Arc System Works is honored and excited to receive the Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame Award for its upcoming title, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle! Titles that earn scores ranging from 35-40 are eligible for the award, and a high honor indeed for the latest entry into the BlazBlue series.
The award is reported in this week’s weekly Famitsu, which you can check out now: https://www.enterbrain.co.jp/weeklyfamitsu/ (Japanese only)
A translation of the award rating follows:
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BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
Nintendo Switch/PlayStation 4
Arc System Works 5/31/2018 release (Asia)
Price: $49.99 ea
Fighting Game
ESRB: T
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This game is a 2-on-2 fighting game that aims to bring intuitive controls while maintaining the spirit of the “BlazBlue” series games. Popular characters from 4 titles utilize unique skills and flashy combos in an all-out battle.
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Target audience:
- Fans of action and fighting games.
- BlazBlue, Under Night In-Birth, Persona 4 Arena, RWBY fans.
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Average play time:
- Over 10 hours to clear all of Episode mode.
- Infinite hours if including practice and replay.
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- 9 Points
The “BlazBlue” series games have been known, among other fighting games, to cater to higher skilled players. However, with the complicated command inputs removed, this title is enjoyable for casual users as well. Integrating other companies’ titles such as “Persona 4 Arena” and others into a tag battle system creates a common hangout spot among fans of each title. The system, including the replay capture features, are reliable and stable, thanks to developer Arc System Works, who consistently develops high quality and stable fighting games.
- 8 points
There are many different methods this title took to ease the learning curve and lower the bar for entry into the fighting game genre. The play feel of each character differ from that of their original games, but their characteristics are intact, and getting used to using multiple characters is made easy, which is also a plus. I also like that the system involving partner skills, while it may be an area where more skilled players demonstrate an upper hand, is still easy to grasp for beginners.
- 9 points
Since all of the characters’ commands are basically the same, it was easy to use even for a first-timer, making transition to a new character that much easier. Because of this though, it may feel as if each characters’ uniqueness has diminished at first, but their flashy moves and iconic lines make up for it more than enough. It is visually very cool, but it does feel slightly gritty. It is also impressive to see a Switch release and a lower price point, making the environment welcoming toward a wide audience.
- 9 points
You can pull off flashy combos even with a single button press. The controls are also commonized throughout the characters. Despite all this, the uniqueness of the participating characters are well preserved, and cooperative combat with a partner is abundant making battles intense. The full-volumed Episode Mode features various combinations of appearance through the 4 titles. Dare I say the ability to select teams freely in this tag battle is….luxurious!? I was surprised to be able to pull off combos with comfortably even with the Switch’s Joycon held horizontally.
※Platinum Award
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle features a dream-team roster of characters that have never before been gathered in a single 2D fighting game. Featuring fighters pulled from the BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH EXE: LATE, and the RWBY universes, Cross Tag Battle‘s 2v2 tag based combat is perfect for fans of the genre.