First of all, I am not a gaming/e-sport drama fan. However, I came across Cross Fire (穿越火线). After reading positive reviews from non-gaming/e-sport drama watchers, I was intrigued to try it. I got hooked and could not get over it, so I wrote about it.
This drama is based on CrossFire, a massive multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS) video game popular in Asia.
Story
In 2008, Xiao Feng was a dejected e-sports team leader barely keeping his team together. E-sports is still in its infancy, and there is little money to be earned. Xiao Feng’s team is looked down upon and ridiculed but continues to fight for recognition.
In 2019, Lu Xiao Bei was a genius in the same game, a masterful player. Outside the game, he is a disabled young man in a wheelchair. He vows to live up to his brother’s legacy and become a professional e-sports player but misses his chance to join a professional team.
Despite 11 years of separation, a cosmic glitch allows the two players to transcend space and time and chance upon one another within the game. From mutual distrust to eventual camaraderie, they form their teams and help each other grow in life and as players to reach their dreams.
Main Characters
Xiao Feng (Lu Han/鹿晗)
The championship of the first “Cross Fire” Challenge and the Golden Gun King. Strangely, Xiao Feng’s team and himself disappeared after winning the championship. Xiao Feng and his teammates encountered misunderstanding, opposition, and ridicule from family and society, but they persisted in their e-sports dream. Because of a CrossFire game map, Xiao Feng and Lu Xiaobei met across time and space. From then on, the two went from doubting each other to trusting each other and finally realized their dreams.
Lu Xiao Bei (Wu Lei/吴磊)
A fighting genius in the game in 2019, a wheelchair boy in real life. He inherited his brother’s legacy and vowed to become a professional e-sports player. He was invincible in the game, but he lost the qualification to join the professional team because of an accident. After going through many difficulties, he finally won the Hundred Cities League Championship in the name of the Southern Monster. After completing the victory in the first stage, Lu Xiaobei decided to continue playing professional games and fulfill his dream.
An Lan (Song Yan Fei/宋妍霏)
A slightly introverted nerd, she was a junior high school classmate of Xiao Feng. Many years later, she met him again because of renting a house and starting a shared life. An Lan, an academic who originally only wanted to take the postgraduate entrance examination, came into contact with games under the influence of Xiao Feng and changed her views on games. She is also determined to attract sponsorship for the 1 COIN team and become a professional e-sports team manager.
Chu Ge (Dai Lu Wa/代露娃)
Chu Ge was Lu Xiaobei’s newly transferred classmate, and they didn’t get along at first. However, as they learned to get along with each other day by day, they gradually started encouraging each other. Chu Ge helped Xiaobei recover and trained him to get back on his feet. Xiaobei tutored Chu Ge in her studies and also prevented her stepfather from harming her, and retrieved a photo of her father for her.
Supporting Characters
Although there are many opponent teams and the public that look down on Team 1-Coin and Team Continue, most supporting characters are supportive along their journeys. Here are some supporting characters you come to love.
Su Jia Yi (Pan Mei Ye/潘美烨)
The only female gamer in the group. The eccentric cat lover, vlogger, and cosplayer Jia Yi is motivated to prove that female gamers can also excel and advance in the male-dominated E-sport. Later, she bonds with Chu Ge.
Young Lu Xiao Bei
At eight years old, the young Xiao Bei adored his older brother Xiao Nan and wanted to be like him. Since the death of his brother, Xiao Bei has stuck not only on his wheelchair but in the past as well.
Lu Tian Ming (Xiao Bei’s Father)
At first, Lu Xiao Bei’s Dad was strongly against his son’s desire to be an E-sport player so Xiao Bei had to play hide-and-seek with his Dad to play CF. Later, he is the team’s biggest supporter.
Their Friendship
The natural-born leader Xiao Feng, as the captain, together with his close game buddy Xu Wei formed Team 1-Coin and was soon joined by the hot-headed Qi Lin, the reluctantly-married Hou Zhi, the youngster Ah Ming, and later the crazy Chang Sha. Eventually, An Lan joined as their Team Manager. Started as an on-and-off group that initially played only to win pocket money for barbecues and beers, they were deemed too old for the teenage gamers and ridiculed as a bunch of adult losers with no goals in life. However, once setting up their goal to be the national champion of the first CrossFire competition, they insist on fighting towards reaching their dreams.
Failed to join an established powerful team, Lu Xiao Bei was motivated to form his own team Continue with his long-time friend Cheng Hao and recruited the eccentric Su Jia Yi, the hot-headed Wang Kai, and the antisocial Ne Zha. Eventually, Chu Ge joined as their Team Manager. Originally only forming the team to complete his belated brother’s dream to compete in the CF national league and win the championship, soon Xiao Bei is faced with difficulties uniting his teammates. Only when he understands that there is more than just forming a group that Team Continue excels. Joining them later are Yang Zi and King.
Gaming Scenes
There are plenty of gaming scenes that are non-shooting-and-killing, most of them are down hilarious.
The Original Soundtrack
Leo Wu sang the opening theme song “Cross Fire” (穿越火线), and Lu Han sang the ending credit song “Land of Dream” (梦寐之地). He also sang the insert song “Time Stopped” (时间停了). Group rock GALA sang the trailer song “Pure Heart of Chasing Dream” (追梦赤子心). They also performed in the drama.
Overall
Positives
✅ Story: Nicely build-up thriller and time-altering towards the end
✅ Theme: Always love the parallel world/time travelling
✅ Setting: I mostly loved the 2008 scene-setting
✅ Life lesson and wisdom
✅ Good editing alternating between 2008 and 2019 settings
✅ Bromance, sismance, romance, friendship, family
✅ Hilarious scenes
✅ Good acting of both main leads and supporting
✅ Game CGI
✅ OST
✅ Nice tribute to Chinese E-game champions at the end of the final episode
Negatives
❌A few fillers (not as many as other C-dramas with 36 episodes)
❌A few illogical side-stories and unanswered questions.
❌Product placement (not overwhelming, but definitely there is that facial mask PPL ;D )
Credits: all images are official drama posters found in MDL site and Google, as well as screenshots of the drama from the sites with English subs (Youtube, WeTV, etc.).
The original article was published on September 20, 2020. Link HERE.