First of all, Blazblue's one of my favourite fighting games/franchises of all time since I played it on PSP years ago n I've played all kinds of fighting games since Street Fighter EX2 Plus (if I remember correctly) so I would highly recommend it to any fan of the genre. Most negative opinions about the game (from myself n others I guess) are mainly due to knowledge of the better sequels that are not available on PC (yet?) It feels like we're being told to be grateful for having anything at all. Thanks to Arc System Works I can cry myself to sleep...
Note: I would have a lot more hours if my PC didn't currently have problems n bluescreen when I played some games :/ but I played lots before Steam version.
I type a lot :l
Tl;dr (too long; didn't read): read bold text.Graphics:
I put this first 'cause of the game's description of being the first hi-res 2D game, I find this particularly awesome (in all modern 2D fighting games) 'cause these games use pixel art whereby characters n most in-game elements are drawn pixel by pixel n animations are done via the same way as GIF images that play according to button input, I'm only assuming this is still how it works today n although I think KOFXIII's pixel art is more godly
Blazblue does a great job in keeping the characters alive throughout the battle n making beautiful, fun n non-distracting stages. Animations are smooth n special effects/attacks are pretty. You also get a wide variety of colour palettes when picking a character, more than most other games I've played, just remember to press start when selecting char. The UI/main menu is also very nice n simple.
P.S. You can skip pretty much all loading screens, just press start, how awesome is that!Gameplay:
For those not very familiar with fighting games, one thing to note is the main difference between 3D n 2D fighting games (IMO) is the pacing. Blazblue: Calamity Trigger incorporates this very well for me;
it's very fast-paced n requires almost if not constant input n quick response (in a good/hard match). The basic mechanics are very simple. Main input commands are 'weak attack', 'medium atack', 'strong attack' and 'drive' which is a special attack/ability that is unique to each character. Characters don't have a very large skill set but as with many 2D fighting games you can kinda make your own combos as you get used to the mechanics, making efficient use of your 'drive' n your position. There are
many levels of difficulty to use to your advantage ranging from very easy to hell mode so you can go from absolute beginner to master I guess :D n the AI is nothing to laugh at either.
Button response has about no delay in this game n attack animations are quick so countering n whatnot are something to look out for (I'm looking at you Hakumen).
Each character has about 2 super moves n one 'Astral' move, astral moves must be unlocked for most chars n can only be used under certain circumstances, rendering you high when you get to use it.Story (mode):
There is an arcade mode n a story mode, each with different endings for each character. First thing that really gave this game a unique identity to me was the
story mode, it plays out like a Visual Novel until you come across trouble n have to fight your way through. The narrative is written very well with no linguistic flaws (Engrish) n all dialogue said by any character is fully voiced n it is done absolutely well (even in English)! You have the option to choose b/w English n Japanese voices n although I would normally go with Japanese,
BB's English cast seem so perfectly fit for it n do a great job. Each character has their own story which includes most of the other characters (if not all) n
there are at least 2 routes/endings to each story. There is also additional dialogue/extra sequence if you're defeated n sometimes it triggers an alternate route/ending n to reach 100% completion you have to lose & win against each opponent. Tip: Basic sequence is - save game>fight>lose (game over)>load game>fight>win>repeat for 100% story completion. The story itself can be very confusing at first, depending on the order of characters you play in story mode, but overall I love it. Synopsis is available in game description :/
Characters:
BB's weakness, as the beginning of a fighting game franchise, is the no. of available chars.
There are 12 characters readily available to play with (including the boss/es), each very unique in design n fighting styles. Overall theme is very steampunk.
The character relationships are interesting n show in-game during a fight (through dialogue n pre-battle sequences). Later installments of BB add a lot of characters as well as some additions to existing characters' attacks.
Overall, I think the characters, their backgrounds n personalities, are more interesting than the main story n they're sorta what make it what it is.
Note: although later games have a lot more to offer, they kept changing artists for the character cards (what you see in the loading screen before a fight/the VS screen) n I think Calamity Trigger has the best artwork among all Blazblue titles. Noel Vermillion <3 Chronos Phantasma is great too but Continuum Shift's art is the worst IMO, wish we could get BB:CP next :/
Music:
It's Badass!
Aside from the main theme, ending credits theme ('Limited again', one of my faves), menu n whatnot, each character has their own fitting theme music n if you set bgm to auto it will play the theme of your opponent (iirc, or the stage, I'm not too sure).
The soundtrack is essentially a great mixture of heavy metal n orchestral music n as it is downloaded with the game, you can add it to your music library.
Extras:
There's a large gallery to unlock which includes concept art, character art, arcade end scenes n a few videos.
You can also unlock 'unlimited mode' versions of characters by completing arcade which is a slightly powered up version of the character that you can set when selecting characters for vs battle (not sure about arcade battle).
Also, I really hate this games opening, mainly because the one on PSP was far better IMO.
The PSP version's opening had the same video (second video up there) but used the music from the first trailer up there on the store page, it was so badass n much more fitting than this song I think (see on youtube)...I used to watch it everytime on PSP but I must skip it on PC
Special element:One of the best things about BB (IMO) is the
special element of immersion in the game, characters are lively n have a lot of dialogue within a battle + unique dialogue for certain characters. There are also some special animations before a battle between some characters. This makes it more fun n interesting when you listen to their insults n comments while you fight. For example
when you play as Jin n launch a super move (iirc) at Noel (the beauty to the left, my pic) he shouts "Noel, you ♥♥♥♥♥!!" n she keeps begging "Major, please stop". Between Ragna n Noel, Ragna keeps calling her stupid (when you grab/throw) n when she launches a super move on him she shouts "Ragnaaa! You're stupid!" There's also a short battle sequence before ragna n Jin start a battle n a recitation of their oath before Noel n Jin fight. This adds tension and/or enjoyment to the already exciting battles. The normal dialogue in a fight also adds so much more, like characters saying "Saw that!" n "Missed!" when you dodge/block/counter.
I just love how there's so much effort n personal touches put into this intoductory title.
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