Does Rayman In Brawlhalla Mean No Super Smash Bros Ultimate Apperance?

With the recent addition of Rayman as a playable character, indie fighter sensation Brawlhalla has broken into the mainstream. While this is certainly exciting news for the developers and fans of the series, it also highlights something that’s often frustrating about games – the difficulty in getting major developers to cooperate and share their IPs.

Super Smash Bros., the spiritual forebear to Brawlhalla and the entire party fighter genre, boasts some surprising successes in securing non-Nintendo IPs. The upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will feature Konami’s Solid Snake, Namco’s Pac-Man, Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog, and Capcom’s Ryu and Mega Man.

Rayman is coming to Brawlhalla on November 6th! pic.twitter.com/EbziS7Jy7Y

— Brawlhalla (@Brawlhalla) September 2, 2018

Rayman would have fit in perfectly with that lineup. He’s appeared on Nintendo consoles from the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo 64 on up to the Wii U and Switch. He’s quirky and recognizable, with limbless hands that can wind up big punches and hair that can turn into a propeller.

Since developer Ubisoft recently acquired Brawlhalla, it’s understandable that they’d want to feature a banner character to boost sales and interest. And it’s possibly for this same reason that Rayman isn’t in Smash, to make his appearance in Brawlhalla more special. But Rayman isn’t the only character missing from the Smash Bros. franchise.

During the 64-bit era, Rare was one of Nintendo’s biggest developers. Since Microsoft launched its own gaming platform with the Xbox and acquired Rare, crossovers between Rare and Nintendo characters have been few and far between. Despite their iconic status on Nintendo consoles, there has been no Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, or Battletoads in Smash.

Whenever a new Smash game is released, fans eagerly await the announcement of new characters. Gaming websites hold polls asking fans who they most want to see and YouTubers create countdowns of their must-have inclusions. Often, the characters fans most desire remain out of reach. Whether for a lack of interest on Nintendo’s part or a difficulty in negotiating an arrangement between rival IP holders, fan favorites like Banjo-Kazooie seem like they may never join the Smash roster – despite some Xbox representatives being open to the idea.

Crossovers in games are nothing new. On Xbox, the Battletoads appeared as bosses in Shovel Knight. In SoulCalibur II, each console got its own console-exclusive playable character, including Link as a featured character on the GameCube version. They generate fan excitement and allow us to indulge some of our wildest gaming fantasies.

It’s understandable for companies to want control over their intellectual property and make sure it isn’t misused. But there’s no reason to think Super Smash Bros. would misuse Rayman, Banjo-Kazooie, the Battletoads, or anyone else. Competition in the gaming industry is also essential, and Rayman’s inclusion will likely elevate Brawlhalla to even greater popularity. Too many crossovers could cause each franchise to lose its specialness. Every game can’t include every character.

Still, a fan can’t help but dream. If Nintendo ever threw every franchise mascot into one massive free-for-all, no one would lose. Nintendo would sell millions of games, developers would get their characters in front of millions of eyes, and it would be one of the biggest gaming events in the culture’s history.

With the addition to the Smash roster of characters like Ryu, Mega Man, and Castlevania’s Simon Belmont, fans are learning to never say never. Stubbornness from IP holders kept Spider-Man out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for years, but he’s finally crossed over now. Hopefully IP holders will all get along one day so that the rest of us can enjoy their characters smashing the hell out of each other.

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