One of my favorite video game genres is the cross-over brawler: Super Smash Bros, MvC, Brawlhalla, Brawlout, and the recently released Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, among others. These games almost always offer players a thematic hook, a low skill floor with a very rewarding skill ceiling, and an incredibly fun and varied roster.
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is one of my favorite titles of the cross-over brawler genre and features fan-favorite characters from across the Sony PlayStation family of franchises.
Known originally as Title Fight, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was developed by SuperBot Entertainment with the help of Bluepoint Games (the folks behind the very successful remasters of such PlayStation classics as Uncharted, Shadow of the Colossus, and Demon Souls).
Since we know character rosters are so important to the enjoyment of playing these “brawl” type games, we’ve gone ahead and drawn a complete list of every character included with the game during its original launch, as well as those few that were added as part of DLC packs.
How Many Characters Are In PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royal?
There are 24 characters in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royal. The game launched with 20 characters and 4 were added later through DLC for a total of 24 playable characters.
If you want to know who those characters are, including the DLC, follow me below for the
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Complete Character Roster
Big Daddy
BioShock is without a doubt a modern masterpiece, and one of the finest First-Person Shooters ever made. Set in a dystopian universe, the game features a beautifully realized underwater sunken city and some truly terrifying enemies.
While everything in the game is outright memorable, nothing is more so than the Big Daddies.
The Big Daddies are all genetically altered humans tasked with the protection of the various Little Sisters that populate the underwater city of Rapture. Big Daddies all react with surprising speed and astonishing ferocity to any and all perceived threats against their small wards.
In PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, the lumbering Big Daddy is armed with the now-iconic arm drill, and some truly powerful and nigh-unstoppable moves.
Cole MacGrath
This next member of the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale roster comes from one of the industry’s most memorable and original sandbox games: inFamous.
In inFamous, you take control of Cole MacGrath, a bike delivery regular-dude who gains electricity-based superpowers!
These flashy electrical powers give Cole superb agility and enhanced reflexes, as well as the ability to store and unleash powerful energy attacks such as levitating enemies and blasting them out of the battlefield with a blast of electricity!
Evil Cole MacGrath
Like other games of the time, inFamous allowed players to explore the moral repercussions of their in-game actions via a Karma system. In other words, players were able to play through the game as a “good” Cole and an “evil” Cole, unlocking different abilities and powers based on their choice.
The next character in our look at the Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is Evil Cole MacGrath, a power-hungry and vicious version of Good Cole. Physically, Evil Cole is very similar in appearance to Good Cole, except for a darker color scheme and the addition of sinister-looking facial features and expressions.
The color of his electrical powers also differs, with Evil Cole having access to Red electricity and Good Cole having Blue electricity.
Gameplay-wise, Evil Cole has a similar yet distinct moveset. His Super Move, The Beast, allows Evil Cole to effortlessly glide around the stage summoning potent pillars of electrical fire from the sky.
An interesting note is that the game developers originally imagined Evil Cole and Good Cole as one singular character, which would change between the two movesets based on the player’s actions. Unfortunately, the plan was deemed too ambitious and did not come to fruition.
Colonel Radec
Colonel Mael Radec is a high-ranking military officer of the Helghast, the primary antagonist force of the Killzone.
We first meet the highly-skilled, tactical mastermind of Colonel Radec in Killzone 2.
In addition to his unparalleled tactical genius, Colonel Radec is also exceptionally skilled at hand-to-hand combat. Radec is very agile, incredibly strong, and dangerously adept with both firearms and bladed weapons.
In Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, Radec is given some incredibly fun and satisfying Supers that are based around his mastery over various weapon systems.
The third level Super knocks it out of the park by giving the player first-person perspective control of a hovering Colonel Radec as he rains fire upon his unsuspecting opponents.
Definitely one of my favorite fighters on the roster.
Dante
The Devil May Cry franchise is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed video game franchises ever, and much of that success is due in no small part to its main character: The half-angel, half-demon Dante.
To be fair, the Dante we get in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is Dante from 2013’s reimagining: DmC: Devil May Cry. And while this version of Dante has its fair share of detractors, he shines in this battle royale.
Armed to the teeth, Dante shows up to battle wielding his sword Rebellion, a razor-sharp blade that provides Dante’s main dashing and slashing attacks with a near-perfect combination of speed and power.
Many of Dante’s attacks also make use of Ebony & Ivory, a pair of high-caliber pistols capable of blasting away those foolish enough to stand still in the middle of battle.
Fat Princess
One of my favorite arcade titles on the Playstation Network is Fat Princess. In this quirky real-time strategy game, the players join opposing teams made up of 16 characters each, with the sole goal of rescuing a princess from the enemy’s castle.
The key mechanic in the game, which allows players to feed their captive princess pieces of cake to make her gain weight so that the enemy team has a harder time carrying her back to their castle, is what truly elevates the game above the competition.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale would allow players to play, not as one of the many playable classes of the title but, instead, as the titular chubby princess.
In All-Stars Battle Royale, the Fat Princess’ basic moveset revolves around her scepter and the ability to temporarily summon minions.
She also can ride around the stage atop a giant chicken, and call down a host of her minion army to attack her opponents while she sits around eating delicious cake.
Heihachi Mishima
Heihachi Mishima is one of the main and most iconic characters in the Tekken series of fighting video games. His first appearance took place in the first game of the series and he has since reappeared in all of the subsequent titles.
In PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Heihachi is armed with a plethora of devastating moves, and he is one of the best options available for players who, like me, enjoy in-your-face aggressive playstyles.
The amount of damage that Heihachi players can pull off in a matter of seconds is incredibly high. Surprisingly, Heihachi is also a great option for players new to the genre because the vast majority of his moves have little to no risk associated with them.
Heihachi’s Supers are all great, but my favorite is definitely his level 3 Super. In this power attack, Heihachi ties his three rivals to a rocket that launches into space. For those who have played the Tekken games, this will be a welcome nod to the ending of the fifth game in the series.
Another one of my favorite moves is his Up + Circle. Called Trophy Toss, Up + Circle tosses a Heihachi-shaped trophy upwards in a shallow arc that deals respectable damage to the first enemy it hits. Trophy Toss is very important because it is the only ranged ability in Heihachi’s arsenal.
On a curious note, Trophy Toss also can summon a Tekken Ball instead of a Heihachi Trophy, and, just like in Tekken 3’s Ball Mode, all players can use the ball to deal damage to their opponents.
Jak and Daxter
After some recent leaks concerning Bend Studios, the sequel to Days Gone and what Naughty Dog has planned for its next big projects, one of the most repeated questions by gamers everywhere is when are we getting a new game in the Jak & Daxter franchise?
I’m not the least bit surprised at this sentiment, after all, the first Jak and Daxter, which launched in 2001, was one of the defining games in the Playstation 2’s life cycle. In the various Jak and Daxter games, you control Jak and his quirky animal sidekick Daxter as you traverse 3D worlds full of mischief and adventure.
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale gives us the privilege of once again controlling both Jak and Daxter as one singular character. And, what a treat it is.
Jak and Daxter retain their increased agility, cultivated in their previous platforming adventures, as well as full access to most of their powerful arsenal of high-tech firearms. Their moves are quick to pull off and allow advanced players to control the battlefield.
Kratos
The next member of the Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale cast needs no introduction, but just in case you’ve been hiding under a rock since 2005, I’m going to tell you all about Kratos, the warrior known as The Ghost of Sparta, the God of War!
Kratos, whose most iconic physical feature is his ash-white colored skin, was original of a brown complexion, but it changed when the God Ares tricked him into inadvertently killing his wife Lisandra and his daughter Calliope, and searing their ashes on his skin forever giving it a white color.
This tragic event would fuel Kratos’ bottomless rage and hatred for the rest of his life and allow him to eventually succeed in his war against the Gods of Olympus.
Kratos has always been the embodiment of rage and his fighting skills are brutal, savage, and relentless. And the version of Kratos we get in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale does not disappoint and is just as over-the-top and wondrously violent as ever.
Kratos has a robust arsenal of techniques and special moves, making him one of the most well-rounded characters on the roster. He excels at closing the gap between himself and his enemies very quickly, as well as dealing tons of AOE damage.
His Supers allow him to summon the Blade of Olympus, call forth a black vortex of destruction, and grow double in size gaining the ability to fire blasts of destructive energy.
Nariko
Heavenly Sword is one of the most curious cases of wasted potential I’ve seen in the video game industry. Released in 2007 for the Playstation 3, Heavenly Sword is a Hack and Slash action-adventure developed by legendary studio Ninja Theory, that received generally favorable reviews and featured one of the most interesting characters of that console Generation: Nariko.
Nariko, which means “Gentle Child” in Japanese, is a strong heroine with a vulnerable, beautiful, and somewhat tragic background.
Nariko is a paradoxical character, her birth was prophesied yet her life was condemned by those around her. Still, Nariko quickly grew into her clan’s greatest warrior and ultimately wielded the legendary Heavenly Sword against the true enemies of the empire.
In Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, Nariko is a very capable close-range fighter, making great use of her quick animations to chain fast combos that can catch unsuspecting opponents off guard.
While she is not the most damaging character on the roster, she shines in the hands of advanced players who are able to take advantage of many of her tap-frame cancellations capabilities to establish a truly unpredictable presence in the field.
Her Supers are some of the weakest in the entire roster, except for her level 3 Super which makes her a deadly air-abound threat.
Nathan Drake
Nathan Drake is another character that likely needs no introduction. After starting as a facsimile of a young Indiana Jones, Nathan Drake quickly grew into a world-renowned treasure hunter with an identity all his own.
In Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, Nathan Drake qualifies as the most “normal” character in the sense that his entire moveset is built around the use of firearms and hand-to-hand combat.
There are very few magical or fantastical elements to his character, except for this level 3 Super which, to be fair, surprises Nathan himself when used.
However, Nathan is far from being ineffective on the battlefield. He is more than capable of engaging his enemies from any range, with multiple options always at his disposal for close, mid, and long-range.
He has a powerful slide that grants him tons of utility, and his aerial arsenal is very strong in its capacity to close the gap and link combos.
PaRappa the Rapper
PaRappa the Rapper is a weird game. It was a weird title when it first launched in 1996, and it remains a weird title today after so many years.
The plot revolves around PaRappa, a rapping dog who must overcome the various challenges that are posed to him through his ability to rap to the rhythm of some funky hip-hop music. As the player, you must press the right combination of buttons reflected on the screen for the character to rap a song in time to the rhythm.
PaRappa the Rapper is not the strongest character on the roster. This is likely because he did not possess any fighting moves in his original games. As a result, you end up with a relatively weak moveset that has the shortest range in the entire game.
So, if you want to play PaRappa well, you will have to get in your opponent’s faces and this may prove problematic for most players because PaRappa does not possess any robust defenses.
Raiden
Although Raiden is the main character in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, most people know him from his roles in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
Raiden is, for all intents and purposes, a Cyborg Ninja, which means that his skillset centers around the implications of those two words. Raiden is armed with a gigantic energy sword which he adeptly uses to cut down anyone foolish enough to stand in his way.
This makes Raiden a solid pick for any type of player; however, you must keep in mind that Raiden is a very melee-centric character, which means that he can easily lose trades against more ranged-combat capable characters.
Nevertheless, Raiden offers strong maneuverability and very strong combo potential with his launch abilities and rapid-fire sword attacks.
Ratchet and Clank
With the recent release of the critically acclaimed Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart on the Playstation 5, a whole new generation of players has been introduced to the wild, zany shenanigans of another of Sony’s iconic duos: our favorite Lombax, Ratchet, and his trusty sidekick, the robot Clank.
Ratchet and Clank have been doing their thing since 2002 when their self-titled game first came out and took over the world. And, just like in their solo adventures, when Ratchet and Clank join the ranks of fighters in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, they come prepared with a ton of high-tech gadgets and weaponry.
Most of their attacks make heavy use of various alien weapons, rocket launchers, electrified gadgets, and jet packs.
Sackboy
Sackboy is yet another character you would never associate with a fighting game. We first meet Sackboy in LittleBigPlanet, a curious little game that is part platformer, part logic puzzle, and whose gameplay scenarios are mostly player-generated.
LittleBigPlanet revolves around players controlling tiny doll-like avatars called Sackboy or Sackgirl, called so due to their physical appearance.
You see, Sackboys and Sackgirls are made of sackcloth and cotton padding, sewn with very visible threads, and finished with a large metal zipper across their chest.
One of the most curious abilities possessed by sackboys and girls in LittleBigPlanet is the power to create, and the folks behind Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale made creative use of this. Sackboy has access to a versatile moveset thanks to his Popit menu, which allows him to quickly manifest a ton of different items to use in battle.
Sir Daniel Fortesque
Sir Daniel looks like a frail skeleton who would not look out of place at a small town Halloween haunted house. However, don’t let his physical appearance fool you because Sir Daniel Fortesque is a very strong contender for the most balanced character in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale.
Hailing from MediEvil, a quirky 3D action-adventure game released in 1998 for the original Playstation console, Sir Daniel comes equipped with some formidable melee weapons including his trusty sword and a ranged Battle-Axe/Boomerang.
Most of his moves can be used to both push the offensive as well as zone out the enemy, however, most of his combos leave him vulnerable to attacks when facing more than one opponent.
Striking a balance between optimizing his damage output versus looking out for flanking enemies is what makes great Sir Daniel players stand out.
Sly Cooper
The Sly Cooper games managed to hit a near-perfect mixture of Action Platforming and Stealth gameplay, and for that, they were among my favorite games growing up. The next member of the Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale roster is no other than the eponymous Sly, an anthropomorphic Racoon Master Thief.
Due to his stealthy origins, Sly Cooper is one of the most unique members of the cast. You see, Sly cannot block, dodge, or parry any enemy attacks. Normally, this would put any character in a fighting game at a rather large disadvantage.
However, in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sly Cooper is given some rather inventive tools to make up for his lack of defensive maneuvers. For example, Sly has a handy smoke bomb that greatly reduces his visibility and a plethora of swipe and dive moves that allow him to quickly close the gap against his enemies.
Sly is not a combo-centric character, but he’s top tier on a 1v1 scenario.
Spike
Our next character is Spike from the Ape Escape series of video games.
The Ape Escape game tells the story of a monkey named Specter who gains increased intelligence and nefarious intentions due to a high-tech device shaped like a helmet. Specter then decides to attain world domination by giving special helmets to an army of evil monkeys and apes.
Spike, our protagonist, is then tasked with traveling across various environments and time periods in an attempt to capture the wayward creatures and save the planet from domination.
Spike makes plenty of use of a variety of gadgets, giving him excellent mid to long-range capabilities. His specials give him a special net to capture and kill his opponents, a shockwave creating sword, and stage-clearing laser cannon.
Sweet Tooth
If Spike from Ape Escape is a strong mid-to-long range character, Sweet Tooth from the frantic and chaotic Twisted Metal franchise is one of the strongest close-range/melee bruisers in the game.
Twisted Metal is a series of violent vehicular combat titles that emphasized frenetic action and total mayhem and destruction. And, although you never actually controlled Sweet Tooth outside of his vehicle, he became the de facto mascot of the Twisted Metal franchise.
In Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sweet Tooth is armed with devastating attacks such as Chainsaw Slaughter, Road Kill Mine Drop, and Fiery Molotov. He also has access to a 12-gauge shotgun, a flamethrower, and even a tactical nuke.
Sweet Tooth is no joke.
Toro
The last member of the roster to have launched with the game is Toro, Toro Inoue, the official mascot for Sony Playstation in Japan!
Toro is a chibi cat and he has been given a very powerful set of moves, and a very unique mechanic: Toro has three distinct forms or “stances” that grant him access to different sets of moves and which fill different roles.
For example, Toro has the ability to enter a Ninja stance that grants him access to increased mobility and ranged attacks. He also has a Justice stance that provides him with several flurry melee attacks for close-quarter combat. Finally, Toro can enter an Oni stance that gives him a more balanced combat approach.
DLC Characters
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale had two sets of Downloadable Content which gave players access to 4 new characters. These characters were released in two rounds, the first of which went live on February 12 of 2013, and the second on March 19th of the same year.
These characters in order of appearance were:
- Kat And Dusty: Kat and Dusty come from Gravity Rush, an inventive action-adventure game that is played with the rules of gravity. Kat and Dusty are a combo-heavy entry to the roster and can rival even Dante in complexity.
- Emmet Graves: The second DLC character is Emmett Graves, the protagonist of Starhawk, a fantastic 3rd person action-adventure Sci-Fi Western. Emmett has very unique gameplay in that he can call forth structures and assistance from the sky. Emmett is an all-around, well-balanced character.
- Zeus: We all know Zeus from Greek Mythology, so we were all familiar with the guy when he joined the ranks of Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale as the third DLC character. Our version of Zeus comes from the God of War franchise and he is a high-risk/high-reward character due to his ability to charge his moves with lightning energy but becoming vulnerable due to the increased windup in most of his energized attacks.
- Isaac Clarke: The final character to join the roster is Isaac Clarke, the main protagonist of the classic horror game Dead Space. Issac has access to most of his high-tech arsenal of weapons and engineering tools, as well as a unique telekinetic throw move.
After reading that list, it is understandable why this game has an almost cult following both from casual gamers as a go-to party game and by the competitive multiplayer community who are looking for much more than a simple match.
So that is the complete list of fighters in the game and by now you might be wondering
Who Is The Best Character In PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale?
Kat is the best character in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale according to the tier list with Sly Cooper and Kratos trailing close second and third.
Of course, the game is very well balanced so you do not need to pick the best character to win, you just need to be the best player 🙂
