Nicalis just released the full version of the cinematic opening to the indie-crossover arcade brawler Blade Strangers, which you can watch below.

Set to a rockin' generic pop anime track, the opening cinematic explores some of the characters both new and old. The game crosses titles from Studio Saizensen games (Code of Princess, Sayonara Umihara Kawase, etc.), Nicalis games (like Cave Story+), and some additional special guest characters, including Gunvolt from Gunvolt, Isaac from the Binding of Isaac, and Shovel Knight from...well, Shovel Knight. Turns out a lot of these titles aren't that complicated to match with their protagonists.

So far, Blade Strangers is described as such:

A malevolent force known only as Lina is devouring data from a vast, interdimensional network of servers overseen by sentient computers called ”motes.” In desperation, the motes summon heroes from a variety of parallel game worlds to face off against each other in one-on-one combat. The tournament victor has the potential to be awakened as the Blade Stranger—the savior who can vanquish Lina and protect the motes from further harm!

If you want to know more about Blade Strangers, consider looking at our preview of the titleBlade Strangers is slated to launch this Summer for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam.