Astro Bot is a significant release for the PlayStation brand, which is why Team Asobi pulled out all the stops and summoned familiar faces from Sony’s treasure trove of legacy characters, including ones that younger fans may not recognize at all. With over 160 VIP Bots making cameo appearances throughout the game, including the references to relatively obscure first-party titles like Alundra and Polygon Man to third-party releases like Tomb Raider‘s Lara Croft, among others, you can’t help but notice when some faces are missing, especially if they’re synonymous with the blue team.
Perhaps the most glaring omissions from Astro Bot are the lack of representation from Final Fantasy, Spider-Man, and Kingdom Hearts, which are franchises that are historically significant to the PlayStation brand. Final Fantasy 7, for example, came out in 1997 on the original PlayStation and, perhaps, single-handedly established Sony’s debut console as the go-to platform for JRPGs—a reputation that has stuck to the brand to this date.
It’s baffling to think about PlayStation without conjuring images of the Buster Sword and Cloud Strife’s spiky hairdo. It even got to a point that there were rumors just a few years ago that Sony was thinking about buying Square Enix. This is how close the partnership is, or rather was, between these two companies. So, what gives?
It would’ve been perfectly understandable for Sony to keep Astro Bot a strictly first-party celebration, but Capcom, Konami, and several other Japanese companies are well-represented in Astro Bot. Atlus, for example, has three characters from recent Persona games featured in Astro Bot, despite the series’ move away from PlayStation exclusivity, so it’s clearly not that.
Keep in mind that Astro’s Playroom, the predecessor to Astro Bot, featured a clear reference to the iconic Buster Sword, which means that, if there’s an ongoing issue between these two companies, it couldn’t have started before the PlayStation 5 came out.
A prevailing theory right now is Square Enix and PlayStation are in a bit of a tiff as a result of failed financial investments. Square Enix’s releases, the biggest which are exclusive to PlayStation, haven’t done particularly well.
While blunders like BALAN WONDERWORLD, Marvel’s Avengers, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Outriders were multiplatform, AAA titles like Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are, or in FF16’s case “were”, exclusive to PlayStation 5 at the time of their launch, and they didn’t do well. Although Square Enix was much more forgiving in its statements regarding FF7 Rebirth’s sales, the fact remains that Square Enix is no longer happy with the results of their association with PlayStation.
Earlier this year, Square Enix all but confirmed everyone’s conspiracy theories about breaking their close ties with PlayStation when it confirmed that Final Fantasy 14 is headed to Xbox, with plans to bring more Final Fantasy titles to Microsoft’s bespoke platform, starting with FF16.
If we go by this explanation, then it’s no wonder Kingdom Hearts, another Square Enix franchise with deep roots in PlayStation history, is also missing from the Astro Bot lineup. While the series has since expanded to other platforms, its impact during the PlayStation 2 era is undeniable.
Another surprising no-show is Spider-Man. Since its 2018 release, the web-slinger’s latest video game outings have become an integral part of the PlayStation brand, all thanks to Insomniac Games’ efforts, which have made their acquisition price look like a bargain.
For what it’s worth, it’s easier to explain Spider-Man going MIA in Astro Bot. Sony technically doesn’t own Spider-Man, as the company only owns the movie rights to the iconic comic book character. So it still has to ask Disney’s permission to bring Spider-Man into Astro Bot, which probably couldn’t have come cheap.
Despite these notable absences, it’s important to note that Astro Bot remains one of the year’s best gaming experiences. The sheer variety of cameos present attest to PlayStation’s diverse and beloved library of titles. From cult classics to modern blockbusters, Astro Bot is a love letter to PlayStation’s legacy.
So while it’s a shame that a certain spiky-haired protagonist or a long white-haired villain or the evil incarnate of a clown aren’t in Astro Bot, it doesn’t make it a bad game at all.
