The fighting genre re-birth continues with BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger by Ark System Works. Its gorgeous, plays like a dream, and has online features that rival those of a first person shooter. Click the jump to learn more about the game that kicks Street Fighter IV’s butt.
Overall: 9.8
Presentation: 9.7
Graphics: 9.8
Sound: 9.8
Gameplay: 9.9
Replay Value: 9.9

Before I go any further with this review, let me state this right off the bat: BlazBlue deserves to be purchased by everyone who has a Playstation 3 or an Xbox360. I know it won’t be, but it deserves to be. I hope Arc System Works makes tons of money on this game. Oh, and the game industry as a whole should take some notes on how to produce a decent “Limited Edition” package.

I’m not going to spend too much time talking about the story–after all, this is a fighting game. The story to it’s own merit is somewhat interesting, but don’t expect a Final Fantasy quality story. In a nutshell, “The Beast”–a creature that nearly destroyed the world generations ago, has re-incarnated as a warrior named Ragna “The Blood Edge.” His goal is to destroy the oppressive governing body called the Novus Orbis Librarium. The other 11 characters in the game seek Ragna for their own reasons–which range from the bounty on Ragna’s head, to mere curiosity.

The first thing you’ll notice when you boot up BlazBlue are the jaw-dropping graphics. All of the 12 characters in the fight roster have that distinctive “anime” look to them with sharp, crisp colors. The 3D backgrounds have a “steam-punk” motif to them, with just enough activity in them to make them intrigueing without distracting you during the fight. Whether you’re fighting in Rachel’s intricately detailed castle rose garden, or duking it out on Taokaka’s village street as the young ones chase after chickens for the village stew, you can’t help but be impressed by the visuals. This is Final Fantasy level stuff here–no joke.

Control is typical, but on point as a 2D fighter should be. Basically, there are only 4 buttons to concern yourself with: Weak attack, mid-attack, strong attack, and Drive. Drive activates, or powers each character’s special abilities. For example, for Noel, Drive allows her to chain her phisical attacks into hard hitting combos. Drive powers Ragna’s “Beast” abilities for high damage attacks and health regeneration, and Drive powers Jin’s ice-based offense. Special moves are done in typical “Street Fighter-ish” methods–meaning a lot of quarter-circle, half circle, and 360 degree movements. This means that very little well feel unfamiliar in regards to playing the different characters. You also have access to a barrier for advanced blocking techniques that allows for quicker recovery from attacks.

One of the many ways this game separates itself from the competition (aside from the stunning visuals) are the control options it offers the player. While using a high end arcade fight stick (like a Hori Real Arcade Pro, or a MadCatz TE) is the ideal solution, the game allows you to map some special attacks to the right stick of your DualShock 3. Flicking up, down, left, right, and pushing down on the right stick will execute your character’s special moves, so you don’t have to worry about splitting your thumb open on your digital pad trying to execute a fireball motion. Again, its not the ideal, but the option is appreciated for those who want a simplified fighting experience without having to invest in expensive genre specific controllers that fighting games typically require to be playable.

Gameplay is fast, with an emphasis on aggressive style play, and combos. The game encourages, you to be creative in your attack style–and you’ll need to be, especially if you expect to build up your win column online. At the upper center of the screen is a bar called the Guard Libra, which monitors the two fighters’ guard condition. Let the Guard Libra max out on your side, and your guard will be crushed–opening you up to more punishing attacks. “Turtlers” (fight slang for overly defensive players) need not apply. The fight system in this game is deep, without being overly complex. Often, adding a joystick motion to a button press will produce a different attack all together. Experimenting with these subtle differences will aid greatly in moving from noob to master.

The online features of BlazBlue are the new benchmark for fighting games. The game allows you to create a lobby for up to 6 players. You can set the number of spectators, reserve slots for friends, and set rotation options (winner plays / loser plays / random rotation). If players agree on it, the last round of ranked matches can be saved and uploaded through the games theatre feature. This is a great tool for reviewing how you played, and figuring on new strategies for that opponent should you face that opponent again. Using these online features not only makes this game shine all the more, but also shows how woefully inept the online features in Street Fighter IV actually are.

Finally, the overall package Arc System Works did on this game is amazing. For the same price as a typical retail game, you get 2 CDs of the haunting melodies of music from the game, and a BluRay disc containing tutorials from top BlazBlue players from Shoryuken.com and Dustloop.com (well worth viewing if you want to take your skill to a higher level).

While Street Fighter IV may carry the name recognition and the history, BlazBlue surpasses SFIV in every way–feature for feature. As of this writing King of Fighters XII hasn’t released yet, but as of right now, BlazBlue is the definitive fighter on any system right now, and is well worth your money.

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