The world of My Hero Academia is at once intimately familiar, being set in real-world Japan, and a totally fantastic world of superpowers and monsters. Protagonist Izuku Midoriya is on a quest to become the world's new #1 hero, and he'll face any odds and challenge any villain to prove himself and save the world. This could translate well into gameplay.
Many shonen franchises get their own fighting game tie-ins, from the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm games to countless Dragon Ball fighting titles and even a Berserk game or two. While My Hero Academia's combat system is perfect for a fighting game, perhaps this franchise should get an open-world adventure game instead, just like Spider-Man did.
Saving The World As Izuku Midoriya, One Quest At A Time
Protagonist Izuku Midoriya is ideal for a fighting game, but his personal arc is about more than combat. Izuku isn't about seeking the glory of victory or finding and defeating the strongest enemies in the land. Instead, Izuku is a selfless character totally dedicated to world peace and security, just like his mentor and upperclassman, Mirio Togata. Mirio calls himself "Lemillion" because he aims to save one million people, and Izuku easily could have called himself that, too, for the same reason. Given how Izuku wants to save many people and confront evil anywhere it appears, it makes the most sense to place Izuku in an open-world game. He wants to patrol the streets for evil, not become the champ of a local fight club.
After all, the entire superhero genre is based on caped heroes patrolling an area (city, nation, planet, or even the whole galaxy) and fighting evil as it comes. These heroes have powerful arch-rivals, such as Magneto or the Joker, but they can also take on everyday thugs and criminals. That's how the superheroes of My Hero Academia operate. During Izuku's first few days with Sir Nighteye's agency, he spent time patrolling with Mirio, not duking it out in a fight club. Heroes patrol all the time, and Shota Aizawa/Eraser Head actually enjoys patrolling alone so he can have some "me time" while looking out for crime. This can translate well into gameplay.
Izuku's Quest In Gameplay Terms
If Spider-Man can swing all over New York City on his webs in Spider-Man games such as the PS4 release, then Izuku can do something similar as a trainee hero. Such a game could put Izuku against anything from squads of lesser villains with minor Quirks, all the way to challenging Nomu beasts and members of the League of Villains or Overhaul's crime family. The universe of My Hero Academia has villains of all power levels, granting proper diversity of challenges for the player of this hypothetical game. What is more, the player (as Izuku) can take on a variety of missions and side quests, from chasing fleeing villains to rescuing citizens or a race against time as a building teeters on the brink of collapse, and far more. Along the way, Izuku could rack up reputation points, and having enough points will mean other hero agencies will offer more rewarding (and challenging) missions. As Izuku makes a name for himself, more and more people will call upon him to save the day.
In a game like this, Izuku can establish friendship ties with hero agencies to get bonuses from them, and he can cultivate friendships with other U.A. students and call for their aid during especially tough missions. Izuku can perform combo strikes with allies such as Fumikage Tokoyami, Mirio Togata, Shoto Todoroki and more to take down boss fights or perform crowd control, and eventually form a proper superhero squad that can take on any challenge. Many fighting games allow for tag-team play or combo strikes to finish the opponent. Given the superhero genre and Izuku's strong cooperation, this would fit perfectly into an open-world My Hero Academia game. Izuku could patrol the streets in general and fight his way through serious, important story sequences such as the forest training camp, the Shie Hassaikai raid, the Stain arc and the Bakugo rescue arc, among others.
