I just got PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. So as I always like to do with games that have interesting character rosters, here is a rundown of all the combatants in the game! Not to mention my personal opinions and impressions about each one.

But first, a mini first impressions review. This game is basically PlayStation Smash Bros. Is it as good? Not quite, but it’s still fun and is a nice tide-me-over until the next Smash Bros. game comes out. Some of the characters are a bit unbalanced, but it’s still a fun little game. It made me happy, and that’s all that really matters to me. The way to win is a little different, however. Instead of hitting your opponents enough to knock them out of the ring, you hit them to fill up a meter. When it’s full, you can unleash a special move that can KO others if it connects. There are three levels of special moves you can use, and many are similar to the moves you get when picking up the Smash Ball in Smash Bros. Unfortunately, while the game has an extensive tutorial mode, they’re not very clear about that aspect of the game. And aside from the piece of paper that gives you the online pass code, there are no written instructions either! But otherwise, it’s still a fun little four player fighter with a lot of neat characters. Speaking of which, let’s now take a look at them!

Kratos

God of War games certainly aren’t my cup of tea, as most of you who know me can already tell I bet. Kratos is just too mean and scary. It’s interesting that his games are set in Greek Mythology though. I used to like learning about Greek Mythology, until I took a college class about it. Then I learned that all Greek myths were just perverted soap operas made up by bored people who were probably drunk off their gourd.

PaRappa the Rapper

Believe it or not, I never did like the gameplay of PaRappa, but I do have respect for the game for starting the music game genre. And plus I like the flat, cartoony characters. PaRappa is even flat in this game, and attacks with his skateboard, microphone, and boom box. There is even a Chop Chop Master Onion dojo stage!

Sweet Tooth

He is one mean clown! He’s also kind of fat in this game, but don’t tell him I said that! I never was interested in the Twisted Metal car battle games. But I do like the fact that Sweet Tooth drives an ice cream truck. Although I’d rather play a game where he’s a nice clown and gives ice cream to everyone!

Fat Princess

I like the idea and premise of the Fat Princess game, but when I played a demo of it, there was just too much stuff going on at once for me to wrap my head around! She’s funny in the fighting game, though, and kind of reminds me of Kirby a bit. She can have her subjects attack with magic and swords. And in one of her stage intros, she eats a piece of cake in one bite and gets instantly fat!

Radec

At first I was like, “Who the heck is this guy.” And then I realized he was from Killzone, and do you really think I’d play a game called Killzone? I don’t even know if I’ve ever even looked at the Killzone box! Anyway, this guy is some robot looking soldier dude. Boring!

Nathan Drake

My brother Jeff is a big fan of Indiana Jones. Anytime one of the movies is on TV, he has to sit down and watch it, even though he’s seen each one a million times. So naturally, he likes the Uncharted games because they’re basically Indiana Jones adventures. Jeff loved playing as Drake in the fighting game because all his moves are from the other titles in the series.

Sly Cooper

I played the first Sly game when it came out and I felt it was a bit too Crash Bandicoot-ey. (I’m not much of a Crash fan, sorry). So I never bothered with the other Sly Cooper titles, although I do like the cartoony characters. He seems pretty fun in the fighter, though, and his friends help him in his special moves.

Ratchet & Clank

Yeah, now that’s what I’m talking about! I’m a big fan of the R&C game series. They were some of the best 3-D platformers of the last console generation, and they’re what a 3-D Mega Man game should’ve been (no disrespect to Mega Man Legends, though, which brought us Servebots). Ratchet and Clank are fun to play as in this fighter, as they use a lot of their guns and weapons. And their stage even has Captain Qwark in it!

Spike

Even better! I LOVE the Ape Escape series. There are some aspects about the Ape Escape games that I like even better than Mario’s 3-D adventures! I wish that Sony would give more attention to Ape Escape nowadays. A PS3 Ape Escape game would be so cool, as the console could use a cute and colorful 3-D platformer. I like how Ape Escape 3 had a Metal Gear Solid mini-game where you play as a monkey who thinks he’s Solid Snake, and how in MGS3, there was a mini-game where Snake had to catch monkeys! In the fighter, Spike uses all his monkey-catching gadgets!

Cole & Evil Cole

These are actually two different characters, but I just lumped them into one here because they seem the same to me. They’re from Infamous, a game where you get electric super powers. I think my brother Jeff played those games once.

Jak & Daxter

The first Jak game was a charming romp through colorful worlds, and the game played like a 3-D Crash Bandicoot (but was actually good) and had more exploration elements. Then they ruined everything with the sequels and made everything all dark and brooding. That still disgusts me to this day. Why did they feel they had to do that? I do like how Jak & Daxter and Ratchet and Clank are rivals in the fighting game. Clank could kick Daxter’s little orange furry butt any day!

Sir Daniel

I reviewed MedEvil on the PSOne back when I was writing for The Dallas Morning News. I purchased a PlayStation when I was in college, and I was worried because I really couldn’t afford it. But it was one of the best gaming purchases I’ve ever made because after that, I was reviewing PS games left and right! MedEvil always reminds me of a silly Ghosts & Goblins game for some reason. Sir Daniel is an undead knight with a skull for a head, and he slashes spooky creatures with his sword. But the game has kind of a silly cartoony aspect to it, too. I never really got into the MedEvil games much, though, but I’m glad he’s in this fighter.

Toro

I don’t really know much about this silly cartoony cat-like character, but I know he’s kind of like Sony’s mascot in Japan. And he was also in Street Fighter X Tekken.

Nariko

Not sure if the Heavenly Sword game would be my cup of tea. But Nariko is fun to play as in All-Stars, and she seems like a tough and strong character.

Sackboy

I love the idea and look of the LittleBigPlanet games. I even have a Sackboy plush! I just don’t have the time to devote to all the creation aspects of them. But my brother Jeff sure does, and he’s made all sorts of stuff in those games. I even bought him the karting game for his birthday (found it cheap at a Black Friday sale). Jeff was glad to see Sackboy in the fighting game. Sackboy even makes a creation menu pop up in some of his moves, he explodes when he loses, and his stage has a menu box that can change things in the stage!

Big Daddy

I think it’s kind of neat that Sony had guest characters be in their All-Stars fighter, as many other companies helped shape the PlayStation brand as well. The Bioshock games aren’t really my cup of tea, but I did watch someone play some parts of the first game once, and I must say it does have a really interesting atmosphere. Pretty scary, too! If done right, a Bioshock movie would be kind of neat. I like how in the fighting game intro, the little girl wants to hug Sackboy, but then Big Daddy gets mad!

Dante

While I’d rather have another character represent Capcom for Sony (like maybe someone from Mega Man Legends), I guess the Devil May Cry games did start on the PlayStation, right? Dante looks a little different in this fighter than what I remember, but then, I’ve never played a Devil May Cry game so what do I know?

Heiachi

Of all the third party companies out there, I think Namco helped support the original PlayStation the most. So I’m glad they put this guy from Tekken in there since that was a popular series at the time. But it’s a pretty young Heiachi, though. Not a gray hair in sight.

Raiden

Since Snake was in Super Smash Bros., maybe that’s why they couldn’t have him be in the PlayStation All-Stars game. But since Metal Gear Solid was a flagship PSOne title, they HAD to have someone be in there, so we get Raiden.

DLC Characters

There aren’t any unlockable characters or stages, but I hear later on there will be some DLC characters. I’ve never heard of Emmett Graves from StarHawk. I don’t know much about Gravity Rush either, since I don’t have a Vita. But if I did have one, Gravity Rush and Touch my Katamari would be the only two games I’d get for it right now (until the new Ys game comes out, that is). But Kat from Gravity Rush seems like a cute character, too.

Boss and Stages

The stages are also from various PlayStation notables. The funny thing is that they kind of mash up the stages so that after a while, one stage will kind of combine with another. For instance, in the Loco Roco stage (Yay Loco Roco), after a while, a Metal Gear robot will cut up the background! And in the LittleBigPlanet stage, it’ll change to a WarioWare-like Buzz quiz game show! The Jak and Daxter stage changes to a Hot Shots Golf course, too! And in the God of War stage, Hades is originally in the background, but then it turns into Patapon! It’s fun to see what the stages will change into. The last boss is some giant polygonal head. I don’t know if he’s from a game or not. Super Smash Bros. has Master Hand, so I guess this game has Master Head.

What characters/stages would you like to see?

So we’ll conclude this blog with characters and stages that I’d like to see included in PlayStation All-Stars and you can chime in with your picks in the comments section, too!

Loco Roco

I’m really glad that Loco Roco got a stage, but I’d like to see the blobs as playable characters, too. Loco Roco is one of my favorite PSP games ever. If you want a good idea of what goes on inside my head 24/7, just play Loco Roco.

Ridge Racer

As I said earlier, I think Namco helped shape the PlayStation brand the most as a third party. I know that Ridge Racer has been the butt of many jokes thanks to a bumbled Sony press conference, but the original game was a launch title for the PlayStation, and it was a pretty big deal. Maybe have a fighting stage on a Ridge Racer track, or have Reiko Nagase the Ridge Racer lady be a playable character. Maybe instead of eating a piece of cake like Fat Princess, she can eat a power pellet or spinach so she can be strong and beat up the other fighters.

Klonoa

Speaking of Namco, another game I associate with the PlayStation is Klonoa. Even though his games have been on other systems, the original was on the PlayStation first, and the sequel on the PS2. I think Klonoa would be a neat character in All-Stars. Other Namco games would make neat stages, too. Like a Namco Museum stage.

Tomba

And speaking of 2-D platformers, another PlayStation favorite of mine is Tomba and its sequel. I think the pink-haired caveman would make a great character in the fighting game. I’m glad you can download the original game on PSN.

Final Fantasy

I hate to admit it, but Cloud would probably be the best to represent Final Fantasy in the PS fighter since FF7 was one of the major selling points of the original PlayStation. Although I’d personally rather play as Vivi or Tifa.

Crash & Spyro

I know that other companies own these two characters now, but they started out on the PlayStation so I still associate them with that. I’m not really a big fan of Crash Bandicoot at all, but I like Spyro games much better. Maybe they can both team up in the fighting game? They actually did team up in a GBA title.

Tron Bonne

I know Capcom has already been represented in the fighting game, but I think Tron Bonne would be a better choice since the Mega Man Legends series mostly stayed on Sony platforms. Tron Bonne even got her own game on the PSOne, and it’s one of my favorites on that console. I’m glad that Capcom still uses Tron and the Servebots as characters and cameos in other games, as I think they are some of the best characters Capcom has ever created.

What other company fighters would you like to see?

And that’s all for now! In the comments section, don’t forget to tell me your favorite PlayStation All-Stars characters and stages, and what fighters and arenas you’d like to see. Also, what other game companies’ characters would make for a good fighting game? Let me know that, too. Me, personally, I’d like to see a Sega fighter or a Namco brawler. The PlayStation fighter helped me remember some great times I’ve had playing Sony PlayStation games, and it made me happy. So no matter what, I enjoyed this game. Later! –Cary

Tags: Game Reviews