More details on the Capcom-Namco-Sega mash-up: sadly not as pants-shittingly terrifying as the teaser lead us to believe.

Coincidentally, I nicknamed my dorm room 'Project Sex Zone'... it never earned the title.

Look, it’s not like I really expected this thing to be a white-knuckle survival horror game… but maybe I was hoping just the littlest bit. No, the mysterious 3DS collaboration between Capcom, Namco and Sega is a strategy-RPG called Project X Zone. According to Famitsu, the game is about 50% completed, aiming for a 2012 release in Japan. Even though the game is being billed as a strategy-RPG, I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t still look a hell of a lot like a Marvel vs Capcom-style tournament fighter:

Pictured: STRATEGY!

Combo counters, flashy moves and life-meters all seem to hint that at least a little inspiration was taken from the cross-over beat-’em-ups that paved the way for this weird new mash-up.

Chris is one of the many familiar faces joining the cast of Project X Zone. Looks like he's still juicin'.

Here’s the official character list so far:

Ryu and Ken Street Fighter
X and Zero Mega Man
Demitri and Dante Darkstalkers, Devil May Cry
Chris and Jill Resident Evil
Shinguji Sakura and Ogami Ichiro Sakura Wars
Pai and Akira Virtua Fighter
Kurt and Riela Valkyria Chronicles
Ulala and Touma Space Channel 5, Shining Force EXA
Sanger Somvold Super Robot Wars
Jin and Ling Xiaoyu Tekken
Kos-Mos and T-elos Xenosaga
Yurie and Estel Tales of Vesperia
Kaito and Black Rose .hack

Pretty good mix of famous faces, formerly famous faces, and of course, anime/JRPG shit I’ve never heard of. Rather than have an ever-growing party, it looks like you’ll switch between the above character duos–though ideally you’ll be able to mix and match characters too. Matching up some of the more disparate characters could result in some very fun and funny interactions. The Famitsu article also mentions that this isn’t the final list of characters, which hopefully means they’ll stop taking idiot pills long enough to realize that this game needs Sonic & Tails, along with Pac-Man & Ms. Pac-Man–or a ghost! I don’t care.

Who am I kidding, of COURSE I care. Rowr!

It’s refreshing to have a big, fan-pleasing cross-over like this come out, and not just be another mini-game collection or tournament fighter. On the other hand, cramming so many big-name franchises into a rather “hardcore” and niche-y genre may limit the game’s appeal. Or maybe this, and that insane Pokemon strategy cross-over will bring new fans into this brainy sub-genre. While I didn’t really expect this to be a harrowing horror adventure like the teaser… teased, I did say to myself “well, I guess I’ll be sitting this one out” when it was revealed to be a strategy title. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the gaming world welcomes this big, bold new cross-over title.