10 Fighters That Should Be In a Playstation Brawl Type Game

So rumors have been afloat about Sony doing their own free for all brawler potentially dubbed PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. So of course the first question is, which characters would make it into that game? The obvious assumption is that all characters will be from Sony exclusives much like Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series. Which beloved characters will make the cut? Who knows, but we listed our top 10 picks below!

10.) Laharl (Disgaea)

Laharl? Why Laharl? Disgaea is practically the poster child of the modern resurgence of strategy RPG’s and Nippon Ichi’s flagship series. Nippon Ichi is notoriously loyal to Sony systems and it would just make sense for a Nippon Ichi game to make it into a Sony brawler. The anime style may seem out of place but with the right art style he could fight right in. His wit and charm that made him such a great character in Disgaea 1 would serve to help bridge that gap for gamers that aren’t initially into fighting games, but will gladly play a brawler.

His mix of melee sword moves and darkness supers from Disgaea 1 would give him a very unique fighting style. He would be a smaller and fast fighter that I imagine to be cross of Ibuki (Street Fighter) and Strider (Marvel Vs. Capcom)

9.) Jak (Jak and Daxter)

Jak is a unique character and Sony’s poster boy for action platformers and one of Naughty Dog’s first breakout hits. Jak shares a cartoony art style that is similar to Laharl but a tad bit more realistic. Regardless of if Sony were to go realistic or artsy in their choice of art style, Jak’s look would still fit right in.

Jak from Jak 3 would fit perfectly into a fighting game. His ability to go dark or light side would make for a great stat boosting super. The ability to switch between different weapons would give him a great mix up similar to Link (SSBB). Jak would make the perfect long range character that relies on different weapons to either play keep away or trap characters in a corner. Jak would be that annoying character that everyone hates to fight but loves to master.

8.) Kazuma Kiryu (Yakuza)

The Yakuza series has been one of those notorious “Love it or Hate the crap out of it” series, but a firm PlayStation only franchise. Regardless of ones love of the series the main character Kazuma IS THE DEFINITION OF BRAWLER. His wild Yakzua fueled bare knuckle brawling is the kind of thing that every fighter has. His gruff style but soft heart makes him a lovable giant that is also not afraid to bust a face up.

Kazuma is a brawler. No like really, he’s a brawler. His blend of street fighting and back alley MMA makes him a in-your-face-busting-your-nose-with-his-knee fighter. His ability to close short distances would be very quick and he would have a full range of throws and a great ground game. Within his melee range he would be a monster with a style similar to Leon/Bayman (Dead or Alive) and Abel (Street Fighter).

7.) Raiden (Metal Gear Solid)

Say what you want about Raiden’s role in Metal Gear Solid 2, he came back with a vengeance in Metal Gear Solid 4. While the Metal Gear franchise has never been console specific the fourth game is still available only on PS3. However with Solid Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl we know that Konami isn’t above cameos. Regardless, Cyborg Raiden would be a sword wielding badass that is going to cause fights between friends over who gets to pick him.

Raiden is clearly a sword using melee range fighter. His focus would be on fast strikes that can quickly chip away ones health. Add in the ability to switch between fighting styles and you have a cyborg version of Mitsurugi (Soul Caliber) or Jin (Blazblue). Although an interesting twist would be a super that lets  you switch between a nimble fist using Human Raiden and the ninja like Cyborg Raiden.

6.) Nariko (Heavenly Sword)

Now I didn’t like Heavenly Sword, not even going to lie on that one. But I find Nariko to be a fascinating character that could have been the next Lady Dante or pre-Bayonetta style awesome had the story and experience surrounding her not been so mediocre. However Heavenly Sword was one of the few PS3 launch games that wasn’t buggy and the graphics were a great showcase. Nariko’s swords are unique and her fighting style wild. She would make the perfect addition to a brawler.

Nariko is a transforming weapon user whose specialty would be speed. Her nimbleness would allow her to flip around like a ginger ninja and generally annoy any opponent. An interesting twist would be for her to have a hail mary mechanic that lets you tap into the sword for extra power at the cost of your health. Either way Nariko would be the character that speed freaks go crazy for with a style similar to Talim (Soul Caliber).

5.) Nathan Drake (Uncharted)

Uncharted is pretty much the showcase series of PlayStation 3 and Naughty Dogs crowning achievement. While Drake doesn’t initially seem to fit into the setting of a mash up brawler, his Indiana Jones fisticuffs and charm make him the Johnny Cage of the game. If there was to be a story mode in the game Drakes would undoubtedly be the best if not the frontrunner/canon storyline. Drake is the soul of the game, the one true character in a room full of sullen brooding badasses.

That’s not to say though that Drake is a pushover. His style would revolve around an unlimited bag of  tricks that include pistols, machine guns, assault rifles and grenades. The addition of Chris Redfield to Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 shows how deadly a munitions style weapon user can be. Drakes strengths would lie in his ability to adapt from long range keep away to melee lockdowns in an instance.

4.) Cole McGrath (Infamous)

Infamous was Sucker Punch’s contribution to the superhero genre and a good one at that. It also became the exclusive that Sony needed in a slump thanks to a mix of free roam gameplay and sweet lighting powers. While I find Cole to be a fairly bland character there is no doubt that his lightning powers make for a good time. His powers would allow him to fill that pivotal role of short to medium range righter.

Forget the Infamous 2 version of Cole, he’s a bit overpowered for a good brawl. Infamous 1 Cole is perfect, no melee weapon but still great lighting powers. Cole can toss lighting ball type Hadoukens, and use Lightening glide to double jump. That combined with his parkour would give him a style akin to a lighting based Akuma (Street Fighter). In addition an interesting mechanic would be the ability to choose Good/Blue Lightning Cole or Evil/Red Lightening Cole and be able to change your specials accordingly.

3.) Kratos (God of War)

Kratos is a man who needs no introduction. His quest to kill everything in Greek mythology land of the God of War series bordered on genocidal His endless rage and complete and utter disregard for anyone’s life makes him an a beastly anti-hero. While Kratos has already made an appearance in Mortal Kombat, it wouldn’t be an all Playstation brawler with out the cranky demigod.

Kratos’s style would be different in a brawler than in Netherworld’s Mortal Kombat. Kratos would work best by being an aggressive in fighter whose long distance chain moves only serve to close distance. Kratos would be fast, strong, unrelenting and annoying to fight much like Dante (Marvel Vs. Capcom) or Scorpion (Mortal Kombat).

2) Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal)

Sweet tooth is one of those classic cases where the main character has eclipsed the game that spawned him. Twisted Metal, while being a classic car combat game, has never had quite the penetration that its mascot has. Sweet tooth however brings an interesting dilemma to the mix, he’s only been associated with his homicidal ice cream truck. So what could he possibly bring to a non-vehicular fighting game?

Utter insanity that’s what. He has no set style or moves to adhere to. He could be a upclose fighter with a big ass knife. He could be a fire user with projectiles. Or given his size he could be a hand to hand fighter with a wide array of bone breaks and throws. The sky is the limit when it comes to Sweet Tooth and would be a blank canvas for developers to create a truly original fighter.

1.) Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)

Sigh. Yes him. I’m personally not a fan of the man or Final Fantasy VII (I know its rare but its true, FFVI all the way!) but if theres any one character that would cause the collective gamer nation to wet themselves, its him. Final Fantasy VII is pretty much the game that is responsible for propelling the original Playstation to the top. And while Square Enix is no longer Sony exclusive  there is no doubt that they’d loan the emo badboy out for the sake of stupidly huge sales.

As far as his fighting style we know the deal. Huge sword, one black wing and propensity for killing flower girls.

0.) Helghast (Killzone)

Come on now, you really didn’t think I’d end a list with Sephiroth. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I left it like that. So why Helghast? Well for one they look cool as hell and are the only true mascot of the Killzone franchise. There are a number of Helghast minions that would make for good fighters. Bounty Hunters, Hazmat and Supreme Troopers would all make excellent characters.

Although an even more interesting mechanic could be that you command a number of Helghast that you can switch in and out like styles. From Air Trooper to Pyro to Bounty  Hunter, it would be the ultimate jack of all trades character and one of the most unique in fighting game history.