The PlayStation All-Stars Ultimate Roster Showdown Match 10: Wander vs. Connor

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Round 1: Graydon Webb on behalf of Connor from Detroit Become Human

For this week’s matchup, I decided to go with someone from a franchise that deserves to be recognized in any PlayStation celebration. This “franchise,” consisting of three unrelated titles in an unrelated trilogy of games, comes from Quantic Dream, and the terrifying mind of David Cage. After three noteworthy epics: Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human, I found it fairly difficult to focus on just one character to carry the daunting load of Quantic Dream representation in PlayStation All-Stars 2.

I thought about using Ethan Mars from Heavy Rain, the distraught dad who, after losing one of his sons in a car accident, embarks on a mission to save his other son who has been kidnapped. Another good choice felt like Ellen Page’s character, Jodie, from Beyond: Two Souls who has telekinetic powers in the form of a demon companion named Aiden. Ultimately, I chose to go with Connor from Detroit, seeing as he’s arguably the most likable and compelling of the three main protagonists, and his struggle between sentience and artificial programming makes him a deeply memorable character in contemporary PlayStation history.

Connor is an RK800 android made by the corporation known as CyberLife. He is utilized by the Detroit City Police Department, as well as other human law enforcement agencies, to track down and dispose of androids who have broken from their programming in an attempt to gain sentience, AKA Deviants. Connor has been praised as the most relatable android in Detroit, with Markus and Kara’s respective storylines feeling preachy and slow-moving. Connor could bring a lot to the table in PlayStation All-Stars 2, relying on his skills in hand-to-hand combat as well as his expert ability to play with people’s minds. Not to mention his buddy cop dynamic with Hank, who totally deserves a cameo, should this dream become a reality.

I can see the developers playing with the choice system from Detroit in Connor’s gameplay. Perhaps he could even use detective mode to piece together his opponent’s next moves? Personally, I’d love to see how he looks in this environment, considering Detroit has some of the most incredible graphics I have ever seen in a video game, and a multiplayer arena fighter like PlayStation All-Stars can’t exactly focus on graphics in quite the same way. Overall, though, I think Connor’s involvement would shake up the format a bit, and it would provide a unique challenge for the developers to take such a heavily narrative-focused character and throw him into a fighting game. Furthermore, with all they’ve done for PlayStation in recent years, doesn’t Quantic Dream deserve some love?

Round 2: Emmett Watkins Jr on behalf of Wander from Shadow of the Colossus

One of the largest travesties of the original PlayStation All-Stars was the lack of representation of its entire history of the legacy exclusive franchises. The biggest omission to many of us is Shadow of Colossus. The epic tale of Wander fighting monsters of impossible scale to save another is considered by many as one of, if not the, greatest games of all time. So, it seems only fitting to have a theoretical sequel star the games main character.

Now, considering Wonder’s limited moveset in his game, it might prove difficult to come up with a moveset for All-Stars. His signature Ancient Sword could be used for basic melee attacks, his bow could be used for long ranged attacks, and he could maybe even summon in his horse, Agro, to ride though enemies for a mid ranged attack. But once you start thinking outside of his standard weapon set, you find a lot more possibilities.

Hardcore fans who have played the game far past it’s initial ending will know that a number of additional weapons and items are unlocked upon completion of alternate game modes and other challenges. Those items could make an appearance here. Flash Arrows could provide an new way to use the bow, as it could trade damage on hit with a slightly delayed explosion from the arrow with potential to hit another nearby opponent as well. The Harpoon of Thunder could also make for an interesting alternate ranged weapon, as you could balance ist slower speed with more damage/AP generation upon a hit.

Moving on to outfits, the Cloth of Desperation, which gives him a parachute effectively, could be mapped to his jump button to be used similarly to how Sly Cooper’s hang glider worked in the original game. The Cloak of Deception, which makes Wander invisible, could also be implemented here, once again, similarly to Sly Cooper’s ability in the first game. But for the final outfit, the Cloak of Force, it might be better used if stacked with other items in a super.

Speaking of supers, his level two super could be him putting on both the Cloak of Force and Mask of Power while also wielding the Queen’s Sword for a few seconds. All of these items increase his damage output in the original game, so combining them all would no doubt lead to all of his melee attacks being an instant kill, similar to Big Daddy’s level two in All-Stars. His level one super could be him dodging the footstep of one of the many colossus that he fights in his game. As he ducks away, anything left near his original spot would be wiped out, and it would also serve as a subtle reference to the designs of the colossi, as each footprint would be from a random colossus.

As for Wander’s level three, that would could be the most impressive. Remember the heartbreaking, yet epic, ending of Shadow of the Colossus? Well, what if we took Wander’s transformation into a shadow colossus and just put it in All-Stars? It’s be an incredible set piece to witness, and it would be a fun challenge for other players to dodge his swings and slams.

So, yes, I know Team Ico’s games are few and (very) far between, and The Last Guardian wasn’t the most well received. But for the impact of Shadow of the Colossus alone, Wander needs to be on this roster. So, choose wisely!

Round 3: Fight!

So, who do you think should win this week, Wander or Connor? Vote in the Twitter poll embedded below, and follow @LosHarrowGames for the next match up!