Top 25 All Time Favourite Crossovers

So in the past, I did a top 5 list on things that involve different franchises and as that was during the first year or so of doing the blog, I'll be honest, I was pretty inexperienced. Now that its been a few years, I've been wanting to do a proper and bigger list but use the right word for it which is crossovers. Now in a nerd's world, a crossover is when two or more franchises join together and do things while bringing out the best things of each of them like catchphrases, locations and so on. So the rules for this list are that it has to be two or more franchises involved and not counting cameos, guest appearances and shared universes. But I will allow any media form for the crossovers whether it be TV, film, comic book or video game. As well as those that feature its own settings and characters, but still have a heavy reliance on the franchises themselves and because there are several that feature the same franchises, there will be more than one on this list (i.e. Family Guy + Star Wars and Family Guy + The Simpsons). They also have to be 100% official so no fan crossovers. So let's get to it:

25 - The Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis

So just to first of all address any confusion, this is the Simpsons and Futurama crossover that was in the comics, not the more recent crossover seen on TV. So the crossover is of Matt Groening's two big shows and when it came about in the comics, people were impressed and excited for how it would play out. Comprised of 4 parts, the first two parts focus on the Planet Express crew of Futurama accidentally opening a portal to Springfield and getting sucked into it and have to adapt to a new life in the world of the Simpsons before eventually being able to go home. In the latter two parts, some important people in New New York agree to bring in the citizens of Springfield to work as slaves and The Simpsons and the Planet Express crew team up to help Springfield get back home before all hell breaks loose. Its pretty much what fans would come to expect from a crossover like this and in all honesty, its a lot better than the crossover seen on TV as having it spilt into parts is better than having it as a 20 minute single episode. And because some of these crossovers I haven't reviewed yet, I will do them right here. 9/10

24 - Street Fighter X Tekken

You know, when you have two big fighting games like Street Fighter and Tekken, a crossover is inevitable. And what's great about this game is that its basically all Street Fighter gameplay and putting Tekken characters in Street Fighter like situations going as far as graphics, fighting styles and overall gameplay. Plus what's more interesting is that Namco are making their own version which in a way mirrors this game by having it be more like a Tekken game with its gameplay and graphics, but its not clear yet if such a game will be made, but it be great if it was. Of course you can check out my review of it for yourself, but be warned as its one of my early reviews so proceed with caution (by that I mean its not at the standard my reviews are at today).

23 - PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

While most people would see this as Sony's Super Smash Bros (a much better game in the long run I'd say), one has to admit that its great seeing some of PlayStation's finest characters (as well as some third party ones) come together to battle it out. I think where it has an edge over Nintendo's more superior crossover fighting game, is that all the stages are a combination of two games and there are three levels of this game's version of the final smash. And also unlike using amiibo, you can level up characters in game and have them change costume. Some disappointments for many include a lack of characters from the PS1 era such as Crash Bandicoot, Croc, Spyro and Rayman as well as the fact that Dante is the modern emo version rather than the one most of us grew up with. So it may not be what everyone was expecting, but if they were to do a sequel, I think it would be so much better than what we got here which may be a contradiction to my previous posts about this game, but there you go.

22 - Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

While the series has had a decline in quality in its more recent entries, one has to admire how well this three way crossover worked out. For a start, you get two of gaming's biggest characters Mario and Sonic playing at the Olympics as its like playing those Mario Sports games if Sonic characters were also included in the action. Not only that, but at the time, it was the first time the two came together since the Nintendo and SEGA rivalry came to be and it paved the way for the two companies to work together on various projects such as Nintendo console exclusive Sonic games and Sonic's appearance in the Smash Bros. games. As far as that goes, this is probably a better and more appealing take on an Olympics video game than the official Olympic video games themselves, all because Mario and Sonic are in it. And I look forward to seeing how the Tokyo games play out seeing as that's the home to many great video game companies like Nintendo and SEGA. 9/10 (that's for the first game as that's the only game I've played in the series thus far).

21 - The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour

So growing up, I watched a number of shows on Cartoon Network and for a while, I chose to avoid Nickelodeon because I was enjoying too much cartoons from CN. Then when I discovered the joy (and at times the stress) of iTunes and the ability to buy TV episodes, I decided to catch up on some cartoons I missed out on and came across a crossover that is pretty unique. Unique in the sense that both shows have a vastly different animation style to one another, allowing the creators of said shows (this case being Fairly Odd Parents and Jimmy Neutron) to use their characters in these styles which ultimately leads to a number of shenanigans. And for what its worth, its actually really good. I've become a fan of FOP and JN since watching these crossovers and I can honestly say, they are worth a watch, just to see how the 2D world of Fairly Odd Parents copes in the 3D world of Jimmy Neutron and vice versa. All 3 crossovers get a 9/10 because they are really good, if not a bit cheesy and corny.

20 - Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe

So before NetherRealm Studios became a thing, the last thing we got from the two companies that would become said studio, was probably the most unusual of crossovers out there. Maintaining the iconic gameplay of the Mortal Kombat games while incorporating the worlds, settings and characters of the DC Universe, this crossover, while not a completely great one, turned out to actually work well in the end. Both story campaigns are similar in the sense that we see Superman and Raiden dealing with the big threat of their respective universes and causing a rift that would merge DC's Darkseid and Mortal Kombat's Shao Khan together to form a new entity called Dark Khan which would cause both worlds to merge and for all characters to experience something called rage which then leads to all characters fighting one another. And its not just heroes, but villains get to take part as well. Now I have already reviewed this game, but looking back at it and comparing it to the more recent games featuring all these characters, this one is all about having the main and more well known characters in the roster while later Mortal Kombat games as well as what would become the Injustice games, tailor to everyone in the sense that all the later games bring in characters from all over both franchises rather than keeping it to the popular and well known which in my opinion, is better as it tailors to everyone, regardless of if you're a fan or not. But this game is still pretty good and who knew Mortal Kombat and DC would work so well together.

19 - The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones

I will admit, I wouldn't exactly call myself a huge fan of either show in the sense that they can both come across as cheesy animated sitcoms. But having said that, a crossover like this actually kind of works well for both shows. It starts out with the Jetsons travelling to the world of the Flintstones where Fred and Barney attempt to use the technology that the Jetsons bring with them, but cause problems in the process. This would then lead to both families (and friends) to swap places with the Jetsons coming to terms with the stone age and the Flintstones and Rubbles trying to settle into the world of the future. In other words, its like how the first Simpsons and Futurama crossover turned out, but with an 80s vibe and only using the main characters more than the supporting ones. 6/10

18 - Alien VS Predator

I think its safe to say that despite the films not being very good, the franchise as a whole, has a lot of potential. I mean let's face it. Fox need to do something with their franchises and by bringing the Predators and the Aliens together, its one way to make things simple for people to understand. So yes the films suck, but you've got great comic books, OK video games as well as crossovers with other franchises. Maybe the next film if there is one coming, would be better. But we shall see. But for now, you're better off reading the comics at this point.

17 - I Am My Lifetime

So for a while, the crossovers on Cartoon Network would be very minimal and as such, any crossover made would've been nothing more than a few cameos and references. That was the case until a certain crossover came along and changed all that. But we'll come to that one later. So I Am Weasel. A show that started out on Cow & Chicken before becoming its own spin-off show and a lot of people liked it for how bizarre it was. One episode I remember fondly was I Am My Lifetime which is an episode that features many of Cartoon Network's characters depicted as senior citizens. You'd see such characters like Dexter, Yogi Bear, The Flintstones and even Jonny Quest. So yeah maybe its not technically a crossover with anything, but its not often you see this many Cartoon Network characters in one show. 8/10

16 - Robot Chicken: Star Wars

So before Disney took over and being protective of the property, Star Wars was getting crossovers and parodies like it was no ones business and one I remember fondly, is the Robot Chicken ones. Now it kind of is a crossover as it not only features sketches of all the characters from both shows, but some of the voices are from Star Wars as well. You got Mark Hamill, the late Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams and even George Lucas himself. So I'd say this is a crossover in its own right with this amount of work dedicated to it and it is very funny too. The force is definitely with this one.

15 - Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy

Of course Robot Chicken wouldn't be the first to do a crossover as Family Guy wanted a piece of the action too. How it came about was that the majority of the cast and crew for Family Guy are Star Wars fans and in many episodes, do parodies of certain moments in the films. Then after a while, the show's creator Seth MacFarlene wanted to create the original films in the style of Family Guy and after seeking the approval of George Lucas, he did just that. And now we get Peter as Han Solo, Brian as Chewie, Lois as Leia, Chris as Luke, Stewie as Darth Vader and everyone else as well as characters from American Dad! and the Cleveland Show in various roles. It had the show's cutaway gags, featured CGI and perfectly managed to recreate the whole original trilogy while adding humor to it. Plus it even mocked Robot Chicken's take on the franchise. Whats more to like. 9/10 for all three.

14 - 24 Minutes

OK yeah it may be more of a parody than a crossover. But the fact that it plays out like an episode of 24 as well as having Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub reprise their roles from the show, gives me the impression that it could very well work out as a crossover to some extent. So in the episode, Principal Skinner forms a group of his students to tackle misbehaviour with Lisa heading up the operation over Milhouse, Martin and Database. Milhouse is sent on a mission to spy on Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney who are up to no good, but when Homer gets involved somehow, Lisa gets Bart on board. Leading to a chain of events that eventually get the attention of 24's two main stars. Now I tend to like these kinds of episodes in shows where the title is a number and everything plays out in real time, normally using a scenario where an emergency situation arises and they only have a set length of time to do it (Doctor Who also did this in the Series 3 episode "42"). So I'd say of all the problems the Simpsons has had recently, at least the animation quality is still good as well as their crossovers, cultural and pop culture references and Treehouse of Horror episodes. Just a shame that everything else about them nowadays sucks, but even the best of shows will start to wear off eventually. 8/10

13 - Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing

Most people you come across will say that Mario Kart is king when it comes to go kart racing games that feature memorable characters, wacky race tracks and plenty of power ups. But saying that, doesn't necessarily mean that every other go kart game sucks because they don't. I enjoyed LEGO Racers, Toy Story Racing and Wacky Races when I was growing up and in more recent times, I've enjoyed ModNation Racing, LittleBigPlanet Karting and the racing portion of Disney Infinity 3.0. Those games as well as Mario Kart, I really enjoy playing and would play them again and again. But as far as crossovers go, Sonic & All-Stars Racing is where its at. Sure the game may have been bought out just for SEGA to say that Sonic isn't their only franchise which is very true, but does make me wonder why he gets more attention than everyone else. But saying that, there is stuff to like about this game. Its good a decent variety of SEGA characters (as well as guest racers like Banjo and Kazooie, the Xbox avatars, the Miis and even Wreck-It Ralph and Yogscast), has a great set of tracks that aren't all Sonic themed, the power ups are pretty creative and more importantly, it can be played on more than one platform unlike Mario Kart. A few years ago, I did a VS post on this and Mario Kart and felt that this game was better. However, its not without its flaws as all the all-star moves work the same way effectively, giving every racer a big boost and the missions can at times be frustrating and off putting. Plus with Transformed, some tracks in that game are more complicated than others because of the amount of times, the karts have to transform. But other than that, its a very solid game that goes deep into SEGA's rich history of game franchises and while Sonic and Co. do take centre stage in all of this, its not all Sonic which you can be reassured about.

12 - Disney Infinity

Yes it is a no defunct series of games, but when it was around no one really expected it to feature this many characters from everything Disney had at their disposal. It is a toys to life game that has you go out to buy figures which can be seen as having some collector value if any. And basically you just put them on the base and let the imagination go wild with infinite possibilities. And should you not have much imagination, you can instead buy playsets which let you play different campaigns for various characters as well as power discs which can enhance your experience. The first game bought in many characters from Disney as well as Pixar such as all members of the Incredibles superhero family, the 3 most popular characters from Monsters Inc., Pirates of the Caribbean and Toy Story. As well as a few one off characters like Rapunzel from Tangled and Mickey Mouse in his wizard attire. The second game introduced Marvel to the series by bringing in the then current line ups of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy as well as characters from the world of Spider-Man (which at the time, Disney were in talks with Sony on what to do with him) and other Disney characters like Hiro and Baymax from Big Hero 6, Merida from Brave, Maleficent, Stitch, Donald Duck and Tinker Bell. Then finally when the third and final game came about, Star Wars was added with characters from the Clone Wars, the original trilogy, Rebels and The Force Awakens being among the line up of characters which also included Hulkbuster and Ultron from Avengers: Age of Ultron, Sam and Quorra from Tron: Legacy, all the emotions from Inside Out, Olaf from Frozen, Baloo from Jungle Book and Avengers that featured in Captain America: Civil War such as Ant-Man, Black Panther and Vision. It was basically every Disney fans dream come true. Mix and matching characters while letting the imagination run wild. It was that good, but more tailored to a casual audience I'd say. If its hardcore you're after, then read on.

11 - Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure

Probably the most unusual of crossovers, but with an original IP like Scribblenauts being held by WB Games, something like this was bound to happen and so we got it. A game all about puzzle solving and letting you put in what you like, combined with the entire history of DC (at the time of release). Its a pretty fun game and nothing like the more mature DC stuff that WB Games releases. So in some way, this was a welcome change. The story sees the main protagonist of Scribblenauts get sucked into the DC world and with his rival tearing it apart, he must team up with DC heroes to take him down before he gets trapped there forever. Its as good as it gets. I already reviewed this game early on so check out that review if you want my score.

10 - Animation Throwdown

Now as someone who plays a lot of video games, when it comes to card games, normally I'm not that keen. But seeing as this features a crossover between many of Fox's animated adult humored shows (except for The Simpsons which EA currently hold the video game rights to), I had to give it a try and I was pleasantly impressed. So it acts out like a card game and you get to use a variety of things taken from across each show's long history. And the shows featured are Family Guy, American Dad, Bob's Burgers, Futurama and King of the Hill. That's quite the crossover I must say, but its enough to please fans and gamers alike I'm sure. Sure it may not be the crossover we were after for all these shows, but its good enough to be its own thing and who knows, maybe we will get a crossover that's at this scale of excitement. 7/10

9 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit

As one of the best films ever made, this film gave us a renewed interest in the golden age of animation and its a great film. Its every fans dream to see such great characters like Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny meeting for the first time. And the best part about the film is the fact that some of the companies who lent their characters wanted them to have the same amount of lines as Disney's ones which led to many of the Looney Tunes share scenes with Mickey and Friends. But despite it featuring cartoon characters, it is not for kids as it's largely classic gangster like. But that's not to say that its not a crossover because in many ways it is. Plus it was also the final film Mel Blanc (the original voice of Bugs Bunny) did before his suffering so it was nice that this ended his career on a high note.

8 - Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2

So Star Trek have had a number of crossovers from Planet of the Apes to the Green Lantern Corps as well as crossovers of different Star Trek crews such as the original series, NG and the reboot. As of writing this, the only one I've managed to read so far, was the Doctor Who one. Its basically where the Borg and the Cybermen team up to take over the universe which soon enough gets the attention of John Picard and his crew as well as The Doctor and his companions Amy and Rory. So its a case of the enemies teaming up and the heroes teaming up to help each other take down the opposing side. The chances of this reaching the screen are unlikely considering that Patrick Stewart is now a very old, but still well abled man and that Matt Smith has already fulfilled his commitment to playing the Doctor which then went on to Peter Capaldi and later this year, Jodie Whittaker. But its still a very good story that actually works really well for both parties. 9/10

7 - Marvel VS Capcom

So for a while now, Capcom have been doing a number of crossovers and one of their more well known ones has been a fighting game that pits many of their characters up against Marvel characters with some mix and match thrown in for good measure. With the impending release of Infinite around the corner, this series of fighting games is still going strong and lots of people love it. You can see if Captain America's shield can handle Ryu's Hadoken blast as well as Iron Man deflecting the bullets of the Resident Evil cast's guns. Plus we can see who is stronger out of Hulk and Dante as well as seeing if Deadpool really can break the 4th wall in other universes as well as his own. Its always nice when games give you those mix and match options.

6 - The Grim Adventures of the KND

So in many ways, this is the crossover everyone on Cartoon Network was waiting for. To see if 5 agent like kids can take on the grim reaper and his unbearable friends. Starting out with Billy seeking the help of the Ed boys before being redirected to the KND which then leads to Mandy taking over the KND, Billy merging with the Delightful Children and many characters of both shows and other Cartoon Network shows and Grim and Numbah 1 forming an uneasy alliance to take down both threats. At the time, both shows were reaching their end with Billy & Mandy hoping to do a spin-off series which never happened because of issues with the show's creator and KND going a similar path, only to be refused by Cartoon Network despite petitions and pleas to do so. But its a very good crossover and if the Powerpuff Girls can be revived, so can Billy & Mandy and KND. But we shall see. 9/10

5 - Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

So in the Japanese market, Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton were dominators of the Nintendo DS and 3DS mainly due to the amount of games made for both franchises as well as its popularity. So a crossover was inevitable and it basically combined the puzzle solving of Professor Layton with the trail based court sessions of Ace Attorney with a plot that sees both characters and their respective assistants (Maya and Luke) get sucked into a world and must figure out a way to get out while uncovering dark secrets from this new but unfamiliar world.

4 - The Simpsons Guy

I think after Fox played dad and told both shows to behave themselves, that we would finally get the crossover we've been waiting for. So Peter Griffin does something in Quahog that forces the family to leave for a while and in their travels, they come across Springfield where they get themselves acquainted with the locals, before meeting Homer and the Simpsons. And from here, we see Bart and Stewie causing mischief, Lisa convincing Meg that she matters, Chris and Brian bonding with Santa's Little Helper and Peter and Homer trying to find Peter's car. All while Marge and Lois do something else and all leading to a conspiracy on Duff Beer. Everything is there from the amount of adult humor both shows are able to do to things like chicken fights, comparisons of characters and so on. Its a crossover that was really worth the wait and maybe one day we'll see the Simpsons going to Quahog. 9/10

3 - Super Smash Bros.

Before PlayStation All-Stars, Smash Bros. was where it was at. A fighting game like no other which sees Nintendo characters (and later on, thrid party characters like Sonic, Megaman and Pac-Man) being pitted against each in worlds of lore and so forth and just beating the c**p out of each other. So you could have Mario take on Link, Kirby against Jigglypuff, Megaman vs Samus and even more bizarre ones like Mario vs Dr Mario or Link vs Toon Link vs Young Link. It really is that bizarre, but all around great at the same time and I look forward to playing it on the Nintendo Switch.

2 - Kingdom Hearts

So remember I said that there was a Disney crossover game for the hardcore audience? Well this is it. Using elements of Final Fantasty, this big franchise had players travel to different worlds based on Disney properties and interact with the characters as well as coming across some familiar Square Enix characters such as Cloud, Tifa and others. Plus you get Donald Duck and Goofy as your companions and its actually pretty amazing how some of the original cast for the Disney properties were able to lend their voices. Its a complicated game with a very complicated story or timeline, but its worth every penny and I look forward to seeing where it goes with the next most anticipated game in the series.

Honourable Mentions

• Project X Zone - various franchises from Capcom, Bandai Namco, SEGA and Nintendo coming together in a battle arena series of games
• Wreck-It Ralph - they live in an arcade full of classic video game characters with its sequel bringing the world of the Internet into it
• Ready Player One - while having its own world and characters, it features many appearances from other franchises
• The LEGO Movie - The rules of the franchise are that everything is seperated into different realms with each one being based on a particular theme or franchise. The LEGO Batman Movie went one step further by having the villains from the different franchises be prisoners in The Phantom Zone
• Batman crossovers - Literally almost every single thing has had a crossover with Batman including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Alein and Predator, Judge Dredd and even the Power Rangers
• Freddy VS Jason - Pit two of the most iconic horror slasher killers against each other and this is the end result (though it probably would have been better without the human side story)
• Amalgam Comics - Series of comics about hybrids of DC and Marvel characters like Super-Solider (Superman and Captain America), Dark Claw (Batman and Wolverine) and Skulk (Solomon Grundy and Hulk)

1 - LEGO Dimensions

Probably the most unusual of crossovers, but its one that actually surprisingly works. So the idea of LEGO Dimensions is that its another toys to life game that actually uses real LEGO to create the characters, gadgets, vehicles and bases. But its not all that as it actually has a number of franchises in their as well as LEGO's own ones. Its like if the Doctor was riding the DeLorean in Middle-Earth or Batman driving Homer's car in Jurassic World or Harry Potter playing on the arcade cabinet in Oz. Its more or less mix and match with your favourite characters and seeing how each one interacts to everything in the game. Plus its not all archive footage as some actors came back to reprise their roles such as Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle, Peter Capaldi as The Doctor, Chris Pratt as Emmet and Owen Grady and even Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown and Ellen McLain as GLaDOS. Its the ultimate crossover that everyone wanted and could be better if more franchises were added. So there you go.

So that's my crossover list. Feel free to list your favourites in the comments below and maybe I will check them out. See you soon :)