With Sonic Mania Plus’s release, Sonic the Hedgehog fans will finally get to play as Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. Before the two new playable characters got announced, people didn’t know how much they wanted this. That got me thinking about obscure characters in other games we’d love to play as.
Remember that as a subjective list, you may want Big the Cat to get his own game. I’m here to say these are my five choices, and they do not include Big the Cat. I would love to see what obscure characters you want to play as in the comments below. But please, complain about my list; you will forever be branded as a Big the Cat lover.
It’s also worth mentioning that some of these entries deserve their own games. And some we want to play as in the older games. With that out of the way, let’s get started!
4. Tiptup The Turtle – Diddy Kong Racing / Banjo-Kazooie Series
Next up, we have Tiptup the Turtle. Originally a playable side character from Diddy Kong Racing, Tiptup has proven that he can take action when an alien pig invades the world. Things kind of slow down for him during Banjo-Kazooie when he needs help conducting his choir. It’s almost tragic how he went from playable character to throwaway character.
I know some didn’t think the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee, was very good. I believe that given the right game, or maybe as DLC in the original Banjo, Tiptup could be as fun to play as Banjo. Diddy Kong Racing showed that he would put himself in danger to help.
Maybe he could get musical instruments or spin around like Gamera the kaiju. If Banjo-Kazooie could tag in another friend, forget Bottles the Mole. Tiptup the Turtle has just enough notoriety that you know him, but you don’t think of him immediately. Just don’t give him his car back, or we might have another Nuts and Bolts on our hands.
3. Beat – Mega Man Series
We look at the Mega Man franchises and we see loads of playable robots. Mega Man, X, Proto Man, Bass, and Zero to name a few. Why not shake up the formula a little. Maybe a whole game as Rush the Robo-dog? But that’s not obscure enough. So, we have Beat the Bird.
Occasionally, the player could collect enough letters to have Beat appear for them, but they could never control him directly. Beat can defeat foes for you, save your life if you fall. Beat can even become armor in some games. Why not have a Mega Man game or section take it to the sky?
The only reason I could think not to give Beat his own playable sections of Mega Man would be that it would make the game too easy. Wily’s robots all die just by touching Beat. Beat the Bird is one mega ally with blood on his hands… err beak.
2. Lanky Kong – Donkey Kong Series
When Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze got rereleased for the Nintendo Switch, players finally had the ability to play as not only Cranky Kong, but the bodacious bro Funky Kong. There’s another Kong that goes underappreciated and undervalued. The weirdest Kong of them all: Lanky Kong.
Besides being the only Kong who is an orangutan, Lanky has the uncanny abilities to stretch and walk on his hands. I know we haven’t seen Lanky since Donkey Kong 64, but imagine how cool it would be to add those abilities into Tropical Freeze. Adding Tiny or Chunky to the game would simply act as another version of Dixie and Kiddy. Lanky would add new abilities to already fantastic game. I don’t think adding Lanky would be that much of a stretch.
1. Waluigi and Birdo – Mario Series
Hear me out: Waluigi fans felt the injustice of getting excluded from Smash Bros. Ultimate. What better way of making it up to people than to let people play as Waluigi in a game other than a party or sports game? Even more than this, what if he had an unexpected alliance with Birdo?
It may be a weird pie in the sky dream, but what if Super Mario World had a mode where you could play as Waluigi and Yoshi gets replaced by Birdo? In Mario sports games, Birdo always gets paired with Yoshi. It doesn’t exist, but the idea of playing a Mario game with Birdo shooting eggs and fire sounds so fun. Nintendo, make this right. Give us Waluigi (and Birdo)!
What obscure character do you want to play as? Let us know in the comments below!
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