It’s happening now. Right now, as I type up this article, I have the Twitch tab opened up on my second monitor. All weekend long, I’ve been watching the best of the best of the fighting game world duke it out across loads of games. It’s the ultimate e-sports event, and what better place than EVO to reveal one of the most exciting new fighting games to grace our screens in recent memory?
Shortly after Ryusei_Carl cleaned up house to take it all in the BlazBlue: Central Fiction finals, Arc System Works decided to drop another bombshell over the already roaring crowd – you seriously need to see this:
If you’re a fan of fighting games, then you’re undoubtedly familiar with BlazBlue’s Ragna and Under Night In-Birth’s Hyde. And heck, if you’re just a fan of video games in general, then of course you’ve made the acquaintance of Persona 4’s Yu Narukami, even if you didn’t know that ArcSys previously developed 2 full versions of a fighter based around the franchise too. But what almost no one expected – in what is the rose-colored petal on top of this extra-layered cake, is the inclusion of Ruby Rose, protagonist of the anime-inspired, cult CG hit RWBY. The show has been very popular in Japan, so this adoption of the American franchise by a big name in Japanese gaming is pretty significant. ArcSys director Mori Toshimichi has gone on record in the past stating that if he were to do another game based on a pre-existing franchise, that RWBY would be one of his top picks. This project seems like a nice middle ground.
Not much else is known about the tag-team style 2v2 fighter, including details on who we can expect to appear in the game. From viewing the trailer, we saw Jin Kisaragi included from the BlazBlue side of the cast, so it’s likely fair to expect appearances by other characters from the other three properties.
BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is currently slated for a 2018 release, and I couldn’t be any more excited for it.