Project X Zone

Twenty Characters I Want Playable in Project X Zone 3

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the following games:

God Eater
Project X Zone
Project X Zone 2
Solatorobo: Red the Hunter
Street Fighter V
Xenoblade Chronicles

What better way to round up this month of Project X Zone 2 rambling than a wish list of characters for a possible sequel? Back in 2014, the chances of my new favourite crossover game getting a sequel seemed pretty slim. Now, though, the odds seem slightly stronger, with producer Kensuke Tsukanaka even saying he wants to continue the series.

Hopefully, we won’t have to wait long for a third title but I’m optimistic (or maybe just delusional) that it will happen, and when it does, I’ll have my fingers crossed that at least some of these characters will make an appearance.

My only rules are that they have to be brand new characters (so no characters that appeared in either PXZ or Namco X Capcom), no characters that were already on the previous list I did and they have to be from Capcom, Sega, Bandai Namco or Nintendo IPs. Continue reading →

Ten of My Favourite Music Tracks from Project X Zone 2

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Project X Zone 2

One aspect I didn’t mention in the Project X Zone 2 review was its soundtrack. As a crossover of many gaming franchises, it naturally draws most of its music from those franchises and gives them fancy new remixes. The first game did the same thing but, due to licensing issues, a lot of tracks had to be replaced (and some just flat-out removed) for the Western release.

PXZ 2, however, managed to avoid this pitfall and we were gifted with an untouched, complete soundtrack (though Japan still got an exclusive pre-order that offered the original versions of the remixes which sucks but what are you gonna do?). So, to continue the trend of me pretending I know what I’m talking about when it comes to music, here’s a quick list of ten of my favourite music tracks from the game. And believe me when I say that this list was much harder to make than the last one. Seriously, this is a really good soundtrack. Continue reading →

Ten Favourite Characters in Project X Zone 2

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the following games:

Project X Zone 2
Tales of Vesperia
Xenoblade Chronicles

As I wrote in last week’s review, Project X Zone 2 has an arguably stronger cast of characters than its predecessor, with a healthy mix of familiar and not-so familiar faces. For some players, this game is the first time even seeing some of these characters, which means they need to make strong first impressions – they need to make us want to know more about them. And I’d say they certainly succeeded.

So, just because I did this last time, here are my personal ten favourite characters from the game. My one rule is that they have to be “new” characters, so no characters that also appeared in the first game. Continue reading →

Project X Zone 2 – The Best Videogame Crossover Ever?

/ Michael Beckwith / 6 Comments

project_x_zone_thumbnail

Back in October 2014 (a time when I was still writing this stuff on Tumblr), I dedicated the entire month to writing articles about Project X Zone, a crossover, tactical RPG on the 3DS featuring characters from Capcom, Sega and Namco franchises. It quickly became one of my favourite games ever upon playing it and I just wanted, nay, needed to express that love somewhere (you can check out said articles here). So, you can probably guess how I felt when a sequel was announced (spoilers: there was a lot of screaming).

Said sequel, Project X Zone 2, was released in the West in February 2016 so, one year later, I’m doing this shit again because (unsurprisingly) I love the sequel too. But is it an improvement over its predecessor or is it just the same game with only the most minute of differences? Well, that’s what a review’s for, isn’t it? Continue reading →

Nine Characters That Should Be in a Project X Zone Sequel

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

(originally posted October 31st 2014)

In case the month’s worth of articles didn’t make it painfully obvious by this point, I love Project X Zone and, though it may never happen, I still dream of a sequel. What would change? What would be kept the same? I dunno, but what I do know is who I’d want to appear in it. The only rule is that they have to be Capcom, Sega and Namco characters. Continue reading →

Five Crossovers That Should Have Been Like Project X Zone

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

(originally posted October 24th 2014)

If it wasn’t clear enough by this point, a lot of my love for Project X Zone comes from its set-up and character interaction. As such, I couldn’t help but think how good some crossovers could have been if they adopted a similar route. A lot of videogame crossovers just have the characters fight each other, which is entertaining but it very much lacks that special charm that something like Project X Zone had, which is ultimately why it’s one of my favourite video games. It may be but a fantasy to never come but I can certainly dream of a world where these existing crossovers were a hell of a lot more awesome. Continue reading →

Ten of My Favourite Music Tracks from Project X Zone

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

(originally posted October 17th 2014)

I briefly mentioned it in the article I wrote two weeks ago, but Project X Zone has an amazing soundtrack. Granted, most of the tracks are remixes of already existing tracks but there are still plenty of original tracks and, regardless of originality, they are all really good. So, to honour it, here’s a list of ten of my top picks. Continue reading →

Ten Favourite Characters in Project X Zone

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

(originally posted October 10th 2014)

(WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Project X Zone)

Project X Zone has probably got one of the biggest casts in any videogame, featuring a ton of heroes, villains and mooks from across the libraries of Capcom’s, Sega’s and Bandia Namco’s franchises, as well as some original ones. However, since most of these characters have little to no recognition or recognisability in the West, the writers/translators had to do an especially good job in making them likable and interesting, without incorporating any character development or deviating from the character’s original personality. In my opinion, they must have done a good job, because I fell in love with many of the cast despite my lack of knowledge, so here is a list of my personal favourites. Continue reading →

Project X Zone – Three Game Companies, One Kickass Crossover

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

(originally posted October 3rd 2014)

project-x-zone

In October 2012, Project X Zone, a tactical RPG, was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS. That following year, we Westerners were fortunate enough to receive the game ourselves, despite less than stellar sales. Opinion on this game is noticeably mixed; those who have played it either love it for what it is or find it rather dull. I am one of the former. I adore this game for a multitude of reasons and I wish more people were aware of it. It did manage to sell ten times more in the West than the publishers, Bandai Namco, were expecting but it’s hardly a household name; even amongst gamers it’s probably overlooked. So, I’m dedicating this whole month to one of my all-time favourite games, and by the end of this, you’ll hopefully be convinced to give a game a shot. Continue reading →