BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger [PS3, 360]

After the remarkable success of Guilty Gear and the general letdown of Battle Fantasia, Arc System Works had to really put a remarkable amount of effort into their next fighting game franchise, especially after having lost the rights for Guilty Gear to SEGA. With the release of BlazBlue in the arcades during late 2008, did they pull it off? To put it simply, yes. But does it match it's predecessor, Guilty Gear, of which it was influenced by?

Trying to explain an Arc System Works fighting game is not an easy feat. If it were said that Guilty Gear was a series about an apocalyptic future where a race of living weapons called Gears were being hunted down by a corrupt administration heirarchy, many would initially think it is some RPG. The storyline was mind boggling, strange and out of the norm for a fighting game, but that is what added charm to it. Anything goes would appropriately describe it. BlazBlue manages this respect with an equally brain frazzling story with twists and turns round every corner, were everything you thought about the game before learning the truth quickly gets twisted round without batting an eyelid. The storyline is immense, it very much deserves to be the successor in that respect. It is, however, not nearly as mad as Guilty Gear's plotline.

As the story goes, many a year ago Earth was assaulted by a creature called the Black Beast which nearly brought the human race to extinction. But when all hope was nearly lost, 6 heroes arrived and brought magic to the fight. The magic was fused with technology to form the Ars Magus, or Armagus, which was used to defeat the Black Beast once and for all. In the present, the Novus Orbis Librarium, the Library or NOL for short, governs the use of Armagus but caused a hierarchical society with distinct classes of society. Branches of the Library had been destroyed by Ragna the Bloodedge, known as the Grim Reaper to the masses. The largest bounty in the Library's history has been placed on him.

That is a basic summary of the story, a ludicrously basic summary. The real truth will confuse and blow the minds of many gamers with it's complexity which provides very few answers to anything.

Each character has a unique story to them, much like in Guilty Gear, and have very strong motives for getting involved with Ragna. Rest assured, every character is likeable in some respect, but some you may end up loving to hate. Regardless to opinion, there is a character for everyone. Whether it's a bread and butter style, combo juggler or a complex trap setter, players will likely find at least one character they like. Unfortunately, with 12 characters the choice is rather limited, but BlazBlue more than makes up for it with the impressive balance of the cast. That said, some characters have somewhat unfair combos and even combo loops that are hard, even bordering impossible to escape from.

The gameplay in BlazBlue is simple to get a grasp of, but hard to master, like any great fighting game should be. There are three attack buttons marking weak, medium and strong attacks. There is also a Drive button which activates a special move unique to each character. Noel for example can perform an easy to pull off chain combo, however you cannot perform an attack with the same button twice. Rachel, however, uses her Drive to shoot a gust of wind depending on the direction indicated by the stick or pad. While at first glance the Drives are seen as a “do something cool” button, they provide great opportunities for combos, granted you get the timing right. Grabs and guards can be performed like many other fighters and there is a special guard with blocks most attacks but uses up a guard guage which, when broken, means you can't block until it builds up again.

Distortion Drives are the special moves of BlazBlue, and use up a Heat Gauge which builds with every hit you make or take. These can be added onto the end of a combo to rack up more damage and can also be cancelled like regular moves to bluff and opponent. Upon beating a character's arcade mode, an instant kill move is unlocked, the Astral Finish. These moves can only be used under certain circumstances and are harder to perform than a Distortion Drive, but reward the player with a satisfying showboat scene. Some scenes are absolutely gorgeous (notably Bang's) while some are rather feeble to look at (Arakune falls under this category).

So the gameplay is solid, but what modes does BlazBlue provide? Like all fighting games there is an arcade mode, versus and training mode. There is an extensive story mode which, as mentioned earlier, is astonishing. Network mode allows suers to go online and take on the world to prove their place amongst the warriors. The replay theatre stores any match replays you have saved to be viewed at any time. Score Attack sees players fighting for the highest scores possible. Lastly, the gallery allows you to view images collected and the music collection in the game, which brings up the next point which makes BlazBlue even more of an appealing title.

Two aspects make this game stand out from the rest of the fighting games. The first being the visuals. BlazBlue oozes in style, with beautifully drawn artwork and stunning high resolution 2D sprites and magnificently rendered stages, a prime example of scenery porn. A lot of effort was made into making this game look as smooth and crisp as possible, it is absolute eye candy. The second aspect that makes BlazBlue unique is the soundtrack. Much like Guilty Gear, BlazBlue is composed of the metal genre with fast paced tracks. Unlike Guilty Gear though, BlazBlue makes use of an orchestral score in segments, making the game feel more epic. In one scenario, an opera is blended with the heavy metal to create a fabulous ballad that feels epic in every way.

So, the question posed earlier. Does BlazBlue keep up with it's predecessor, Guilty Gear? Well it certainly makes up for the disaster that was Battle Fantasia. As a successor, it succeeds magnificently. It improves on many aspects and is much more user friendly and suited for a wider audience. It has lost it's underground feel though, feeling more like a big name brand than a unique title. It still feels very unique compared to the rest of the fighting genre, but put against Guilty Gear it is much more mainstream. All in all though it is a fabulous game. Not for everyone though, as it still maintains a niche approach.

Verdict: Recommended for fighting fanatics, may be a bit too deep for more casual players.
9/10


Constructive critism is very much accepted, it'll help me improve.