BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is a 2D fighting game featuring characters from games such as Persona 4 Arena and Under Night In-Birth, anime such as RWBY, in addition, of course, to the BlazBlue series of games. Ahead of the June 5 release date for the Nintendo Switch[1], PS4,[2] and Windows PC, we spent some quality time with BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle on PS4 and Nintendo Switch to be able to tell you what to expect.
The first thing that strikes you about BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is how fresh it looks. Though the BlazBlue games have been around since 2009, the cel shaded stylings still stand out with colourful visuals and intricate animations. BlazBlue staples like Noel Vermillion and Ragna Bloodedge look great as do those from Persona 4 Arena such as Chie and Yosuke. While characters in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle span across multiple franchises, the art direction is good enough to ensure a sense of cohesiveness in terms of proportions as well visual design such that you won’t be faulted for thinking they’re all from the same fictional universe.
At the same time, each of the character’s moves — from standard attacks to over the top combos have enough flair to remind you where they’re from, particularly in the case of Persona 4 Arena fighters summoning their personas — spirits that let their users wield amazing strength.
However, this stellar presentation isn’t without its flaws, at least on the Nintendo Switch. Playing as a character from RWBY such as Ruby or Weiss against those from any other series shows off a subtle difference in the quality of character models. Specifically, those from BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, and Under Night In-Birth look slightly low-res in comparison, particularly...