Sega has taken the word “CrossWorlds” in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds to heart by adding a ton of characters from outside the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise to the racer roster. These characters include famous Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, Joker from Persona 5, Steve from Minecraft, and SpongeBob SquarePants (with more Nickelodeon characters to come later). There are even rumors flying around that NiGHTS will be joining the race based on a leaked picture of the purple jester Nightmaren on the back of the game case.
The addition of all these characters from their respective multimedia franchises begs the question: Should Mario be added to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds?
On the surface, it would seem plausible to allow Mario to race alongside Sonic and his friends since they both had a decade-long crossover series for revolving around the Olympic Games that started with Beijing (which was titled Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games) and ended with Tokyo. (They skipped the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongyang, but that’s another story.) Each character also has their own kart racing series, with Mario’s most recent being Mario Kart World.
The problem is, Mario Kart World is being overshadowed by Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds after the recent Open Network Test and its imminent release later this month. Their gameplay styles are the same, but where CrossWorlds stands out is that racers can use some items at the starting line, players can customize their cars like they’re at West Coast Customs, and they can trash-talk their rivals at the beginning of every Grand Prix.
That being said, whether Mario should join the fray depends on Nintendo. In other words, unless Sega and Nintendo make another Mario and Sonic collaboration deal, the answer is most likely no. Then again, Takashi Iizuka, the head of Sonic Team, did say that Mario Kart World won’t influence Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds in any way. That might include not putting him into the game. The approval of the aformentioned non-Sonic characters has been a tedious process anyway.
