BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle[a] is a 2D crossover fighting game developed and published by Arc System Works, first released for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows in 2018.[2] Cross Tag Battle features characters from different series, including BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth, and RWBY.[3] After the game was released, characters from Arcana Heart, Senran Kagura, and Akatsuki Blitzkampf were added as downloadable content. An arcade port was released in 2019 in Japan, a version for Amazon Luna was made available in 2021, and the Special Edition with all post-launch content was released for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in 2023. The game received mostly positive reviews, with praise for the visuals, music, online functionality and mechanics. However, it was criticised for lack of overall content at launch and DLC practices.
BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is a 2D fighting game that puts the focus on tag team mechanics.[4] In its main modes players battle in 2-vs-2 matches: they control one of the two selected characters at a time, and are able to switch between them on command. In addition to the standard fighting game meter that is expended to perform special and EX moves, the game features another resource: the assist meter. If they have enough, players can also have the second character use assist attacks to extend combos, keep the opponent away, or alternatively use all meter on "Cross Burst" to escape from dangerous situations. Similar to Marvel vs. Capcom, even if one character on the team loses all of their health, the match continues until both are down.
To accommodate for the tag mechanics and make characters easier to learn, the controls were simplified compared to mainline BlazBlue games and other participating series. In addition, each character was given some universal options, such as an overhead with the heavy button, invincible reversal attack, and auto combos.[5] Some series-specific mechanics were retained, but heavily reworked to fit the game. Examples include the Persona system for the Persona cast, Reverse Beat for the Under Night In-Birth cast, or Reflector for the Akatsuki Blitzkampf cast.
