Every once in a while, a new, magical game experience comes out of nowhere. You give a game a chance that you know in your heart is good but quiver with anxiety on the edge of the actual purchase. And then you take it home, and it’s nothing but non-stop excitement and excellence, a game that you will always remember fondly. Perhaps that’s too ringing an endorsement for BlazBlue (often pronounced “Blaze Blue”), but probably not.

A particularly beautiful stage

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger-the one game any fighter fan should not currently be without. Developed by rising star-studio Arc System Works, the creators of the infamous Guilty Gear series, BlazBlue is a beauty of a game. Forget the fact that you don’t like “strange” character design and extremely flashy 2d graphics, and forget the fact that you weren’t too terribly smitten with Guilty Gear. BlazBlue carries over much of the design focus of its spiritual predecessor, but presents it in a new, crystal-clear experience accessible to everyone both in terms of game play and creative elements without losing its in-born fire and technicality.

Rachel vs. Ragna

As in any other fighting game, there is an immense roster of highly diverse characters. Well, actually, there are twelve, which compared to other more established franchises may seem small-but it is impressive for a first title in a series. What makes BlazBlue’s characters compelling isn’t just their excellent stories, top-notch voice acting and visual design, no, no. Each and every one is unique in battle-enough so that they all have distinctly different experiences associated with them. This is something most fighting games can’t quite touch, and it’s a big piece of what sets BlazBlue apart.

Character selection screen

The combat system is deep, fun, and fast-paced, as expected. For the three strengths of attacks (weak, medium and high), which see you throwing fast jabs, powerful kicks, blows with weapons and all kinds of other things, there is also the complimentary drive button. Drive attacks work like the others but with far more varied traits amongst characters. Additionally, with a prerequisite amount of “heat” (shown in a gauge), each character has access to several “distortion drive” attacks which have truly powerful effects. Likewise, “astral heat” moves become usable under end-game circumstances and are more or less an assured K.O. Combined with a heavy emphasis on speedy, skillful movement in all directions on the battlefield (a rarity in a “true” fighting game), drive moves deliver character-specific mechanics that make the game a joy to play.

Hakumen activates a distortion drive

For instance, Arakune, the “blob character” of BlazBlue, can use his drive to become invisible, and also is able to spawn strange creatures that attack the enemy and inflict upon them a curse for additional utility. He is also able to warp around the screen, sinking into the ground and reappearing elsewhere, among other things.

Another character, the cat-woman Taokaka (yes, that’s the name) is able to pounce at high speeds across distances and through the air, and bounce off of her target like a pinball, which is also naturally useful in combos involving her vicious claw sweeps and punches. Yet another character, the pint-sized Rachel Alucard (yes, she’s a vampire) is able to control strong winds in any direction that push her and the enemy character with great force; her umbrella allows her to sail through the air as she does so, creating plenty of potential for an attack. She also uses energy beams from the sky. All of this is only a taste; other interesting properties, and an incredible variation of different “normal” attacks exist which players will doubtless find creative use for as the experience becomes mainstream in online matches.

One of Jin's awesome but admittedly cheap ice-based drive moves

Speaking of online play, BlazBlue’s online experience is nearly flawless. Lag time kills anything that derives its competitiveness from split-second timing and frame-for-frame precision, but Arc System Works has done a splendid job of elegantly coding their online component. The result is a nearly unrivaled online integrity and reliability that puts things like Soul Caliber IV to shame.

Now on to the graphics: As a 2d fighter in an era of waning interest for light-blooming and unrealistic realism, this game nailed its visuals. As in Guilty Gear, they are smooth, detailed and awesome. The character sprites are high-resolution, well-animated and highly entertaining just simply to watch. The backgrounds themselves are 3d but so tastefully created that they perfectly compliment the two-dimensional characters in color and quality. Moves are flashy, attention-grabbing and convey perfectly the force and inherent effect. When things really start to heat up, the screen becomes a phantasmagoria of color, patterns, people, weapons and unleashed energy. In particular, distortion drives and astral heat moves take a character and turn them into a powerhouse, with spinning symbols, a sudden change in background and… well, something ludicrous happening. There are those who complain that there’s too much going on to always tell what they should be doing-something like sensory overload via graphical noise. That’s ok; true fighting game junkies will almost certainly be able to handle the intensity, and the chaos is, in truth, well orchestrated overall. Did I mention it’s sweet nirvana just to watch?

Size comparison between sprites: BlazBlue (left) and Guilty Gear (right)

The story mode in the game is actually not a chore to play through. Fabulous voice acting in still-frame cut scenes makes each character’s story rather entertaining, and the game isn’t too punishing in the inevitable fights that result. Given that each character has several branches of story possibility they can travel down, it will take several goes before each one is 100% complete. The story itself is well-interwoven amongst the whole cast, and though it may sometimes rely on ever culturally-obtuse anime conventions, it’s pretty interesting on the whole. I found Ragna and Tager to be particularly amusing. By and by, how many fighting games out there actually see an increase in appeal for playing certain characters because of a sparkling evocation of personality? Less than half of a baker’s dozen, probably. Additionally, sketch comedy-like episodes of “Teach me, Ms. Litchi” become periodically available to break up the action and put a more light-hearted spin on things, with at least a few really funny dialogues between the game’s personalities.

An example of the story mode scenes, featuring none other than Bang Shishigami

The music and sound are also surprisingly good, as this is an area where many fighting games tend to skimp a bit. I sometimes felt I was hearing Guilty Gear through a science-fair tin can speaker, but the sound is crisp and textured in BlazBlue. The music is good as a background element; it revs up the style and intensity of an already frenetic experience. The track that plays when the game is presenting the oncoming match is as unmistakable as the rising sun and enthralls the players into a hermeneutic of pure fighting passion.

Ragna catches v-13 in an aerial slash

And then it’s all the small things-detailed crests that identify each character (and appear during distortion drives), the way each character delivers specific lines depending on who they face, the light and easy sense of movement, the rush of being able to dodge a game-breaker and create an upset… unlockable artwork…

For those gamers who don’t already have a good working knowledge of the complexities in the fighting genre, fear not. Though running combo chains, tricky cancels and hyper-quick timing are necessary to be competitive online, the game is excellent out of the box and very beginner friendly. If you’d like to learn how to play a particular character to the utmost, Gamefaqs and Youtube are excellent places to look for information, the latter giving plenty of demonstrations. There is a short list of select moves in-game accessible via the in-fight menu to get the ball rolling. Given the sheer grandeur and power of many combo chains, I can only assume most players will want to get to know their way around their chosen combatants post-haste. Of course, just booting it up and playing with no training is quite fun, too.

Overall, despite appearing insane enough to scare some people away, and being somewhat confusing visually for some players, BlazBlue is sure to be just what Arc System Works wanted-a new franchise to take the place of Guilty Gear. It treads faithfully in the footsteps of its predecessor but with a fresh perspective, vastly enhanced and wild fight mechanics and more accessibility. If there were ever a time and place to pick up on the more technical side of the fighting genre rather than simply resorting to Smash Bros., that time, that place… is BlazBlue.

Syndic Shadow’s Score: 8.5 / 10

Official BlazBlue Website: http://blazblue.jp/us/

The entire cast, chibi'fied-just for you