While crossover games have become pretty common in Japan, these games are usually a localization nightmare on other shores. With so many different companies holding the licenses to each series, some gaming gems, like most of the Super Robot Taisen series, (featuring Gundam and Macross units,) and Namco X Capcom, have eluded gamers throughout most of the world. That is, until now, with the release of Project X Zone. A pseudo-sequel to NXC using a battle system similar to SRT, characters from Sega, Namco Bandai and Capcom have joined forces in this turn based strategy RPG. But fan service aside, this is a game that managed to stay entertaining for hours upon end, but not without some major repetition.
Project X Zone tells the epic tale of Mii, the heiress to an ancient artifact that has been passed down for generations, and her ninja butler Kogoro. Once mysterious enemies appear and steal the artifact, a rift in dimensions brings heroes and villians together from the universes of Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, Resident Evil, Tekken, .dot Hack, Virtua Fighter and Valkyria Chronicles amongst many others, (including Bruce f’ing Willis as John McClain! Sort of!) These would-be allies are now forced to find their way home and bring order back to the dimensions. Okay, look… that’s about as deep as the story gets. Sure, it’s simple, but it serves as an excuse to have Mega Man fight side by side with Gemini Sunrise from Sakura Wars. What makes up for the bare bones story is the characterization of each unit. I was expecting a somewhat rushed translation since this is getting such a limited run, but I was surprised at how much I laughed out loud at the in jokes, references and nods to fans. It’s great when the translation team spares no expense at getting everyone right, especially when there are so many characters to work with.
Super cops Chun-Li and John McClain… together at last.
Game play combines traditional strategy mechanics with some light fighting game features thrown in. Each unit travels across a grid based map and starts with three attacks, each of which will launch enemies into the air or bounce them against the wall. Chaining attacks without letting foes touch the ground does more damage, builds up more EXP points and charges up the XP meter, (meaning Cross Power… Don’t ask.) What seems like simple button mashing in the beginning becomes more timing based, since boss enemies have huge amounts of HP with regenerating shields that charge when they touch the ground. Did I mention that connecting attacks at the last second before the bad guys land nets critical hits, more than doubling the damage inflicted? An RPG that lets you control critical hits based on skill? Why didn’t anyone think of this before?
As the game progresses, players unlock two member units. These are preset, so Dante will always fight with Dimitri for example. But Solo units, single characters ranging from Ghosts and Goblins to Fighting Vipers can be attached to each pair in any way the player chooses. Solo units act as support, and can be summoned mid battle to extend combos and inch out extra damage. To get the most out of each battle, other pair units can give support too, if the attacking unit is standing near them when the battle starts. Utilizing support from Solo and pair units is essential for victory, but how you will use them is another story.
If the main unit’s attack connects simultaneously with a support attack, a cross hit initiates, keeping the enemy frozen in place. This technique builds extra XP, as well as allowing the XP cap of 100% to increase to a maximum of 150%. The more XP, the more chances to trigger area clearing multi attacks, special skills that range from healing to stat boosting, and single super moves that can close out a combo for huge damage. The drawback? Initiating cross hits in the wrong spot can make your attacks miss, and attacks in this state cannot inflict critical hits. What’s more important, damage or XP? This is where the real strategy comes in, since the battle system makes most fights pretty easy once you get the hang of comboing.
Battles in PXZ are chaotic good fun!
If low on XP, items can be used in a similar ways as skills, but can only be obtained through defeating enemies or breaking shields. So sometimes, it might just be more advantageous to defeat all of the enemies before fighting a boss, (especially since there’s no grinding outside of missions,) or even letting the boss regain their shield for extra loot, (since there are no shops.) Even if you do make a mistake, a quicksave option can be accessed at any time, letting you retrace your steps back to when you made that one bad move. The only problem here is that there are 15 save slots but only one quicksave, so if your friends, family or significant other(s) are playing, chances are your quicksave will be long gone.
But going back to the simplicity of the battle system, the one major flaw I found with Project X Zone is a lack of variety. Most maps are laid out similarly aside from treasure chests scattered throughout the stage, and aside from a handful of maps where certain teammates take priority, a fight is over once your team is wiped out or the enemy’s is. Occasionally, additional objectives will be put in place, like reaching a spot or character on the map in X amount of time, but once the novelty of seeing Tales characters working with Shining Force heroes wears off, if you find the battle system tiring, you’re not going to see the end of the game.
I personally was addicted to landing critical hits and pulling off perfect combos all the way through, but even with the fighting game mechanics in place, I can’t see anyone other than hardcore fans of these characters, or long time SRPG gamers reaching the credits in this 40ish hour adventure. Even then, some popular characters don’t debut until WAY late in the game. I’m talking 20 hours in… so I can see people losing patience before getting to their favorites. Throw in end game maps can go on for around two hours each, and its easy to see how polarizing the final stretch can be. But if you can’t get enough, there’s even a new game plus with powered up bosses that drop rare equipment! You might never stop playing!
Yes, that’s X, Zero, Kos-Mos, T-elos, Ulala and the Space Harrier Girl on screen at once. Wait, does she have a name?
Even for those strategy fans though, this game is significantly easier than most in the genre, (which was perfect for me since I’m usually terrible at these games.) Throw in the fighting game mechanics and a literal army of popular, yet niche characters across three great companies, and you get a highly entertaining experience that a broad range of gamers will get entertainment out of. Well animated sprites and a large collection of music rounds out a package that hits us right in the nostalgia gland, and while I doubt most will see the story through to the end, Project X Zone provides as much fun as one wants to get out of it. If nothing else, at least it finally got Mega Man and Tron Bonne on the 3DS!
Pros:
- A huge cast of characters!
- Easily accessible game mechanics that blend genres.
- Plenty of game to sift through, including a new game plus.
- Strong animations, music and script.
Cons:
- Weak story.
- Repetitive battles that may wear thin before the credits roll.
- Too easy compared to other games in the genre.
- Multi hour fights late in the game.
Final Score: 8.5/10