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From enemy to frenemy
While they typically spend multiple adventures at each others' throats, there's something about the promise of wholesome competition that can make heroes and villains ditch their long-standing grudges for the sake of good sportsmanship. Regardless of whether or not it makes a whole lot of sense for these bitter rivals to come together without murdering each other on principle, of course.
Sega Superstars Tennis
I'm not sure if there's an official Sonic the Hedgehog chronology, but at some point in the series, Eggman should have been tried, and possibly executed for his cruel and unusual crimes against nature. At least Mega Man's Dr. Wily had to hide behind the Russian pseudonym of named Dr. Cossack for a game to escape suspicion after robo-enslaving the Earth. Meanwhile, Dr. Robotnik gets to swat at fuzzy green balls after temporarily crippling the planet.
Mario Kart
The great-granddaddy of mascot mash-ups, Mario Kart stunned the world in 1993 by introducing Bowser as a playable character--just a handful of years before he'd fight alongside Mario in Super Mario RPG. And in a slightly shocking move, the normally captive Princess Peach can race alongside him as an equal, which makes her seem especially forgiving of her captor.
Mega Man Soccer
Before Mega Man had more spin-offs than core series entries, Mega Man Soccer came out of nowhere and baffled its mid-'90s audience with atypical robot action. Capcom's blue robo-boy wasn't just in a sports game--he was kicking goals alongside formerly scrapped robot masters! Guys like Cut Man, Elec Man, and Ice Man somehow pulled themselves back together again in the name of footie.
Crash Team Racing
Crash Bandicoot might have only had half a decade of Sony stardom before the Jaxes, Daxters, Ratchets, and Clanks pushed him out of his console home, but one of his best games took the form of a kart racer. Thats a feat made even more impressive when you remember it came out in an era filled with some terrible kart racers. And since Crash's stable of characters was never all that large, like with Mario Kart, the villain once again fills out the roster despite his past transgressions.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
The Olympics have always been a substitute for war without the need for all of that messy clean-up, bringing together nations with centuries of animosity building up. So it shouldn't be a surprise to see so many heroes and villains paired off in Sega's cartoony take on this centuries-old tradition. And though their universes have never really clashed per se, seeing Sonic and Mario billed in a game alongside each other feels like the all-too-late conclusion of the 16-bit console wars.
Pac-Man Party
The world of Pac-Man was never meant to make sense, so everything tends to fall apart once you begin to approach it with any hint of logic. The ghostly quartet, enemies of Pac-Man for over thirty years, have origin stories yet to be explained--are they dead Pac-Men? Or simply the last remnants of a world before spherical, yellow creatures evolved and began to eat everything in sight? All we know is they want to destroy the hungry protagonist.
Mario Party
Apparently the Mushroom Kingdom sees a lot of downtime in between getting conquered. Thats the only reasonable explanation for why Mario and the gang seem to spend less time saving their world than they do killing time in it. Released in 1998 as a way to introduce children to carpal tunnel syndrome, Mario Party stands as the one Nintendo franchise that really makes it appear as if its characters have nothing better to do.
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball
After Dead or Alive made itself known to fighting game fans via its jiggling breast technology, seeing its female cast wind up in an entirely T&A-based experience wasn't all that surprising back in 2003. Still, the high-stakes nature of the Dead or Alive series--not to mention that melodramatic title--makes Xtreme Volleyball and its XBox 360 sequel notably odd, especially for American gamers who aren't used to seeing pervy titles get a wide release.
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed
Unlike Crash Team Racing before them, the recent Sonic kart racers don't burden themselves with a story. At best, you're just asked to race for the sheer joy of racing. That's all well and good, but again we see the issue of bitter rivals dismissing their justifiable anger to burn rubber. The power of burning rubber seems to heal all wounds.
