Having characters from one franchise appear in another isn’t anything new. I remember the first time I noticed Chun-Li chomping on some noodles in the background of Final Fight 2, content to eat lunch and watch the gangland violence continue in the forefront. It only seemed to become a selling point when Soul Calibur II was released on the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube each with a unique “guest” character.

The whole affair felt gimmicky, and none of the characters gelled with the Soul Calibur universe. That didn’t stop Namco from continuing the practice with Darth Vadar and Yoda in Soul Calibur IV. Most recently God of War’s Kratos was featured as a playable character in Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny.

I can understand Namco’s readiness to put Kratos in the game as he’s a recent, popular character and the developers hope he resonates enough with western audiences to fuel sales. Kratos it seems is one of the go-to characters to guest star in other games–his resume also includes appearances in ModNation Racers, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds, and LittleBigPlanet. Why? Because, well, why not?

I fully realize that putting Kratos in cutesy games where he can’t maim or dismember anyone is purely for comedic effect, as well as to hawk another PlayStation franchise, but the whole thing feels like it cheapens Kratos. Yes, Kratos is characterized as rage in its purest form, less of a man and more of an unstoppable engine of destruction, and was only semi-relatable in the first. In a lot of ways he’s like the John Rambo character–in the first he’s as close as you could get to a relatable human being and then turning into a one-dimensional parody of himself that only endears him more.

Call me taking things too seriously if you want, but after playing so many God of War games I feel a bit protective. After all, Kratos is instantly recognizable and not likely to be forgotten any time soon. There’s still the possibility of more God of War games, plus the prospect of a movie and while we wait on that we can read about Kratos’ adventures in books and comics.

It’s also difficult to find a franchise that’s one-hundred percent compatible with God of War. It isn’t like Marvel vs. Capcom where huge rosters of characters find a comfortable middle ground, instead the game has to bend over backwards in order to shoehorn the character (in this case Kratos) into the franchise’ universe. If any exposition is given on the situation, it’s due to some kind of rift in the space-time continuum: easily one of the laziest story-telling devices.

Kratos is now slated for an appearance in the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot. While I admit the idea of watching Kratos finally receive bloody retribution is dripping with irony (and gore), I still argue it’s yet another guest appearance that needs not be made. The inclusion is a bit confusing to me as there’s no reason to advertise the series with God of War III having come out a year earlier and the PS3 hardly needs to give players a reason to pick up its version over the Xbox 360–the PS3’s directional pad alone can do that–so the only reason is somewhere out there somebody really wants to know who would win in a fight between Kratos and Scorpion. It’s like one of those irreverent conversations taking place in a comic book shop over who would win in a fantasy fist-fight between Conan The Barbarian and Harry Potter. Sure it’s an idea filled with spectacle, but it’s not one we lend credence to.

Even as a huge God of War fan, there is such a thing as too much Kratos in my games. Kratos, do yourself a favor and fire your agent. You’re one more guest appearance away from showing up on Letterman. Overexposure never helped anybody (just ask Sonic) and you’re not going to be the factor people take into account when they decide which copy of Mortal Kombat they’re going to buy.