Guest Fighter

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A Guest Fighter is a character that doesn't belong in the setting who just shows up in a Video Game, especially a Fighting Game. It seems like if a Fighting Game hasn't had a Crossover, it has had a Guest Fighter.

Guest Fighters are quite the Base Breaker; depending on who you ask, they are either awesome and hilarious because they're fishes out of water bringing all their superpowers and continuity nods to the conflict or detracting from the premise of the established fictional universe and/or a cheap cash grab because they're... fishes out of water. That being said, the Guest Fighters least likely to inflict base breaking are the fishes whose styles and settings are more in water, such as Link in Soulcalibur II or Freddy Krueger in Mortal Kombat 9, or guests in Massive Multiplayer Crossover games in which case there is no such thing as a fish out of water. And even then, it's still not a sure bet.

The name comes from the Super Smash Bros. Brawl website, in which the name is used to refer to Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog, the two characters that are outside Nintendo's ownership.

In nearly all cases, those characters are The Unexpected, so Guest Fighter can be considered a subtrope of that.

Examples of Guest Fighter include:

Fighting Games

  • As stated above, Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The latter was highly demanded by fans (which was why he was added in the game), while Hideo Kojima asked for Snake to be added (fans were surprised, to say the least).
  • One of the earliest (if not, the earliest) fighting game with a guest fighter would have to be the first Fighter's History arcade by Data East, which its final boss is Karnov from the arcade game of the same name, who also appeared in later titles in the series. However, he wasn't playable until the arcade game was ported to the SNES with a cheat code to play as him.
    • In Fighter's History Dynamite (known in Europe as Karnov's Revenge), another guest fighter appears as an "Extra" boss, which was the Ox from Data East's 1984 Karate Champ arcade.
    • In the Japan-exclusive Super Famicom-only title in the series, Fighter's History: Mizoguchi Kiki Ippatsu!!, the final boss this time is another guest fighter, which is Karnov's cousin, Chelnov, from the run 'n' gun arcade game Atomic Runner Chelnov.
      • Makoto Mizoguchi from this series made two appearances as a guest fighter: the first was in Suiko Enbu: Fuuun Saiki (with Liu Yungmie), while the second was in KOF: Maximum Impact Regulation A (for promoting the cell phone game Garou Densetsu VS. Fighter's History Dynamite).
  • Although both the Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting franchises take place in the same universe, Ryo Sakazaki from the Art of Fighting series appearing in Fatal Fury Special (upgrade of Fatal Fury 2) as the secret final boss could arguably count.
    • Truly a remarkable example because from one simple guest appearance, the entire The King of Fighters franchise was given birth (which is like "Guest Fighter: The Game", at least in its original design). KoF in itself has had a few guest fighters (particularly in XI where characters from fighting games like Savage Reign and Buriki-One, while starting in KOF 94 with non-fighting games like Psycho Soldier and Ikari Warriors, got to join the cast). And while it features characters from multiple universes, KOF 94 can be considered the earliest cross-over fighting game.
  • Gon in Tekken 3.
  • The Soul Series series is downright notorious for this:
    • Link, Heihachi and Spawn in Soul Calibur II. The catch is that each of these three are exclusive to a single console (Gamecube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox, respectively).
    • Lloyd Irving in Soul Calibur Legends.
    • Darth Vader, Yoda and "The Apprentice" in Soul Calibur IV; the latter is effectively an Early-Bird Cameo. The catch for the first two is each of them are playable from the start exclusively on one console (Vader on Play Station 3 and Yoda on Xbox 360) and are paid Downloadable Content on the other, making the pair from a technical point of view the first fighting game DLC characters, predating Makoto Nanaya by almost two years.
    • Kratos in Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny. The eponymous God of War, not the Tales of Symphonia character despite Lloyd's earlier presence.
    • Ezio Auditore da Firenze in Soul Calibur V.
    • While not Guest fighters in the same sense as the others listed above, there are also a number of characters who were created for the series by well known artists. In this sense, they count as well.
      • Necrid was designed by Spawn creator Todd Mcfarlane for Soul Calibur II, the game which Mr. Mcfarlane also made a toy line for. He was available on all three console versions.
      • Angol Fear was created by Keroro Gunsou creator Mine Yoshizaki. She is a cousin to Angol Mois from that series and made a one-off appearance in chapter 148 of the manga after her debut, making her a genuine retroactive guest.
      • Ashlotte Maedel was created by Tenjho Tenge and Air Gear creator Ito Ōgure AKA "Oh! Great".
      • Kamikirimusi was created by My-HiME character designer Hirokazu Hisayuki.
      • Scheherazade was created by RahXephon creator Yutaka Izubuchi.
      • Shura was created by Gantz creator Hiroya Oku.
    • All these guest fighters have background stories and plots that sufficiently explain why they are in the series. However, they are never actually referenced again or even hinted about having existed at any point, and have zero impact within the story. The 5 created characters for IV, including Angol Fear, are an exception as they are actually mentioned as part of the story, with Ashlotte having the strongest connection due to her part in the story for V's new Astaroth.
      • On another note, Ubisoft's Word of God on Ezio's presence is that it is easily explained through the Animus, the decidedly time-spanning but not universe-spanning Framing Device of the Assassin's Creed universe. Though at one point the Soul Calibur community manager noted the fuzziness of Ezio's timeline during the events of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (the incarnation used in V), suggested that it was actually time/dimensional travel instead of Soul Calibur V itself being a video game inside the Animus. The latter seems to be backed up by Ezio's official profile, which has him retrieving an item from the Templars that seems to briefly transport him to 1607, this leaving erratic readings in the Animus.
    • And Yoshimitsu could be considered one, atleast in spirit, given a similar character exists since the first Soul Calibur. While vaguely hinted at first, it was confirmed for V that this Yoshi is the founder of the group the Tekken Yoshi forms part of, and the first in a long line of successors carrying the same name.
  • Nicole, the female Spartan based on the Halo games who appears in Dead or Alive 4.
    • Akira Yuki and Sarah Bryant[1] from Virtua Fighter will be playable fighters in Dead or Alive 5.
  • The Japanese comedian Noritake Kinashi once showed up as Guest Fighter Norimaro in the Japanese version of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. He carried around a little satchel full of props as he fought. His super move was to fling every prop in the bag in a giant shotgun-blast of random objects. When he won, he'd pull out a little camera, hold it at arm's length, turn it around, and snap a picture of himself.
  • MegaMan.EXE and Zero are unlockable fighters in Onimusha Blade Warriors.
  • A rare Massive Multiplayer Crossover version: Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 (by Banpresto) featured Temjin, Fei-Yen the Knight, and Apharmd the Hatter, three mechs from Sega's Virtual On series.
  • The strategy-RPG Rondo of Swords features Izuna and Shino from the Izuna Legend of the Unemployed Ninja series and Cotton from her self-titled series of Shoot Em Ups as hidden characters. They are ridiculously broken.
  • Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law from Tekken appear in Urban Reign. Paul also appears alongside Heihachi in Xevious 3D/G, a Shmup of all things.
  • K-1 fighter-turned-comedian Bobby Ologun appears as the final boss in the Playstation 2 port of Power Instinct Matrimelee. He uses much Gratuitous English and has a Beam Spam super called "Bobby Beam".
  • In Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3, Arale Norimaki from Doctor Slump is an unlockable character.
    • Justified in that Arale did appear in one episode of the first Dragon Ball series, so when they said they would put everyone in Budokai Tenkaichi 3, they really meant everyone.
  • The Japanese version of Dragon Ball Z Budokai 2 had an alternate costume for Frieza, as his son Kuriza from Akira Toriyama's self-parody manga Neko Majin Z. Neko Majin Z himself appears as a guest assistant character in Dragon Ball Z Supersonic Warriors 2 for the Nintendo DS.
  • Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 allows you to use Lars Alexanderssen from Tekken 6. Namco Bandai has the rights to both series and Naruto author Masashi Kishimoto designed Lars's alternate outfit, so he reappears here with said outfit and redesigned to fit with the art style of the game.
  • Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst is a playable character in WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It! Rumor has it, this was one of the conditions for allowing the developers to use the song "Rollin'", which was Undertaker's entrance theme at the time, in the game.
    • Durst was also featured as an unlockable character in the ill-advised fighting game adaptation of Fight Club.
    • The more recent WWE games feature hidden "legends"; in other words, popular wrestlers from WWE's past.
    • WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 also features Rob Van Dam, who hadn't been in WWE for a couple of years prior to the game beginning development and, indeed, signed with TNA shortly after its release. He's listed as a "Free Agent", not as a Legend (the only other characters so designated are the Red and Green demonstration models, Paul Bearer, and the Undertaker's druid). Apparently, the dev team were just really big RVD fans and wanted to use him in the game very badly.
    • WWE 12 featured the returns of Brock Lesnar and Eddie Guerrero.
  • Similarly, rocker Henry Rollins has a sizably modern role in the second Def Jam fighting game, featuring the eponymous rap label's performers. Actors Omar Epps and Danny Trejo also make appearances and are playable characters.
  • While not a playable character, Donkey Kong is a not-so-secret challenger in the Wii Punch-Out!! title.
  • The hidden boxers in Ready2Rumble 2, including basketball star Shaquille O'Neal, Bill & Hillary Clinton, and Michael Jackson.
    • Could possibly count Rumbleman, who's basically boxing announcer Michael Buffer hopped up on Venom.
  • Three Raving Rabbids with different movesets in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash Up (One normal, one in Splinter Cell gear, and one in TMNT getup). This caused an eruption of Ruined FOREVER among the TMNT fanbase.
  • Ryougi Shiki of Kara no Kyoukai in Melty Blood.
  • Fate Unlimited Codes had a guest appearance by the Lancer from the 4th Grail War, who is from the same fictional universe but from a different time period than the one covered by the game.
  • While not unique characters, Haseo and Ovan have costumes in .hack Link belonging to characters from Tales of Graces. They are the only charcters in the game to do so.
  • Leaving aside the games that explicitly fold into it, The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2 has fun with this trope. Hanzo Hattori and Fio both show up... and are quite confused (Hanzo wonders what happened to ninjitsu when he meets Mai, and Fio mistakes Ralf for Marco).
    • Coincidentally, Clark and Ralf make appearances in Metal Slug 6 and 7, as well as one or two of their signature moves. Leona is an add-on character in Metal Slug XX, the PSP re-release of Metal Slug 7.
  • Earthworm Jim has appeared as a guest fighter in Clay Fighter 63⅓ and the PC edition of Battle Arena Toshinden
  • Kratos again in the PlayStation 3 version of Mortal Kombat 9. Given that Mortal Kombat is set in a multiverse and and has a penchant for gore-tastic fighting, Kratos fits right in.
  • Speaking of NetherRealm Studios, the Injustice franchise has had its share of guests.
    • For Injustice: Gods Among Us, Scorpion from Mortal Kombat appears as a DLC character.
    • For Injustice 2, Sub-Zero and Raiden from Mortal Kombat, Hellboy and all four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appear in the game.
  • Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent, Zack, and Sephiroth (the latter two making their first playable appearances) in Ehrgeiz, plus the final boss's first form looks suspiciously similar to Red XIII. Incidentally, this was the only reason most people bought the game.
  • Cole McGrath of In Famous joins the cast of Street Fighter X Tekken on Play Station 3 and Play Station Vita.
  • Vattroller X for the Game Boy Advance features Zoro, Kogenta and Beet as secret characters who are unlocked by passwords available in Japanese cards of the Vattroller X manga.
  • Cobra, Maam, Momotaro Tsurugi, Stroheim and Tarou Yamada[2] show up in Kinnikuman: Muscle Fight.

Other Games

  1. ↑ And possibly Pai Chan
  2. ↑ Chinyuki: Taro To Yukaina Nakama Tachi
  3. ↑ The past tense is because the servers are shut down
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