The video game genre of platform fighters is expanding at a rapid rate. Super Smash Bros. introduced the world to this style of gameplay and made it extremely popular. Since then, several other platform fighting games have been created, including PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Brawlout, Slap City, and many more. The majority of these games are made for existing IPs like PlayStation, Nickelodeon, or even Digimon. With the recent releases of MultiVersus and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, it seems that it’s become a more accepted genre and that developers are lining up to cash in on this trend. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see more on the way in the near future. With the platform fighting game genre about to explode more than ever, here are some other IPs and companies that would make for fantastic platform fighters. 

Disney

Disney is easily the most obvious candidate for a crossover platform fighting game. They have so many IPs in their vast library. Between Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Fox, Hulu, and anything else they may own, the roster has the potential to be larger than that of any other platform fighter, even Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Think of how wacky of a matchup could be created in a Disney crossover platform fighter. Aladdin, Luke Skywalker, Homer Simpson, and Captain America could all duke it out on Pandora from Avatar. How could that not lead to hilarious fun?

Disney’s colorful and often goofy aesthetic would translate especially well to a cartoony platform fighter. There is currently a Disney crossover kart racing game being made known as Disney Speedstorm. They could very well be using that to test the waters for their own platform fighter. There’s no way that this wouldn’t bring in big money if it were to be made well.

Universal Pictures

This is by far the dumbest one I’m putting on this list, but that’s exactly why it would work so well. Universal Pictures and NBC aren’t known to have mascots as iconic as Super Mario, Bugs Bunny, or Mickey Mouse, but they do have a solid lineup of franchises and characters. Just to name some of what’s in their library, they could pull from any Illumination animated film, the Jurassic Park/World franchise, Fast and Furious, Back to the Future, Transformers, JAWS, E.T. the Extraterrestrial, The Office, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the Universal Monsters, any character that originated in Saturday Night Live, and countless more. That means that the likes of Optimus Prime, the Minions, Count Dracula, and Dwight Schrute would have the potential to compete head to head. 

Like I said, this would be incredibly dumb, but that’s what would make it so much fun. Imagine the wackiness of having characters so extremely different from each other facing off. We may finally discover what would happen when the Blues Brothers take on a T-rex. 

Scott Pilgrim

Despite the movie version being potentially possible for a Universal platform fighter as listed above, the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels have a long list of characters who would be perfect for a platform fighter. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: the Game is an extremely popular adaptation of the source material. Where the comics are filled with references to celebrate video games, it makes sense that there would be a video game based on them. That being said, it’s surprising that there’s only the one.

Obviously, the full story has already been adapted into a game, but why not use the IP to explore other genres? Between the members of Sex Bob-Omb, Ramona, Knives, Envy Adams, Lynette Guycott, the seven Evil Exes, some robots, and even a few others, there’s a pretty decent-sized roster full of characters with a wide variety of fighting styles and superpowers. Anyone who’s played the action-packed Scott Pilgrim video game, seen the exciting movie, or read the iconic graphic novels would likely want to get their hands on a game where the colorful characters battle it out. 

Sonic the Hedgehog

Yes, Sonic the Hedgehog is a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series. However, there are quite a lot of characters with their own unique abilities throughout the Sonic the Hedgehog gaming franchise. Sonic and his pals have been playable in platforming adventure games, racing games, sports games, party games, and even a fighting game already. The series has somehow never attempted to branch out into the platform fighter genre. 

With Sonic’s speed, Tails’ flight and gadgets, Knuckles’ fists, Amy’s hammer, Shadow’s Chaos powers, Silver’s telekinesis, and many other characters with their own powers and weaponry, you’d think a Sonic-specific platform fighter would be a given. There’s something about Big the Cat kicking butt with his fishing rod that sounds like hilarious fun. I considered including SEGA on this list, but they don’t usually give as much attention to their other titles like they do with Sonic. If they want to market a platform fighter well, they might be better off sticking with a Sonic one that features guest characters from Nights into Dreams, Monkey Ball, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, and other games like what they did with Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity.

Pokémon

Pokémon is already heavily featured in Super Smash Bros., but only a handful are playable. With well over 900 Pokémon to choose from, the possibilities for a platform fighter roster are vast. The fighting game Pokkén Tournament exists, but only has roughly 20 playable combatants. So much more could be done with it as a platform fighter.

With playable fighters from every generation, there would be a Pokémon available for anyone who wants to play. The Pokémon Company clearly loves exploring genres outside of their mainline series like they have with Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and Detective Pikachu, so why not give a platform fighter a try? Zapping foes as Pikachu, blasting them with Decidueye, or scorching them with Volcarona would be nothing less than wildly entertaining.

LEGO

It’s no secret that LEGO has offered limitless fun to the world with their building block sets and video games. When looking at what properties LEGO has transformed into bricks or games, there are quite a lot of beloved franchises. From Harry Potter and Star Wars to Power Rangers and even Seinfeld, LEGO has developed sets for countless IPs. Think about how cool it would be to have the LEGO versions of iconic characters from these franchises face off against each other. Of course, many owners of these IPs might not be willing to play ball, but some certainly might. Plus, LEGO has plenty of original characters, sets, and titles that they have made themselves, like Ninjago, that they could use any way they want.

Taking the building and destroying mechanics from the LEGO games and making them usable in a platform fighter would make for a truly unique gaming experience. Of course, they could also release physical LEGO sets of the stages made for the game to take the experience even further. 

Scooby-Doo

There are already a couple of Scooby-Doo characters in MultiVersus, and more will likely be on the way in the future. However, the world of Scooby-Doo has a chance to be adapted into a unique platform fighter. Not only are there the five members of Mystery Inc., but they’ve faced countless criminals, creatures, and monsters throughout the years. The film Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed showcases that each monster has their own unique attributes and abilities, which is absolutely the case when looking back at some of the old series. Miner Forty-Niner breathes fire and wields a pickaxe, the Creeper can pass through walls, the Space Kook flashes a blinding light and has a disarming, horrifying laugh. The list of these baddies and what they’re capable of can go on and on (even though most people would main the Hex Girls).

On top of that, there are plenty of spooky locations that would be perfect for stages. Haunted mansions, ghost ships, ancient castles, threatening theme parks, old museums, and much more would make for ideal battlefields for a spooky-yet-cartoony platform fighter. With such a beloved franchise, this would definitely be a win. 

Original content

No one ever said that platform fighters needed to be based on an existing IP or feature a crossover of characters from various franchises. Just because Nintendo made it popular with Super Smash Bros. doesn’t mean it’s a set-in-stone rule, even if most platform fighters have followed suit with that train of thought. Brawlhalla, Slap City, and Brawlout all prove that platform fighters based on originally-made characters can work.

Non-platform fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat have become staples in the world of gaming. The same could be done for original platform fighters. Who knows? Maybe the next one to introduce the world to new characters could become the next big thing to take the video game industry by storm.