Project X Zone 2 (3DS) Review

When Project X Zone actually came out in stores I was shocked that anybody would even bother. Namco x Capcom was a strange game for the PS2, and yet slightly similar, and yet that didn’t release at all. Project X Zone brings together all kinds of characters from Capcom, SEGA, Namco and even Nintendo’s storied history to create a strange, fan service laden experience. While the sequel introduces even more characters to the fold, it unfortunately falls flat and victim to almost every issue that its predecessor did. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. 

As I mentioned in my original Project X Zone review, the storyline for this game is haphazardly thrown together in order to justify the presence of all these characters from all these different fictional universes. It follows the conflict between two large organizations – one a clandestine government branch and another a more supernatural one that opens dimensional rifts between worlds. Strange gold chains have appeared throughout the worlds and it’s up to the cast of characters to unite to destroy them and take the right side in his bizarre otherworldly war. It’s a ridiculous premise that’s made worse by the games insistence on taking it so seriously.

While the story itself isn’t the strongest offering the characters and their writing are well done. Boasting a seemingly self-aware style of humour, you’ll hear characters chiding other characters for the tropes and clichés associated with whatever game they come from. You’ll probably question why these characters know so much about these other characters from another dimension, but the premise and tone of Project X Zone 2 is so ridiculous that you’ll struggle to care about the realism of it all. If there’s one thing that I can’t fault Project X Zone 2 for, it’s the games fanservice which is just so en pointe.

Project X Zone 2 is more or less the same game as Project X Zone. That is, it’s a string of battles tied together with dialogue with no exploration whatsoever. It’s your typical strategy RPG fare, but unfortunately the lack of variety in the gameplay means that it can get old pretty fast. There are a few minor changes which are welcome – every team will be able to move in each turn rather than your speed determining which units will move and when.

The battle system has been improved. Each team has a pair unit (ie. two characters) and can be assigned a solo unit too. Deciding which solo unit to attach to a pair unit is important – if you call in a solo unit who attacks in the air while your pair unit usually directs their attacks on the ground then it’s going to be a waste of time. Pairing up the correct solo units with the correct pair units is the idea behind the combat system in Project X Zone 2. Similarly, you’ll want to make sure your attacks that your pair unit use in battle maximize the hits they’ll land on enemies – there’s no point in throwing enemies into the air and then following it up with a ground based attack, for example.

On paper, it sounds like it’s pretty strategic. But unfortunately, much like its predecessor, the game lacks any real challenge which means you’ll rarely actually have to strategize and coordinate your pairs with your solo units. Perhaps even more detrimental to the experience is that the battles are much faster paced than the previous game which makes the easiness of the battles and the lack of a need to strategize much more apparent. It’s both a positive and a detriment to the gameplay.

There’s just not enough mental stimulation to make Project X Zone 2 all that interesting. You’ll initially enjoy the flashy combat sequences and enjoy how to work out how to string together certain animations to take advantage of the Cross mechanic or the Mirage Cancel mechanic – which maximize damage by locking enemies in place or allowing a move to be cancelled to allow for a fourth one. But after the first twenty or so hours you’ll get bored. You can’t skip these animations because they’re the very core of the games combat and strategy – but they’re so samey through such a lengthy game that they’ll become a bore to watch play out again and again.

Perhaps more disappointing is just how similar the missions are. Almost every mission in the game involves throwing some characters into a battlefield, destroying some enemy units, reading some more dialogue, and then spawning more enemies and character units into the battlefield. It’s much too formulaic although it’s appreciated that the designers included alternative objectives later on in the game but this just doesn’t happen enough to keep the experience dynamic and fresh.

Given that the game just jumps from battle to battle – there’s not a lot to do between the battles. You’ll be thrown into a web of menus that allow you to develop your units with skills and the like but given the lack of challenge you’ll rarely have to rely on them or even develop them. But if you enjoy the fanservice and can put the lack of a challenge and tedious battles behind you, you’ll easily get upwards of forty hours out of Project X Zone 2, which represents reasonably value for money even if the core experience is repetitious.

Project X Zone 2 is both triumphant and a failure. It’s triumphant and bringing together a massive roster of characters from four of the classically strongest publishers in the Japanese industry in an unapologetically schlocky storyline. It’s triumphant in serving fanservice to what must be one of the widest nets of appeal to throw. But when you peel away the polished veneer of all of this, Project X Zone 2 is really just what the original game was. A run of the mill strategy RPG that lacks the depth, challenge and technicality of other games in the same genre. You’ll love it if you absolutely adore the characters that appear, but don’t expect something that’ll keep you thoroughly engrossed from beginning to end.