Blazblue Cross Tag Battle Roster Hopes and Predictions (Featuring Lousy From The Tactician Series)

Ever since Arc System Works' founders said in a Forbes interview that they would like to make a game based on the RWBY IP, a lot of speculation emerged over whether or not something was in the works (of Arc System). Through all that speculation, absolutely nobody expected Blazblue Cross Tag Battle to be what was planned.

That's Guilty Gear creator, Daisuke on the left during the interview. Yes, he's in his 40s. Yes, he has great taste in metal bands. Yes, he looks like he just got out of college.

Being fans of a few of the franchises being brought into this absurd crossover (and knowing fuck all about the other) we thought it would be fun to share our thoughts on our hopes and expectations for the roster. So, without further ado...

Overall thoughts on the character roster

Ultra: I have no idea how many characters I should be expecting for this crossover. Most Arc System games start at around 10-13 characters in their first iterations, and expand to larger numbers over a period of years. It’s pretty obvious the game is going to be reusing tons of assets and move-sets from the fighting game series involved in the crossover, so I don’t think lower estimations like that carry much weight. Instead I think it’s more likely that a character roster much larger, probably approaching or surpassing the max amount of characters Arc System has had in other games, will happen.

MAYBE something close to the roster size of Blazblue central fiction, if not a bit more, would be feasible. That gives about 33 slots and maybe a bit more if you consider possible DLC. Being optimistic, let’s just say the series can bang out 40 characters total, and with about 10 characters per franchise.

With that in mind, here are my picks. Keep in mind my reasoning may be a bit shallow given I was trying to rush this blog out before more announcements.

Persona

General thoughts

Ultra: I’m kind of torn on who I actually want from the Persona franchise. I know Persona 4 characters will probably be given precedent since their game headlines the Arena sub-franchise. That being said, I don’t want the ENTIRE investigation team to be in this game. There are 8 members, including Rise, and given 10 characters per franchise is me being generous, the investigation team alone has the possibility of taking up the entire franchise's slots in this game. Instead I would much rather the game focus on the most popular characters from the investigation main team, while leaving room for 1 or 2 Persona 3 standouts, as well as including most of the Persona Arena original characters or villains.

Character picks

Yu Narukami

Ultra: Obviously Yu is a given since he was already announced. He’s also the main character of persona 4 so he gets a slot by default.

Yosuke Hanumura

Ultra: Yosuke is also a good choice given he’s basically the vice leader of the investigation team, and Yu’s right hand man.

Edit: Unsurprisingly he got announced while I was making this blog.

Lousy: Brosuke was expected, but his confirmed inclusion is welcomed.

Chie Satonaka

Ultra: Okay, this is a bit biased on my part, but I consider Chie one of the more well-liked and prominent Persona 4 characters. She was also one of the team’s earliest members, so I feel like she’s more iconic than some of the latter joining characters.

Lousy: Setting aside the fondness Ultra and I have for best girl Chie, she regularly ranks as one of, sometimes the, most popular Persona 4 character in polls. She even was the highest voted female Persona character on the Megaten Reddit's Crosstag Battle Poll. Her being in the game feels like a given.

Naoto Shirogane

Ultra: Naoto is arguably the first or second most popular female protag in Persona 4. Her role as detective is probably one of the most integral to the plot and her personality lends itself well to dialogue in such a game. I say she should have a slot.

Lousy: Naoto is another no-brainer. Her play-style is fairly unique, she's very popular, and despite her late inclusion, is in many ways the co-leader of the Investigation Team in Persona 4. She should be all but locked into the roster.

Tohru Adachi

Ultra: Adachi has had a pretty big series of runaway popularity, and given his important role as the main villain of Persona 4 it only makes sense for him to show up in a big crossover. Likewise he has some personality traits in common with Blazblue villain Hazama/Terumi, so it would be a treat to see them play off each other.

Lousy: I feel that Adachi's chances are less likely than others (mostly a gut feeling). However, I absolutely want him in the game. The more of his asshole behavior that I can see the better. I'm not the only one either, given he topped the poll for Persona 4 Arena reps.

Elizabeth

Ultra: It only makes sense to have at least one Persona Velvet Room member representing Persona in the crossover and Elizabeth is probably the most story relevant and prominent right now. I could see her making the cut.

Lousy: If we're getting any Velvet Room attendant in this game, it will be Elizabeth. She's definitely the most popular of the attendants, and is arguably the most prominent one in the series. I could see other characters winning out over her, but I would have no problem with Elizabeth's inclusion.

Aigis

Ultra: Aigis is probably the closest we have to a Persona 3 protagonist given the real one kind of died a while ago. She’s played the part of leader in multiple Persona 3 media, and gained most of the powers associated with Minato. I also kind of want there to be at least a few artificial girls from each franchise present, given it’s a common theme they all share.

Lousy: Unless the roster is going to be dominated by Persona 4 characters, Aigis should be all but confirmed. She's been the go-to Persona 3 rep for quite some time, and has quite a few similarities to characters from other franchises in this crossover, such as Noel, Penny, ETC.

Mitsuru Kirijo

Ultra: Mitsuru is one of the more important P3 characters and the leader of an important government squadron called the shadow ops. She also has some duality with several other characters likely to be included from other franchises like Weiss and Oriole. Not having her in seems like a missed opportunity.

Lousy: Similar to Aigis, Mitsuru is pretty popular, very involved in the Arena stories, and has a lot of similarities to characters from other franchises, with Weiss bordering on being an (no doubt coincidental) expy of her.

Labrys

Ultra: So basically Labrys was an original character introduced in the first Arena game. The Arena sub-series is centered a lot around her character development. So I think it makes sense to consider her for a crossover including said sub series.

Lousy: Persona characters who originated from spinoffs tend to catch flak from the fan-base, sometimes with good reason. As far as I can tell though, Labrys is one of the more well-liked spinoff characters. I myself thought she was pretty great. There are a few other Persona reps I would be okay with swapping Labrys out with, but it is likely we're going to get at least one of the two playable characters who originated from the Arena games. And Labrys is much preferred over the... Other one. Speaking of which...

Sho Minazuki

Ultra: Okay, so a slightly more controversial pick. Sho’s a somewhat divisive character in the fan-base. That being said, the entire plot of Persona Arena Ultimax was centered on him. He’s also the only other Persona character exclusive to the Arena games, so he has some relevance in the context of this crossover. Plus, he served as a somewhat secondary villain, if that counts for anything.

Lousy: Nooope, I don't care how integral Sho was to the story of Ultimax. It's all but universally accepted Ultimax's story was terrible, and he's one of the biggest sources of (justified) blame. If people want an Arena exclusive rep in, Labrys should suffice. Arguing about relevance and prominence in a series is fine and dandy, but by the end of the day, Cross Tag Battle is a crossover game meant to excite fans of these 4 series. And ignoring all the issues I have with Mr. Original-Character-Do-Not-Steal, I don't see many fans getting hyped for Sho's inclusion.

Misc thoughts

Ultra: If it comes down to it and most of the investigation team HAVE to be in. Substitute Mitsuru and Sho for Teddie and Kanji. I won’t like it, but I could survive. That being said I think I would prefer Rise just keep a navigator role, rather than being playable like in Ultimax. I'd also be willing to substitute Labrys for Akihiko.

Lousy: I think the roster selection here is solid overall, but I would definitely swap out Sho with Kanji, Akihiko, or just about any other character.  

Blazblue

General thoughts

Ultra: Blazblue is a series that’s expanded a lot in the last decade and truth be told I kind of started to lose track of the series around the time central fiction came out. That being, said I still have a basic idea about which characters are more popular and which ones are most important to the actual lore. Considering that my choices would mostly be levied towards main characters, long lasting mainstays or prominent villains.

Lousy: I kind of fell off the Blazblue bandwagon too, but have enough familiarity with the series to know who I want.

Ragna The Bloodedge

Ultra: Ragna is the main character of Blazblue and has already been announced. He’s an obvious choice.

Jin Kisaragi

Ultra: Another common sense choice, given he’s the rival and brother to Ragna. He’s also already been announced.

Lousy: With Jin in the trifecta of cryokinetic, sword-wielding heirs to large organizations is bound to be complete.

Noel Vermillion

Ultra: Noel is the main Blazblue heroine and many of the games plot threads are directly connected to or caused by her actions. Considering her prominence it makes sense for her to be involved in the crossover.

Lousy: Alongside Jin, Noel is a bit of a given due to her being one of the main characters in the series, and being on-board since day 1. A lot of people also seem to compare her to Aigis, including a certain web-show, so she has that going for her. More importantly though, YoshiRocks would be really sad if she didn't get in, and his happiness takes precedence over just about anything else.

Rachel Alucard

Ultra: Rachel has never been the explicit “main” female hero in Blazblue, but she’s certainly important to the plot and has played a large hand in spurring Ragna’s personal development. She makes sense to add as far as I’m concerned.

Lousy: There are quite a few characters I would prefer over Rachael. But given her prevalence in the series, and her own popularity, the vampire loli's likely to win out over them.

Hazama/Terumi

Ultra: Hazama/Terumi are the defacto main villains of the Blazblue series and one of the more prolific characters due to thier over the top trolling attitude. Their spot in the roster is probably guaranteed, though admittedly I’m not sure which version of him should show up since he has multiple forms.

Lousy: The opportunity for both Adachi and Hazama to act like assholes to the rest of the roster alone makes including Hazama a must. The fact that he remains arguably the most well-recognized villains in the series is a plus.

Hakuman

Ultra: One of the more powerful characters lore wise in Blazblue, and he’s been around since the beginning, so he’s pretty iconic.

Lousy: Hakuman was one of my mains, so I have no qualms with his inclusion. He kind of embodies a lot of the convoluted lore Blazblue has too.

Izanami

Ultra: Izanami is another big villain in the Blazblue fold. Considering her role in the plot, and the fact that Persona has its own Izanami character she can be compared with, I can’t help but want her.

Lousy: I can take or leave Izanami, but wouldn't be against her inclusion.

Jubei

Ultra: Truth be told I really want Toakaka, but had to concede space once Jubei became a playable character in central fiction.  The fact of it is he’s just way too hype of a character not to include after fans had been begging for him to be playable in a mainline Blazblue for years. A lot of people would love to see him show up here to.

Lousy: Much as I like Tao, if it comes down to her or Jubei, Jubei's going to have obvious priority. People have wanted him to be playable for a long time, and Arc System Works probably wouldn't miss the chance to capitalize on that. Of course, I could see someone else getting taken out for Tao.

Kokonoe Mercury

Ultra: I want Kokonoe just because of her boastful and pragmatic personality. Though that being said I think her character itself is pretty popular in Blazblue, so I could figure her being added for that reason is justifiable as well.

Lousy: I'm not too familiar with Kokonoe's story involvement, and would honestly prefer other characters in her place (Litchi, Tao, ETC). But it isn't a huge loss if she gets in the roster.

Nu-13

Ultra: As one of the more prominent final boss characters in Blazblue, I think it only makes sense that nu would be playable. She also fulfills the robot girl quota for the series. I know Noel also technically does, but let’s be honest most people don’t see her as very robotic.

Lousy: She satisfies the robo-waifu quota all 4 of these franchises want to meet. So...

RWBY

Ultra: I have some similar opinions to the ones I had for Persona, in regards to RWBY reps. I don’t want both the entirety of team RWBY and team JNPR to be in this game for the same reason I didn’t want the entire investigation team in. It will take up way to much space on the potential roster and truthfully there’s characters outside those teams I’d rather see. Instead I’d rather have RWBY, one or two members of JNPR, and then a moderate amount of villains and ensemble dark horses from unaffiliated groups.

Team RWBY

Ultra: We're discussing all 4 members of team RWBY at once since we have (more or less) the same thing to say about all of them. Ruby's the main character of the RWBY series. She was already announced, so no need for debate there.

Lousy: Similarly, the other 3 members, Weiss, Blake, and Yang are part of the main team. If we're getting more than 3 RWBY reps, the quadruo the show is named after will obviously be in the roster.

Pyrrha Nikos

Ultra: Despite being dead, Pyrrha still is one of the more popular characters from the JNPR team and it make sense to me that people would want her in. The game seems to be focusing on the earlier eras of the RWBY storyline anyway, so I don’t think her being dead is a big deal.

Lousy: Like Ultra said, Pyrrha is pretty popular, and the good thing about non-canon crossovers (as I'll argue later on) is that pesky things like death won't stop a character from getting in. Plus, you could also do some creative things with her magnetism semblance, so I'm all for her inclusion.

Juane Arc

Ultra: Juane is a mixed bag for some people, but from what I’ve seen it’s he’s been getting close to the most development in RWBY, outside of the 4 main characters. Considering he was also the leader of JNPR, I think it makes sense for him to be represented.

Lousy: Eh, I don't hate Juane, and you could probably get a decent enough move-set out of him. But I also feel there are much more viable reps in terms of move sets. He seems popular enough though, and admittedly RWBY's side of the roster might be lacking in male characters without him, or someone like Sun or another semi-relevant male character to take his place.

Cinder

Ultra: Obviously RWBY is going to want some villain representation, and Cinder is as good a choice as any. Currently she isn’t nearly as prominent as she once was, but she was during the seasons this game seems to be drawing from, so I think having her makes a certain amount of sense.

Lousy: Cinder is definitely not going to be the most important villain in the RWBY series, but at this point in time she's the one that has gotten the most screen time, and the one with the most fleshed out powers and abilities. So she's probably the best choice for a villain character.

Roman

Ultra: I think a second villain character is reasonable for RWBY. Along with Cinder, Roman is one of the more prolific starting villains of the series. He’s also kind of a troll which is welcome given he could have a cool dynamic with Adachi and Hazama because of it.

Lousy: I won't lie, I never understood the love for Roman. He's alright, but never struck me as all that clever of a villain. Then again, RWBY's cast of villains is kind of weak all around at the moment. However, Roman is VERY popular among the RWBY fandom, arguably more than any other villain, and has had a decent push despite being dead and all. And I suppose you could give him a fun fighting style based around using his cane and fighting like a dirty bastard.

Penny

Ultra: So another character who’s dead…. But eh, whatever. People seem to like her and it ticks off the robot girl quota for RWBY.

Lousy: Penny also has a bad case of the dead, but again that doesn't mean much when it comes to non-canon crossovers. Every side in this game needs an obligatory robot girl, and Penny is the best (and only) choice for the RWBY series. Plus, unlike Pyrrha, she has a (albeit slight) chance of coming back in the show due to being a robot.

Qrow Branwen

Ultra: I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen much of this guy myself yet (I still need to catch up on RWBY) but everyone and their mother seems to be jizzing their pants at the possibility of him being in the game. So yeah I’m gonna assume he’s a good pick

Lousy: As someone who is caught up with RWBY, I can confirm Drunkle Qrow is very popular, and would be fun to include in Cross Tag Battle. He was also the highest scoring non-team RWBY member in the aforementioned poll. I would also be interested to see how his semblance, which essentially creates uncontrollable bad luck and misfortune, would be implemented into a fighting game.

Undernight

General thoughts

Ultra: To be honest, I know next to nothing about Under Night. I only recently got the game and I haven’t actually played the story or arcade modes. Because of that I’m taking a shot in the dark with a lot of these choices, so don’t expect anything elaborate reasoning wise.

Lousy: Uh... Yeah, I know nothing about this series and have nothing to add.

Hyde

Ultra: He is the main character the series and already announced. He’s an obvious slot.

Linne

Ultra: Linnie seems to be the leading heroine from what I’ve been told, and Hyde’s sidekick. I can’t see her not being in.

Edit: She got announced before I could publish this.

Waldstein

Ultra: This guy seems to be an ally of Hyde along with Linne, so I think he would make sense.

Orie

Ultra: To be honest, I just like her design and fighting style. Particularly since it’s reminiscent of Mitsuru and Wiese in some ways. That alone seems like a decent reason to have her.

Carmine

Ultra: Carmine seems to be a character who was pushed a lot in promotional materials for Under Night, so he’s at least somewhat popular.

Vatista

Ultra: Given we already have several artificial human robot fighters from the other franchises, having the resident robot girl from under night is a must.

Seth

Ultra: This guy seems to have some connection to Linne, and also seems to be a well-liked anti-hero, so I assume people would be okay with having him in.

Yuzuriha

Ultra: I’m not sure what roll Yuz plays in the story, but she got a cameo in Skullgirls, so she must be pretty popular within her series. She probably has good prospects given that.

Gordeu

Ultra: This guy seems to be one of the more important characters in the plot and I like his character design. I may as well throw him in.

Hilda

Ultra: Hilda looks to be one of the main villains of the series, or at the very least she serves as the final boss in one of the games. She probably has enough reason to be playable.

Eirka

Ultra: Eirka is another villain character, which is always welcome. She also is a bit of a troll like the other villains, Hazama and Adachi.

Picks that weren't mentioned

Lousy: Now that Ultra has given his roster picks, it's best we address some characters who weren't mentioned.

Akira Kurusu (Persona 5 Protagonist)

Lousy: As far as Cross Tag Battle's roster goes, the big question I (and many others) want answered is if any Persona 5 characters will be included. At the moment, I don't think the chances are particularly high. It looks like Arc System Works is sticking to characters they already have assets for, who have already appeared in their respective fighting game franchises (excluding RWBY since it doesn't have a fighting game).

That being said, Cross Tag Battle is still early in development, details for what the roster will be like are sparse, and Persona 5 is the newest mainline game in the series. Knowing Persona Q2, Dancing Star Night, and shitload of other spinoffs are happening, there's an argument to be made for Atlus putting in some extra assets to add a Persona 5 character. If anybody from Persona 5 is getting in, Akira obviously has priority over all others.

Beyond being the main character of the newest game, you could make an awesome move-set using the tools and abilities Akira has in Persona 5. With knife-play, handguns, a persona with curse-based magic, various tools like molotov cocktails, and the possibility of implementing a stealth/security level mechanic, you could definitely differentiate him from Yu and the rest of the cast. In particular, the move he performs during Persona 5's finale (I won't spoil it) would make for a kick-ass finisher. Like I said, I wouldn't get my hopes up too much for his inclusion, but crazier things have happened.

Worst case scenario, we'll just have to wait for Persona 5 Arena (Art credited to kollp).

Minato Arisato (Persona 3 Protagonist)

Lousy: The Persona 3 protagonist is another often requested character for the Persona Arena games who never made the cut. Mostly because he's canonically dead, and the Persona Arena games have a canon story attached to them. This is a reasonable excuse for the Arena games, but as has been said with several other characters, since Cross Tag Battle is a going to be a glorified fan-fic crossover, character death has little meaning. This is extra evident now that Minato is going to be in Persona Dancing Moon Light, a Persona spinoff that is confirmed to not have a canon story attached to it.

Still, Minato getting in is a preeetty big stretch, even more-so than Akira. Arc Sys will probably stick to characters who already have assets made, but I felt these 2 were worth mentioning.

The other Investigation Team members

Lousy: Like we said, much as we love Persona 4, knowing that 10 Persona reps being in Cross Tag Battle is being optimistic, we don't want every member of the investigation team in.

Taokaka

Lousy: Taokaka wasn't on our predicted roster, largely because we felt Jubei would be the obligatory cat character. However, it's perfectly possible there will be more than one kitty cat in Cross Tag Battle's roster.

Nora Valkyrie & Ren Lie

Ultra: Finally, the rest of the JNPR members have a pretty decent amount of fans, so obviously if Nora and Ren can be squeezed in, I say why not.

---------------------------------------------

So those are our choices for Blazblue tag team characters. What did you guys think? What characters do you want?