Everyone loves a good crossover RPG, but which ones are the best at using what they have?
RPGs can be one of the most interesting sub-genres of video games to play. Unlike many popular video game genres where one playable character at a time may fit the norm, RPGs tend to build focus around the collective rather than the individual. In certain games, like the recently released Unicorn Overlord, a potentially flawed unit can become a monster with the right support system.
Similarly, a crossover RPG can create a context where gameplay elements that might feel out of place on their own are able to work together as a unit. From purely franchise-based crossovers, where established heroes meet one another and team up, to crossovers that focus more on implementing aspects of each game they derive, these are RPGs that make the most of the elements they attempt to cross over. 5 Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Tokyo Mirage Sessions was an interesting crossover on a conceptual level. A meeting ground for two RPGs that were fairly different in tone, presentation, and gameplay. The result became something of an anomaly that, while making use of the source material, was fairly limited in resemblance to either game it attempted to emulate.
Most of the gameplay is lifted from the Shin Megami Tensei series, being more of a traditional RPG by design, rather than the grid-based Fire Emblem style of play. Aspects more directly carried over from Fire Emblem are squarely located in the mirage element. Mirages are beings from another realm, many of whom are hostile towards humans and use them to harvest energy. Friendly mirages ally with members of the Japan-based Fortuna Entertainment Agency. Mirages, friend or foe, derive their names, classes, and weaponry from the Fire Emblem series.
The playable mirages include Chrom, Tharja, and Virion from Awakening, as well as Caeda, Cain, Draug, and Navarre from Shadow Dragon. Also of note is Tiki, who appears in both games, returning as a Vocaloid-esque figure who supports the cast, and can even take to the field in Encore, the Switch remaster of Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Overall, the gameplay will satisfy fans of Shin Megami Tensei, and aspects of mirages will satisfy Fire Emblem fans. 4 Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission
Once only available in Japan, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission is now an internationally available digital trading card game with RPG aspects. Like any trading card game, there’s a strategy involved in filling the deck, with the right combination of units making a clear difference. Each card individually has a level of strength, which determines the maximum power a unit can attack with but also the pace at which the charge impact gauge operates.