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Project X Zone 2: A brave but boring world.
Project X Zone 2 is the second crazy-rostered Strategy anime-style RPG on the Nintendo 3DS where you can play as characters from SEGA, Namco Bandai and Capcom. I had a copy of the first title which I loved starting, off but after a while I got bored as the game kept changing between characters and locations. This was fun in terms of dialogue and seeing crossovers, but as the story has a basic narrative – which I guess would be easier with so many characters from so many games in one – I was hoping that this second title would be a great improvement. Here are my thoughts.
When starting to play the game, it went straight into two characters I’d seen a lot in the previous title, which is good to see as they are keeping to a story of sorts. The problem is, while I continued playing, it just felt too similar to the first game; so similar in fact, it felt almost like a carbon copy with a tweak to the story – a few different characters and dialogue. I continued playing the game hoping that I would find something new but unfortunately this wasn’t the case. I know the fans of the first game would say “Well if it’s not broke…”
When it comes to the story, this game is made for fans of JRPG/Strategy RPG/Anime, plus fans of the characters involved, and if you are not within these demographics you may lose interest in playing very quickly. The story is pretty much a ‘Good Vs Evil’ match up between heroes and villains from most of the game worlds collided within a crossover title. It’s simple and effective for what the game is, but with an RPG type game I was hoping for more, especially when we are looking at a sequel.
Like the first title, this game suffers from going through a lot of characters scene by scene, which can get confusing. Once past the first few chapters you then see previous characters come and interact with the new. The dialogue can be fun with great comedy which helps the flow; but if you are a player who likes to skip these scenes and just go straight to the game, you may get lost as to what’s going on, which will confuse you and may put you off the game due to a lack of understanding.
On the subject of gameplay, this game is a tactical RPG (role-playing game) where you take turns with your character to move across a battlefield until you are within fighting reach of an opponent. At this point, the game screen changes from an isometric(ish) overworld-style to a 2D fighter-style where you execute moves and special moves to defeat your opponent. You can do this using several teamed up characters, with a possible side character to pull off extra attacks using a basic up attack, left attack and multiple button strikes to execute a special attack.
As this is a tactical RPG, when receiving attacks you can sacrifice XP or SP to defend or counter; this helps in the strategy element to keep your team alive as well as using health and item pick ups. Attacking when in the 2D plane works as so: standard attacks with a single button press or directional button press, a possible side character commanded using the R button, or if your power meter is full, you can pull off a joint attack where your two characters combine powers to do a very cool-looking, partially-animated super move. All of the moves look awesome and simple button commands keep the game from getting a bit tiresome.
You can level up to learn new attacks and buy and sell items and equipment at the shop, this keeps the game progressive but I didn’t find it enough to keep me playing.
Go to page 2 for more thoughts on the game plus conclusions.
The graphics use 2D pixel sprites on a 3D plane on both the overworld – where you move your characters to engage in battle – and changes when the game moves to a 2D Fighting Screen plane when attacking your opponents. The sprites are very enjoyable to look at as they are a fresh perspective to the characters you are familiar with. The graphics are colourful with added anime full-motion video sprites thrown in when performing special attacks which makes the attacks look more dynamic. The backgrounds, however, are a bit dull at times: a bare looking city, the outside of a hospital, a barren, demonic world, a shopping arcade!? Again taking overused tropes from anime, I’m sure some won’t mind this but others may find it a bit lacklustre.
The music is very energetic and exciting when playing but unfortunately sounds very generic which makes it forgettable (I confess that I can’t remember what the music sounds like at all after putting the game down!) It does do the job for background when fighting, though, and even has the odd nod to some of your favourite titles with tracks you will remember from games, such as Street Fighter and Mega-man, as well as other games featured in the mix.
The attacking noises sound like they came directly out of an anime which is enjoyable especially if you are an anime fan. The game also has plenty of original Japanese voice over, which is great to hear as Japanese voice actors generally seem a lot more passionate than their western counterparts when it comes to game dialog.
Final Thoughts:
Project X Zone 2 was no improvement over the first game, unfortunately, as I ended up having the same experiences playing. The blind hope of seeing more interactions with my favourite characters is what kept me going, but I still got bored pretty quickly. It was great seeing characters like Axel from Streets of Rage, X from the Mega-man X Series and Chris and Jill from Resident Evil, to name a few, but it did not add any longevity to the game for me.
Graphics: 8/10: Awesome colourful sprites with enjoyable anime style cut scenes, but boring dull backgrounds.
Sound: 5/10: Lively but forgettable; does the job in game but nothing stands out that I can remember after turning the game off.
Gameplay: 7/10: Starts off fun with great ways to join up attacks and specials, but eventually gets samey and dull with the same animations and few button combinations.
Story: 1/10: Too basic with little drive thrown in to give incentive to beating the game. There is also little to no story to speak of; the dialogue between characters is as far as story goes in this game for the most part.
Final Verdict: 6/10: enjoyable and fun to begin with, but very little keeps the game flowing outside of seeing enjoyable animations and nostalgic characters.
Thanks to the channels featured for the gaming footage.
Project X Zone 2 is out now on Nintendo 3DS. Click on the packshot for the full-size version.
Important info:
- Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Players: single player
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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT/STORY |
8 5 7 1 |
| OVERALL | 6 |
Retro game fan, comic book reader, board game lover and film fanatic. I have loved videogames since I was 5 years old after visiting my first arcade, I have grown up with gaming since having my Atari 2600 then Commodore 64. I ended up building my own career crafting pixelised characters and have had the pleasure of meeting many of my retro gaming heroes who developed some of my absolute favourite games.
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