Sony Title Fight Speculation

Title Fight: The Possible/Desired Characters

Alright, now I'm going to delve into the characters that I want to see in the game. If you don't want to hear about my speculations, then skip right past this and onto the confirmed stages. Since the game is supposed to have 20 characters, I will propose 12, as 8 have already been confirmed.

Cole (inFamous)

This one's kind of a no-brainer. Cole is a very iconic, popular, and current PS3 mascot with a huge catalog of moves to choose from for his moveset. Cole would use his electric super powers to battle opponents, and I think that you should be able to choose between good Cole and evil Cole, and the two should have some slight differences.

Sackboy (Little Big Planet)

Come on, seeing Sackboy beat the sh*t out of Kratos would be freakin' awesome and you know it! I have heard some people say that he should use his popit as an attack, but I think that that's the wrong way to go. Between the paintinator, creatinator, grappling hook, grabinator, and jetpack, Sackboy has a huge arsenal of moves that would work way better than the popit. I envision a paintinator range attack as a regular special, grabinator for grabbing enemies as a side-special, jetpack as a recovery, and I personally think that a self-destruct that deals a lot of damage would be a really unique down-special move. As far as up-close attacks, Sackboy's slaps seem like they would do very nicely.

Ratchet and Clank (Ratchet and Clank)

Ratchet is one of the few Sony mascots to span two generations of consoles. Thus, his induction to Title Fight seems inevitable. Like Jak and Daxter, I assume Ratchet and Clank would fight as a pair. Ratchet would use his omniwrench as a melee attack, and a few of his zany guns for his distance moves.

Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot)

I know Sony does not technically own Crash, but COME ON, CRASH STARTED PLAYSTATION. Crash Bandicoot was the killer app for the PSone, and even if his name has faded since then, he is still a necessary inclusion in my mind. And who remembers collecting three masks to become invincible? I sense a perfect level 3 Super.

Spyro (Spyro the Dragon)

Another character in a similar situation to Crash, Spyro's name has definitely dwindled in recent years. But again, Spyro

Solid Snake (Solid Snake)

Solid Snake was extremely important to Sony early on,  and so he has my full support and I believe he deserves a bid in Title Fight. Another character not technically owned by Sony, but if he can be in Brawl then obviously he can be in Title Fight since Playstation is what made him relevant in the first place. If he is included, I assume that his moveset would be very similar to the way it was in Brawl.

Chimera Hybrid (Resistance)

Oh Insomniac, why are you leaving us? Well, at the very least, they gave us two AMAZING franchises in Ratchet and Clank and Resistance. I believe that both should be honored with an entry in Title Fight, but, like Killzone, Resistance is better known for its villains than its heroes. Seriously, how many casual gamers know who Nathan Hale is? Not many, but the chimera are much better known, making them a much better addition to the Title Fight roster.

Wander (Shadow of Colossus)

Anyone who can take down the monstrous beasts that Wander did and do it in a game that is as celebrated as Shadow of Colossus can obviously hold there own in a game like Title Fight. His moves would be based around his sword and bow, and I can imagine a truly epic level 3 super where he call in a colossus.

Lemming (Lemmings)

I know, I know, a Lemming seems waayy to weak to be in this game, but hey, so did cpt. Olimar in Brawl. I also realize that Lemmings didn't start on Playstation, but Sony has obtained the rights to this character, and if you take the time to think about it, this character makes a ton of sense as far as a moveset. Lemming could use a pickaxe, an umbrella for recovery, dynamite, and, like Sackboy, could use a self-destruct move.

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)

Nariko is already expected to be in the game, and rightfully so. Her agility and sword moves make her a perfect fit for Title Fight. Also, Title Fight's roster is very scarce on women, as Fat Princess is currently the only female in the game, and an actually capable woman is kind of a necessity.

Gabriel Logan (Syphon Filter)

Seeing as how Title Fight is a clone of Super Smash, it is only fitting that Gabe Logan is in the game, seeing as how Syphon Filter was Sony's spy game to compete with Golden Eye . Since then, Gabe has had 6 games across PSone, PS2, and PSP, with a PS3 game rumored. His spy moves would be a great edition to the game, especially if Bond doesn't make the cut.

Monkey (Ape Escape)

Ape Escape is a game that NEEDS a rep in Title Fight. Ape Escape has been on every Sony platform so far, and not including a character from this series would be heresy. That said, I am not sure who should be the representative- the monkeys are obviously better known that Spike, but Spike would have a more diverse moveset. Still, I think the monkey would be the better choice here, and have his moveset revolve around quick melee attacks and just being a quick character overall. So there is my preferred way to fill out the rest of the Title Fight roster. If I missed anyone that you reall want to see, say so in the comments below. Standing OutSo far, Title Fight seems extremely similar to Super Smash Bros. Therefore, it needs something to set it apart from being an exact copy. These are some ways that Sony could do that.

Killstreaks

Killstreak rewards began with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and have grown has grown hugely through that series. Now, it could be translated into Title Fight. Perhaps these killstreaks could be used to get free items as opposed to having to pick them up, but the best way I can think to implement them is for the Supers. This would definitely add a fresh take on both the Final Smash idea and the killstreak idea, and create something fresh and different. This would virtually eliminate the tactic of sitting in a corner and waiting for opponents to kill each other in a stock match, as you would get obliterated by their Supers. Also, this system might work even better in this situation than in Call of Duty because getting kills is more random and unskilled players have a better chance of earning these killstreaks.

New Multiplayer Game Modes

Brawl was very limited in terms of game modes. There was time, stock, coin, and style and each could be played in teams or free for all. Title Fight should look to expand that slim selection of game modes. I would like to see possibly capture the flag, a mode where you have to capture and hold key choke points on the map, and whatever else SuperBot can do to make the multiplayer more robust.

Online

This one is sort of a given, but Brawl seriously lacked a competent online mode. It was there, but it was barebones and very limited. Title Fight should greatly improve upon that, featuring clans, tournaments, stat-integration, etc.

Conquest

This is an idea for a very deep mode inspired by NBA 07 and MAG. A very odd combination, I know, but hear me out. NBA 07 featured a game mode called Conquest (which is where I borrowed from the name of this article), and it had a map of the United States with every team placed in their respective city. You would then challenge teams and play for their court. The winning team would take/keep the court being fought for. MAG had an idea where online battles lasted more than one battle, and it wads over the course of several battles that one team became the victor. In a similar sense, all of the maps in Title Fight could be laid out in a map- organized perhaps by similar series being placed together or by generations (PSone v. PS2 v. PS3) lining up close together. Your clan would challenge another clan and the map would be divided up so that each clan was given half the maps, and your clan can only play as the characters from the maps you have. Factions take turns and can challenge each other in attempts to take control of the map, and as you win new territories you earn the rights to the characters from those locations. Any stages that do not have a character in the game could either have no character implications or represent charaters who do not have their own stage. As long as one person of the opposing faction is online, you could challenge them to a fight, or schedule fights for later dates. If the other team does not show, they lose the stage. Perhaps this idea is too far-fetched to turn into a game mode, but it would be very interesting and certainly a fresh idea if SuperBot could pull it off.

Campaign

Sure, Brawl had a campaign, but it wasn't as great as it could have been. Title Fight should aim at making a campaign that brings all the characters together in a way that doesn't, well, suck. I can't really think of how to do that, but that should be their goal.

Custom Stages

Again, this was a feature in Brawl, but it was sooo limited that a 2 year old was bored by it. I want a stage creator in the vein of Little Big Planet. Perhaps it could use some of LBP's creation controls and just water them down a bit. This would definitely provide some massive replay value, but I feel like my next idea will effectively kill the idea of a stage creator

DLC

This one seems rather obvious to me. With only 20 characters said to be in the game when it ships, there are still tons of characters out there to but into DLC packs. Personally, if there was to be a "PSone Classics" pack with Crash, Neo Cortex, Spyro, and Lara Croft, along with 2-3 stages, I would throw down $15 for that every time. Thus, a stage creator may kill the appeal of buying DLC stages, and if DLC is the route they choose, they may opt out of including a stage creator.

Updates (To Balancing)

To me, this is KEY. This is the one that needs to be present. The Smash Bros games are notoriously unbalanced- In Brawl, Meta Knight has been banned for being too good! And on top of that, there are only about 10 characters that can even be used in competitive play because the others are at such a disadvantage. Balancing has always been an issue for Super Smash Bros, and I assume it will be for Title Fight as well. What SuperBot needs to do is pay attention to the strategies being use and how it plays out and then ADDRESS THE ISSUES. They can't sit back and say, "Radec is unfairly good? Oh well! Sly Cooper can't hold his own? Too bad!" No. They need to see these problems and boost/nerf characters accordingly to give each character a fighting chance in the game.

Closing Comments

Since the game hasn't even been announced yet, there is plenty to speculate here. Potential characters are always going to be talked about in game like this, but I believe that the list above does a good job summarizing the key points of the Playstation name as well as provide a lineup of very diverse and interesting characters. As far as things to set it apart from Brawl, online, DLC/updates and a campaign seem pretty obvious, but it's the more creative ideas that could really make this game more than a clone. Killstreaks and Conquest are the most unique of these ideas proposed, but they would also be the hardest to implement. Custom stages and new game modes like capture and hold and capture the flag both have a decent chance of making it into the game, and both would help the game stand its own in comparison talks. Only time will tell which of these characters and ideas will make it into Title Fight. What ideas do you have for Title Fight? Comment below!