10 Video Game Characters You Didn't Know Appeared In Other Franchises
Video game crossovers at their most peculiarly unexpected.
There's no denying the amount of boring red tape which needs to be navigated in order for video game characters to make appearances in other franchises, no matter how simple things might seem on the surface.
And so, it never ceases to surprise when an iconic protagonist makes the leap to another beloved franchise almost entirely different from their own.
Due to the complicated nature of IP rights, it's most common for characters to make cameo appearances in other series owned by the same publisher, but every so often, fans will get to behold an entirely left-field crossover between franchises with no prior association.
Whatever the means, these 10 video game characters all made shock appearances in franchises both ridiculous and unexpected, in each case making fan wonder exactly how the deal came together in the first place.
In some instances it was a genuinely inspired and fitting crossover, while in others it was a mere cutesy tip of the hat, and every so often, it was nothing more than aggressively, distractingly bizarre.
But all 10 appearances have one thing in common: nobody saw them coming, and you probably still don't even know about them...
10. Solid Snake - Ape Escape
Though it's not much of a secret that Metal Gear's Solid Snake has sporadically appeared in the Super Smash Bros. series, did you know that he also made a cameo in the cult classic PlayStation platformer franchise Ape Escape?
The original 2005 release of Ape Escape 3 featured a mini-game called "Mesal Gear Solid," in which player monkey character Pipo Snake teams up with Solid Snake - who, oddly, is decked out in Big Boss' attire - to stop a group of rogue apes who have hijacked the new "Mesal Gear" robot.
Even though Snake voice actor David Hayter sadly wasn't available to voice Snake - resulting in a decent-ish sound-a-like - it's still totally, brilliantly jarring to see Snake show up in what's effectively a cutesy, kid-friendly parody of his own franchise.
Given that there's a Metal Gear-style Ape Escape mini-game in Metal Gear Solid 3 itself, which was released the year prior, we can safely assume this was some sort of a quid pro quo cross-promotion between Sony and Konami.
And despite how weird a partnership it is, Mesal Gear Solid remains one of the more impressively elaborate crossover mini-games you're ever likely to see.