Summary
Like the rest of the world, Japan was fascinated by animation in the early 20th century. They saw people like Winsor McCay and Walt Disney(’s staff) bringing cartoon figures to life and thought they should give it a try too. There were a few early shorts that still survive today, like 1917’sThe Dull Sword,but to the rest of the world, Japanese animation came into its own during the post-war era when the likes ofAstro BoyandSpeed Racerstarted catching on.
Since then, Japanese anime has become a fixture of TV schedules, cinema marquees, and a ton of video games. It seems like there’s at least one game for every anime franchise ever made. Even then, it hasn’t been enough to have just a set ofOne Piecegames, someNarutobeat ‘em ups, or aDragon Ball-based RPG here and there. Sometimes, they’ve managed some crossover encounters, where the biggest names in Japanese anime have either joined forces or fought against each other, with these being just some ofthe best anime crossover games around.
Updated on Jun 27, 2025, by David Heath:This list originally looked at some truly awesome anime crossovers, but it needed a refresh. Some of its original entries were mobile games that have since been shut down, making them inaccessible without either emulation or hacking. As such, those entries have been replaced with some new, equally intriguing options, the old entries have been given more detailed blurbs to show what they’re all about, and the list has been reordered to show, in descending order, which anime crossover games are truly the best.
9DreamMix TV World Fighters
When Smash Clones Get Bizarre
It feels like companies have only really tried to beat Nintendo at their own game of creating mascot fighters in the past decade or so, with the likes ofPlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale,MultiVersus, andNickelodeon All-Star Brawlcoming, going, and coming back again. If people look further, they can find some truly odd games that tried to take on theSuper Smash Bros.series, like when Hudson Soft got Bitstep to make a game where their characters battled it out with figures from Konami and the Takara toy company.
Bomberman, andBloody Roar’s Yugo, could go toe to toe withCastlevania’s Simon Belmont andBeyblade’s Tyson Granger. OrMetal Gear Solid’s Solid Snake could see if his Stinger missiles are just as effective against Optimus Prime and Megatron fromTransformersas they are against Metal Gears.DreamMix TV World Fighterseven comes with a story mode, where the characters are fighting to…increase ratings for the DreamMix TV channel. It’s a surreal little game that’s worth dabbling in, despite it being a Japan-only release.
A lot of the most famous franchises in the anime medium made their debut in the pages ofShōnen Jump. Its publishers, Shueisha, haven’t been shy about showing off its characters either.Famicom Jumpon the NES brought together its biggest stars for its 20th anniversary in 1988, while its sequel,Famicom Jump 2, trimmed things down to letting players control seven of its key protagonists, like Goku fromDragon BallZ, Jotaro Kujo fromJojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and, um,Kankichi Ryotsu fromKochiKame.
Nowadays,Shōnen Jumpis a more familiar name worldwide, so fans got to see what their brawl-for-all would be like inJ-Stars Victory Vs+, an arena fighter made by the people behind theBudokai Tenkaichiseries. They can pit Gon Freecss fromHunter X Hunterup against Kenshiro fromFist of the North Star, with Vegeta fromDragon Ball Zas their partner, or the Sket-dan teamfromSket Danceas their support. That’s not to mention characters fromOne Piece,Bleach,Bobobo-bo-Bobobo,and more waiting in its roster.
7Battle Stadium D.O.N
Jump’s Biggest 3-Way Rumble
Jump’s brawlers are all well and good, but what if fans aren’t interested in the comic’s more obscure characters? What if they’d prefer a game where it just focused on three of its biggest hitters and had their classic characters take each other on instead? With help from Q Entertainment, futureMarvel Vs Capcom 3developers Eighting did that forDragon Ball,One Piece, andNarutoinBattle Stadium D.O.N.
It’s a 2.5D platform fighter akin toSmash Bros., where players have to beat the orbs out of each other. The winner is either the first person to get all the orbs in a stage, beat all the orbs out of their opponents, or have the most orbs once the time limit runs out. Up to four players can get in on the action, using their special moves and transformations, alongside the occasional helpful item. Although anyone spoiled on their bigger games before and since might find its 20-character roster rather slim.
6Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel
A Visual Blast That’s Quite Novel
To those not in the know,Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duelsounds like an anime spin-off to some long-forgotten 90s toy line, but it’s actually a fighting game made by the same team behind the cult moe fighting seriesArcana Heart. Only this time, Heart Aino is joined by characters from the different visual novels published by Nitroplus. Ever wanted to see her beat up Saber fromFate/Zero? Or watch Super Sonico take on Homura fromSenran Kagura? It’s all possible with this game.
Still, not all of its visual novel representatives had anime series of their own. Luckily, it features assist characters from a variety of different anime series, so Heart can be helped by Yuki Takeya, the girl gaslighted into thinking a zombie invasion is just another school day inSchool-Live, or by Amy, the chirpy guide fromGargantia on the Verdurous Planet. If that wasn’t odd enough, its mix of heroines can be aided by characters from heavier sci-fi hits too, like Akane fromPsycho-Passand Angela fromExpelled From Paradise.
5Sunday VS Magazine Shuuketsu! Chojo Daikessen
There’s No Sunday Rest in This Game
Shōnen Jumpis perhaps the most famous manga magazine around, but it isn’t the only one. In fact, the likes ofWeekly Shōnen SundayandWeekly Shōnen Magazine(which, despite their similar names, are two different magazines by different publishers) have been around since 1959, nearly a decade longer thanJump, and have featured some classic characters of their own. To celebrate their 50th anniversaries, Konami and Hudson Soft put their best and brightest together to battle it out inSunday Vs Magazine Shuuketsu! Chojo Daikessen.
Shōnen Sunday’s Hayate the Combat Butler, Kenichi (ofKenichi the Mightiest Disciplefame), and Recca fromFlame of Reccacan take onShōnen Magazine’s Devilman, Lucy Heartfilia fromFairy Tail, Ippo Makunouchi fromHajime no Ippo, andCromartie High School’s Mechazawa, among many more. It was a Japan-only release, but it’s a very import-friendly game for English speakers and has straightforward, simple, combo-based gameplay that’s perfect for beginners to fighting games.
4Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax
When Light Novels Get Heavy
To celebrate Dengeki Bunko’s 20th anniversary, French Bread and Ecole Software (ofMelty BloodandUnder Night In-Birthfame) put togetherDengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax, a 2D fighter featuring characters from some of their most famous light novels. It’s a one-on-one fighter, but characters can call in assistsRival Schools-style to attack or provide a pick-me-up. So, Kirito and Leafa fromSword Art Onlinecould join forces to take onToradora’s Taiga, who’s being helped in battle by the infamousBludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chanherself.
They’re also joined by characters fromOreimo,Boogiepop Phantom,A Certain Magical Index,Kino’s Journey,Spice and Wolf, andShakugan no Shana,among others. Each have their own special abilities and surreal super moves, likeOreimo’s Kirina usinga UFO Catcher crane to grab her opponents. To top it off, it has Akira and Pai fromVirtua Fighter, perhaps the most sober, strait-laced fighting game around, turning up to demonstrate some normal kung-fu amid the fantasy chaos.
J-Stars Victory Vs+was great for anime fans, as its bold, colorful presentation and different character interactions would have them finding Easter Eggs for days.However, it was also when the malaise over 3D anime arena fighters started to set in. Running all around an open space and blasting projectiles might resemble some shows better, yet it didn’t help keep the gameplay fresh for long. It made some wonder if things were better back whenJump’s brawlers were 2D, like inJump Ultimate Stars.
It was essentially a 2DSmash Bros.clone on the Nintendo DS, but with additional strategy via building card decks. If players can get the right deck together, they can overcome their opponents mentally as well as physically, gaining attack buffs along the way. Neither it nor its predecessor,Jump Super Stars, left Japan, but people who got it on import felt that it was one of the handheld’s best hidden gems. It’s certainly one of the more interesting ones, as people probably didn’t expect there to be a game whereOne Piece’s Luffy could be backed up bythe cast ofI"s.
2Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
Perhaps Capcom’s Most Underrated Crossover Game
Given most people’s reaction to the game’s release back in 2010 was “What’s a Tatsunoko?”, chances are thatTatsunoko Vs Capcomwasn’t originally meant to get a global release. The game came out in Japan two years before the West with an exclusive challenge mode and with endings animated by the famous anime studio itself. However, thanks to Nintendo, and perhaps to the success ofStreet Fighter 4on rival consoles at the time, Capcom was able to negotiate with the anime’s different license holders abroad to co-operate.
Well, all except one. Hakushon Daimaoh would remain a Japan-exclusive character and would be replaced with Tekkaman Blade (akaTeknoman), Yatterman #2 fromYatterman, and Joe the Condor fromGatchaman/Battle of the Planets/G-Force/Eagle Ridersin the West. Even if players were unfamiliar with them,Hurricane Polymer,Casshern,orKaras, they’d recognize its tag gameplay, as it was heavily inspired by theMarvelgames. However, the game remains trapped on the Wii, and due to its tricky license deals, is perhaps unlikely to get a fresh release.
1The 3rd Super Robot Wars Alpha: To The End Of The Galaxy
A Truly Super Game
When it comes to anime crossover games, it would feel amiss not to mention theSuper Robot Warsseries. It’s been pitting mechs fromMobile Suit Gundam,Getter Robo,Mazinger Z, and more against each other since 1991. However, it can be hard to pick which entry in the series is the best, as it has its own range of spin-offs, reboots, and reworkings alongside its main series games. It’s like looking for a piece of hay in a stack full of needles. So, this list will go for just one of its most popular entries inThe 3rd Super Robot Wars Alpha: To the End of the Galaxy(SRA3for short).
TheSuper Robot Wars Alphaseries is particularly well regarded by fans of the series, withSRA3being considered one of the best. It’s a tactical RPG where players must organize theirunits of famous mechsto take on the Ze Balamary Empire.MSG’sStardust MemorytoGundam SEEDare represented, as areGetter Robo,Mazinger Z,Neon Genesis Evangelion,Space Runaway Ideon,The King of Braves GaoGaiGar, and more, alongside some original characters, producing one of the largest cast of mechs in the series.
