Project X Zone: Crossly Reviewed

Project X Zone Developer Namco Bandai Publisher Namco Bandai Platforms Nintendo 3DS Released: June 25, 2013(NA) Verdict: I have no idea what’s going on… Score: 7/10 It is very safe to say that I have NO idea what is going on in this game at any one point in time. That being said I’ve had a surprisingly good time without knowing anything.

Project X Zone is a rare beast and a confusing business decision but utterly delightful and inspiring for those who would love more games like this localized. Project X Zone (pronounced Project CROSS Zone) sees characters from Namco/ Bandai, Sega, and Capcom come together not to fight each other but a threat big enough to threaten all their respective worlds. . . OR that’s what the box and advertisements may lead you to believe. I’m sure it’s not far enough from the truth but good luck trying to figure it all out. The story here is by far the weakest element in the game. It just doesn’t make any sense. If it were a movie it would be named MacGuffin, because all it is, is a bunch of stupid reasons to put the characters together so they can ask, “Why am I here” and “Where am I” and “I’ve covered wars, ya know”. Also it turns out that regular old fountains are inter-dimensional portals and monsters are also coming through and. . . That’s honestly all I’ve been able to ascertain and I’m several hours into the game.

Grid Based Combat

Honestly it’s forgivable because, you won’t care anyway, the game is just plain fun. The majority of your play time and “story” will play out on a grid similar to what you would see in Joan of Arc or Final Fantasy Tactics but lacks any of the depth of either of it’s inspirations. It doesn’t matter which side you attack from, items are mainly for pre-battle buffs or health and the only thing you do really have to worry about is which of your characters is next to the other as that impacts who you can access in the battle screen. Battles are fast, pretty, and confusing. There is some kind of repeating combo system. L and R will call any allies near you in the battle zone on the grid. Calling them and attacking at thew same time triggers a “Cross Attack” for bonuses in attack power. These are no Street Fighter battles and the “combos” if you could call them that are limited and easy to do, I suspect on purpose. To be perfectly honest I played this game very drunk one night and it wasn’t any harder to play. I suppose this is a testament to familiar game play and ease of access, but, I have a sneaking suspicion that it may also because it’s just really easy to mash it out and win. Overall it’s not a perfect game but it’s a super enjoyable game that’s easy to play on the go in bite size amounts and for nothing other than that I can recommend it easily. Pick it up and save the world from. . . uhh. . . something.

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