Nintendo has shown the world with Super Smash Bros that a cross-over fighting game of its beloved mascots can make for a very successful franchise. Sony tried to replicate that success by shoving out PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. However, many can agree that the game didn’t exactly meet expectations.
While it did have some good things going for it, there were arguably too many aspects that were somewhat disappointing. If, by some chance, Sony decides to try their hands on fixing what went wrong, then here are a couple of things they should look into:
Character Roster
Majority of those that have tried the game have stated how underwhelmed they were with the list of playable characters they had to choose from. Although it did have a respectable number of 24 mascots to choose from, it was more of an issue of who they were. Think about it, do you even remember who Fat Princess is? Do you really want to see Kratos beating up a character called Sackboy?
What I propose is revamping the entire roster altogether. Maintain those that both new and old PlayStation fans can easily accept as a playable fighter and remove those that don’t. Then, increase the roster by adding in those from more recent games such as the Witcher or Red Dead Redemption 2. What pulls people in are who they can play as. If they like the list that they can choose from, then it’s bound to be a success.
Game Mechanics
What sets aside PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale from Super Smash Bros is how advantages are gained. In the latter, you need to knock an opponent off the stage or beyond a boundary line in order to score a point or take away a life. In the former, you need to build up a meter in order to use a special move in order to take out other players.
It’s great that Sony’s version of the game is unique in that aspect, but it doesn’t really transition to a fun fighting game. In Smash, knowing that you can get rid of an opponent by any means at any given point in time makes for crazier and more exciting matches. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale’s method of gaining kills forces players into focusing more on the power meter rather than the match itself. Not saying that the mechanic should be removed, but that it becomes an option instead.
Let’s say that instead of just a power meter, each character has a stamina bar that’s more akin to classic fighting games. You can use whatever means necessary to win so long as the stamina bar reaches zero—this includes building up the meter and using those special moves. Something like that could potentially add more depth to the overall gameplay.
Multiplayer
If you played the game before, then you know how limited your options were when it came to multiplayer matches. This includes the stages, character movesets, and game modes that you can choose from.
While it’s great that every stage is a combination of locations from two different games, that doesn’t mean they make for an enjoyable play area. The number of stages wouldn’t have mattered as much if they were memorable, but that wasn’t the case. All that has to be done is to create stages that truly resonate with the series of a particular character, the option to switch off stage hazards and landscape changing, and a better soundtrack that is befitting of each stage.
Then you have the list of moves for every character. It’s clear that barely any balancing was done when it came to who can do what and how effective their moves are. This puts the player’s mindset into using only the best attacks rather than switching things up for more exciting matches. So if Sony were to try again, they need to consider every move for every character so that they aren’t too overpowered or underwhelming.
And lastly, there are the game modes. You have the standard timed battle and stock battle, but then you also have kill-limit matches where one wins if he/she reaches a certain number of kills first. While these are all great, the problem is that they still rely on the special move mechanic. Again, take that away or separate it to its own game mode, and you’ll find yourself having more fun.
What changes do you think should be made of Sony decided to remake or create another game similar to PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale? Leave a comment below to give your opinion on the matter.