Leaving aside any Nintendo-owned IPs or Dragon Ball games, I've been thinking about this question and find that no other cast fits the bill like Final Fantasy VII's:
If the decades of cosplays, fan-art and merchandising weren't already a strong indicator, the Remake itself pretty much cements it: I can't think of any other game where a major studio would even consider the massive investment in making a multi-part, multi-console adaptation akin to Lord of the Rings.
It's a huge gamble, but also a safer-than-average one. The massive media and critical reception is proof enough of the legacy of Cloud and friends (and enemies). Just look at the crowd reception over a single character's unveiling:
Even people who never played FFVII (including the above streamer) recognizes these characters and shows considerable interest. I really do think the FFVII crew is the closest thing to something like Overwatch when it comes to character awareness/popularity on a global scale.
The only other contender I can think of is Street Fighter:
And even then it's pretty much limited to the OG cast of Street Fighter II, with Cammy and Akuma being the only additions from The New Challengers to reach the same level of popularity as the World Warriors.
If the decades of cosplays, fan-art and merchandising weren't already a strong indicator, the Remake itself pretty much cements it: I can't think of any other game where a major studio would even consider the massive investment in making a multi-part, multi-console adaptation akin to Lord of the Rings.
It's a huge gamble, but also a safer-than-average one. The massive media and critical reception is proof enough of the legacy of Cloud and friends (and enemies). Just look at the crowd reception over a single character's unveiling:
Even people who never played FFVII (including the above streamer) recognizes these characters and shows considerable interest. I really do think the FFVII crew is the closest thing to something like Overwatch when it comes to character awareness/popularity on a global scale.
The only other contender I can think of is Street Fighter:
And even then it's pretty much limited to the OG cast of Street Fighter II, with Cammy and Akuma being the only additions from The New Challengers to reach the same level of popularity as the World Warriors.
