Impressions: BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
While I would usually wait until I have more time with a game to do an official review, I feel multiple reasons why I should get the some initial impressions out on BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger sooner rather than later. First of all, it's fairly obvious that this game had a significantly smaller print. Second, it comes from the makers of the critically acclaimed Guilty Gear series. And lastly, it's so good that it demands to be talked about!
For most players, the fighting genre begins and ends with Capcom's various titles, but for those looking for deeper, quicker, and above all more challenging gameplay there's been few recent titles or series worth talking about, especially when it comes to 2D fighters on HD consoles. While developer Arc System Works could have just upscaled or touched up some of their ridiculously detailed Guilty Gear sprites the PS3 and 360 to please fans, the team went above and beyond by creating a totally new series with some ambitious goals.
If there ever was a game that was truly HD, this is it! Every visual element burns the screen with a level of detail not seen in any other title today, 2D or 3D. Those familiar with Guilty Gear already know what to expect in terms of over the top animations and effects, but for those new the developer's efforts are in for a spectacular treat. Continuing where Guilty Gear left off, the character roster here is wildly varied and are (from what I've encountered so far) well balanced with the minor exception of some single player Arcade Mode bosses.
Once acuminated to the game's surroundings, you'll discover one of the most in-depth fighters around. While the learning curve is certainly sharper than Street Fighter 4, it's nowhere near as technical as the Virtua Fighter series. You won't be required to count frames, but learning your character of choice's move-set backwards and forwards will be. Like many other 1v1 fighters, much of the fun here is dependant upon how dedicated you are to learning the moves and knowing when to use more powerful special moves. Fortunately for everyone, I found the game to be easily playable by both a standard gamepad and arcade stick.
Fighters have never been the place to find a great narrative experience, but there is a story here if you're desperate. Personally speaking I found it to be largely throwaway, but I enjoyed some of the hilariously performed English dialog in the same way that I enjoy terribly dubbed anime. This is the biggest "your mileage may vary" aspect of the game, but for those that hate it, it's easily skippable and not required to enjoy the overall game.
One of the biggest reasons that I wanted to talk about this game today was that I was really impressed with the goodies that came with the limited edition of the game. In a day and age when publishers are using limited editions to drain even more money from their fans with subpar goods, it was absolutely refreshing to go through the extras that came along with BlazBlue. The two main additions are a pair of comprehensive soundtrack CDs and a bonus DVD (or Bluray in the case of the PS3 version) that features tutorials and detailed techniques part together by the fighting masters of dustloop.com and shoryuken.com. These extras make up merch that typically sells for stacks of cash in most other countries, but the DVD/Bluray offers a great way for those new to the genre to learn the basics, as well as let more advanced players go into detail with their favorite characters. What's the best thing about these extras? The limited edition of BlazBlue will only run you $60. For the price of a "regular" PS3/360 titles, you'll get some of the most useful extras I've ever seen included with a limited edition. Of course, cheapskates can opt for the "standard edition" for $50 if they like.
It goes without saying that I'm really digging this game and it shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. With 12 characters to master and hundreds of people to pummel online, I'm predicting that this is one fighter that fans will want to partake in and will hopefully attract some new fans along the way. While the 360 version may be more readily available for now, tracking down a PS3 copy of this game down the road may become quickly, so I recommend that anyone interested in it should go pick it up promptly.
Game-Boy
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 2 July 2009
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: 360, arc system works, BlazBlue, impressions, limited edition, ps3
I completely agree that BlazBlue is an amazing fighter.
My biggest concern going into the game was with the characters, since they didn't seem quite as "out there" as Guilty Gear's cast. The strange characters are what first drew me into Guilty Gear, so the fairly generic looking main characters that were shown in most trailers scared me. Thankfully the characters are very diverse and unique. And they all play very, very differently, so there's a lot of gameplay diversity as well, and a character to fit any play style.
I also think it's worth mentioning how the game encourages a more offense-driven fight and actually penalizes players who block too much or run away. It keeps every round intense and exciting, and honestly I think it's the best feature in any fighting game.
I agree with NaviFairy completely. The offensive nature, the fast paced environment, the diverse cast, the unique playstyles, the incredible music, the beautiful visuals, the deep mechanics, the solid online play...gah! I can go on about the many things that BlazBlue did right!
This is THE fighting game for me, and I can't wait for the community to progress.
I LOOOVE THIS GAME!
i play carl, which isn't working out for me too well... but this is honestly one of the most well balanced, diverse, and hilarious (in a campy way...) game I've played in a long time!
I'm so very pleased with it!
Taokaka for the win! I'm gonna track down "Rawrgna" and get money for my village! And I'll do it with an adorable catgirl voice and lightning fast offensive techniques, meow!