Visionary Nexus Network

We all have been subjected to one sparkling gem in every video game series, one that truly defines the genre and stands out amongst the rest as one of the best. Whether it be Bioshock for shooters, Pokemon for RPGs, or other games, these titles truly stand out amongst the others. Aksys has been known for bringing 2D sprite based fighters of this caliber and BlazBlue is no exception to this. Being nothing short of jaw dropping amazing, BlazBlue has lived up to my every expectation and more.

The spiritual successor to Guilty Gear, BlazBlue takes draws of the themes from Guilty Gear. Bizarre characters, good guy vs. secretly good bad guy rivalry, and massive wars. Borrowing all these things from Guilty Gear, as well as the style itself, you’d think it would be a carbon clone right? Wrong! BlazBlue’s cast is so unique and differentiated that the comparisons to Guilty Gear stop at every character being strange. The feeling that Ragna is really a misunderstood good guy trying to take down a corrupted government really sinks in. The idea that Jin is really a psychotic creep out to murder Ragna really shows. Every character and their personality is well shown in this game.

Being a brand new installment, BlazBlue brings a cast of 12 unique characters to duke it out in Kagutsuchi. Featuring gems like Ragna the Bloodedge, the man in possession of the Azure Grimoire which has earned him the attention of the world as he has the largest bounty on his head, or Jin Kisaragi, the war hero of the Ikaruga War who’s out to kill Ragna. Each character possess their own special drive ability that makes them truly unique amongst the cast. Each drive brings a special gimmick that the character has to use to their fullest if they want to win.

The game takes place in Kagutsuchi, the fictional 13^th Hierachical City. It’s been 100 years since the Dark Wars, the war between mankind and the Black Beast. As humanity was facing its darkest hour, six legendary heroes banded together and with the power of Ars Magus, destroyed the Black Beast. With the creature’s death comes the terrible price of seithir being spread across the world, which kills off most things on the ground. With the release of seithir, Ars Magus begin to come into use, leaving those who can’t use Ars Magus helpless against those who can’t. I’d go on, but I’d rather not spoil anything more for you.

As we are a generation constantly worried about looks, BlazBlue has to dish out some impressive graphics… which it does with ease. All of the character sprites look incredible and mesh together with the 3D background seamlessly, creating an amazing and unique looking game. The menus also look incredible and are rather easy to navigate. Overall, BlazBlue looks incredibly polished as a game and will stun you with how gorgeous it is. The anime style might put some people off, but everyone has their own preferences.

Of course, what’s a good looking game without incredible gameplay? A one trick pony, that’s what! And BlazBlue is definitely not a one trick pony. While on the surface it’s easy to learn, needing four buttons to do various attacks and string together combos plus the Easy Specials ability for beginners, the depth to this game is unparalleled so that even the hardcore fighting gamers will have something to master. Of course, there are some minor issues with certain characters being spammable and having an incredible amount of priority, though in the end the characters are really balanced. Hakumen hits hard, but he’s slow and all his specials consume his heat gauge. Jin is the master at freezing enemies and riding projectiles, but his ability to take on rushdown characters is questionable. All in all, this game is tailor made for anyone with even the slightest interest in fighting games.

With only 12 characters, an arcade mode, score attack mode, story mode, and VS. mode, you’d think you’d eventually get tired of this game. Well, if you ever get tired of all of those things, you can move on to fight opponent online through Xbox Live or the Playstation Network. Online mode offers you the chance to fight opponents from anywhere in the world, playing either for rank or for fun. The online of BlazBlue works incredibly well, presenting only slight lag before the match begins on average (Syke note: It has something to do with the players’ connections being synchronized before the start of every match. It’s so awesome; why don’t more games execute this simple but elegant solution?!). It also allows up to 6 people in a lobby to fight (Syke note: 2 do battle while the other 4 watch as spectators). The lobby is customizable to allow certain levels of player, the use of unlimited characters or not, and other things. The players can even choose to record the match they just fought and replay it later in the replay theater.

With all this said, is BlazBlue the game for you? If you have the slightest interest in fighting games, get this game. If you’re a Guilty Gear fan, get this game. If you love well polished games and something with tons of replay, get this game. I fully recommend BlazBlue for anyone into those things. This is a great game that truly encompasses everything great about 2D fighters and will without a doubt bring about an amazing hardcore community for years to come. So if you’re reading this and you like any of the things mentioned above, get the hell out and buy this game!

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