Ludography
78/100
Players13 ratings
70/100
Critics6 reviews

Where to get it

Project X Zone 2 cover

2015 · Monolith Soft · Role-playing · Strategy

Project X Zone 2

Nintendo exclusive

In the sequel to the original world crossing adventure, legendary characters from Japan's most prolific video game publishers come together to create the biggest mashup strategy game ever! Developed by MONOLITH SOFTWARE INC., Project X Zone 2 gives gamers the opportunity to play as their favorite characters from a multitude of franchises and form teams of characters hailing from classic and current franchises and engage enemies through strategic turn-based battles.

Released
12 November 2015
Platforms
Nintendo 3DS
Genres
Role-playingStrategyTurn-based strategy
Developers
Monolith Soft
Publishers
Bandai Namco Entertainment
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
ActionFantasyScience fictionComedy

About

Project X Zone 2 (pronounced as "Project Cross Zone 2") is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Nintendo 3DS. Despite the game being the sequel to the crossover game Project X Zone, the plot is a homage to the events of its spiritual predecessor, Namco × Capcom, while retaining a standalone story. The game is a crossover between various franchises from Bandai Namco, Capcom, Nintendo and Sega. Project X Zone 2 was released in Japan in November 2015, and worldwide in February 2016.

Keywords

  • turn-based
  • crossover
  • grid-based movement
  • digital distribution
  • platform exclusive
  • stereoscopic 3d

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Like its predecessor, Project X Zone is a tactical role-playing game in which players strategically maneuver their characters across a field to battle with the enemy. Characters are paired up into Pair Units, with Solo Units consisting of a single character able to assist them when linked together. In battle, players use well-timed attacks and combos to do as much damage to the opponent as possible before their turn ends.

Story

Shibuya, Tokyo has been locked down because of paranormal events. Two organizations had previously fought there. Shinra, a secret organization dedicated to protecting the Earth from otherworldly threats and Ouma, an evil organization who use dimensional rifts to conquer the world. After their defeat, all seemed well. But rifts have started appearing once more.

Agents of Shinra, Reiji and Xiaomu, meet with Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine of the BSAA to investigate the appearance of mysterious golden chains that have appeared in Shibuya, which seem to be causing strong rifts in space-time. While investigating, they stumble across Heihachi, Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey, Goro Majima, and Kazuma Kiryu. This marks the start of an adventure that crosses into several worlds, where they meet with characters whose worlds have also been affected by these rifts.

Development

com launched a teaser website with a countdown that would expire in five days, revealing a secret project from Bandai Namco Entertainment. Before its expiration, Project X Zone 2 was announced early to attendees of Bandai Namco's "Level Up" press event in Milan, Italy on April 10, which was prematurely posted on Italian news website E-duesse before being retracted. The game was officially revealed to the public three days later. It was confirmed in an interview that the game will address the criticisms of the original (such as the story) and that there will be some "surprise" announcements.

The game was originally going to have a simultaneous worldwide release, but the North American and European releases were later delayed to early 2016. Unlike the previous game, the western versions features no altered content from the Japanese version and are in multiple languages.

Reception

Project X Zone 2 received mixed to positive reviews, receiving a score of 73/100 on Metacritic, with critics praising the game's cast of characters and improvements to issues present in the first game, but criticizing the game's easy difficulty and the fact that many assets were reused from the first game. The game received a 32/40 from Famitsu. Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4/5 saying, "Project X Zone 2 is a funny, charming and amusing title. It sets out to entertain video game fans of all stripes and allows the player to jump from world to world to get a taste of other titles they may have been missing.

Just based on the built-in "Crosspedia" encyclopedia database, the stack of games that I really want to try out has grown (Resonance of Fate, in particular). It's not challenging, but it was never meant to be. The gameplay is simply the vehicle to deliver the true focus of this title: dumb fun. Players who don't need everything to bristle with a dark malevolence will find a great time in this one."

Legacy

In an interview with Nintendo Life, Kensuke Tsukanaka stated that he would like to continue the series, though he admitted it would not be easy to realize each time.

Hideki Kamiya of PlatinumGames has stated he was approached about having Sega character Bayonetta included in this game, to which he refused as he wanted Bayonetta and Dante from Devil May Cry to meet "on his own terms". However, he has stated he has come to regret this decision due to realizing how the fans would have loved the two interacting, and that if there is a Project X Zone 3 he would be all for Bayonetta's inclusion.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Nintendo 3DS12 November 2015Japan · Europe 12 February 2016 · Australia 12 February 2016 · North America 16 February 2016

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.