Project X Zone’s demo is now available for 3DS and with it comes the opportunity to try out what the game is like before its release early in July. I had the chance to play the demo upon release and am here today to give you guys a little look into the world of the ultimate cross over.
The roster of characters at your disposal is amazing. You will have the ability to play as characters from the .Hack series all the way to the Street Fighter series with many other characters in between. All the team ups have their own unique fighting styles and move sets that you link together with the D-Pad or the control stick. This means that they are all controlled differently and have to be mastered separately, adding another level of challenge on the gameplay.
The game is licensed as an RPG but it also has a Turn Based Strategy (TBS) feel to it. You will be directing your team in an over view map and control where they go, who they fight and what items or skills you wish for them to use. Now, due to this game being a cross over, you will be fighting against a multitude of different opponents from different games. This means everyone has a different attack style and range to put into consideration. You really have to plan out your positions before you attack, kind of like Fire Emblem Awakening or XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
In the demo you can also learn where the ‘X’ in the name truly comes from. It comes from the Cross Mechanic. This allows you to simultaneously attack an enemy with your solo or support characters in order to chain moves and cause more damage. As well as laying down the pain, this mechanic also stick the enemy in place. So perfect timing is key if you want to maximise damage output and combos.
If I am going to let you know what the game has to offer, I have got to tell you about some of the crazy cross over characters. Starting off with the Street Fighter veterans of Ken and Ryu, these two encompass their Street Fighter 4 moveset and bring a more ground and pound combat style into the fight. Kite and Blackrose however, from the .Hack series, concentrate more on airborne opponents with their combination of twin blade and heavy arms skills. Now on top of the main roster that you actively control, you also have a solo roster of characters that can assist in juggling your opponents and dealing even more damage. My personal favourite out of the four available to you in the demo is none other than the host of Space Channel 5, Ulala. Initially it was awesome to see the enemies from the Space Channel series in the game, but to have the hostess herself is truly magnificent. The game truly encompasses all the games that these characters come from, with great respect to the original titles.
After playing the demo constantly I can say that this is looking to be a great contender for the best 3DS game of the year. Bringing together strategy and RPG elements as well as a roster of well loved characters. The great thing however is that you may not necessarily recognise all of the characters, so it allows players to look deeper into their lore and backgrounds and even try the games they originate from.
If you have a 3DS and a need to kick some serious butt, then you need to download this demo and try out the game yourself. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below and keep an eye out for the release of the game on July 5th.
