A dream crossover
It has been a long time coming, but the BlazBlue series is finally back on an Xbox console. This entry in the series is more akin to Capcom’s versus series as it combines the characters of BlazBlue with several other franchises including RWBY, Persona, and a host of other properties for a tag battle mash-up that is as chaotic in motion as it sounds. While Arc System Works’ fighters are definitely some of the most complex, Cross Tag Battle brings enough to the table for players of any skill to have a blast. It is also a bonus the game just happens to be available via Game Pass.
The roster of this game is massive. Representing BlazBlue we have 19 fighters. These include staples such as Ragna, Noel, and Iron Tager as well as plenty of lesser known ones such as Hazama and Makoto. Next up is some of the cast from Persona, which was another fighter from Arc. The familiar favorites are here such as Chie, Yu, and of course Teddie. Then we have a selection from the Under Night In-Birth series including Hyde, Linne, Waldstein. The rest of the roster is built out from a selection of fighters from series such as RWBY, Arcana Heart, and even Senran Kagura. There are over 50 fighters in the game and this version includes them all, including the DLC so there is literally something for everyone.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
When you first get into the game it features a similar structure to Arc’s most recent games. You build an avatar that wanders around a menu world where all the modes are available. You can circumvent this by tapping a button to get a normal selection menu, which I highly prefer. The game is chock full of modes, but I suggest hitting the in-depth tutorial first if you have never played one of these games. There are a lot of systems in this game and it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with them before diving right in. As I said the game is very customizable to any skill set via difficulty options so unless you want to dive online, it should be fine to just tune the skill of the CPU.
The story mode is the biggest chunk of the game and is kind of massive. Episode 1 consists of four stories broken down by series with BlazBlue taking the lead. Each one lasts roughly 60-90 minutes and consists of a lot of visual novel style text mixed in with fights in between including pre and post fight banter. It is interesting, but players without knowledge of these universes will certainly find it confusing. There is also an Episode 2 which consists of 15 chapters meshing everything together. It is nuts how much story content is here and if you are a fan of these series it is a lot of lore to dig into.
There are of course standard modes here as well including an arcade mode, survival, and plenty of versus options. Playing locally with friends is fun while hopping online can be a nightmare for newbies. People that play these games online are REALLY good at these games. I got whooped nearly every match, but I can at least say that it ran great online. I rarely experienced any lag while getting my butt handed to me.
The fighting system in the game is complex. I could tell you the ins and outs via a wikipedia entry, but the truth is I am terrible at Arc games. That doesn’t stop me from enjoying them though and that speaks volumes in how much fun they can be. As mentioned this is a tag battle system so players get to choose two characters and can swap them in and out as well as call them in to assist. There are auto combos as well so I was able to perform flashy moves by tapping a single button. It is all fast and frenetic and I had a blast playing it. Novice players should definitely avoid online unless they want to be humbled quickly, but just the act of playing the game is a blast.
Visually this is built more on older Arc technology so don’t expect the flashy anime polygons from Guilty Gear Strive. Instead this feels more like a collection of pixels from previous games. The Persona characters for instance look and feel basically like they did in their two fighting games. The backgrounds are gorgeous and the game moves a fast clip and feels fantastic. This is a 2D visual feast for the eyes. The soundtrack is amazing and the voice, while a bit overbearing at times, are well implemented.
It is great to have BlazBlue back on Xbox and available on Game Pass. It gives players a chance to check out one of the coolest fighting game series out there. It is fast, fun, and full of content and I cannot recommend the download enough if you are even slightly interested in fighting games. Let’s hope this is the return of Arc System Works on Xbox. They have been sorely missed.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.