When Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid first launched a couple of years ago, it did so with a relatively small roster of playable characters. Since the game's launch, developer nWay has nearly doubled Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid's roster, adding all kinds of Power Rangers villains and heroes to the lineup. More recently, nWay added two guest fighters to the game, the first in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid history.
The latest DLC characters for Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid are none other than Street Fighter's Chun-Li and Ryu, who have received a Power Rangers-style makeover for their appearance. This would seemingly open up the possibility for other guest characters to appear in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, but it's possible that developer nWay is getting ready to move on to other preojcts instead.
A Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid - Super Edition game was confirmed not long after the Street Fighter crossover DLC. The Super Edition of Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid will include the base game in addition to all of the previously-released character DLC and some bonus costumes. This could very well mean that nWay is done with releasing new Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid DLC, but if not, here are some guest fighters that would likely be well-received by fans.
Ivan Ooze
The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers movie from the 90s was critically-panned at the time of its release, but it still holds a special place in the heart's of many who grew up with the franchise. The non-canon movie was basically a big budget version of the TV show, with a brand new villain in the form of the evil Ivan Ooze. Ivan Ooze has appeared in Power Rangers video games in the past, but since the movie is non-canon, he been seen for decades at this point.
Perhaps the main reason why Ivan Ooze hasn't appeared in recent Power Rangers media is due to licensing issues. The rights to the 1995 Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers movie was owned by Fox, who has since been bought out by Disney. Hasbro owns the rights to the Power Rangers franchise in a general sense, but it does not have rights to original characters from the movie, which would include Ivan Ooze.
If some kind of deal could be reached with Disney, it would be great to see Ivan Ooze reincorporated into the Power Rangers canon universe, and it could all start with an appearance in the Battle for the Grid video game.
Jason David Frank
Jason David Frank is possibly the most well-known Power Rangers actor (not counting Bryan Cranston, who voiced some of the monsters, of course). Jason David Frank's character Tommy Oliver has remained hugely popular with the Power Rangers fandom, and is represented on the Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid roster in multiple capacities. However, it may be worth including Jason David Frank himself in the lineup.
Jason David Frank may be best known for his appearances in the various Power Rangers TV shows and movies as Tommy Oliver, but he is also a legitimate fighter. In fact, Jason David Frank is undefeated in Mixed-Martial Arts. He hasn't had a professional fight since 2010, but Frank has attempted to set up some high profile fights, including a bout with WWE-turned-MMA fighter CM Punk. That particular fight never came to pass, but there's no reason Frank can't mix it up with Power Rangers characters in the Battle for the Grid video game.
Justice League
This may seem like an out of the blue recommendation, but there is history between the Justice League and the Power Rangers. For those who may be aware, Boom Studios has led a revival of the Power Rangers through its various comic book series set in the same universe as the TV series. This has led to the creation of fan favorite characters like Lord Drakkon, as well as a crossover with DC's superhero team the Justice League.
In 2017, six issues of Justice League/Power Rangers were released. The comic book series sees the Power Rangers join forces with the Justice League to fight off the combined threat of Brainiac and Lord Zedd. The comics were relatively well-received by fans and sets a precedent for the Power Rangers to meet up with the Justice League. As for which specific Justice League members could be part of the hypothetical guest fighter DLC, that's up for debate.
Superman or Batman would be the obvious choices, but there's also an argument to be made that Brainiac should be the DC Comics guest fighter instead. It's highly unlikely to ever happen, but perhaps a Power Ranger could make an appearance in the next Injustice video game. There have been plenty of guest fighters in the Injustice series already, so that seems like a more realistic scenario in the grand scheme of things.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Just like there have been comic books that have crossed over the Justice League and Power Rangers universe, there have also been comics that combine the worlds of Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This is reason enough to make some fans want to see TMNT characters appear in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid guest fighter DLC, but there is another reason why a crossover like this would make sense.
As some may recall, there used to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series on Fox Kids called Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation aired on the same channel as Power Rangers: In Space, and so the crossover episode "Shell Shocked" was concocted to have the two teams of superheroes meet. While the turtle designs from Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation may be better left in the past, seeing modern takes on the turtles in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid could be fun for fans.
Transformers
Now that the rights to the Power Rangers franchise are owned by Hasbro, it opens the door for all kinds of crossovers that were never possible before. This includes a crossover with the Transformers franchise, and in fact, there have been rumors of a potential Power Rangers/Transformers crossover feature film some day. While that may or may not ever come to fruition, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is the perfect opportunity for the franchises to crossover in the meantime.
Any number of the titular Transformers would potentially make strong additions to the Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid roster of playable fighters, but one has to imagine that the most popular characters would be the most likely candidates. If such a crossover were ever to happen, it seems likely that a character like Optimus Prime would be the representative for the Transformers brand, or maybe his archenemy Megatron instead.
There is a problem with this potential crossover, though, and that is the size difference between the Transformers and the Power Rangers. Considering this, maybe a Transformers crossover could come in the form of Transformers taking the place of the Power Rangers' Zords instead.
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
