Gaming
Gaming
5 Game Companies That Should Produce Their Own MOBAs
Here's a list of gaming companies that should be doing this.
Dota 2 and League of Legends are still this generation’s most played games. These titanic duo share certain traits: they are both free-to-play, have a huge roster of playable characters, their core gameplay is simple yet deep and their competitive scenes defined the word esports long before it began to be abused like a red-headed stepchild.
So why aren’t today’s biggest video game publishers cashing in on the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) craze that has enveloped both the PC and mobile gaming market since the first Dota burst into the scene? With their huge library of games, Intellectual Properties (IPs), and characters as well as their need for profit, we are very sure these MOBA ideas will go well if publishers actually put in the time and effort into it.
Capcom
Overview: The publishers and developers behind such competitive classics like Street Fighter and Marvel Versus series. Mega Man and Resident Evil games. Capcom does not only have numerous characters, both popular and obscure to use in a MOBA, but also functional ones with a ton of Super moves, spells, and other trademark attacks that can translate well into a MOBA setting.
Possible MOBA Title: Capcom All-Stars Battle Royale.
MOBA Mechanic: Capcom can take a page from Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm and create individual stages with their own mechanics based on their multiverse. Case examples: a Metro City stage with the Mad Gear gang mercenaries coupled with a turf war mechanics. Or a 20XX futuristic map tailored after Mega Man X where there’s a giant mechaniloid that can win games through certain activation requirements. Up the ante further with a fighting game featuring Super Meter mechanics where heroes can save up meter for their Ultimates to be used frequently or save them for an ensuing team fight.
Hero Examples:
- Ryu (Street Fighter) - A balanced all-rounder carry, which is easy for beginners. Able to parry and absorb damage if timed correctly.
- X (Mega Man X) - An Attack Damage (AD) carry who is weak at first but powers up during mid to late game thanks to his plethora of weapons and armor.
- Haggar (Final Fight) - A tank who can self-heal through food from oil barrels and can hit mid-range with pipes. His Ultimate is a spinning piledriver on an enemy that sends Area of Effect (AOE) shockwaves when he sticks his landing.
Platform: PC and PS4 as their current direction with Street Fighter V is exclusive to those two platforms. This will be beneficial for future cross-play opportunities.
Animal Crossing kid versus Mario in a battle arena setting? Why not?
© Nintendo
Nintendo
Overview: The Big N is the folks behind the legendary Super Mario Bros and the Legend of Zelda series. Super Smash Bros. has proven that Nintendo can make crossovers work in a fighting game, so why not create a MOBA that has a “party” element to it?
Possible MOBA Title: Smash Battle Arena Bros.
MOBA Mechanic: Again, Nintendo should take some cues from Heroes of the Storm and make customized battle arenas with different in-game mechanics. The Hyrule map will have Moblins as mercenaries along with secret passageways that need to be bombed or destroyed. Items like Pokè Balls can be a key factor to winning games. In symmetrical parts of the map, a slew of items will appear for players to fight over and use to gain the upper hand.
Hero Examples:
- Mario (Super Mario Bros.) - An all-rounder carry with a Star Power Ultimate that makes him temporarily invincible.
- Kirby (Kirby In Dreamland) - A tank that can eat foes and temporarily use their power-ups.
- Link (Legend of Zelda)- Another all-rounder carry who can switch between sword and bow stances. Comes with Bombs too as Ultimates.
Platform: Nintendo Switch, obviously. However, if Nintendo needs to have another IP on mobile, they can’t go wrong with this MOBA idea. After all, games like Arena of Valor and Vainglory are doing pretty well there.
There’s no shortage of heroes & villains to choose from
© Square Enix
Square Enix
Overview: The folks behind the Final Fantasy (FF) and Kingdom Hearts series. They have too many sword-wielding and magic-casting heroes to count just from these two series alone. For brand posterity, Square Enix should use the Final Fantasy name first for this bold MOBA venture.
Possible MOBA Title: Final Fantasy Battle Arena or “Battle Arenius”, because we cannot think of any better made-up word to top “Dissidia” and “Brave Exvius”.
MOBA Mechanics: It will be quite a mess to have different stage mechanics for an FF-themed MOBA, so the focus should be on the heroes and the possible competitive play that is on par with their Dissidia offerings. Just like Dota 2, FF’s maps should be symmetrical with the usual creeps, shops, mercenaries and Roshan-like Aegis game-changing power-ups. To keep to the theme, the Roshan-likes should be represented by Cosmos and Chaos on each mirroring side of the map.
Hero Examples:
- Warrior Of Light (Final Fantasy) - A tank who can multitask as a Jungler, Assassin or even a mid-game carry but only for a short time. Jack-of-all trades, but only a master of soaking damage.
- Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII) - A full-bodied “Damage Per Second” (DPS) with good reach thanks to his Buster Sword.
- Tera Branford (Final Fantasy VI) - A ranged AD carry who gets more powerful later in the game via her Esper Form as her Ultimate.
- Yuna (Final Fantasy X) - A support who heals and can use Summons to temporarily help out in team fights.
Platform: PC and consoles as Final Fantasy titles have been consistently on these two platforms.
Believe it or not, there’s more to the Xbox brand than the Halo series.
© Microsoft
Microsoft
Overview: Microsoft’s Xbox game division has accumulated a lot of properties and mascots ever since its first console release in 2001. Because of this, there are just so many new and old mascots along with heroes who can be featured in an Xbox-themed MOBA title. This hypothetical title should use the same control scheme as Halo Wars 2 because those real-time strategy controls works great on a controller.
Possible MOBA Title: Microsoft’s X-Battle - Arena Wars.
MOBA Mechanics: Apart from controls, Xbox’s MOBA should also take a page from Halo Wars 2’s Blitz Mode. Instead of traditional items and a buff system from other MOBA titles, this should use a card system where players create decks to grant buffs and power-ups to their heroes on-the-fly or give them additional passive skills to buff their existing abilities. Think Paladins and you are not too far off. Alternatively, they should keep the card system and also make it in a third-person perspective MOBA just like Smite. This is so that it can cater to fans of third-person action titles.
Hero Examples:
- Master Chief (Halo) - An all-in-one carry, tank and Jungler if the situation calls for it. Perfect for beginners who want a jack-of-all trades character in a MOBA game.
- Marcus Fenix (Gears of War) - A tTank with some good range who is hard to kill since he is always in cover. Ability to summon the robot JACK to temporarily support him and his team.
- Conker (Conker Live & Reloaded) - A support who can fling all manners of disgusting bodily fluids and churn out swear words to debilitate enemies.
Platform: Xbox One S and PC with the usual cross-play options.
They need to get busy with the licensing game for their Shonen Jump MOBA.
© Kōhei Horikoshi
Bandai Namco
Overview: Currently the king of major Shonen anime game tie-ins, Bandai Namco currently has Naruto, One Piece, My Hero Academia, Digimon, Sword Art Online and Dragon Ball, to name a few of its lineup. Imagine if there’s a MOBA all-star game featuring key heroes and villains from all these titles. Now, that would totally be the ultimate anime fan’s dream.
Possible MOBA Title: Shonen Jump Battle Arena
MOBA Mechanics: Bandai Namco’s anime properties are filled with lush and bright worlds. So it’s wise for them to take the Heroes of the Storm route with different maps with their own mechanics. The One Piece map can have a treasure-collecting mechanic where teams can pay pirates and marines to blow up each other’s defenses and cores. The Naruto Hidden Leaf Village map can be used as a mechanic that summons one of the show’s mythical beasts controlled by a team member.
Due to the fantastical nature and huge supporting casts of these kinds of shows, Bandai Namco’s MOBA should implement a “koma character” system where each team figures out the best support and power-ups during pre-match set-ups. It’s similar to the card system in the Microsoft MOBA we mentioned but this uses Shonen Jump cartoon strip panels in favor of cards.
Hero Examples:
- Goku (Dragon Ball Z): A brawler who can go Super Saiyan as an Ultimate, powering up all of his attacks tenfold.
- Sasuke (Naruto): A hit-and-run assassin ninja who can copy techniques temporarily via his Sharingan power. Dies easily if he is stationary.
- Deku (My Hero Academia): A tank and Jungler all in one with a One For All power that gives short-term high damage output at the cost of being weakened for a few seconds.
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
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