Review: The many dimensions of Project X Zone 2

The first Project X Zone was about as unlikely a localization as they come. A spiritual sequel to a Japan-only title, it had so many different companies’ IP that licensing it would be a struggle, and the choices included were clearly based on Japanese popularity rather than global appeal. But hey, we got it! And its reception was solid enough to merit a global announcement for its sequel.

This is good news, because it means a promising project gets a chance to iterate and improve.

Project X Zone 2: Brave New World once again bases itself on portals opening and jumbling times and dimensions. This time, there are chains involved, but they only really link these worlds together in a physical sense. The overarching narrative still lays claim to the title of the franchise’s biggest flaw, and it’s not because it’s basically gibberish, because of course it would be. The problem here lies largely in how much time it spends trying to justify it. There are so many times you’ll slam the skip button to just get into the action, skipping a few character moments in exchange for getting to the battles.

The localization here is full of humor and personality, as it should be, making references whenever possible and making sure the spirit of the Japanese original is maintained.

It’s a shame, too, because these little interactions are actually charming. The localization here is full of humor and personality, as it should be, making references whenever possible and making sure the spirit of the Japanese original is maintained. There are puns that clearly aren’t direct transliterations, and even some references to jokes about these franchises’ localized entries themselves. My favorite? The tongue-in-cheek nature of how it treats Phoenix Wright’s “American” status. It sticks to the story, but in a way that suggests it knows how ridiculous it is.

The voices themselves remain in Japanese, which is a shame but understandable; we’d have loved swapping out existing clips of the in-battle catchphrases for some fighters, but also know it would have been messy. Still, the voices aren’t the star of the game’s audio. Each pair of characters has its own theme from its game, adding to the mash-up feel in a satisfying way. The appeal here lies in some more obscure franchises to Western fans, so when you do like games such as Sakura Wars or Tales of Vesperia, just hearing those themes can be a treat. It also does a great job of picking out recognizable locales from these games, which isn’t so easy with the franchises that aren’t already based on contained tactical maps.

It should be noted that the focus here is, to a degree, on some more niche properties than the original game. That’s sometimes because of the new cast members, and sometimes because the more prominent ones saw their stories told in the first game. There’s a lot of God Eater and .hack here rather than the Street Fighters of the world, which… will probably suit this game’s audience just fine. Know that. Embrace it.

Of course, all of this collapses if the battles aren’t any good, and there were certainly some weaknesses in the original game. The development team has made some smart changes, though! Each squad acts in its own phase rather than intermittently, letting you get a bit more done before losing focus while the AI does its thing. Enemies have been seemingly carefully balanced based on your expected level, so that weaker foes still require some solid button-pressing timing to take out in one shot. The interface is a lot cleaner, and the systems for improving and equipping your characters just seem more balanced and satisfying.

The animations still take too long, certainly, and it’d be great to get some way to speed them up during passive special-attack sections once you’ve seen them a few dozen times. Still, there’s no denying the craft and talent that went into this sprite work; it’s certainly really cool to see, and the team’s done its best to incorporate enough eye candy to demand multiple viewings. Our favorite may be the three “nostalgia” solo units: Valkyrie, Captain Commando and Ulala. Rather than just a reference or two to times past, all sorts of cameos happen simultaneously, and you’ll catch one or two every once in a while as you’re continuing to execute your combo. It’s a nice nod to the sorts of longtime mega-fans that will play this game!

Project X Zone 2 is the sort of game you pick up and can’t put down, moving at a brisk enough pace and giving you enough elements of progression to make you want to see what’s next.

The battles here are, well, quite long, and often full of mid-map surprises and twists and turns. There’s a quicksave function in case you, you know, actually want to play the game on the go and don’t have an hour and a half at a time to play a chapter, but the advantage here is a tactical one. While many games of its type are about sweeping across the board, you may want to weigh your options in Brave New World and hold back units in case a wave of foes shows up in an otherwise-empty part of the map. The biggest penalty for not doing this is your own time as you march back across, but it’s still compelling to think that no straggler is safe.

Except… they are, sort of. You’ll generally get a lot of money and using items doesn’t deplete a turn or require a unit to be in range, so when things get tough, you just burn some consumables and go about your business. After playing it on the normal difficulty, you can try something harder, but know that your first few dozen hours aren’t going to be so harrowing. Even without that tension, Project X Zone 2 is the sort of game you pick up and can’t put down, moving at a brisk enough pace and giving you enough elements of progression to make you want to see what’s next.

Project X Zone 2: Brave New World is a smart polishing of the ideas in the first game. It’s still not going to be for everyone; to get the most out of the game, you really need to have played and enjoyed a host of small-audience franchises, and also like a bit of low-stakes flash in your gaming diet. Still, though: if you liked the first game, you’ll really like the second.