A reader tries to imagine Microsoft and Nintendo becoming best friends, and mash-ups including Halo and Metroid or Zelda and Fable.
This month sees the release of Xbox exclusive Cuphead on the Nintendo Switch, which is rumoured to be the first of several exclusive Xbox games coming to Switch, ahead of Microsoft characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Xbox Live and perhaps even Game Pass on Switch. How much of this is true (and how much Nintendo will back out of at the last minute, as they often do) remains to be seen but its clear that Microsoft and Nintendo have never gotten on better than they are at the moment.
But could it go further? Could we see co-developed games and crossovers between their biggest franchises? Probably not, to be honest, but Ive imagined them anyway…
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Halo x Metroid Prime
Probably the most obvious one, in that theyre both well-known first person stars who have kind of similar-looking space suits. Plus, theyre a man and a woman so you get a romance angle that writes itself! At first I started writing this feature as just a bit of a tongue-in-joke and while I know none of these will happen I do think theres something in the idea.
It would not hurt Metroid Prime to have better combat and vehicles you can use, while I would be totally happy with Halo having some proper puzzles and some actual new bad guys, from their perspective, for a time. Also, what happens when a metroid takes over a Covenant alien or one of the Prometheans?
Nintendo could be just the thing to lighten up the increasingly repetitive Halo franchise and I would love to see the Metroid Prime landscape and aliens with state-of-the-art graphics.
Forza Horizon x Mario Kart
Another team-up that I think would be genuinely amazing if it ever really happened. Mario Kart is an amazing multiplayer game but it has next to no single-player, so Forza Horizon could immediately sort that out for it. More importantly it could provide a proper open world environment for you to drive around in.
Id make the mix of real world and Mushroom Kingdom stuff straight down the middle, so an open world where you move between both but also the Mario crew in real cars and ordinary drivers (maybe a few cameos from other Microsoft games like Halo and Gears Of War) struggling to drive Mario cars. I know Id play it.
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Fable x The Legend Of Zelda
This one is a bit lop-sided, because as far as Im concerned Fable isnt fit to lick Zeldas boots as a video game franchise. But, Microsoft does have one important thing to offer that Zelda doesnt have: high-tech graphics.
For all these games Im imagining them appearing on the Xbox One as a sort of loan/special guest. Nintendo would never do that, I know, but I would love for it to happen with Zelda. Think how amazing Breath Of The Wild is as it is and then imagine it with state-of-the-art next gen graphics. Thats only going to happen via Microsoft (which is to say its not going to happen at all).
Gears Of War x Splatoon
This one is extra silly but I was trying to match Gears Of War up to something and I realised that Nintendo do in fact have a third person shooter of their own. Im not sure theres anything specific Splatoon can learn from Gears Of War, but I would love to see Gears take two things from Splatoon: the motion controls for looking up and down and the main Splatoon modes.
I really wish motion controls for first person games were an option on every console, as theyre great on Splatoon (I know the Xbox One controller doesnt have a gyroscope but the next one might). And beyond thatRead More – Source
