BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
Limited edition boxart, featuring (clockwise from top) Ruby, Yu, Ragna and Hyde
Developer(s)	Arc System Works
Publisher(s)	WW: Arc System Works EU: PQube
Producer(s)	Toshimichi Mori
Artist(s)	Konomi Higuchi
Series	BlazBlue Persona Under Night In-Birth RWBY Arcana Heart Senran Kagura Akatsuki Blitzkampf
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4 Microsoft Windows Arcade
Release	JP: May 31, 2018 NA: June 5, 2018 EU: June 22, 2018 Arcade JP: April 25, 2019
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system	Sega ALLS UX Taito Type X3

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is a 2D crossover fighting game developed and published by Arc System Works, and released on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows. It features different characters from each series, including BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth and RWBY. After the game was released, characters from Arcana Heart, Senran Kagura and Akatsuki Blitzkampf, were added as downloadable content . An arcade version was released in 2019. The game received mostly positive reviews, with praise for the visuals, music, online functionality and mechanics. However, it was criticised for lack of overall content at launch and DLC practices.

Plot

A singularity called the "Phantom Field" mixes the reality of the world with other universes. When the "Keystone" divides into four fragments, the female voice system instructs one of the main characters to keep it away from others and reach the goal. After all fragments merged into one, they prevent the system from changing the universe. However, Hazama inadvertently uses the Keystone to make the system lose control of the multiverse. A group of primary candidates defeat each opponents and win each stamps. They learn that the Keystone has been damaged and Susano’o breaks free from the seal. After Ragna the Bloodedge and Naoto Kurogane defeat Susano’o, the system within the Keystone has been restored and lacked the mass amount of energy. All characters are gathered to participate in an endless battle, hoping to separately return home to each universe.

Gameplay

The gameplay in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle differs from previous entries of BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth, Arcana Heart and Akatsuki Blitzkampf, including Nitroplus Blasterz, due to the inclusion of representatives for Arcana Heart and Senran Kagura. Cross Tag Battle features 2v2 battles, and tag-ins like Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite and Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

Characters

The game started out with forty characters, the first twenty in the base game and the second ones available as Season 1 DLC. On June 7, 2018, Minoru Kidooka confirmed that Season 2 DLC has been planned, starting from Arcade Edition in April 2019, and released in May 2019. Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long were added as free downloadable content, while other characters are available for premium. In the PC version's release, Blake was available at launch as the 21st base character, while Yang was added via update patch at her release date, leaving only eighteen characters of Season 1 DLC. The first set of Season 2 DLC was announced during Evo Japan 2019, with Arcana Heart being added as a fifth franchise that were foreshadowed in Evo 2018, as well as a sixth fate being announced. Naoto Kurogane, Teddie, Seth the Assassin and Heart Aino, were added to Season 2 DLC for free at the launch of the arcade version and as paid content during the release of the console version's 1.5 patch (or for free if consumers have the All-in-One pass). At Evo 2019, the full version of Season 2, the Special Edition, would be announced to include battle changes, new story content, and the inclusion of the characters, Celica A. Mercury, Susano'o, Elizabeth, Tohru Adachi, Hilda the Paradox and Neopolitan. On November 21, 2019, Yumi from Senran Kagura, and Akatsuki and Blitztank from Akatsuki Blitzkampf were added as playable characters.

BlazBlue		Persona 4 Arena	Under Night In-Birth	RWBY	Arcana Heart	Senran Kagura	Akatsuki Blitzkampf
Ragna Jin Noel Rachel Tager Hakumen†1 Nu-13 Hazama Makoto Platinum†1	Tsubaki (Izayoi)†1 Azrael Celica†2 Nine†1 Naoto K.†2 Terumi (Susano'o)†2 Es Mai†1 Jubei†1	Yu Yosuke Chie Yukiko Kanji†1 Teddie†2 Naoto S.†1 Mitsuru†1 Akihiko†1 Aegis†1 Elizabeth†2 Labrys†1 Adachi†2	Hyde Linne Waldstein Carmine†1 Orie†1 Gordeau Merkava†1 Vatista†1 Seth†2 Yuzuriha†1 Hilda†2 Mika†1	Ruby Weiss Blake‡†1 Yang‡†1 Neo†2	Heart†2	Yumi†2	Akatsuki†2 Blitztank†2

Notes:

†(number) Downloadable content character + which Season they first appear

‡ Free downloadable content character

Development

In a 2016 interview with Forbes, Toshimichi Mori revealed his interest in making a RWBY fighting game, which attracted Rooster Teeth. Before the game was released, Rooster Teeth teased the possibility of a RWBY fighting game being revealed at Evo 2017 on their Twitter account.

On July 16, 2017, the game was announced at the Evo 2017 championships following Ryusei Ito's victory in BlazBlue: Central Fiction. Ragna the Bloodedge, Jin Kisaragi, Yu Narukami, Hyde Kido and Ruby Rose appeared in the game on the announcement trailer. Konomi Higuchi served as a character designer. According to Mori, Cross Tag Battle was designed for home consoles, though an arcade version was later announced.

The sprites of Under Night In-Birth were slightly redrawn for Cross Tag Battle to match the visual style of BlazBlue. As they reuse the pre-existing sprites, resized to mesh well with the 1080p resolution gameplay, Arcana Heart and Akatsuki Blitzkampf are the only older fighting game series to have their sprites visibly redrawn by their home company Team Arcana (formerly co-owned with Examu) and SUBTLE STYLE (under collaboration with French Bread) respectively willingly since Heart's inclusion in a licensed fighting game crossover Nitroplus Blasterz and Akatsuki's inclusion for Under Night In-Birth, excluding Blitztank, whose art-style drawn differently by Arc System Works as RWBY and Senran Kagura casts.

According to Mori, the game's targeted userbase is for English players. Accordingly, Cross Tag Battle is the first BlazBlue game since Chrono Phantasma to be dubbed into English, with an option to toggle between English and Japanese voices on a by-character basis. The arcade port features support for USB controllers.

Pre-release, Arc System Works announced that there would be twenty paid downloadable content characters for the game for the first season, resulting in Cross Tag Battle launching with only half of its planned roster at 20. This caused backlash from fans, with the arguments that the game mostly reuses assets from earlier Arc System Works fighting games, and that half of Team RWBY would be sold separately. In response, Mori announced that Blake and Yang would be released free of charge. In addition, he stated that costs for the characters would not exceed that of the game's base retail cost.

Post-release, Arc System Works revealed a teaser trailer for a fifth franchise to be included, later revealed to be Arcana Heart at EVO Japan 2019. The sixth and seventh franchises, Senran Kagura and Akatsuki Blitzkampf, were revealed at EVO 2019.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	NS: 79/100 PS4: 76/100

Review scores

Publication	Score
Destructoid	8/10
Famitsu	35/40
GamesMaster	88%
GameSpot	9/10
IGN	8.3/10
OPM (UK)	6/10

The game sold 11,696 copies on PS4 and 4,271 copies on Nintendo Switch in Japan. The game received mostly positive reviews, with praise for visuals, music, online functionality and game mechanics, but criticism of its lack of overall content at launch and its downloadable content (DLC) practices. Famitsu awarded it a score of 35/40.

The game was nominated for "Best Fighting Game" at The Game Awards 2018, for "Fan Favorite Fighting Game" at the Gamers' Choice Awards, for "Best Fighting Game" at the Titanium Awards, for the Raging Bull Award for Best Fighting Game at the New York Game Awards, and for "Fighting Game of the Year" at the D.I.C.E. Awards.

The game had sold over 450,000 copies worldwide in June 2020.

External links

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Persona series
Main series	Revelations: Persona • Persona 2 (Innocent Sin • Eternal Punishment) • Persona 3 • Persona 4 • Persona 5
Spin-offs	Persona 4 (Arena • Arena Ultimax • Dancing All Night) • Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Characters	Recurring characters	Philemon • Nyarlathotep • Joker
	Revelations: Persona	Boy with Earring • Maki Sonomura • Masao Inaba • Kei Nanjo • Hidehiko Uesugi • Eriko Kirishima • Yuka Ayase • Reiji Kido • Yukino Mayuzumi
	Persona 2	Tatsuya Suou • Maya Amano • Lisa Silverman • Eikichi Mishina • Yukino Mayuzumi • Jun Kurosu • Tatsuya Suou • Katsuya Suou • Ulala Serizawa • Baofu • Kei Nanjo • Eriko Kirishima
	Persona 3	Makoto Yuki • Aigis • Yukari Takeba • Junpei Iori • Akihiko Sanada • Mitsuru Kirijo • Fuuka Yamagishi • Koromaru - Ken Amada • Shinjiro Aragaki • Metis
	Persona 4	Yu Narukami • Chie Satonaka • Kanji Tatsumi • Yosuke Hanamura • Yukiko Amagi • Rise Kujikawa • Teddie • Naoto Shirogane • Tohru Adachi
	Other	Zen • Rei • Margaret • Marie • Elizabeth • Theodore • Sho Minazuki • Labrys
Groups and concepts	Investigation Team • SEES • Shadow Operatives • Personas • Shadows • Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon
Locations	Midnight Channel • Yasogami High School • Inaba
Related media	Persona: Trinity Soul (Episodes) • Persona 4: The Animation (Episodes • The Golden Animation) • Persona 4 manga • Persona × Detective Naoto • Persona 3 The Movie (#1 Spring of Birth • #2 Midsummer Knight's Dream • #3 Falling Down • #4 Winter of Rebirth

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