BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is a crossover tag team fighting game consisting of characters from the licensed fighting games series which Project BB Team is involved in: Arc System Works' own BlazBlue, Atlus' Persona 4 Arena, French-Bread's Under Night In-Birth and Rooster Teeth's anime-styled web animation RWBY. The character art for this game is drawn by Higuchi Konomi who previously worked as a character designer for the XBlaze series.

Prologue
Ruby makes a brief cameo when the System XX begins observing and searching potential catalyst samples from all four different worlds.

Episode BlazBlue
In Chapter 2, Ruby and Blake attempt to ambush Ragna the Bloodedge to steal his Keystone but fail. Ruby introduces herself and Blake to Ragna and Gordeau and becomes excited to see the men's weapons. After Blake demands Ragna's Keystone, Ruby challenges him and Gordeau to fight. After Ruby and Blake lose the battle, before Ruby can ask Ragna questions about his weapon, Blake tells her they need to retreat, much to Ruby's disappointment.

In Chapter 7, Weiss teams up with Orie to receive Ragna's Keystone but fails. The girls then fight Ragna and Hazama but lose, prompting the System XX to transport them to another location.

Episode P4A
In Chapter 6, Ruby and Weiss launch a surprise attack on the Investigation Team and Ragna to steal their Keystones, under the false assumption that they are all villains who are aiming to destroy the world with the stones. After they lose to Yu and Ragna, Ruby and Weiss learn that they were tricked by their Keystone and that the other fighters are simply trying to find a way back to their worlds. The girls are then suddenly ambushed by Es, who steals their Keystone and transports them away.

After Yu and Yosuke defeat the awakened Keystone, Ruby appears in the newly created Phantom Field as one of the new transfer students at Yasogami High School.

Episode Under Night In-Birth
In Chapter 2, Ruby gets caught in Yosuke's bike accident and is stuck under him until Chie notices her and urges her friend to get up. As Ruby recovers, they are approached by Hyde, who mistakenly believes that Ruby is being bullied by Yosuke and Chie. He then summons Insulator, causing Ruby to get all excited and fervently ask Hyde about his sword. When the misunderstanding is cleared, they are prompted by the System XX to battle each other. At first, Ruby is against it, but is later eager to battle Yosuke and Chie with Hyde when the System XX tells her that the Yasogami students have amazing weapons. After she and Hyde win, Ruby fervently pursues Yosuke and Chie as she wants to learn more about their Personas.

In Chapter 3, Blake follows Hyde to steal his Keystone but is forced to reveal herself when Hyde calls out to her to stop hiding. After Hyde tries to explain his suspicions to her about the tournament and that they shouldn't be fighting, Blake refuses to cooperate with someone she just met and prepares herself to take the stone from him. When Makoto appears, Blake mistakes the demi-human for a Faunus, and the two of them begin to bond over their shared sufferings of discrimination and their favorite foods. But as Hyde interrupts them, Blake joins forces with Makoto against him and Gordeau. After they lose, the girls are forced to retreat.

In Chapter 4, Weiss is attacked constantly by Azrael until she is rescued by Hyde. When Carmine demands Hyde hands over the Keystone and gives his desires to stay in the Phantom Field and torment Hyde, Weiss ridicules him for being nothing but an animal. She then teams up with Hyde to fend off Azrael and Carmine and they escape once they find their chance. After thanking Hyde, Weiss wishes him good luck as she parts ways with him.

After Hyde and Linne destroy the Keystone's true form, Ruby appears with Yu in the Kanzakai Scramble Tag Battle Tournament and later challenges Aegis upon seeing the robot's arsenal of weapons.

Episode RWBY
After the System XX informs Team RWBY about the rules of the tag battle tournament, the girls decide to split into two groups to cover more ground and find the Keystones.

In Chapter 1, Ruby and Weiss stumble upon Noel and Makoto and discover that they have a Keystone. They try to launch a surprise attack but are quickly discovered by the demi-human. When Ruby and Weiss ask for Noel and Makoto to hand over the Keystone, the latter makes an accidental slip that they have a stone of their own. As they are prompted to battle, Ruby and Weiss fight and defeat Noel and Makoto, causing the latter two to retreat with their Keystone. Weiss then becomes suspicious of the tournament and parts ways with Ruby to investigate.

In Chapter 2, Ruby finds Hyde with a Keystone and prepares to fight him for it when the System XX tells them that they can only fight in a tag battle. Upon Hazama's sudden arrival, Ruby teams up with him against Hyde and Carmine and emerge victorious. She then receives Hyde's Keystone from Hazama before he takes his leave.

In Chapter 3, Ruby has a run-in with Rachel, who is fleeing capture from Platinum and Vatista. After learning from the latter two that the vampire knows something about the Phantom Field, Ruby is forced by Rachel to be her tag partner against Platinum and Vatista. After their victory, Ruby asks Rachel about their current environment and reveals her quest to collect the Keystones. She receives no answer but is instructed by the vampire to come to her after she collects all of the stones. When Rachel suddenly disappears, Ruby resolves herself to get the Keystones and get her team and herself back to their world.

In Chapter 4, Ruby is suddenly attacked by Hakumen, who demands her Keystone. She is then approached by Tager and is warned by him about using the stones to return home. When Ruby tries to defend her actions and says Rachel's name, she is forced to face both Hakumen and Tager. She tries to run but is stopped by Hakumen when he shows her the Keystone that Noel had before. Upon Waldstein's sudden arrival, Ruby teams up with him against the samurai and devil. After winning the battle, she steals the Keystone Hakumen has and makes her escape.

In Chapter 5, Ruby reunites with Weiss and shows her all of the Keystones that she has collected so far. They are then confronted by Orie, who demands they hand over the stone that was taken from Hyde. Weiss argues that they had worked hard to collect the stones, and it will be a waste to return them back. When Orie reluctantly teams up with Gordeau, the Huntresses prepare to fight them: Ruby is amazed at Gordeau's scythe, and Weiss wants to see Orie's power. After they win, Ruby and Weiss walk away when Orie and Gordeau start to argue. At a safe distance, Weiss reveals her suspicions to Ruby about the tournament and they begin to worry about collecting the Keystones. Ultimately, Weiss decides that they should go ahead and find the last stone. When Ruby protests that something bad might happen, Weiss reminds her to believe in her teammates. They part ways with Ruby searching for the last Keystone and Weiss rounding up Blake and Yang.

In Chapter 6, Ruby finds the last Keystone in the hands of Yosuke and Yukiko. When she challenges them to a fight for the stone, she becomes excited when she mistakes them for a ninja and geisha. Upon remembering that she cannot fight alone, she is suddenly approached by Es, who offers her assistance.

In Chapter 7, Ruby collects the last Keystone but is later surprised when Es suddenly transports Yosuke and Yukiko away. She is further shocked when Es turns on her and demands the Keystones without a giving a reason why. When Ragna suddenly appears and reveals that Es and Rachel are both hiding something about the Phantom Field, Ruby shares with him about the vampire's instructions to go to her with all of the stones with no information about the world and the tournament they are in. She is later surprised when Ragna makes himself her tag partner in order to battle Es and get the information they need from her. Ruby tries once more to just talk with Es but to no avail, prompting her to team up with Ragna. A Seithr clone of Ruby is made by Es to even the battlefield.

In Chapter 8, Ruby and Ragna demand answers from a defeated Es, who reveals that the Keystones are the core of the Phantom Field and that Rachel is the only one who can seal away the stones so that the world will collapse and return everyone to their worlds. Ruby then urges everyone to start searching for Rachel but is stopped by Hazama, who has become suspicious of the System XX who has been guiding Ruby. They all learn that the System XX has been gathering battle data thanks to Ruby holding the Keystone, and now plans to use the Huntress as a catalyst to shift the Phantom Field into the world of Remnant. Ruby is then attacked by the System XX but is protected by Ragna who takes the blow for her. As the Keystone reveals its true form, the Huntress confirms with Es that the only way for everyone to return to their worlds is to now defeat the stone. With both Ragna and Es too injured to fight and Hazama suddenly missing, Ruby worries about fighting the Keystone on her own when her teammates suddenly arrive. With her friends now by her side, her confidence is restored and she decides to take down the Keystone together with her team. Worried about Ragna and Es, Ruby directs Blake and Yang to protect them while she and Weiss fight the Keystone. Upon learning that Ragna protected Ruby earlier, Yang thanks him for saving her younger sister. Ruby and Weiss then prepare themselves to battle the Keystone.

After Ruby and Weiss destroy the Keystone, Team RWBY revels in their victory and the hope of returning home. When Hazama suddenly reappears, Ruby receives the red Keystone from him as everyone is returned to their respected worlds. She then wakes up in Team RWBY's dorm room and finds the Keystone in her hand, causing her to panic and searching for a way to dispose of it. Her teammates then enter the room and are shocked to find her in possession of the Keystone. The stone fervently apologizes to the team for its actions and assures them that it can now only maintain its physical form. Ultimately, Team RWBY decides to keep the stone to keep an eye on it and prevent it from doing anything suspicious. Ruby then gives a cheer for the team to fight for justice and to save people, to which they all happily agree.

Cooperative Ending
In Chapter 2, after Ruby and Blake lose to Ragna and Gordeau, they listen to the Grim Reaper's suspicions about the tournament and his conclusion that they might not even have to compete for the Keystones and that they should stop fighting each other. While Blake is unsure of Ragna's assumptions due to the lack of evidence, Ruby believes him and allows him to handle the stones, much to Blake and Gordeau's surprise. Ruby shares with Blake her belief that there is a chance that risking their lives for the Keystones will be pointless in the end, and she wants to fight for something that she is absolutely sure of. Ruby then asks Ragna to keep the Keystone safe before she and Blake take their leave.

In Chapter 9, Ruby and Weiss appear in the final stage with several fighters from other worlds. The Keystones then disappear from their possessions as the System XX reveals its final form. After Rachel reveals the nature of the System XX and concludes that the only way to stop it is to destroy it, Ruby, Weiss and everyone else rally Ragna to fight, despite the uncertainty of whether or not they will make it back to their worlds. Ruby then teams up with Ragna, Yu and Hyde and they destroy the Keystone together. Afterwards, they all return to their original worlds.

Playable Characters
There are 20 default characters and 20 DLC characters, totaling of 40 characters. It was confirmed on ARC Live by ArcSys Work's President, Minoru Kidooka, that there will be a second wave after the first 20 DLC characters.

Bold Italic font for downloadable playable characters.

RWBY

 * Ruby Rose
 * Weiss Schnee
 * Blake Belladonna (DLC Free)
 * Yang Xiao Long (DLC Free)

BlazBlue

 * Ragna the Bloodedge
 * Jin Kisaragi
 * Rachel Alucard
 * Hazama
 * Noel Vermillion
 * Azrael
 * Iron Tager
 * Makoto Nanaya
 * Nu-13
 * Es
 * Platinum the Trinity (DLC Pack 1)
 * Jubei (DLC Pack 2)
 * Hakumen (DLC Pack 3)

Persona 4 Arena

 * Yu Narukami
 * Yosuke Hanamura
 * Chie Satonaka
 * Yukiko Amagi
 * Kanji Tatsumi (DLC Pack 1)
 * Aegis (DLC Pack 2)
 * Naoto Shirogane (DLC Pack 3)

Under Night In-Birth

 * Hyde Kido
 * Linne
 * Waldstein
 * Gordeau
 * Orie Ballardiae (DLC Pack 1)
 * Carmine Prime (DLC Pack 2)
 * Vatista (DLC Pack 3)

Original characters

 * System XX (Cross-Dimensional Observation System No. XX)

Gameplay
The game is a 2-on-2, two dimensional, tag team fighting game, which allows the player to switch between characters during a fight. Each character from both players has their own health bar.

Modes
This game also features an original story of all four franchise's perspectives of RWBY, BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, and Under Night In Birth called "Episode Mode".

Episode Mode: An original story unfolding in a singularity called the "Phantom Field", where the four worlds represented in the game collide.

Tactics Mode: The players can learn new techniques while playing a new system of the game.

Survival Mode: A mode where the player has to defeat waves of enemies.

Training Mode: A mode where the player can practice handling different kinds of combat situations.

Gallery Mode: A mode that in which all of the illustrations can be viewed.

Replay Theater: A mode where you can check recorded replay of your previous battles.

Casual Lobby Mode: A mode where players can choose their favorite character as their avatar and socialize, and battling other players.

RWBY

 * Ruby Mix (BBTAG Special) (This Will Be the Day / Red Like Roses / EP 8 Score - Players and Pieces / Red Like Roses Part II)
 * Weiss Mix (BBTAG Special) (Mirror Mirror / It's My Turn / This Life is Mine)
 * Blake Mix (BBTAG Special) (From Shadows / Like Morning Follows Night)
 * Yang Mix (BBTAG Special) (I Burn / Armed and Ready)
 * Red Like Roses Part II (Full version)

Development
Before BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle's reveal, Rooster Teeth teased at RTX 2017 the possibility of something RWBY affiliated being revealed at Evo 2017. During the Evolution Championship Series, it was announced that Ruby Rose is going to be in a crossover fighting game created by Arc Systems Works and will include characters from BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In Birth and RWBY. The game was announced to be released in 2018. A demo of Ruby in the game was tweeted by Gray Haddock on October 3rd, 2017. On October 6th, 2017, Arc Systems Works released an early demo gameplay trailer of the crossover fighting game featuring the seven then-confirmed playable characters.

On October 15th, 2017, Weiss Schnee was confirmed to be in the fighting game in the second character introduction trailer of BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. The game was announced to be released on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam.

On January 13th, 2018, Blake Belladonna was confirmed to be in the fighting game as one of 20 confirmed DLC characters on the Arc System Works Fighting Game Award 2017 show for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.

The game was released on May 31st, 2018 in Japan and June 5th, 2018 in North America.

On February 7th, 2018, Yang was confirmed to be in the fighting game as one of 20 confirmed DLC characters in the EVO 2018 Special Promotion Trailer for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. She and Blake were confirmed as free DLC, specifically.

Downloadable Content
20 DLC characters can be purchased as a pack called "Additional Character-in-One Pack". The download code for the pack was included in the BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Limited Box only available as an exclusive in Japan.

Limited Edition Bonuses
Arc System Works America revealed the Collector's Edition for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle that was available in North America. The Collector's and standard editions of the game came with a 7-track mini-OST with pre-orders. It was available for pre-order on May 4th, 2018.
 * BlazBlue Cross Bag Battle high-quality box with a steel book
 * Original soundtrack CD
 * BlazBlue Cross Bag Battle Soft Cover Art Book (52 pages)
 * A set of acrylic stands of Ruby Rose, Ragna the Bloodedge, Yu Narukami, and Hyde.

Soundtracks
The original soundtrack CD to BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle includes 15 tracks.

References to RWBY
At the end of Episode P4A, the way Ruby wears her cloak alongside her Yasogami school uniform is similar how she dressed at Beacon Academy. In her victory screen interaction with Gordeau the Harvester, Ruby mentions how her uncle Qrow Branwen is the only scythe wielder she knows. This is a reference to the episode, “Ruby Rose”, where Ozpin mentions the same thing to Ruby herself.
 * Throughout the Story Mode and in some of her battle interactions, Ruby is fascinated with the weapons of Ragna the Bloodedge, Es Mitsurugi, Aegis, Hyde Kido, and Gordeau the Harvester. This refers to her unhealthy obsession with weapons.
 * In Chapter 3 of Under Night In-Birth, Blake mistakes Makoto Nanaya for a Faunus due to the demi-human’s squirrel ears and tail. She also mentions about the discrimination she has endured and her love of fish. Makoto can also tell about Blake’s cat ears under her ribbon, similar to how Sun Wukong and Penny Polendina could tell.
 * In Chapter 1 of Episode RWBY, Team RWBY splits into two groups to search for the Keystones: Ruby and Weiss, and Blake and Yang. This refers to their pairings during the Beacon Academy initiation.
 * In her battle interactions with Rachel Alucard, Ruby calls their pairing as Team Rose. This refers to both of them having a rose as their emblems, and rose petals appearing during some of their attacks.
 * In her victory screen interaction with Hyde Kido, Ruby mentions her duty as a Huntress.
 * In one of her battle intros, Weiss mentions that as long as bear’s her family’s honor, she will not tarnish it. This refers to her initial goal as a Huntress to elevate the Schnee name.
 * In her battle interactions with Makoto Nanaya and Platinum the Trinity, Weiss tells them to stick to their plans, referring to how she fights with coordination.
 * In Weiss’ victory screen interaction with Yu Narukami, he mentions about how her family must be special, which she gives a vague answer. This refers to the bad reputation of the Schnee family brought by Jacques.
 * In their victory screen interaction, Blake irritates Weiss by calling her the “Ice Queen”, a nickname that is used frequently used throughout the show.
 * In Blake’s pre-battle interaction with Jin Kisaragi, he tells her, “Stay in the shadows like the beast you are.” This refers to her theme song, From Shadows. In their victory screen interaction, Blake mentions how she is used to fighting with people who uses Iaido. This refers to Adam Taurus.
 * Team RWBY's Astral Finish moves are based on moves that the characters use in the show:
 * Ruby's Astral Finish (Red Reaper) - Ruby pulls her opponent into the air with her Semblance, hooks Crescent Rose onto them, and utilizes the recoil of her gunshots to keep up her momentum, before finally slicing through her opponent. This is similar to the move she uses to decapitate a Nevermore in "Players and Pieces".
 * Weiss' Astral Finish (White Night) - Weiss uses Myrtenaster to fire cyan laser-like projectiles, which she has done more than once in the show. She then leaps into the air and uses the same pose and motion that she performs at the end of her battle in the "White" Trailer while summoning and launching her Arma Gigas' sword.
 * Blake's Astral Finish (Black Death) - The first half uses the same moves that Blake performs when she first attacks a Nevermore in "Players and Pieces", including the use of her Semblance for mobility. The second half uses the same spinning attack that she performs against the Spider Droid in the "Black" Trailer, followed by her opponent disintegrating similarly to how the Spider Droid does upon being defeated by Adam Taurus.
 * Yang's Astral Finish (Yellow Dragon) - Yang leaps into the air and delivers a fiery, explosive punch to the ground below, which is the same move that she begins her battle with in the "Yellow" Trailer.

Trivia

 * Due to RWBY being a North American production, RWBY characters start out with speaking in English as their default language voice instead of Japanese.
 * Team RWBY appears as silhouettes at the end of the EVO 2018 Special Promotion Trailer similarly to appearing as silhouettes in the show proper's original four trailers.
 * At the end of RWBY Highlight Trailer, a preview is shown of Ruby's Astral Finish, but the Japanese version shows a footage of Yang's Astral finish.
 * Each character has at least one color palette that is based on RWBY characters (mostly No.12):
 * Ruby Rose color palette: Ragna, Es (BlazBlue), Yu Narukami, Jiraya, Pallas Athena (Persona 4 Arena), Hyde (Under Night In-Birth).
 * Weiss Schnee color palette: Jin Kisaragi (BlazBlue), Yosuke Hanamura, Izanagi (Persona 4 Arena), Orie (Under Night In-Birth).
 * Blake Belladonna color palette: Hakumen (BlazBlue), Chie Satonaka, Konohana Sakuya (Persona 4 Arena), Linne (Under Night In-Birth).
 * Yang Xiao Long color palette: Azrael, Iron Tager (BlazBlue), Yukiko Amagi, Tomoe (Persona 4 Arena).
 * Jaune Arc color palette: Kanji Tatsumi, Sukuna-Hikona (Persona 4 Arena), Ruby Rose (RWBY).
 * Pyrrha Nikos color palette: Platinum the Trinity (BlazBlue), Naoto Shirogane, Take-Mikazuchi (Persona 4 Arena), Weiss Schnee (RWBY).
 * Nora Valkyrie color palette: Makoto Nanaya (BlazBlue), Yang Xiao Long (RWBY).
 * Lie Ren color palette: Noel Vermillion (BlazBlue), Blake Belladonna (RWBY).
 * Sun Wukong color palette: Gordeau (Under Night In-Birth).
 * Penny Polendina color palette: Nu-13 (BlazBlue), Aegis (Persona 4 Arena), Vatista (Under Night In-Birth).
 * Summer Rose color palette: Ruby Rose (RWBY).
 * Raven Branwen color palette: Yang Xiao Long (RWBY)
 * Ozpin color palette: Jubei (BlazBlue).
 * Roman Torchwick color palette: Carmine (Under Night In-Birth).
 * Neopolitan color palette: Rachel Alucard (BlazBlue).
 * Adam Taurus color palette: Hazama (BlazBlue), Waldstein (Under Night In-Birth).
 * The RWBY-themed color palettes for the Investigation Team of Persona 4 reference the partnerships that were formed between the members of Teams RWBY and JNPR during the Beacon Academy initiation. For example, Yu Narukami's RWBY-themed color palette features Yu with Ruby's color scheme and his Persona with Weiss' color scheme.
 * A third of the franchises in the game were celebrating an anniversary the year this game was released. Both Blazblue and Persona 4 are turning ten and RWBY is turning five.
 * Color Pallet 13 for both Weiss and Blake are based on the Disney versions of the fairy tale characters they are based on. The Color Pallet 13 for Ruby and Yang are also based on their mothers since they have similar appearances.

Links

 * Official Website
 * BlazBlue Offical Twitter
 * BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Wiki