So, I've recently been really diving deep into Namco and I think it could be cool to see a crossover of sorts between the whole thing. I'll admit that I'm no expert, so this'll be a bit... controversial. Probably.
1.
Pac-Man. (Aw ****, it's Pac-Man... look, he has to be here. Arguably the icon of Namco, he's an obvious and solid inclusion - you couldn't release the game without him, it'd be like Street Fighter not featuring Ryu.)
2.
Blinky. (Bit of an odd choice only going for one ghost, but I think it's a much better way of handling this. Whilst his alts could represent other ghosts from throughout the series, I'd like to base this on his more personalised appearance, similar to how Pac-Man's modern look is in titles like Pac-Man World and the like. He's, well, a ghost - which would make his whole vibe pretty fun overall!)
3.
Dig-Dug. I think it'd be fun to see him as a very effective ground control character who struggles in the air. Picture him with the sort of gameplan similar to Knuckles's Assist Trophy, paired with a lot of powerful trapping tools - but struggling when both airborne and when having to deal with direct pressure. Also, a Mr. Driller alt would be so fun!)
4.
Mappy. Yes, he's a police officer, and a mouse. The whole vibe of "police officer" is quite a fun archetype to think of in a fighting game, with a lot of unique potential ideas for how they'd fight that might be quite unusual (for instance, having a handcuff mechanic.) Mappy's small nature, however, would make him a little timid - but still very brave!
5.
Gilgamesh. I think his whole "magical swordsman" thing would fit this sort of game really well. Druaga also seems to have gotten a lot of love in collections like Namco Museum, and as a classic pick, he feels quite fun!
6.
Momo. (The whole "Wonder Girl" concept is very fun to work with, and I think Momo would be fun to see here. Fighting with a magical hula hoop is such a weird, but fun, concept to work with that I think she'd be amazing to see - imagine her as a very acrobatic and fast-paced, though light, character!)
7.
Valkyrie. (Yes, she's keeping her classic design. I think her Norse origins could be played into, but also the fact that she has a shield and her companion, Kurino. Overall, they'd be a unique pairing who I think could be very fun to see - and also acts as valuable female representation on the roster!)
8.
Taira no Kagekiyo. (Look, he's a cyborg samurai, do I need to explain this? Whilst he's a bit obscure, I think Taira would be a solid pick purely because of his moveset having a lot of potential from his concept alone, being a lot lighter than other swordfighters like Gilgamesh and Valkyrie.)
9.
Hiromi Tengenji. (I think the whole vibe of "character that rides a flying motorcycle that looks like a rocket" would be an amazing inclusion here, and given one of my later choices, she's a vital representation of one of Namco's most important genres - shoot-em-ups. Overall, high speed and aerial capability, but very light as a tradeoff.)
10.
Rick. (Splatterhouse is quite fun to represent in some way, and I think that the whole "slasher villain" vibe would be fun to see here in some way. I don't know a lot about him, but he feels like he could be a cool powerhouse pick.)
11.
Bravoman. (Superhero? Based. Though he'd also have to have a Black Bravoman alt. Whilst he's not particularly well-known, he did get that webcomic - and an animated series - so Namco are at least interested in him, right?... right?)
12.
Jin Kazama. (Similarly to with Smash, I think he's a fun pick to see, and we've already seen Heihachi in PSASAR so we'll... leave that there. I think his Devil Form would be a cool mechanic to see here, and whilst I did consider giving Tekken more than one rep, I felt it'd be fun to challenge myself and keep it to one - just to be certain that we don't get too many similar characters.)
13.
Nightmare. (SoulCaliber feels like a very important series to represent, and whilst I considered going with a heroic character here, Nightmare's role as one of the only characters to appear in the whole series - as well as the greatest McGuffin in the series - made him a solid inclusion. Unlike Gilgamesh, Nightmare's swordfighting style is a lot more focused on having to space yourself properly and fight with more flow.)
14.
The Prince. (Katamari is such a weird, but fun, concept to work with here. I'm not 100% sure how it'd function, but I think the idea of him using his Katamari alone would lend to plenty of unique ideas that'd make him a weird, but amazing, pick.)
15.
Reiko Nagase. (Whilst Ridge Racer isn't exactly known for its characters, and an actual car on the field wouldn't work well unless this were a remake of Fighters' Megamix, Reiko feels like a good way to represent the series as a whole. It feels like a series that'd need to be seen here somehow.)
16.
Klonoa. (Whilst he's a bit of a more obscure modern pick, I think Klonoa would be very fun to see here. His whole vibe would be pretty sweet, and I like the idea of seeing him and his world introduced in a title like this. I don't know him all too well, but he feels... right, somehow.)
17.
Don-Chan. (A sentient drum would be amazing in my opinion. Being a rhythm game rep, I imagine you'd need a lot of rhythm with his attacks overall, but his vibe would be amazing to see here - as well as some of the potential interactions you could picture. I also like that his design feels like it'd fit in with some of the arcadey picks!)
18.
Agumon. (Digimon feels... interesting here, and I think "small lizard" is quite a fun addition to the roster overall. Having his Digivolve ability didn't feel right for normal gameplay, but his Bond of Bravery form would appear as a like finisher or something. Again, I don't know much about the series.
19.
Lloyd Irving. (A popular Smash pick?? Okay, I felt Tales needed a rep of some sort, and given Lloyd's unusual dual-wielding style as well as his surprising popularity, he feels like a solid addition. I know the Tales series is still going on today and there's probably a better pick, this is just sort of my own call.)
20:
Robotron Hero. (Despite being a third party pick, Namco and Midway used to have very close connections with Midway, with them releasing titles like Rally-X, Pac-Man and Galaga licensed from Namco. I felt they'd be a solid third party pick, and whilst I came close to suggesting either the Paperboy Kid, the Rampage Trio, Spy Hunter or Sinistar, Robotron Hero was my final choice because he feels... relatively iconic, but represents the arcade era better - as opposed to, say, Scorpion. His design is sort of a fusion between his appearance on the arcade posters for Robotron 2084 in which he looked more like a motorcyclist, and the design seen on the box art for the Atari release. As you can tell, his Robotron X look is being avoided. At all costs.)
21.
GALAGA. (I'm characterising this character loosely based on how they're presented in Namco High, that being that the Galaga ship itself is a character. In sprite form. Overall, GALAGA represents other schmups by Namco, with a focus on the Galaxian series as a whole, and I've saved them for DLC because they'd sell excellently - as well as being a valuable console rep that could be excused from the main roster.)
22.
KOS-MOS. (A representative of the Xenosaga series, I think she'd be important to see here. KOS-MOS has sold so much merch over the years, and I can actually imagine her selling really well as a DLC pick whilst also representing a new Namco series in the process..
23.
King. (I think that King is probably one of the most iconic Tekken characters out there, and the gameplay of a luchador would work well here. Yes, Tekken is one of only two series to get two characters, but I think it's fitting - it's an important series to represent. Also, I think "man in a mask" is just an appealing concept.)
24.
RX-78-2 Gundam. (A slightly surprising pick, but I think this could work. We'd obviously scale it down, but the Gundam would still be one of the larger characters in the game. Namco has quite the history with the Gundam series as a whole, though the specific "series" we'd mostly be representing here is the Super Robot Wars series. Even so, it's a "fourth party" pick, though I think a surprisingly fitting one.)
So, there's some missing series. I actually did consider adding a Dark Souls character, but with so many weapons-users already, I felt the niche would have already been filled (and I was stuck between choosing a protagonist or a side character.) Also, I came very close to adding Mametchi to the main roster, but I decided on Agumon in his place and he felt a bit too obscure for DLC. He'd totally make it into a sequel, but I think his role as a side character here (maybe like an assist trophy?) would work well.
Oh, and here's a roster image. All together, I think it's... okay? I don't really know - but I'm always open to criticism!
