online servers have since been shut down and no new characters have been added, we still think that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale deserves a second look. It’s a lot of fun to play and surprisingly well balanced, and its strategies still hold up well today. Not to mention that it’s not every day you see a Sackboy taking out someone as tough as Heihachi
from Tekken. You just don’t.
The game is still available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. So if you have either of those platforms, dig in to a classic!
