The Cross Crisis Series (クロスクライシスシリーズ Kurosu Kuraishisu Shirīzu ) is a crossover series of eight collaborative games co-developed and published by either B.B. Studio (Banpresto) under Bandai Namco Entertainment's management or Arc System Works from 2019 to 2022 in cooperation with various Japanese game companies, including Capcom, Sega and Arc System Works and entertainment companies, such as Toei, Toho, and Tsuburaya.
Referring to eight "secret" projects by Japan's top publishers, Banpresto and Arc System Works signed a multi-million-yen partnership deal with the aforementioned companies to externally-develop six new AAA games together, three fighting games and three RPGs, operating as either the developer and/or publisher under each of them, with the apparent goal of boosting profits and 9th generation hardware sales and showing third-party support in an attempt to restore the popularity of console gaming and reclaim Japan's dominance over the West in the video game industry.
Titles[]
The following games below are canonical installments of the series released in both marketing and chronological orders.
No. | Title | Release Date(s) | Console(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Namco X Capcom: Crisis | October 19, 2019 (Arcade) April 4, 2020 (Console) |
PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch Microsoft Windows |
Arc System Works | Capcom |
2 | Mahou Shoujo Cross All-Stars | December 10, 2019 | Nintendo Switch | Banpresto | Bandai Namco Games |
3 | Anime Complex: Cross Arena 2020 | July 28, 2020 | PlayStation 4 Nintendo Switch Microsoft Windows |
Arc System Works Banpresto |
Bandai Namco Games |
4 | Super Robot Wars U | October 7, 2020 | PlayStation 4 Nintendo Switch |
Banpresto | Bandai Namco Games |
5 | Super Hero Taisen XX: Lost Heroes | January 9, 2021 | PlayStation 4 PlayStation VITA |
Banpresto | Bandai Namco Games |
6 | Super Project Cross Tag Battle: Destiny | June 12, 2021 | PlayStation 4 Nintendo Switch Microsoft Windows |
Arc System Works Banpresto Monolith Soft Sega Bandai Namco Games Capcom Shonen Jump Nintendo |
Arc System Works |
7 | Chou Super Robot Wars Æ | December 8, 2021 | Nintendo Switch | Banpresto | Bandai Namco Games |
8 | Project X Zone 3: War of Infinite Worlds – Ultimate Edition | June 1, 2022 (Japan) December 15, 2022 (Worldwide) |
Nintendo Switch | Bandai Namco Games Banpresto Monolith Soft Obsidian Entertainment |
Bandai Namco Games |
Side-Titles[]
Title | Release Date(s) | Console(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Project X Zone 3: War of Infinite Worlds | June 3, 2018 (Japan) December 25, 2018 (Worldwide) |
Nintendo 3DS | Bandai Namco Games Capcom SEGA Nintendo |
Bandai Namco Games |
Chou Super Robot Wars M | April 20, 2022 (Asia) October 1, 2022 (North America and Europe) |
PlayStation 4 PlayStation VITA |
Banpresto Arc System Works |
Bandai Namco Games |
Development[]
On May 30, 2018, Tatsumi Kimishima, the CEO of Nintendo, said in an interview that he felt that "the Western gaming industry is becoming more popular worldwide than Japanese gaming". He also expressed his concerns on the "decline of console gaming" in favor of the ever-growing popularity of mobile gaming and the "losings of the Japanese game market to American sources: a major turnaround since the 1983 video game crash". Also, surveys showed that as of the start of summer 2018, Western companies like Rockstar, NetherRealms, Bethesda and Ubisoft were making better and higher-quality games than Japanese-made games.
On December 21, 2018, in an interview with Sam Imbecile, a game developer who had been working in Bandai Namco Games for a year and director of Project X Zone 3, he expressed interest into expanding the story and creating a series behind the game's story. He also stated that he wished to bring the Japanese game industry, as well as console gaming itself, back to its "position of dominance in the entertainment industry in this age of social media to survive, just like the old days".
Plot[]
(TBA)
Reception[]
With extensive marketing and advertising, the series was an extensive success, with all the games receiving critical acclaim and selling a grand total of $5.3 billion worldwide.
Speculations and Theories[]
(TBA)
Gallery[]
Poster[]
Game Logos[]
Main Installments[]
Trivia[]
- Each installment in the series was meant to celebrate a milestone of a certain company or franchise.
- Namco X Capcom: Crisis was released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Capcom and 65th anniversary of Bandai Namco.
- Mahou Shoujo Cross All-Stars commemorates the 65th anniversary of the Nakayoshi Magazine imprint and the 15th anniversary of the Pretty Cure series.
- Anime Complex: Cross Arena 2020 was released not only to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Bandai Namco, but also of Toei Animation and the Nakayoshi Magazine, as well as Aniplex's 25th anniversary, Kadokawa Shoten's 75th anniversary and Shuiesha's 95th anniversary.
- The release of Super Hero Taisen XX: Lost Heroes was in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Kamen Rider, the 45th anniversary of Super Sentai, the 55th anniversary of Ultraman, the 15th anniversary of Garo and the 70th anniversary of Toei Company.
- Super Project Cross Tag Battle features characters from Toei Animation and Kamen Rider to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Toei Animation, the 50th anniversary of Kamen Rider, 70th anniversary of Toei Company and the 10th anniversary of Trigger, the studio behind Kill la Kill.
- Chou Super Robot Wars AE was released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Super Robot Wars series.
- Later, Chou Super Robot Wars M would celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sunrise's founding, as well as the 50th anniversary of Mazinger Z.
- The release of Project X Zone 3: War of Infinite Worlds – Ultimate Edition was released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Project X Zone series, as well as Shogakukan's 100th anniversary.
- Nearly all of the games in the series have "X"/"Cross" in their titles, with the exception of Chou Super Robot Wars Æ.
- All of the game's theme songs are sung by various veteran Japanese singers, mostly done by JAM Project.
- In the series, only three of the eight games (Namco X Capcom: Crisis, Super Project Cross Tag Battle and Project X Zone 3; in particular with it's Ultimate Edition) are packed with English dubs for their international release while the other five (Mahou Shoujo Cross All-Stars, Cross Arena 2020, Super Robot Wars U, Super Hero Taisen XX and Chou Super Robot Wars AE) do not.