10 Retro Arcade Characters That Should Be Added To Fortnite
Fortnite, one of the most popular ongoing video games in the world, is known for adding new characters often. While these characters are purely cosmetic, sometimes they come with items or other things related to them temporarily or permanently added to the game to celebrate their inclusion.
Usually, these added characters are from popular movies, TV shows, or video games, but sometimes there are more unexpected characters added, such as Pac-Man. Pac-Man is one of the most popular retro arcade mascots of all time, so why not add more in a similar vein and give them a new lease on life?
10 Bartender – Tapper
It might be weird to have a bartender be playable in Fortnite, but maybe he can serve root beer as he does in Root Beer Tapper and ice cream floats. The Bartender’s harvesting tool could be a glass mug, while a limited-time item any player could pick up could be a special Root Beer Float gun that shoots out a stream of soda and ice cream.
There’s not much else that could be added alongside Tapper since the game never had any official sequels, but it’s still an important part of arcade history, just like Pac-Man – even if it isn’t quite as well-known.
9 Ax Battler – Golden Axe
Golden Axe is a classic beat’em up series with a Sword & Sorcery theme. Although the original trio of the series is Ax Battler, Gilius Thunderhead, and Tyris, Ax Battler is usually the most prominently featured character on multiple covers, and it’s understandable since he is usually shown wielding an ax of his own, although Gilius wields one as well.
The titular item itself could even be added as a harvesting tool, but why stop there? Since animals like boars and wolves can now be ridden, mounts from the series like dragons and chicken legs could be added alongside Ax Battler.
8 Taizo Hori – Dig Dug
Taizo Hori is the main player character of the Dig Dug series and also happens to be Mr. Driller’s father. Taizo could have a drill harvesting tool due to his relation to Mr. Driller, but the unique weapon that could be added is his inflater, which he uses to inflate characters in his first game.
Since Fortnite already has some inflation mechanics with balloons, maybe this weapon could hilariously temporarily inflate other characters. However, if it has the potential to eliminate other players, it would have to be a legendary or mythic item. They could even choose between using his more cartoony design or his more humanoid design from Namco X Capcom.
7 G – The House Of The Dead
The House Of The Dead has had a handful of playable characters over the course of the series, but the playable character that has reappeared the most often is Agent G. While Agent G wouldn’t have a unique harvesting tool due to the House Of The Dead series consisting primarily of lightgun arcade games, maybe the various creatures from the series could be added to the map for a special Halloween event alongside him.
There’s nothing else peculiar about G himself that would fit in with a Fortnite appearance, but since playable characters are purely cosmetic, that wouldn’t matter much.
6 Arthur – Ghouls & Ghosts
This fearless knight has been fighting monsters since 1985 and has appeared in a number of crossover titles before. Since Capcom already has several characters from Street Fighter in the game, maybe they could have a special Ghouls & Ghost Halloween event to add Arthur in too.
Arthur’s unique harvesting tool would be his lance, but his knight armor would be something more interesting to add to the game. Arthur’s knight armor could function as an extra shield for players, and after being destroyed, their characters could be shown wearing his famous boxer shorts over the clothes they already have, of course.
5 Frogger – Frogger
The famous retro arcade game amphibian Frogger, who first hopped into arcades in 1981, is primarily known for crossing roads and dodging cars, but in the early aughts had a series of 3D platforming games and a more humanoid redesign.
Besides adding Frogger-inspired ponds and mini-game sections since cars and streets are already in the game, maybe Frogger’s green guck that he spits out could be a special item, and there could be a redesigned version of the harpoon gun that looks like Frogger’s tongue, but retains the same or at least a similar function to what the original harpoon gun has.
4 Billy & Jimmy – Double Dragon
Street Fighter and Naruto characters are already in Fortnite, as well as Cobra Kai outfits, so martial artists Billy & Jimmy Lee from the Double Dragon beat-’em-up series would feel right at home. Billy & Jimmy are usually just palette swaps of the same character, so their differences would largely depend on which version is used.
Since the original game had a small variety of weapons players could pick up and use, any of them could be a harvesting tool. Maybe there could even be a martial arts tournament-inspired event to introduce the twin brothers to the world of Fortnite.
3 George – Rampage
Rampage is a series that doesn’t get nearly as much love and attention as it should. While it wasn’t the first game to have playable monsters destroying cities, it was one of the most notable ones inspired by but otherwise unrelated to Godzilla.
King Kong-inspired character George is probably the most recognizable of the original Rampage monster trio, and with an alternate version getting the starring role in the 2018 live-action film adaptation alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He would probably have to be shrunk down to the size of his original human form, though, but his fist could be his harvesting tool.
2 Peter Pepper – BurgerTime
Peter Pepper from the BurgerTime series deserves more attention than he gets. Peter’s spatula would be his harvesting tool, while a pepper gun would be a new weapon that anyone could use. Maybe the pepper gun could even be used to temporarily turn opposing players into the various food enemies from the game, since it is what’s used to defeat them.
Whether they would use his original appearance, his appearance from his cameo in the animated Disney movie Wreck-It Ralph, or his appearance in the more recent BurgerTime Party is unclear. However, no matter which version they would choose, he could still add some interesting new mechanics.
1 Bub n’ Bob – Bubble Bobble
These two adorable dragons have been a pair of playable characters since the first Bubble Bobble game hit arcades in 1986 and also started the Puzzle Bobble or Bust-A-Move spin-off series. They might be harder to add due to their non-humanoid appearance, but maybe they could look like more humanoid characters inside of mascot suits.
Like Pac-Man, the sprite versions of Bub, Bob, and their various enemies could be added as back bling alongside having them as playable characters. Maybe a bubble mechanic inspired by their respective series could be added to the game for a limited amount of time too.