Project X-Zone 2 is a strategy RPG game that stars popular video game characters from game companies Bandai Namco, SEGA, and Capcom (also Nintendo)! This game and its predecessor are on the 3DS, but they are actually sequels to a game that came out only in Japan on the PS2 called Namco X Capcom.  Since all three games have characters in them that I like, I decided to do a blog series about all the video game stars you can find in Project X-Zone 2.  So we’ll start with the characters from SEGA!

When Namco X Capcom first came out, I was sad that it didn’t come over to the US on the PS2. But after I played an import copy of it at a friend’s I wasn’t as upset, because it’s not a very good game once the draw of all these characters coming together wears off.  All you do in the three games in the series is move your guys around on an isometric playfield, and attack enemies when you get close enough.  The battles take place in a 2-D side arena with basic controls for moves.  It kind of reminds me of a dumb-downed Tales battle system.  It’s all right, but it does get repetitive after a while.  You also have to wade through a lot of text.  Sometimes it’s fun to read how certain characters react to each other, but like all other things in the games, it does get old after a while.  Storyline is just typical multiverse garbage.

Even though the games aren’t that great, when Project X-Zone came to the US, I decided to get it anyway since I wanted Namco X Capcom to come out over here so bad. And maybe it would’ve improved on the 3DS.  It didn’t really, so I wasn’t planning on getting the sequel.  But then they did something sneaky and put Phoenix Wright in the game, so you know I had to get it, being a huge Ace Attorney fan and all.  My only weakness.  But we’ll save that until I talk about Capcom.  For now, let’s take a look at the SEGA characters in Project X-Zone 2.

Hotsuma (Shinobi)

I’m not a big Shinobi fan, so I don’t know if this character is from the newer 3-D games where he has that long flowing red scarf or what. There is a level in Project X-Zone 2 where all the ninjas from all the games come together, so that was kind of funny.  It was a ninja party!

Hibana (Nightshade)

Even though I don’t know a lot about the newer Shinobi games, I do know that one of the female ninjas got her own spinoff game called Nightshade. I always called it Ms. Shinobi because it made me think of Ms. Pac-Man.  Of course I never played any of the newer 3-D Shinobi games; because I heard they were violent and very hard and didn’t sound like my cup of tea anyway.

Ryo Hazuki (Shenmue)

I never played the Shenmue games. They never looked appealing to me and they don’t seem like my cup of tea.  I did hear that in the first game, you could play SEGA arcade games and collect SEGA character figurines.  I’d probably just do that instead of actually playing the main storyline.  It’s too bad that he doesn’t use a forklift as an attack in Project X-Zone 2, because he drives one in one of the Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing games.

Zephyr, Vashyron, Leanne (Resonance of Fate)

I’ve never even heard of the game Resonance of Fate until now, so I can’t really tell you about any of the characters in it. Apparently it was a PS3 and Xbox 360 game and it did come to the US.  And that’s all I know!

Axel Stone (Streets of Rage)

I’m kind of glad they put a character from Streets of Rage in here, although I’d rather they put Blaze instead because I usually picked her. I never had a Genesis as a kid, so I never played the Streets of Rage games until they came out on classic collections many years later.  So I was late to the party, but once I played them, I became a fan.  They’re really good console beat ‘em ups.

Akira Yuki, Kage-Maru, Pai Chan (Virtua Fighter)

Never really got into 3-D fighters, including this one. Akira’s kind of the main character of the series, Kage-Maru looks like a ninja, and Pai Chan is a Chinese girl fighter.  Some VF enemies make it into the game for you to fight, too, like Durai, who I hear is the final boss in many of the games.  My favorite VF characters aren’t in the game, though.  My favorites are Sarah Bryant, Vanessa, and Jeffry, I guess.

Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima (Yakuza)

This popular SEGA game series about Japanese gangsters is another one that’s not my cup of tea, so I can’t really tell you much about these two. They use a lot of firearms, including flamethrowers, to defeat enemies in Project X-Zone 2, though.

Sakura Shinguji, Gemini Sunrise, Erica Fontaine, Ichiro Ogami (Sakura Wars)

Sakura Wars is a series that’s mostly stayed in Japan, but Atlus did publish one in the US that was on the Wii and another console that I can’t remember. I actually reviewed the Sakura Wars game on the Wii, so I can tell you a little bit about it.  The game is set in an alternate past.  I can’t remember if it’s set during WW1 or WWII times, but in this alternate timeline, technology is more advanced and people use mechs to fight in strategy RPG battles.  There is also a dating sim aspect as in between battles, you must choose the right things to say to your teammates so they can help you out in fights later.  It was an interesting idea but it didn’t hold my interest very long.  There was one character that I liked and she’s in Project X-Zone 2.  Her name is Gemini Sunrise and she is a cowgirl from Texas who tries to sneak her horse into her apartment in the Sakura Wars game.  So I thought that was funny.

Segata Sanshiro

This guy just looks like some generic karate dude, and I never heard of him before so I actually did some research. Turns out he was the spokesperson for the SEGA Saturn, and even starred in a Japanese Saturn game that looked like a wacky mini-game collection.  In Project X-Zone 2, this’ll be his first playable appearance in the US.  Kind of interesting.

Ulala (Space Channel 5)

Ah, Ulala, my pretend girlfriend. Ha ha!  Just joking!  There’s a story about why I say that and it involves a past E3, but I won’t tell you about that now (send me a message if you want to hear it).  Anyway, Ulala is from a music game called Space Channel 5.  I love the style of the game and the bright characters, but I’m not very good at the game!  What’s cool is that Ulala calls upon other classic SEGA characters to attack in Project X-Zone, like Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone, Alex Kidd, and the Altered Beast guy!  Some Space Channel 5 enemies also show up for you to fight in Project X-Zone 2 as well.  So yeah, Ulala is my favorite SEGA character in the game.  Any video game character who has pink hair (Tomba), wears pink (Dan), or is pink (Kirby) has to be cool, right?

Team Nintendo

There are a couple of guest characters in Project X-Zone 2 from Nintendo games so I thought I’d just talk about them now instead of having a separate blog since there’s just a few. Sadly, it’s not Mario or Kirby or Samus (which would be cool).  A couple of Fire Emblem characters are playable: Chrom and Lucina.  I’m not familiar with the Fire Emblem games, but I do know who Lucina is from Smash Bros. and I even have the amiibo figure of her.  The other character is Fiora from Xenoblade and she teams up with KOS-MOS from Xenosaga in Project X-Zone 2.  And that’s all I know!

And those are all the SEGA characters in Project X-Zone 2! If you are interested in the game, you can download a free demo on the Nintendo eShop on 3DS.  In fact, it’s beneficial to download the demo, because if you beat the demo a bunch of times, you can get items that will transfer over to the main game!  Another cool thing is that I since I pre-ordered the game from GameStop, I got a couple of free goodies: a downloadable pack of items to use in the game, and a 3DS theme!  Next time, I’ll talk about the Bandai Namco characters in Project X-Zone 2!  Later!  –Cary

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