Mega Crossover: Difference between revisions

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{{examples}}
{{examples}}
== Fan Fics ==
== [[Fan Works]] ==
=== Fan Fiction ===
* ''The'' example—the ''ultimate'' example—is the work known as ''[[Undocumented Features]]'', created by [[Eyrie Productions, Unlimited]]. More or less continually written since the early 1990s by a dedicated creative team, running into many many megabytes of stories, ''UF'' blends together so many sources that ''no one'' has a definitive count of them, and has successfully combined them all into a single galaxy-spanning space opera epic with an internal history of thousands of years. The earlier works are admittedly crude—the first installment was intended as a joking "we could do something like this" example meant to be discarded when the "real" writing began—but ''UF'' (and other EPU) stories since the middle to late 1990s have all been of exceptional quality and workmanship.
* ''The'' example—the ''ultimate'' example—is the work known as ''[[Undocumented Features]]'', created by [[Eyrie Productions, Unlimited]]. More or less continually written since the early 1990s by a dedicated creative team, running into many many megabytes of stories, ''UF'' blends together so many sources that ''no one'' has a definitive count of them, and has successfully combined them all into a single galaxy-spanning space opera epic with an internal history of thousands of years. The earlier works are admittedly crude—the first installment was intended as a joking "we could do something like this" example meant to be discarded when the "real" writing began—but ''UF'' (and other EPU) stories since the middle to late 1990s have all been of exceptional quality and workmanship.
** Also by the fine folks at EPU, ''[[Neon Exodus Evangelion]]'' starts off looking like just an ambitious [[Alternate Universe Fic]] for ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', but before long it becomes clear that this is a Mega Crossover world involving at least a dozen sources besides ''NGE'', and that it only tangentially ''resembles'' [[Canon]] ''Evangelion''. Interesting to note, that much as ''Evangelion'' was a [[Deconstruction]] of, almost an assault on, the tropes of [[Humongous Mecha]], ''Neon Exodus Evangelion'' is an assault on what the authors felt was the meaningless nihilism of the original, and the fic can be somewhat hard to warm to for some readers.
** Also by the fine folks at EPU, ''[[Neon Exodus Evangelion]]'' starts off looking like just an ambitious [[Alternate Universe Fic]] for ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', but before long it becomes clear that this is a Mega Crossover world involving at least a dozen sources besides ''NGE'', and that it only tangentially ''resembles'' [[Canon]] ''Evangelion''. Interesting to note, that much as ''Evangelion'' was a [[Deconstruction]] of, almost an assault on, the tropes of [[Humongous Mecha]], ''Neon Exodus Evangelion'' is an assault on what the authors felt was the meaningless nihilism of the original, and the fic can be somewhat hard to warm to for some readers.
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* ''[[Both Syllables]]'' combines ''[[Invader Zim]]'', ''[[Lilo and Stitch (Disney film)|Lilo and Stitch]]'', and ''[[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command]]''.
* ''[[Both Syllables]]'' combines ''[[Invader Zim]]'', ''[[Lilo and Stitch (Disney film)|Lilo and Stitch]]'', and ''[[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command]]''.
* While ''[http://neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/12042628/ Chess Piece]'' is primarily a ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' based webcomic, it has enough characters from other Nicktoons intertwined in its story to constitute its own kind of Mega Crossover.
* While ''[http://neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/12042628/ Chess Piece]'' is primarily a ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' based webcomic, it has enough characters from other Nicktoons intertwined in its story to constitute its own kind of Mega Crossover.
* The massive ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3587925/1/Chicago_Convergence Chicago Convergence]'' includes characters from ''[[Myth Adventures|Another Fine Myth]]'', ''[[Bolo]]'', ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', ''[[Charmed]]'', ''[[Catch-22]]'', ''[[Dark Angel]]'', ''[[Diagnosis: Murder]]'', ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Due South]]'', ''[[Early Edition]]'', ''[[Forever Knight]]'', ''[[Friday the 13th: The Series]]'', ''[[Hammer's Slammers]]'', ''[[Highlander]]'', ''[[Indiana Jones]]'', ''[[Knight Rider]]'', ''[[Kung Fu The Legend Continues]]'', ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[Love and Curses]]'', ''[[MacGyver]]'', ''[[Martial Law]]'', ''[[Mechwarrior]]'', ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'', ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'', ''[[Nash Bridges]]'', ''[[Kolchak the Night Stalker]]'', ''[[Quantum Leap]]'', ''[[Quincy]]'', ''[[Relic Hunter]]'', ''[[Seven Days]]'', ''[[Sliders]]'', ''[[Space: Above and Beyond]]'', ''[[Special Unit 2]]'', ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', ''[[Star Wars]]'', ''[[The Terminator]]'', ''[[The Black Company]]'', ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'', ''[[The Pretender]]'', ''[[The Sentinel (TV series)|The Sentinel]]'', ''[[The Wizard of Oz (film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', ''[[Time Bandits]]'', ''[[The Time Tunnel]]'', ''[[The Transformers (animation)|The Transformers]]'', ''[[Viper]]'', ''[[Walker, Texas Ranger]]'', and ''[[The X-Files]]'' all coming to [[Useful Notes/Chicago|Chicago]]. It manages to stay both coherent and hilarious.
* The massive ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3587925/1/Chicago_Convergence Chicago Convergence]'' includes characters from ''[[Myth Adventures|Another Fine Myth]]'', ''[[Bolo]]'', ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', ''[[Charmed]]'', ''[[Catch-22]]'', ''[[Dark Angel]]'', ''[[Diagnosis: Murder]]'', ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Due South]]'', ''[[Early Edition]]'', ''[[Forever Knight]]'', ''[[Friday the 13th: The Series]]'', ''[[Hammer's Slammers]]'', ''[[Highlander]]'', ''[[Indiana Jones]]'', ''[[Knight Rider]]'', ''[[Kung Fu The Legend Continues]]'', ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[Love and Curses]]'', ''[[MacGyver]]'', ''[[Martial Law]]'', ''[[Mechwarrior]]'', ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'', ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'', ''[[Nash Bridges]]'', ''[[Kolchak the Night Stalker]]'', ''[[Quantum Leap]]'', ''[[Quincy]]'', ''[[Relic Hunter]]'', ''[[Seven Days]]'', ''[[Sliders]]'', ''[[Space: Above and Beyond]]'', ''[[Special Unit 2]]'', ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', ''[[Star Wars]]'', ''[[The Terminator]]'', ''[[The Black Company]]'', ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'', ''[[The Pretender]]'', ''[[The Sentinel (TV series)|The Sentinel]]'', ''[[The Wizard of Oz (film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', ''[[Time Bandits]]'', ''[[The Time Tunnel]]'', ''[[The Transformers (animation)|The Transformers]]'', ''[[Viper]]'', ''[[Walker, Texas Ranger]]'', and ''[[The X-Files]]'' all coming to [[The Windy City|Chicago]]. It manages to stay both coherent and hilarious.
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090211173532/http://lubakmetyk.infinology.net/others/bootleg/act1.html Convergence]'' is another one, set on ''[[Babylon 5]]'', from the late 90s. Politics and squabbling between the many authors eventually drove everyone away.
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090211173532/http://lubakmetyk.infinology.net/others/bootleg/act1.html Convergence]'' is another one, set on ''[[Babylon 5]]'', from the late 90s. Politics and squabbling between the many authors eventually drove everyone away.
* Usually, a Mega Crossover will contain either anime or [[Western Animation]], but not both. One of the few exceptions is ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5032746/1/CrossWorld_Episode_1 CrossWorld: Episode 1]'', by Hejin57, a.k.a. Kareem Elamrani. This is an unfinished work containing, so far, characters from ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'', ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'', ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'', ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'', ''[[Samurai Jack]]'', and, of all things, ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]''. It's about as [[Crack Fic|cracky]] of an idea as one would expect, but actually [[So Okay It's Average|isn't that terrible]], despite the fact that it's not nearly as good as the other fanfics by the same author. Unfortunately, [[Dead Fic|it hasn't been updated since 2009]], which actually wouldn't be so bad if the author hadn't stopped ''just when the story was starting to get good''. The author has since chosen to work on his other, non-crossover ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi|Haruhi]]'' fanfics, which as has already been mentioned, are much better works.
* Usually, a Mega Crossover will contain either anime or [[Western Animation]], but not both. One of the few exceptions is ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5032746/1/CrossWorld_Episode_1 CrossWorld: Episode 1]'', by Hejin57, a.k.a. Kareem Elamrani. This is an unfinished work containing, so far, characters from ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'', ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'', ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'', ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'', ''[[Samurai Jack]]'', and, of all things, ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]''. It's about as [[Crack Fic|cracky]] of an idea as one would expect, but actually [[So Okay It's Average|isn't that terrible]], despite the fact that it's not nearly as good as the other fanfics by the same author. Unfortunately, [[Dead Fic|it hasn't been updated since 2009]], which actually wouldn't be so bad if the author hadn't stopped ''just when the story was starting to get good''. The author has since chosen to work on his other, non-crossover ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi|Haruhi]]'' fanfics, which as has already been mentioned, are much better works.
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** [[Let's Play]] crew.
** [[Let's Play]] crew.


== Fan Vid ==
=== Fan Videos ===
* The grandaddy of all Fanvids is the ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-840keiiFDE Daicon IV Opening]'', made for a Japanese anime convention in 1983 by a group who would go on to become [[Studio Gainax]]. It's impossible to list (although [https://web.archive.org/web/20071016064255/http://www.anime-classic.net/AC/modules/wiwimod/index.php?page=DaiconWiki&back=WiwiHome somebody tried]) all the sci-fi, fantasy, movie, comic book and game references found in these five incredibly animated minutes.
* The grandaddy of all Fanvids is the ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-840keiiFDE Daicon IV Opening]'', made for a Japanese anime convention in 1983 by a group who would go on to become [[Studio Gainax]]. It's impossible to list (although [https://web.archive.org/web/20071016064255/http://www.anime-classic.net/AC/modules/wiwimod/index.php?page=DaiconWiki&back=WiwiHome somebody tried]) all the sci-fi, fantasy, movie, comic book and game references found in these five incredibly animated minutes.
* ''[[Dead Fantasy]]'' unites (mostly) female characters from ''[[Final Fantasy]]'', ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', and ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'' as they end up having to fight each other in very brutal ways.
* ''[[Dead Fantasy]]'' unites (mostly) female characters from ''[[Final Fantasy]]'', ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', and ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'' as they end up having to fight each other in very brutal ways.
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** ''DRB Origins, ODC Wisdom'' and ''ECE Mystery'' by [http://www.youtube.com/user/TheOfficialFallen TheOfficialFallen]
** ''DRB Origins, ODC Wisdom'' and ''ECE Mystery'' by [http://www.youtube.com/user/TheOfficialFallen TheOfficialFallen]


== Fan Games ==
=== Fan Games ===
* [http://gokou-sama.deviantart.com/ Gokou Sama (aka Somarinoa or Thor Steinbach)] is currently{{when}} working on following Mega Crossover Video Games: ''[http://ultimateshowdowns.wikia.com/wiki/Ultimate_Showdown Ultimate Showdown]'' (top down action game about characters from everything engages massive duel of death) and ''[http://ultimateshowdowns.wikia.com/wiki/Amalgam_Online Amalgam Online]'' (Alien-themed Mega Crossover Strategy game)
* [http://gokou-sama.deviantart.com/ Gokou Sama (aka Somarinoa or Thor Steinbach)] is currently{{when}} working on following Mega Crossover Video Games: ''[http://ultimateshowdowns.wikia.com/wiki/Ultimate_Showdown Ultimate Showdown]'' (top down action game about characters from everything engages massive duel of death) and ''[http://ultimateshowdowns.wikia.com/wiki/Amalgam_Online Amalgam Online]'' (Alien-themed Mega Crossover Strategy game)
* ''[[Mushroom Kingdom Fusion]]'', a [http://s4.zetaboards.com/mkfusion/index/ fangame-in-progress], sends Mario and Luigi (later a host of others) across a few of the most famous gaming franchises in order to bring down [[Castlevania|Legion]] before he can successfully fuse all worlds and drain the energy from the reaction...or something. The creators are keeping the plot a secret—will they finish before it becomes the gaming equivalent of a [[Dead Fic]]? Given the ambition of the project, I'd have to guess no...but hey, we know [[Metal Gear|Solid Snake]] is mentoring them! If that doesn't make it awesome, what does?
* ''[[Mushroom Kingdom Fusion]]'', a [http://s4.zetaboards.com/mkfusion/index/ fangame-in-progress], sends Mario and Luigi (later a host of others) across a few of the most famous gaming franchises in order to bring down [[Castlevania|Legion]] before he can successfully fuse all worlds and drain the energy from the reaction...or something. The creators are keeping the plot a secret—will they finish before it becomes the gaming equivalent of a [[Dead Fic]]? Given the ambition of the project, I'd have to guess no...but hey, we know [[Metal Gear|Solid Snake]] is mentoring them! If that doesn't make it awesome, what does?
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* ''[http://stabyourself.net/mari0/ MariO]'' takes the original ''Super Mario Bros.'' and gives Mario a [[Portal (series)|Portal]] gun.
* ''[http://stabyourself.net/mari0/ MariO]'' takes the original ''Super Mario Bros.'' and gives Mario a [[Portal (series)|Portal]] gun.


== Other ==
== Other Media ==
* ''[http://edenstudiosdiscussionboards.yuku.com/topic/4219/t/Heroes-and-Monsters-of-the-Millenium-1995-2005.html?page=1 Heroes and Monsters of the Milennium]'' Is a conversion for the Unisystem RPG ruleset, mixing ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''/''[[Angel]]'' with everything from ''[[Marvel Comics|Marvel]]'' and ''[[DC Comics]]'' to ''[[Stargate SG-1|Stargate SG 1]]'', ''[[Godzilla]]'', ''[[Ultraman]]'', ''[[Lyrical Nanoha]]'', ''[[Gargoyles]]'', ''[[Negima]]'', the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' and many others. With considerable overlap in themes, races, and technology.
* ''[http://edenstudiosdiscussionboards.yuku.com/topic/4219/t/Heroes-and-Monsters-of-the-Millenium-1995-2005.html?page=1 Heroes and Monsters of the Milennium]'' Is a conversion for the Unisystem RPG ruleset, mixing ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''/''[[Angel]]'' with everything from ''[[Marvel Comics|Marvel]]'' and ''[[DC Comics]]'' to ''[[Stargate SG-1|Stargate SG 1]]'', ''[[Godzilla]]'', ''[[Ultraman]]'', ''[[Lyrical Nanoha]]'', ''[[Gargoyles]]'', ''[[Negima]]'', the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]], ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' and many others. With considerable overlap in themes, races, and technology.
* ''[[wikipedia:Ani-Mayhem|Ani-Mayhem]]'', a [[Collectible Card Game]] produced in the middle 1990s by [[Geneon|Pioneer Entertainment]] that set characters from many different anime settings—surprisingly including many series licensed by companies ''other'' than Pioneer—in a grand romp across their various worlds.
* ''[[wikipedia:Ani-Mayhem|Ani-Mayhem]]'', a [[Collectible Card Game]] produced in the mid-1990s by [[Geneon|Pioneer Entertainment]] that set characters from many different anime settings—surprisingly including many series licensed by companies ''other'' than Pioneer—in a grand romp across their various worlds.
* ''[http://www.sowhowins.com So Who Wins]'', a any character battle website which a crossover between anything can happen.
* ''[http://www.sowhowins.com So Who Wins]'', a any character battle website which a crossover between anything can happen.


== Real Life ==
== Real Life ==
* [[World War Two]] has something for everyone. [[Those Wacky Nazis]]? Check. [[Dirty Communists]]? Double-check. The British fighting on [[The Home Front]]? Yup. [[Eagle Land]] pulling a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment for Europe (only after the aforementioned communists had already lost 20 million people)? Why not? And let's not forget about the [[Nuclear Option]] being used in the East. Everyone got involved in the second World War—especially states that claimed non-involvement such as Spain or Switzerland.
* [[World War II]] has something for everyone. [[Those Wacky Nazis]]? Check. [[Dirty Communists]]? Double-check. The British fighting on [[The Home Front]]? Yup. [[Eagle Land]] pulling a [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment for Europe (only after the aforementioned communists had already lost 20 million people)? Why not? And let's not forget about the [[Nuclear Option]] being used in the East. Everyone got involved in the second World War—especially states that claimed non-involvement such as Spain or Switzerland.


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

Revision as of 20:17, 27 April 2021

Joes, Vulcans, Autobots, Ghostbusters and Zombies. Place your bets.

The Fan Work equivalent of the Massive Multiplayer Crossover—a fan-made creation combining three or more properties into a single, hopefully coherent, whole. By necessity also a variety of Alternate Universe Fic, the Mega Crossover attempts to dovetail many often wildly different settings together in the process of telling its story; it is perhaps the ultimate challenge an author can pose to himself.

When well done, a Mega Crossover can be an amazing and impressive piece of work, often epic in scale. When it isn't, it's an obvious stillborn Frankensteinian mess. Particularly bad, violently out-of-control megacrossovers, where sources are thrown together with no regard to blending their continuities, simply because the author is hopelessly in love with all those series, books, and comics, are called crossorgies.

The only problem with liking a Mega Crossover is that no matter how amazingly good it may be, trying to describe it to someone else inevitably ends up sounding corny and geeky.

Examples of Mega Crossover include:

Fan Works

Fan Fiction

Fan Videos

  • The grandaddy of all Fanvids is the Daicon IV Opening, made for a Japanese anime convention in 1983 by a group who would go on to become Studio Gainax. It's impossible to list (although somebody tried) all the sci-fi, fantasy, movie, comic book and game references found in these five incredibly animated minutes.
  • Dead Fantasy unites (mostly) female characters from Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Ninja Gaiden as they end up having to fight each other in very brutal ways.
  • Niconico video list Muv-Luv Crossovers, blends the Unlimited storyline of Muv-Luv, and spliced it with Gunparade March universe, in addition to having characters from Zegapain. Running parallel to the story is the Planet Fairy setting of [[Sentou Yousei Yukikaze]], in which Ryu Sohma becomes the copilot to Rei Fukai after his transformation from Takuto Kaneshiro. And both worlds are fighting what seemed to be a combination of JAM, BETA, and/or Festum, and it seems that Sumika is the AI core of Yukikaze, linking the two worlds. The story is told in Visual Novel-style dialogues interspersed with footage from anime/games related to the media, as well as careful splicing to ensure that everything is consistent. The "opening" animation of the series proper is in the second episode, but while it starts with the Muv-Luv setting and the beginning of Argento Soma, Yukikaze's arc proper starts at episode 6. As of 12 February 2011, the series has 10 episodes ranging from 20 to 30 minutes. Unfortunately, since the series is very heavy on dialogues, non-Japanese speaking viewers would have quite a problem in following it.
  • Many MUGEN video series on Youtube, when they're not just series of fights, will be a Mega Crossover, such as:

Fan Games

  • Gokou Sama (aka Somarinoa or Thor Steinbach) is currently[when?] working on following Mega Crossover Video Games: Ultimate Showdown (top down action game about characters from everything engages massive duel of death) and Amalgam Online (Alien-themed Mega Crossover Strategy game)
  • Mushroom Kingdom Fusion, a fangame-in-progress, sends Mario and Luigi (later a host of others) across a few of the most famous gaming franchises in order to bring down Legion before he can successfully fuse all worlds and drain the energy from the reaction...or something. The creators are keeping the plot a secret—will they finish before it becomes the gaming equivalent of a Dead Fic? Given the ambition of the project, I'd have to guess no...but hey, we know Solid Snake is mentoring them! If that doesn't make it awesome, what does?
    • And its sister project 'Super Mario Fusion Revival'. Which, though more Mario-centric, still features levels and areas from many other franchise once outside the first world. A smaller and less ambitious project then MKF, but built with a stronger engine and with great care put into each stage. Take a look for yourselves.
  • Card Saga Wars (see here) was another ambitious fangame, combining many characters from several different games. It's the sort of thing that can only exist due to dedicated fans or else the legalities of it would make everyone's heads spin.
  • Xeno Fighters R, a Bullet Hell Shmup featuring ships and characters from Gradius, Raiden, Legendary Wings, Twinbee, Galaga, and even Pokemon.
  • MariO takes the original Super Mario Bros. and gives Mario a Portal gun.

Other Media

Real Life

  1. The Clan has been crossed with (as of this writing): Devil May Cry, Digimon, Disgaea, Full Metal Panic!, Harry Potter, Hellsing, Mahou Sensei Negima, Lyrical Nanoha, Ouran High School Host Club, Persona, Pokémon, Ranma ½, Rosario + Vampire Sailor Moon, Suzumiya Haruhi, A Certain Magical Index, Usagi Drop, Valkyria Chronicles and a few others... not including the Nasuverse and Sekirei elements already present in the fanfic it's based on.