Who are you people?! (Unexpected Guest)

Have you ever played a game and then a character from another game just appeared out of nowhere? If the answer is no, then it's totally understandable 'cause this is a highly specific topic.

Still, there have been a couple of instances where certain characters just cross-over for no reason other than the surprise of it; I personally adore when this happens and makes these occurrences exciting in a different way than if it was just advertised in the box. Again and as always, suggestions are always welcomed, especially in a case such as this where is so specific, it would be fun to discover what games meet the criteria!

Pizza Tower
Pizza Tower
Mort the Chicken from... well, Mort the Chicken, makes a surprise appearance as a gimmick in one of the levels and in the final one.
Lunistice
Lunistice
Toree from Toree 3D makes an appereance. (Added by @DeltaWDunn)
Haiku, the Robot
Haiku, the Robot
The Knight from Hollow Knight shows up in a secret room as an easter egg.(Added by @Taaroni)
Dead Cells: Everyone is Here!
Dead Cells: Everyone is Here!
The Everyone is Here Update was a special update that was an official crossover event with several other Indie games, like Hollow Knight or Tomb of the Dead Gods, adding new weapons and outfits that were either pulled from or inspired by each game.(Added by @DeltaWDunn)
Demon Turf
Demon Turf
Yooka and Laylee make an appereance.(Added by @DeltaWDunn)
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Frog Detective makes an appearance as a cameo. (Added by @Taaroni)
Antonball Deluxe
Antonball Deluxe
Pepinno from Pizza Tower and Clive from Clive N' Wrench are playable characters. (Added by @DeltaWDunn)
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - HD Remaster
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - HD Remaster
... quite literally ''Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series''... (Added by @AlphaOne2 and @EVX)
The Henry Stickmin Collection
The Henry Stickmin Collection
Several crewmates from Among Us appear through-out the game. (Added by @Matt)
Code Vein
Code Vein
A monster from God Eater shows up.(Added by @Matt)
Blasphemous
Blasphemous
Miriam from Bloodstained makes a cameo in this game. (Added by @AlphaOne2)
River City Girls
River City Girls
Multiple characters from Double Dragon appear in the game. (Added by DeltaWDunn)
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
Spyro from Spyro the Dragon is a playable character.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Aurora from Child of Light is a playable character. (Added by @DeltaWDunn)
Blaster Master Zero 2
Blaster Master Zero 2
There are a total of two different EX Characters to chose from with Copen and Empress from different games by Inti Creates.(Added by @DeltaWDunn)
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG
Jill from Va-11 Hall-A shows up. (Added by @MobileSpider)
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Several Star Fox characters show up in the Nintendo Switch version. (Added by DeltaWDunn)
Blade Strangers
Blade Strangers
Shovel Knight and Isaac appear as playable characters. (Added by @EVX)
Aegis Defenders
Aegis Defenders
Shovel Knight is a playable character. (Added by @EVX)
Monster Hunter: World
Monster Hunter: World
There are boss battles with Final Fantasy's Behemoth and The Witcher 3's Leshen, and had Moogles and Geralt for the respective crossovers.(Added by @AlphaOne2)
Assassin's Creed Origins
Assassin's Creed Origins
There was a whole FFXV even and even Ardyn shows up. (Added by @Matt)
Road Redemption
Road Redemption
Shovel Kight is a playable character. (Added by @EVX)
Yooka-Laylee
Yooka-Laylee
Shovel Knight has an entire quest in one of the first levels.
Rivals of Aether
Rivals of Aether
Shovel Knight and Ori are playable DLC fighters. (Added by @EVX)
Blaster Master Zero
Blaster Master Zero
Shovel Knight and Shantae are playable characters. (Added by @EVX)
River City Ransom: Underground
River City Ransom: Underground
The knights of Castle Crashers and the protagonist of Hyper Light Drifter can be found on the backgrounds of the game. (Added by @DeltaWDunn)
Creepy Castle
Creepy Castle
Plague Knight from Shovel knight is a playable character. (Added by @EVX)
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2
Shovel Knight appears if you use its amiibo. (Added by @EVX)
Dicetiny: The Lord of the Dice
Dicetiny: The Lord of the Dice
Shovel Knight is one of the playable heroes. (Added by @EVX)
Dead by Daylight
Dead by Daylight
A lot, and I mean, A LOT of playable characters based on movie monsters. There are also Resident Evil and Silent Hill characters together in the same game, i.e. Nemesis, Wesker, Jill, Chris, Leon, HUNK, Ada, Rebecca, and Claire for RE and Pyramid Head, Heather, James, Lisa, and Robbie the Rabbit for Silent Hill. Plus there's Bill from Left 4 Dead. Plus, there are Jill, Sheva, Carlos, Cybil and Maria as alts.(Added by @Matt)
Move or Die
Move or Die
Shovel Kight, Rick and Morty are playable guest characters. (Added by @EVX)
ASDAD: All-Stars Dungeons and Diamonds
ASDAD: All-Stars Dungeons and Diamonds
Shovel Knight and other characters appear as guest playable character. (Added by @EVX)
Runbow
Runbow
Several guest indie characters can be played as. (Added by @EVX)
Gryphon Knight Epic
Gryphon Knight Epic
Shovel Knight makes a background cameo. (Added by @EVX)
Tekken 7
Tekken 7
Negan from The Walking Dead, Akuma from Street Fighter, Fatal Fury's Geese Howard and Noctis from FFXV are playable fighters. (Added by @Yanser94)
Bayonetta 2
Bayonetta 2
There are various nods to other Nintendo franchises, but most notably, Chain Chomp appears as a weapon.(Added by @AlphaOne2)
Armillo
Armillo
Shovel Knight appears on the retro level. (Added by @EVX)
Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight
Characters like the Battletoads and Kratos show up as console exclusive boss fights. (Added by @EVX)
Brawlhalla
Brawlhalla
Rayman and even characters from Steven Universe show up as playable fighters. (Added by @EVX)
Wreckfest
Wreckfest
Cars from Carmaggedon can be used.(Added by @Matt)
The Wonderful 101
The Wonderful 101
Bayonetta, Jeanne, and Rodin are secret characters from the Bayonetta series.(Added by @AlphaOne2)
Mutant Mudds Deluxe
Mutant Mudds Deluxe
Crewmate, Shantae, VVVVVV and Abe from Oddworld are some of the playable guest characters. (Added by @EVX)
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Heavy, Scout and Spy are playable characters. (Added by ZapRowsdower)
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Scribblenauts Unlimited
In the Wii U version, you can summon a ton of different Nintendo characters like Mario, Peach, Bowser, Link, Zelda, Ganondorf, among others from those two series. (Added by @AlphaOne2)
Cook, Serve, Delicious!
Cook, Serve, Delicious!
Many indie characters, like Cuphead, Rusty or Shovel Knight, can be played as. (Added by @EVX)
Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil 6
In the PC version, the characters from L4D2 are playable in the mercenaries mode. (Added by ZapRowsdower)
Spelunky
Spelunky
Meat Boy from Super Meat Boy is one of the secret playable characters.(Added by @Taaroni)
Dark Souls
Dark Souls
Patches, while being better known thanks to Dark Souls, it originated from Demon's Souls, a completely different continuity and world.

Also, Seath the Scaleless shares name with Seath, a boss from King's Field; that one doesn't really count but it's worth mentioning.
Alice: Madness Returns
Alice: Madness Returns
Raz from Psychonauts makes a cameo. (Added by ZapRowsdower)
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat
Kratos and Freddy Krueger make an appereance as guest characters.(Added by @moschidae and @MegaTheRealOne)
Mario Sports Mix
Mario Sports Mix
Several Final Fantasy characters appear as playable characters. (Added by @Baird)
Super Meat Boy
Super Meat Boy
There are a ton of different characters that can be unlocked, like Jill from Mighty Jill-Off or even Steve from Minecraft. (Added by @AlphaOne2)
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
Lars Alexandersson from Tekken 6 is a playable character. (Added by @cappone_ceraio)
Skate 3
Skate 3
Isaac Clarcke from Dead Space shows up. (Added by @conman)
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Monster Hunter's monsters make a surprise apparition in one of the missions.
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Several characters from different Sega series make an appereance as playable characters. (Added by @DeltaWDunn)
Punch-Out!!
Punch-Out!!
DK is the only secret boxer after finishing the game. (Added by @DeltaWDunn and @EVX)
Mario Super Sluggers
Mario Super Sluggers
King K. Rool is a playable character. (Added by @Plokster)
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
Han Solo is a playable character.
Valkyria Chronicles
Valkyria Chronicles
Vyse, Fina and Aika from Skies of Arcadia appear as playable troops / Support. (Added by @FallenGrace)
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Indiana Jones is a playable character.
Pac-Man World Rally
Pac-Man World Rally
The Prince from Katamari, Pooka + Frygar + Mr. Driller from DugDug, and Mappy are playable characters. (Added by @Plokster)
Mario Hoops 3-on-3
Mario Hoops 3-on-3
Same as Sports Mix. (Added by @Baird)
Enchanted Arms
Enchanted Arms
President Wilson from Metal Wolf Chaos is a playable character.(Added by @Detectivefail)
SBK: Snowboard Kids
SBK: Snowboard Kids
Jack Frost from SMT shows up. (Added by @MobileSpider)
Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart DS
R.O.B. makes a surprise appearance in this one as the only non-Mario character in the game, which to this day I do not understand why, but hey, it's funny as shit so I'm not complaining.
Super Princess Peach
Super Princess Peach
Starfy makes a surprise appearence.(Added by @Dalaamclouds)
Jak X: Combat Racing
Jak X: Combat Racing
Ratchet from Ratchet & Clank can be unlocked as a playable character for the races.
Ape Escape 3
Ape Escape 3
The surprise that gave us the best cutscene in all of gaming
NBA Street V3
NBA Street V3
Mario, Peach, Luigi and Yoshi show up in the GCN version(Added by @EVX)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
There's a minigame where you catch monkeys from Ape Escape. ( Added by @Corrugated_Fox)
Crash Twinsanity
Crash Twinsanity
Spyro shows up in one of the cutscenes as a gag. (Added by @AlphaOne2 and @MegaTheRealOne)
Under the Skin
Under the Skin
Raccoon City is a level an Jill, Carlos and Nemesis appear though-out it. (Added by @MendelPalace).
Crash Nitro Kart
Crash Nitro Kart
Spyro the Dragon is a secret playable character.
SoulCalibur II
SoulCalibur II
Ok, while the apparitions of Link, Heihachi and Spawn are very much advertised in each of the boxes, they are some of the first examples of guest fighting characters and such an interesting surprise that I had to put them here.
Alpine Racer 3
Alpine Racer 3
Klonoa from the Klonoa series shows up. (Added by @MobileSpider)
Wario Land 4
Wario Land 4
Mad Scienstein from The Frog for whom the Bell Tolls shows up. (Added by DeltaWDunn)
Dr. Mario 64
Dr. Mario 64
Mad Scienstein from The Frog for whom the Bell Tolls shows up. (Added by DeltaWDunn)
Wario Land 3
Wario Land 3
Mad Scienstein from The Frog for whom the Bell Tolls shows up. (Added by DeltaWDunn)
Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Rayman 2: The Great Escape
The general from Tonic Trouble appears in the game. (Added by DeltaWDunn)
Hot Shots Golf 2
Hot Shots Golf 2
Dan Fortesque from MediEvil and Gex are playable characters. (Added by @Plokster)
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure
Nights shows up in the casino level.(Added by @Matt)
Kirby's Dream Land 3
Kirby's Dream Land 3
There are actually a handful of cross-overs in this one, R.O.B also appears alongside Donbe & Hikari from Shin Onigashima and Chao & Goku from Yūyūki, but perhaps most known of all, the Metroids and Samus can be found in one of the many levels, the former as enemies and the latter as an ally.
ClayFighter 63 1/3
ClayFighter 63 1/3
Earthworm Jim and Boogerman are guest playable fighters.
Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II
Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II
Max from Sam & Max makes a cameo. (Added by ZapRowsdower)
Blood
Blood
Duke Nukem appears as a cameo. (Added by @MendelPalace).
Shadow Warrior
Shadow Warrior
There are several cameos from different characters, like Lara Croft or even Sailor Moon. (Added by @Matt)
Outlaws
Outlaws
Max from Sam & Max makes a cameo. (Added by ZapRowsdower)
Tekken 3
Tekken 3
Gon from the Gon series is a playable fighter. (Added by @taigamask and @EVX)
Christmas Nights into Dreams
Christmas Nights into Dreams
You can play as Sonic and defeat Eggman in one of the levels. (Added by @Matt)
Crusader: No Regret
Crusader: No Regret
There's an easter egg in a secret room, in the last corridor you'll encounter pyros from Ultima viii pagan. (Added by @Pilotin_67)
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Samus, Link, Captain Falcon and Fox make cameos through-out the game.
Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem 3D
The Doom Guy makes a cameo. (Added by @EVX)
Fighting Vipers
Fighting Vipers
Pepsiman is a playable character.(Added by @conman)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Link and Mario appear in the final results screen. (Added by @AlphaOne2)
Battle Arena Toshinden
Battle Arena Toshinden
Earthworm Jim shows up as a playable character. (Added by @conman)
Doom II: Hell on Earth
Doom II: Hell on Earth
Comander Keen and the Nazis from Wolfenstein 3D show up. (Added by @Matt)
Crusader of Centy
Crusader of Centy
Sonic appears as a NPC. (Added by @MagneticBurn)
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Mike Haggar shows up. (Added by @EVX)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Several characters from other Nintendo series, most notably Mario enemies and Wart from Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros 2, appear in the game. (Added by @Nyo)

34 Comments


5 months ago

In crusader: no regret there's an easter egg in a secret room, in the last corridor you'll encounter pyros from Ultima viii pagan.

5 months ago

@Pilotin_67 That's actually a super cool secret I had no idea about, to the list it goes! Thank you for sharing :)

5 days ago

Fun list! I have a few if you're still taking these:
Hot Shots Golf 2 - Dan Fortesque from MediEvil and Gex are playable characters
Pac-Man World Rally - The Prince from Katamari, Pooka + Frygar + Mr. Driller from DugDug, and Mappy are playable characters
Mario Super Sluggers - King K. Rool is a playable character
@Plokster Thank you so much! All of these are fantastic additions, I'll include them as soon as I can :D


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