The Ghost of Sparta has been on everyone’s minds thanks to the success ofGod of War: Ragnarök. Aside from taking Kratos and Atreus into the rest of the Nine Realms of Norse mythology, the game’s had a few Easter eggs seemingly confirming Kratos’ guest appearances as canon. Or at least some of them.
Related:Best Quotes from God of War: Ragnarok
Kratos has had his fair share of cameos in other games, be it as costume items in theLittleBigPlanetgames, or in online shows likeGod of Work. But some have been more bizarre than others. From the understandable to the inexplicable, these are Kratos’oddest guest appearances.
8Mortal Kombat (2011)
Appearing only in the PS3 edition of Netherrealm Studios’ fighting game reboot, Kratos actually fit in quite well with theMortal Kombatroster. The series was all about mystical realms, powers, and heavy-duty violence, which is the Ghost of Sparta’s bread & butter. Even so, Sony got rather precious about their ashen-faced demigod. They were fine with Kratos dishing out the damage, but not at taking it.
Certain characters’ fatalities had to be altered when performed on him. For example, Johnny Cage wouldn’t stick his award where Kratos’ head used to be, or he’d angrily defy Ermac when shrunk instead of running around like the rest of the cast. Rather than making Kratos look tough, it made Sony seem thin-skinned. It makes one wonder if theGears of Wardevelopers would’ve been as protective over Marcus Phoenix ifhe made it into the game.
7Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny
Soulcaliburis an odder fit for Kratos, as the violence is much more toned down. Characters willslash and skewer each other, yet nary a drop of claret will hit the ground afterwards. It doesn’t help thatSoulcalibur: Broken Destinyhas largely been forgotten compared to the main series’ entries. At least it’s still playable, unlikeSoulcalibur: Lost Swords.
Not that it’s a particularly bad game. It was just a trimmed-down version ofSoulcalibur 4with some new characters, including Kratos. UnlikeMK2011, he has a faster (and more broken) move set, and unique voice clips instead of reused lines fromGod of War 3. But Netherrealm gave him a better stage with Olympus.SC: BDuses a blander part of Pandora’s Temple fromGod of War 1instead. Not particularly striking.
6Robot Chicken
Heading into TV territory, the wacky stop-motion comedy series hasn’t been a stranger to lampooning video games. Nearly everyone remembers their collaborations withNintendo, officially and unofficially (“Raccoon City sounds lovely!”). There was nothing saying they couldn’t go after Kratos too.
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In “The Core, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover”, Kratos appears in a sketch making fun of the older game’s…er…more amorous mini-games by having Athena try to introduce him to a guy (“What’s the problem? You’re in Greece!”). While their PS4 Pro commercial had Kratos, Atreus and Mimir taking some kids on at basketball…with Mimir as the ball.
5Playstation All-Star Battle Royale
Robot Chicken’s most famous use of Kratos was perhaps their commercial for this game, where Kratos andUncharted’sNathan Drake lament losing toLittleBigPlanet’s Sackboy. This attempt to matchSuper Smash Broswith Sony properties didn’t catch on due to some gameplay quirks and a poor roster. They couldn’t fit in Lara Croft or Crash Bandicoot, but they found room forthe wrong Danteand Nariko fromHeavenly Sword!
Still, it wasn’t the worst game in the world. As far as platform fighters go, it’s one of the more enjoyable ones.Ragnarökliked it enough to reference it…maybe. Mimir doesn’t outright mention the characters by name, but when he talks about a tournament with a “princess” and “history’s greatest musician”, there aren’t a lot of options outside the game with Fat Princess and Parappa the Rapper.
4Shovel Knight
Shovel Knightis amerry little platformerabout collecting treasure, jumping from platform to platform, and taking out cheery-sounding fellows like the Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and master of cameos The Baz. So, why not throw in an angry murder machine like Kratos into the mix? Exclusive to the Playstation versions ofShovel Knight: Shovel of Hope, Shovel Knight will bump into him as a wandering encounter after getting the Curious Map.
He’ll mistake the Spartan for his nemesis, the Black Knight, and get more than he bargained for. Kratos will give the Knight a challenge with hisGod of War 3moves. If players can best him, they’ll get 2,000 gold and the ability to craft an armor that gives Shovel Knight Kratos’ moves. For an additional oddity,God of Wardirector Cory Barlog confirmed this encounter as canon to theGod of Warseries. In turn, Yacht Club Games confirmed it as canon toShovel Knight’s timeline too.
3Modnation Racers
Ragnarökgave Kratos a sleigh to race around in, so maybe if Sony couldn’t out-smashSmash Bros, they could out-raceMario Kart? Even if they did give that idea a try, it wouldn’t be Kratos’ first time with a vehicle. The Ghost of Sparta joined a host of Sony characters as pre-order bonuses for the 2010 gameModnation Racers. Since the game came out before his trip to Midgard, he races in a modified Grecian chariot called the ‘Kart of Chaos’ instead.
Related:Forgotten PS4 Arcade Racing Games
The game got fairly good reviews at the time too thanks to its controls and track design tools, as it aimed to do for racers whatLittleBigPlanetdid for platformers. Still, the God of War’s power wasn’t enough to turn the series into a lasting franchise.Modnation Racersonly managed one game each for the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita before becoming speculation fodder for fanon wikis.
2The Simpsons
Kratos was inThe Simpsons? Yes, though not anywhere near the degree seen inRobot Chicken. It’s just odd that he turned up here at all, given the long-running cartoon sitcom’s best game references tended to be more retro. Like meeting the originalDonkey Kong! (“Hey! He’s still got it!”) Or theMario BrosandSonicencouraging shoplifting (“Just take it! Take it, take it, take it! Take it!”).
InThe Simpsons Game, Kratos appears on a billboard advertising a chowder restaurant (“That’s chow-dah!”) called ‘God of Wharf’ while Lisa and Bart take on some crazed dolphins. While in the episode ‘The Food Wife’, Bart plays a game called ‘Guts of War: Entrails of Intestinox’ that features a familiar-looking warrior. He’s seen swinging something’s digestive system at some monsters, which at least shows the animators are familiar with the games!
1Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
Golf: the favorite sport of old white men everywhere. Noted for its subdued applause, quiet commentary, and gentle pace. The only violent hits are when the players are picking out their 3-Woods and going for a Power Drive. TheHot Shots Golfseriesmade it a little more exciting with its cartoony characters and arcade-like gameplay, but it’s otherwise a family-friendly affair.
So, it’s the perfect game for an angry, shouty Spartan who guts monsters on a regular basis! Kratos appeared inHot Shots Gold: Out of Bounds(orEverybody’s Gold: World Tourelsewhere) as a DLC character alongside Sackboy. As expected, he’s great at drives, but not so hot with softer, more spin-based techniques. Can he still become the God of Golf? Fire up the old PS3, grab this game, and see how he fares.
God of War: Ragnarökis available on the PS4 and PS5.
