PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a 2012 crossover fighting game developed by SuperBot Entertainment and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. It features various characters drawn from video game franchises owned by or strongly associated with PlayStation competing against each other in multiplayer battles.
Development of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale began in 2009 under the working title of Title Fight. The game's existence was leaked prior to its official announcement in April 2012, along with a significant number of its playable characters. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was one of the first games to be included in Sony's cross-buy program, allowing those who purchased the game for PlayStation 3 to receive a free copy of the PlayStation Vita port.
The game received mixed reviews. Critics praised the game's multiplayer components, gameplay mechanics, and faithfulness to the represented franchises, but the game was criticized for its lack of content and presentation.
Gameplay
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a platform fighter, similar to the style of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series. Up to four players can battle each other using characters from various Sony franchises such as God of War, PaRappa the Rapper, Infamous, and Sly Cooper, as well as third-party franchises like BioShock. Battles take place on a 2D plane, with players able to freely move around a stage to approach or escape their opponents. Different attacks are performed by pressing one of three attack buttons in combination with a directional input. Players damage their opponents to receive "AP" orbs that build up a power meter at the bottom of the screen. Players can also find orbs scattered across the stage during the match, or can perform throw attacks to remove AP orbs from their opponents. Earning enough power allows players to use one of three levels of special attacks named "Super Moves" which can be used to defeat opponents and earn points. Level 1 super moves have the lowest AP cost but typically cover a short range and can only hit one character; in contrast, Level 3 supers require significant amounts of AP but have an extended duration time and can potentially defeat multiple opponents before they expire.
Battles take place in one of fifteen different battle arenas, with many featuring elements and stage hazards that can damage characters and cause them to lose AP. Each stage is based on a combination of two games, such as "Sandover Village" (based on Jak and Daxter and Hot Shots Golf), "Dreamscape" (based on LittleBigPlanet and Buzz!), "Stowaways" (based on Uncharted and BioShock Infinite), and "Hades" (based on God of War and Patapon). As time passes, a stage's second representation takes hold, usually introducing an additional hazard into the level. During gameplay, item pick-ups will spawn on the battlefield, such as the Hedgehog Grenade from Resistance, the Gravity Shield from Wipeout, Baumusu's Axe from Rise of the Kasai, and Razor Claws from Ratchet & Clank. These items can be used to augment a player or attack an opponent, causing them to lose AP. Both stage hazards and items can be disabled in the game's options menu.
The game features a traditional single-player arcade mode, in which players must defeat several randomly-selected opponents, followed by a character-specific rival battle and, ultimately, a battle against the game's main antagonist and final boss, Polygon Man, the former mascot for the Sony PlayStation in North America. Multiplayer modes include time-based matches, where players compete to achieve the most kills within a time limit; stock-based matches, where players attempt to be the last one standing; and kill-limit matches, where players compete to be the first to reach a certain number of kills. The game also features a single-player challenge mode, in which players attempt to complete specific objectives. Completing matches and fulfilling objectives with a character will gain them experience points; leveling up a character will unlock bonuses such as in-game costumes, victory animations, and profile icons. Prior to the shutdown of its online multiplayer servers, the game featured cross-platform play between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions.
Characters
Notes
Plot Rumors begin circulating that an unknown entity is seeking the strongest warriors in all worlds, gathering many powerful opponents to prove itself superior. Heroes and villains from the many worlds begin searching for this new threat, either seeking to protect their worlds or in pursuit of fortune. After crossing many worlds and defeating those they encounter along the way, the player character encounters the source of the challenge, Polygon Man, who attacks them. After Polygon Man is defeated, the victor absorbs his power and returns to their own world, where they decide how to use their newfound power.
Development PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was originally going to be developed by Naughty Dog, who was in the middle of the development of The Last of Us. Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment therefore decided to form SuperBot Entertainment in 2009 specifically to work on the game. Game development began in 2009 with a creative team that included members from several Sony and former third party development teams. Omar Kendall, formerly a designer on the UFC series, the Backyard Wrestling franchise, and X-Men: Next Dimension, assumed the role of game director after joining SuperBot. In early 2011, it was discovered that the independent studio based in California, SuperBot Entertainment, was working on an un-announced "combat heavy" multiplayer title for the PlayStation 3. In November 2011, images of the game (then codenamed as Title Fight) popped up online, showing Sweet Tooth from the Twisted Metal series and Kratos from God of War. It was claimed the game features a number of Sony mascots such as Parappa the Rapper, Sly Cooper, Nathan Drake (Uncharted), Colonel Mael Radec (Killzone) and Fat Princess. Arenas include a Sandover Village stage (from Jak & Daxter), a Hot Shots Golf stage, a LittleBigPlanet stage and a Buzz! trivia mini-game.
SuperBot Entertainment was linked as developer of the game, who confirmed to be working on a "very amazing PS3 game" for Sony Computer Entertainment America. According to a job advert, SuperBot was after a senior combat designer with "a strong familiarity with fighting games and fighting game theory". Another job advert asked for a lead designer with "a strong familiarity with online mode and matchmaking design as they apply to console gaming". When Eurogamer contacted Sony to ask about the rumor that they were making a "PlayStation 3 exclusive Smash Bros. rival", Sony declined to comment stating "we do not comment on rumor or speculation". Numerous other developers, including Sony's own Santa Monica Studio, Bluepoint Games, Blind Squirrel Games and Magic Pixel Games contributed to development.
In April 2012, the name PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was revealed via a Sony survey that asked gamers what they thought of the name of the game, and the game itself, which was uncovered and published by PlayStation Lifestyle. The site claimed the PlayStation 3 exclusive would be announced at E3 the following June. Shortly after this, Sony registered the domain for www.playstationallstarsbattleroyale.com, alongside the shorter www.playstationallstars.com. On April 23, 2012, a tweet by the newly formed SuperBot Entertainment Twitter page said: "Boot sequence initiated." At the same time, GTTV promised to reveal a major new PlayStation exclusive on April 26. The game was officially revealed on the April 26, 2012 episode of GTTV as PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
In May 2012, in an interview to Digital Trends, game director Omar Kendall was asked about the possibility of a PlayStation Vita version of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, and he simply replied, "Maybe... stay tuned." A Vita version was announced at the E3 2012, to be developed by Bluepoint Games, and was confirmed to feature cross-play with the PlayStation 3. In July 2012, it was announced that former Capcom community manager and Evolution Championship Series (Evo) co-founder Seth Killian had taken a role at Santa Monica Studio, where he would assist PlayStation All-Stars developer Superbot Entertainment.
Several public and private multiplayer betas were held between July and October 2012. The multiplayer betas featured a limited roster of characters and stages, and were used to test server loads, matchmaking, and cross-platform play between PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. In late July, files found in one of the multiplayer beta versions of the game pointed to an array of unannounced characters and stages, including levels set in the worlds of Resistance, Uncharted 3, PaRappa the Rapper, LittleBigPlanet, Killzone, LocoRoco, BioShock Infinite and more. An array of character names were also uncovered inside the demo's files, including DmC: Devil May Crys Dante, Evil Cole from Infamous, Raiden from Metal Gear and others. A number of leaks uncovered the information, which started on Reddit. Resourceful users of the GameFAQs forums and NeoGAF each added more information, which also included a list of in-game items. SuperBot producer Chan Park later acknowledged the leak's legitimacy, though he noted that changes had been made since the beta build's development and that the leaked content did not fully reflect the content found within the final game. The last of the leaked characters were officially announced on August 31, 2012.
On August 13, 2012, SuperBot Entertainment announced that the game had been delayed by one month from its original October 2012 release to November 2012. Chan Park claimed that the delay "will let us spend more time polishing and tuning the game, and it will give us a chance to incorporate some of the great feedback we're receiving from the current limited beta to ensure we are creating the best possible fighting game experience."
Release Originally scheduled for a worldwide release in October 2012, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was delayed and released on November 20, 2012, in North America, November 21, 2012, in Europe, November 22, 2012, in Australia and New Zealand, November 23, 2012, in the UK and Ireland, and January 31, 2013, in Japan. Players who pre-ordered the game received a voucher for a downloadable content pack, which included an exclusive set of costumes for all of the game's playable characters. With the exception of the third-party characters, these costumes were later released as premium DLC on the PSN store; the third-party costumes were instead offered as free DLC several months after launch. As part of Sony's cross-buy initiative, players who purchased the PlayStation 3 version received a voucher for a free copy of the PlayStation Vita version.
Marketing On May 1, 2012, Sony announced the PlayStation Store Royale Contenders Sale – a PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale sale to celebrate the announcement of the game. The sale included discounts on titles such as God of War Collection, God of War: Origins Collection, Killzone 3 Multiplayer, and The Sly Collection. The sale began on May 2 and ran for one week.
At Gamescom 2012, Sony Computer Entertainment announced their new cross-buy program, in which players who purchased new PlayStation 3 copies of the game would be able to download the PlayStation Vita version at no additional cost. PlayStation All-Stars, along with Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, were the first games announced for the program.