12 Weirdest Franchise Crossovers In Video Games

Ever since peanut butter and chocolate, dreams of impossible crossovers have fired up the synapses and birthed wonderful, endlessly creative endeavours.

In video games, mash-ups run the gamut from the vaunted Smash Bros. series to the jam-packed Project X Zone, letting two (or even more) worlds merge together, allowing the impossible to become reality - alongside a host of ideas nobody would've ever thought up in the first place.

Honestly, who would ever guess that Ryu and Spider-Man make great tag partners?

That said, all the star power in the world can't make every match one made in heaven. Even the biggest names can't stop a jilted combo from being marred by uninspired direction - or just trying to mix oil and water. But the best games on the list are the ones that take a truly weird clash and rock it with style.

More of a fever dream than a dream come true, here's my list of 10 of the weirdest crossovers I've ever seen in gaming.

Nintendo turned heads with this strange little gem in 2012, where the world of Pokémon collided with the world of... Nobunaga's Ambition, a vaunted historical strategy series from Japan developed by Koei Tecmo.

Historical figures such as the titular Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Mōri Motonari do battle by controlling armies of Pokémon, represented in a top down angle akin to Fire Emblem, in bids to conquer or unite all 17 kingdoms of Ransei, and summon the legendary Arceus.

Despite the very Japan-centric themes, it turned out to be a bit of a rare treat that Nintendo would localize it worldwide - although the Ambition name was dropped from the title.