Project X Zone 2, known in Japan as Project X Zone 2: Brave New World (プロジェクト クロスゾーン2:ブレイブニューワールド), is the direct sequel to Project X Zone. It was released in November 12, 2015 in Japan, February 16, 2016 in North America and Europe in February 12, 2016. As with each installment, new characters and franchises are being introduced to the series. The characters that are in Italic and franchises that are in Bold have made their first debut in this installment.
Xiaoyu is the only playable character not seen standing behind Reiji and Xiaomu during the opening. She is only seen briefly from behind with Chun-Li and Morrigan near the end of the opening.
The main theme of Burning Rangers is used for the Space Channel 5 chapter in which you must take out fires by running through them.
There is also a Christmas mission referencing Resonance of Fate which also had a Christmas mission in the exact same area.
Unlike like the first game, some series stages are in order instead of random.
In one of the later missions, the party travels to an amusement park that is named "Marvel Land". However, this is not from The Adventure of Valkyrie; it is from the 80s Namco arcade game named Marvel Land, which was later ported to the Genesis.
Almost every Sega character knows who Segata Sanshiro is before they meet him in the game, since he is considered a legend among them. The only one not familiar with him is Gemini Sunrise, for an unknown reason.
Although she doesn't appear, Mii Koryuji, one of the two protagonists from the first Project X Zone, is mentioned. The Koryuuji estate also appears in one chapter. Also at the estate in the chapter, it is revealed that Mii is undergoing training at Shinra, despite her age.
Kogoro Tenzai was mentioned by his surname when he called Xiaomu to tell about Ouma's next move.
There are nineteen pair and solo units but the first game had twenty pair and solo units. Incidentally, Namco x Capcom also had an odd number of total playable units.
The Nightshade representation was actually shown early in the first screenshots, though no enemies from Shinobi (PS2) appear in the game because the events of that title have not yet transpired.
Ingrid Hunnigan from Resident Evil and the Darkstalkers characters Jedah, Lilith, Hsien-Ko and J. Talbain are mentioned in this game. Other characters mentioned are Repede, Raven, Rita, Karol, Judith, Patty and Duke from Tales of Vesperia, Kurino and Sabine from Adventures of Valkyrie who also appeared in Namco x Capcom alongside Ginzu, Baby Head and Mack from Captain Commando, who were mentioned in this game too. Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban from Xenoblade Chronicles are also mentioned.
In the character selection menu, there are several empty slots that are not filled in even after all the characters have joined the party, suggesting there may have been more characters planned to appear at one point during the development of the game.
The English version of the game contains some noticably fouler language than the first game.
99 is referred to as "Kyuju Kyu" (the Japanese pronounciation of 99) in the English version of the game. It's possible this was done to prevent players from confusing it with Nine Nine.
A reference to the Super Mario Bros. series occurs in the final chapter of the game where Xiaomu says to Sheath that she has "the moral integrity of an Italian plumber", a reference to Mario, when it was revealed Sheath escaped from an exploding Nine Nine in the previous Chapter. Xiaomu seems to make rather light use of Mario references, as she mentioned both Warp Zones and the Rainbow Road track from the Mario Kart series in the previous game. After the party defeats Saya at Ryugu Castle, Xiaomu states that Ouma has triple red shells, an item in the Mario Kart series.
There are several references to the Sonic the Hedgehog series in the western versions of the game:
In Chapter 6, Xiaomu says "gotta go fast", a reference to the English opening theme of Sonic X.
In Chapter 21, when Xiaomu is making suggestions for signs to look for, one of them is "The Two-Tailed Fox", a reference to Sonic's sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower, who is a fox with two tails.
Following the conclusion of Chapter 34, Segata Sanshiro mentions that he should have brought a spring from Spring Yard Zone "for perfectly consistent speed and trajectory".
In the final chapter, Felicia states the events of Namco x Capcom took place 10 years before the Project X Zone series. This is likely a translation error, as in Chapter 40, Xiaomu states that ten years ago was when Reiji's father, Shogo, died in battle, something that happened ten years prior to Namco x Capcom.
Ichiro and Erica are the only paired unit in this game who don't have any attacks that deal Cross Break damage, making this pair among the hardest to deal any serious damage without any damage boosting skills. On the other hand, Reiji and Xiaomu are the easiest to deal Cross Break damage with because all of their attacks are designed to inflict it.
Possible sequel
In an interview, Kensuke Tsukanaka stated that he would like to continue the series if the game was well received, or if fans demanded another crossover game.
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Hideki Kamiya of Platinum Games has stated he was approached about having Sega character Bayonetta included in this game, to which he refused as he wanted Bayonetta and Dante from Devil May Cry to meet "on his own terms". However, he has stated he has come to regret this decision due to realizing how the fans would have loved the two interacting, and that if there is a Project X Zone 3 he would be all for Bayonetta's inclusion.[2]