Nexed

"Will you cross the line?"

Nexed (交差線, Kōsa-sen, Crossed Lines) is a crossover platform fighting game released for Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC on July 1st, 20XX. The game is a collaboration between several gaming studios, with a man known as "Faz" helming the project as a director.

The game is similar to the Super Smash Bros. series developed by Nintendo (as well as other platform fighters) in regards to its general gameplay structure and focus on bringing characters from different media franchises. However, Nexed focuses on characters and franchises which Faz finds interesting, essentially creating his dream platform fighter crossover.

Plot
Nexed has a very loose plot, which is mainly explored in the game's Arcade Mode and used as a means to explain the reasoning behind its characters coming together to fight.

Somewhere in the multiverse, an anonymous benefactor has sent out letters across time and space, inviting its recipients to join the Nexus Tournament, with citizens of the various universe also being invited to spectate. The winner of the tournament will recieve a reward in the form of the Winner's Wish, granting them a prize beyond their wildest dreams.

Whether it's for the Winner's Wish, a chance to prove themselves, or a multitude of other reasons, contestants from across the multiverse enlist in the tournament. Various governing bodies also temporarily donate some of their locales in order to create unique arenas for battles.

Gameplay
Nexed is a platform fighter, much like the Super Smash Bros. series or Rivals of Aether. As per the norm for the genre, the game makes use of a percentage on each fighter's HUD as opposed to a traditional health bar. The percentage increases as fighters are hit with attacks or hazards; As their percentage rises, they begin to be launched farther by attacks.

The general objective of the game is to launch one's opponents off of the stage and into the "blast zone", after which they will be knocked out and respawn on a platform at the top of the stage with 0%. In order to avoid a KO, launched fighters must return to the stage - This can be done by making use of mid-air jumps, their Up Special move, or making use of the stage's layout (such as grabbing onto ledges).

While core gameplay is simplistic, a number of factors are available to add more depth to gameplay;
 * A variety of game modes are available, adding new objectives to matches.
 * The game boasts several stages based on different media franchises, ranging from layouts intended for more "serious" battles to more elaborate stages often boasting "stage hazards" which can impact battles.
 * Items can be turned on or off. If the former is chosen, a variety of items can spawn on the stage for fighters to use.

Moves
Each fighter has a variety of abilities at their disposal. While the majority are universal across all characters, several characters have abilities which others do not, such as wall-jumping or hovering.

The game boasts a simplistic control scheme, forgoing more traditional fighting game commands to simple one-button, one-control stick attacks for all fighters.

Special Mechanics

 * Multiple Mid-Air Jumps: Some fighters can make use of multiple mid-air jumps as opposed to the standard single mid-air jump. This makes it easier for them to return to the stage.
 * Crawling: Some fighters can move left and right while crouching, albiet usually slower than their standard walking or dashing speed. This can allow them to approach opponents while evading attacks.
 * Wall-Jump: Some fighters can jump off of walls while the player is holding their control stick in the wall's direction.
 * Wall-Cling: Some fighters can cling onto walls while the player is holding their control stick in the wall's direction. From this "clinging" state, the fighter can then wall-jump, but can only stay attached to the wall for a few seconds at a time.
 * Tether Grab: Some fighters can use their grab in mid-air. While they cannot grab opponents with a mid-air grab, they can attach their grab to the ledge, instantly bringing them to it and entering their ledge-grab state, making it easier for them to recover.
 * Hover: Some fighters can hover in mid-air after using all of their mid-air jumps by holding the jump button. While hovering, the fighter can move left and right, perform their aerial attacks, and cancel out of the hover by releasing the jump button. However, the fighter can only hover for a few seconds; After this time, they must touch the ground or get attacked in order to use the hover again.
 * Character-specific mechanics: Some fighters have mechanics unique to them, usually dictating parts of their playstyle.

Fighters
Nexed features a plethora of characters from various media franchises. While the majority of characters boast unique movesets, others are referred to as "Remix Fighters", which serve as clone characters. However, Remix Fighters still have some differences from the characters that they are based off of, such as attributes, animations, and even certain attacks.

In addition, some characters have alternate costumes which can alter their cosmetic animations (taunts, victories, etc.) and their Level 3 Nexus Attack cinematics. However, they have no impact on gameplay aside from these changes, and are therefore not classified as seperate fighters like Remix Fighters are.

Boss Characters
Boss characters are a seperate group of fighters who mainly serve as bosses in the game's Arcade Mode. However, once defeated in a route, they become unlocked in the game's Boss Battles mode, allowing them to be controlled by players and fought by any other character (aside from fellow bosses).

Overall, boss characters are designed to be more powerful than the average fighter. The differences between boss characters and standard characters are as follows:
 * Boss characters use an HP-based system across all game modes as opposed to the standard percentage system. Once a boss' HP is drained entirely, they are automatically defeated, giving the win to their opponent.
 * Boss HP is based on the number of other fighters in the match: One opponent gives the boss 200 HP, two opponents give 400, and three give 600.
 * Bosses are incredibly heavy, making them hard to launch. In the event that a boss is KO'd via a blast zone, they will respawn and lose 100 HP.
 * Bosses cannot dash, instead having a walk which varies in speed. As such, they cannot perform dash attacks.
 * While bosses are able to guard, they cannot counter attacks or wavedash. Parrying is still an option.
 * Bosses tend to be much more powerful than the average fighter. However, some of their attacks may suffer from higher end lag than the average fighter to compensate.
 * Bosses lack standard grabs and throws.
 * Bosses have only one Nexus Attack - However, this attack can vary wildly depending on the boss being played.

A table featuring available bosses is coming soon.

Stages
Nexed contains a wide array of stages for fights to take place on. Some stages are more simplistic, while others are more complex and involve stage hazards, which can be toggled on and off. Regardless, every stage has a "Tournament B" and "Tournament F" version; The former has the stage don a layout similar to Battlefield from Super Smash Bros., while the latter has a layout similar to Final Destination.

Each stage comes with twenty music tracks. The player is able to create a "Favorites" playlist of up to forty tracks, allowing them to be played on any stage.

Items
Please see this page for a list of items.

Modded Content
In addition to the base game's content, a modding scene has been developed for Nexed, adding additional characters and stages developed by the community. While these additions aren't official, the developers of Nexed have become well-regarded for their support of community content.

Unused Content

 * During the game's development, Nexed was called CrossSmash, a portmanteau of "crossover" and "Smash", the latter referring to the Super Smash Bros. series, which was a major inspiration for the game.
 * While the name Nexed was chosen in reference to "nexus", a term used to describe a connected group or series (refering to the game's crossover aspect), its pronounciation is the same as "next", implying that this is the next evolution of platform fighters.