Before I go into detail about Project X Zone, let me first clarify something. I love crossovers. Video game crossovers, movie crossovers, book crossovers, cartoon crossovers, crossovers that bring together two completely different mediums. I love ‘em all. When Dissidia: Final Fantasy came out for the PSP 5 years ago, it was like a dream come true. Finally, after 20 years, there was a game that brought together characters from different Final Fantasy games. The fun fighting aside, it was even more fun watching the different characters interact even if the game’s plot and writing left something to be desired.
And that’s what I love about crossovers. Seeing characters from different “universes” interacting. Crossovers tend to highlight the similar themes across different stories as well as the differences between them. I find it all incredibly fascinating.
So when Project X Zone was originally announced, I was pretty excited. But considering the fact that its PS2 prequel, Namco x Capcom, was never released outside of Japan, I wasn’t very hopeful. I figured the game would have to be dubbed (ultimately, it wasn’t), and finding a voice cast for such an insane amount of characters would probably be crazy expensive. Plus, was there even demand for this kind of game outside of Japan? (Or in Japan, for that matter. Apparently the game didn’t sell all that well in Japan.)
Achromatic 