XBlaze Code: Embryo’s Story Changes Depending On What You Read

Having branching paths is a hallmark of the visual novel genre, but most games shift the story depending on the decisions you make. XBlaze Code: Embyro from Arc System Works takes a different approach and what you read changes the flow of the story.

XBlaze Code: Embryo has a little info icon in the top right hand corner. Select this and it pulls up something that looks like a RSS reader with different articles to read. Each post gives a clearer picture of the universe and just like articles on the net they even have comments at the end.

XBlaze Code: Embryo takes place in 2050, before the events in BlazBlue, and follows a high school student. When XBlaze begins Touya Kagari is a regular guy, perhaps a bit passive, and starts inside a school. In a brief hands on with the English version, I felt the game has a more cinematic presentation compared to other visual novels since characters have lip movements synchronized to dialogue. Because of that, XBlaze Code: Embyro will only have Japanese voiceovers.

XBlaze Code: Embryo does have direct connections to BlazBlue, but you don’t have to be a fan of the fighting game series to understand XBlaze’s story. The tale, also written by Toshimichi Mori, is a standalone story with Easter Eggs that reveal the origins of some parts of BlazBlue’s plot.

XBlaze Code: Embryo is scheduled to come out this summer for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.