I was dying to see what new surprises Project X Zone 2 had up its sleeve for its constantly expanding roster. Different pairings give varied cute dialogue, which inspire you to mix and match PXZ2's roster more than any gameplay incentive will.Ĭhapter after chapter of the 30-hour tactical campaign introduces more famous faces to the mix, making each new map feel eventful from a story standpoint. Same goes for when you partner up similar characters, like the tough-as-nails Chinese fighters Chun-Li, Pai Chan, and Xiaoyu, and they’ll toss off quick witted gags during a fight. It rewards experimentation, too: build a trio of characters from Shenmue and its spiritual successor Yakuza, and you'll find some aggressively winking asides to their shared history. Even better are the ultra-deep references to behind-the-scenes stories from development. Seeing Strider and Shinobi meet Virtua Fighter's Kage and react to their different interpretations of ninjutsu is a laugh, as is seeing Phoenix Wright get used to working for the demonically possessed Tekken champion, Kazuya Mishima.
Sharp dialogue writing really makes the most of the unique pairings. Seeing Strider and Shinobi meet Virtua Fighter's Kage and react to their different interpretations of ninjutsu is a laugh. Simply seeing, say, Street Fighter's Chun-Li talk to Yakuza's Kiryu is the reward. The collection of excuses used to unite this army of heroes through time and space is often laughed off by the characters themselves, emphasizing that the mystery that unites the motley crew for a turn-based strategy game ultimately doesn't matter. Just like in the original, Project X Zone 2 brings together a variety of series’ characters, from Street Fighter and Yakuza to lesser-known franchises like Sakura Wars and Summon Night, by way of a story that's as best described as perfunctory. As a way of reveling in gaming history, PXZ2 is just the dose of nostalgia you'd want, though it doesn’t make the strategy action surrounding it any less shallow.
Project X Zone 2 overloads you with truckloads of good-natured celebration, piling dozens of classic characters from Namco, Sega, and Capcom all into one sprawling package of tactical gameplay. CP is spent on upgrading attacks and learning skills.Like funnel cake or any other sweet treat, fan service can be satisfying, but if there's not much going on underneath its appeal wears off quickly. Each pair has different levels and learn skills and additional attacks as they go up. They have much more health and can use the EP meter to perform special attacks.Įach enemy fought against gives some EXP to level up and CP, with their defeat gives several times more of each. There are also Rivals, which are stronger enemies based on actual characters from the cast's series. Every unit in a battle including supports earns CP based on the amount of damage dealt overall and whether the enemy has been killed. Getting longer combos earns the player more gold and more criticals give a bonus to EXP.
Using 100%, the player can either perform a special attack with Y or slow down time for a moment with B to better land criticals. Hitting attacks at the same time as a Support attack initiates a Cross Break that massively boosts XP generation until the bar hits 150%. When fighting an enemy, the player enters a 2D mode like a fighting game, the player wails on the enemy as much as possible here trying to chain attacks as much as possible with the main attacks being permutations of the A button and directional inputs and supports in the form of the Solo Unit and adjacent pairs. The player controls a number of pairs that can be linked to a Solo Unit that fight the numerous enemies on the battlefield in a SRPG fashion. Gameplay is similar to the previous entry.