BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review for Xbox 360 and PS3

Given the popularity of Steet Fighter 4/Super Street Fighter 4, many people overlooked and/or blatantly ignored a little 2D fighter called 'BlazBlue' from developer 'Arc System Works'. Given the fact that BB garnered very impressive review scores (rivalling that of SSF4) it was a mystery to me as to why many people weren't giving this game a go.

GRAPHICS + PRESENTATION.

+ Breath of fresh air. Unlike SSF4's 3D models, BlazBlue is a 2D fighter in the strictest sense. All the characters have been pain-stakingly hand-drawn in stunning detail. Each character is extremly diverse and fits the overall theme of the game. And BB is not rough around the edges either, being presented in glorious HD does nothing but make the game even more pleasing to the eye. Colours are incredibly vibrant and it feels like you're watching characters from an Anime/Manga film. Backgrounds are not ignored either. In fact, I would say that the backgrounds in BB are superior to those in SSF4 (and yes, that includes the SSF4 Hippo/Eclipse background)!

= Have we met before? For most people, BB's cast list looks very impressive (and it is). However, there are some similarities between BB and other 2D fighter ' Guilty Gear'. Although not detrimental to the game in any significant manner, it does raise the question about originality. This is, however, a small criticism is an, otherwise, superb looking game.

+ Pay attention! BB, unlike many other fighters, actually has a decent in-depth story behind it. All the fighters are inter-twined with each other which gives the game a feeling of depth that is often amiss in this genre. Every character has a colourful history and reason for fighting (rather than VF5's or DOA4's ambiguous story lines). To go into depth about the story would take a long time (and I'm at work, so my time is limited).

SOUND

+ What we know and love! Let's face it. No Japanese fighter would be complete without some crazy J-Rock! And BB doesn't dis-appoint. The theme music in each stage is a nice composition and mixture of original and jazzy rock tracks that suit the action down to the ground.


+ You said what?! What the hell? Good voice-overs in a fighting game!? Yep, both the Japanese and English voice-acting in this game are excellently implemeneted. It is cheesy at times but to be honest, that kinda adds to the charm as a whole. At the beginning of each round, certain characters will have different dialogue openings depending on who they face. My personal favourite without a doubt is Taokaka (a weird cat-lady). If she faces another female fighter called Litchi, she cries out "IT'S THE BOOBIE LADY!" Immature maybe, but it makes me laugh. :-)

- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!! Are the Japanese completely obssessed with making the death-screams of female characters as annoying as possible? Seriously! C. Viper and Chun-Li from SSF4 were bad enough!!!!

GAMEPLAY

+ Not for beginners! Yes, this is a plus point. To get good at Blazblue means you have to practice with your chosen character. Mashing 'Dragon Punch' motions will get you nothing a kick up the arse in this game. Combat itself is a satisfying and flashy affair with larger-than-life moves filling the screen. Occasionally it can get confusing but it's FUN!!! There is also a huge sense of satisfaction when you do connect with a move. Everything just feels fine tuned. From barrier bursts+cancels, mid-air dashes, instant blocking, counter attacks....everything fits superbly well.

= Not for beginners! Yep. Pretty much the same thing. Although BB is a purist's fighter, it can be very off-putting to newcomers. Accessability is not high on BlazBlue's priority list. The collector's edition does go someway to remedying this though by including a tutorial dvd that shows basics and advanced combos for all characters! :-)

- Is that everyone? Given the roster lists in current fighters eg: Tekken 6, SSF4, MK vs. DC, King of Fighters etc it's quite dis-appointing to see that there are only 12 fighters on offer in the whole game. As mentioned before, the characters are very original (no Shoto clones here) but it doesn't take long to grow tired of each character (especially online)!

= Plenty to do. BB doesn't scrimp on the game modes but nor does it do anything that hasn't been seen before. Arcade Mode, Story Mode (the best mode available), training, gallery and online.

- Oh look......another Jin player!! All it takes is for one person to start abusing certain move properties online before everyone realises they can get easy wins. One of the characters (Jin Kisaragi) is one such character. I played online for 3 hours solid, here's a true representation of the characters I faced:


Jin, Jin, Jin, Jin, Jin, Jin, V-13, Ragna, Jin, Jin, Tager, Jin, Jin, Arakune, Jin, Noel, Jin, Jin, Jin, Jin, Jin, Jin.


You get the point. Being beaten by a good Jin player is great but being beaten by a scrubby Jin who abuses certain moves because you can't counter online very quickly? It gets annoying. Character balance is great offline and it's recommended that this is how you play BB ie: against your friends OFFLINE.


SHOULD I BUY OR RENT?

I would defintely recommend buying this title. The production value is first class and you can see the attention to detail that has gone into creating this game. This is a worthy alternative to Super Street Fighter 4 and really doesn't deserve to be ignored.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger was developed by Arc System Works and published by Zen United (Aksys Games in the US). Hours played: 40+ (all modes beaten, all achievements unlocked). Review is based on the 360 version.

Achievement difficulty: 7/10. For the most part the achievements are enjoyable. The online achievements can be a bit of a grind so it's worth finding someone you can boost the achievements with.


Opinion:
C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!!!!


     Our first opinion post! This is where you get a split take on the written review. Why an opinion? Well Simon's done a damn good job on this review so I don't think there's a need for a second one. There's just one thing I'd like to chime in on though. 
     Have you ever played fighting games and just felt that you weren't really good enough to tangle with the vets? Were the mechanics too much for you to grasp? Well BlazBlue is your game! The aim of BlazBlue has been to simplify the mechanics of the genre while retaining the depth of a complex fighter. There's no l/m/h. punches or kicks, just 4 simple buttons. You have the A, B, and C attack buttons and a special D button. 
     With the majority of the fighters, you can get an easy combo off just by pressing the first three in succession. The D button activates a character's "Drive" attack. The idea of the Drive is to allow newcomers to perform what would normally be a command special attack with just the push of a button. It's works 100% differently for every fighter and serves to also give an idea on how a certain character should be used. With such controls in place, it's easy for anyone to feel that they've really got the hang of the game and it instills great confidence. After that point, you will then be sent down the road of complex mechanics such as bursts and rapid cancels.
     So in my opinion, BlazBlue is indeed a fighter for beginners but also intricate enough for a hardened veteran of the genre. Go pick it up and have some fun!

-Ashton