Review BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review

kayos90

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<div align="center"><img src="http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/7613/blazbluexbox360.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review</div>

This is the Video Review for BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. Although it's my first one, I tried to make it as professional as possible. Feel free to critique me, my pronunciation may be weird because I'm wearing braces. Below the video is the full written review. Check both of them out and Thank You!

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BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review

Story (Negligible in Final Score) ---- 7
Gameplay ------------------------------ 9
Graphics -------------------------------- 9
Sound ----------------------------------- 9
Tilt/Value ----------------------------- 10

Introduction

Having been out for several months in Japanese arcade systems, Blazblue has becoming a fighting phenomenon overseas. Developed by Arc System Works, developers of Guilty Gear, and published by Aksys games, Blazblue just suddenly throws itself into the fighting genre competition especially when Street Fighter IV was released earlier in the year. However, what the game has to offer brings the whole entire genre to a new level of fun and depth.

Story (Negligible in Final Score) ---- 7

The story takes place in the 13th hierarchical city of Kagutsuchi with a large cast of characters. There is a criminal up for bounty named Ragna the Bloodedge and everyone is out to get him. However, what seems to be a simple story of catching the criminal becomes a complex story for a 2-D fighter. The player has a mode in the game called Story Mode in which they will take various routes from a single character that will lead to numerous endings available to that character. Once the player has completed all of the character routes for every character, all the story endings will come together and reveal what really happened in the world of BlazBlue.

As said before, the story in BlazBlue certainly is complicated for a 2-D fighter but it is not magnificent. There is a brilliant cast of characters that will bring smiles, laughter, and frowns, but for the most part they all play an important role in the story. Unfortunately, the story itself can get pretty convoluted and most of the times confusing when trying to puzzle the storyline of one character with another. The good thing is that the game does not offer the story as part of the main gameplay but rather something for the players to spend their time with once they are bored with some of the other modes that BlazBlue has to offer, if that is even possible. Because of this fact, the story of the game, not the story mode, will not count against the game’s overall score due to its lack of relevance to the actual game.

Gameplay ------------------------------- 9

What BlazBlue has to offers can vary depending on the player but there is one fact that will still remain true, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is not a game that should be judged before tried. The game appears to be a simple 2-D fighter with 2-D anime style characters fighting against each other. However, behind that demeaning façade is a very deep combat system with an amazing large community that might even rival Street Fighter IV.

The game is very simple fighter with 4 action buttons A, B, C, D which are X, Y, A, B respectively that does low, middle, high, and drive attacks also respectively against the opponent until their health meter drains.The low, middle, and high attacks are simple attacks and can be changed with different directions, however, the Drive attacks is much different. The Drive attack allows each character to unleash their special attacks. Two examples of these are Ragna and Jin. Ragna’s Drive allows him to use demonic attacks against the opponent and if it hits, it will drain 10% of the damage that has been inflicted against the opponent. Jin’s Drive allows him to freeze his opponent so that they will be unable to move for a short amount of time. Each Drive attack is unique to each different character and learning when and how to use the Drive effectively will help the player to master the character. Not only are there the 4 buttons but by using a specific joystick input along with certain buttons, the player will be able to use special moves such as Rachel’s electric shock or Noel’s Optic Blast. Learning all of the character’s moveset is essential to mastering the game but knowing how to use each move in a combo will separate the pros from casuals. There are various gameplay features that make the fighter complex such as barrier blocks that will not diminish your health when blocking and dash cancels which will stop your current animation to start a new one. Each of these features that are implemented in the game are essential in mastering a character and help move from just knowing the game to understanding the game. BlazBlue truly is a deep fighter that strays away from button mashing.

BlazBlue has various modes such as Arcade Mode, Story Mode, and Score Attack Mode. All of these will last the players a long time but what will last the players the most will e the Network Mode which will allow the player to go head to head against another player online. The online support is amazing and allows the player to truly delve into what the game has to offer. The player has two types of matches which are ranked and player. Regardless of which, the player will fight against an opponent and earn experience. Winning will yield a much larger experience and losing will only yield 10 or little. Gaining experience will increase your skill level and you will be able to fight with players on a higher level than you. Not only this but the player can create a lobby with 6 players that switches off players in various ways much like an arcade machine and fight. Beyond just playing, the player can look on the leaderboards and see the stats of each player such as win losses and their main character but also download their uploaded video. In the uploaded video will be a recorded fight and this will help to improve the player’s skill by learning and watching their moves. There is much to do online.

However, not only is the gameplay mechanics what makes the game amazing but it is the 12 unique and differential characters that make the game what it is. Each character fights differently and have their own unique movesets and Drive attacks. Learning one character will not make you just as good a fighter with another character. Each character is so intricately created that mastering all of them is just simply not possible. The way the game is created is that it advises player stick with only one or two characters so that they may understand the true core gameplay style of the characters. Because of how different each character is, 12 characters is in fact an amazing roster and no characters are extremely broken of underpowered.

Graphics -------------------------------- 9

The graphics of the game, although it can be frowned upon, is simply put a work of art. The game has very much of an anime-esque feel but that should not turn players away from this game. The art is very vibrant and simply amazing with each character having detail down to the inner clothings that they wear. Not only this but the art retains its beauty while in combat and is even more amazing when looking through the art gallery or the portraits of characters in story. While the characters are fighting, the background doesn’t look realistic but the way it is generated and rendered can only be a new way of art. The graphical presentation of the game can’t be described in simple words but has to be looked upon to understand its true amazingness. The animations of each character are extremely fluid and definitely shows that 2-D character animations can be just as good as 3-D when implemented correctly. There is no broken attack animations or blocking but just simple 60fps fighting with no breakdown anywhere at all.

Unfortunately the game does suffer from a minor problem and that is Standard and High-Definition viewing. BlazBlue is meant to be played on HD and because of this the game will look a little jaggedy and somewhat distorted on Standard Definition. Not only this but the game goes out of the screen on standard and there is no way to adjust. Although the game can still be played and there are no problems it does deter from the perfect and fine-tune experience that the game could’ve offered.

Sound ----------------------------------- 9

The audio for BlazBlue is surprisingly excellent. All of the English voices for all of the characters are superb and portrayed well. Taokaka’s voice is a key example as to how a stupid part beast-human should sound, and Jin’s psychotic voice is excellently presented. Not only this but the game also offers the original Japanese audio track, for those that believe the English dub is absolutely horrible. Both sound great and is a great extra feature to give the players the option to choose what to listen to. Along with the character voices the sound effects in the game aren’t phenomenal but still great. There is the sound of someone freezing and then shattering from the ice, a person who’s flying and floating through the air, someone getting zapped by electricity, and much more. Every sound is intricate and the player definitely knows what’s going on. Last but not least the game’s musical score is phenomenal. The musical track consists of heavy rock and metal with a slight hint of opera. Each character has their own theme song and all of them are great and would even make some of the crazier guitar solo bands such as Dragonforce jealous. Sadly there are a few mishaps in the audio here and there such as bad corny dialogue and horrible English pronunciations. All in all, the audio is by far one of the strongest that the industry has seen from a localized Japanese game.

Tilt/Value ----------------------------- 10

BlazBlue has so many extras and there are so many things that will take the game a long way. The standard Arcade Mode will take maybe 30 minutes or so but the difficulty can be changed so that the player can do what they want for practice or just have a good challenge. There is the unbelievably hard Score Attack Mode which might take forever if you aren’t careful, a local Versus Mode, Network Mode, Gallery, Training, and Replay Theater. The story mode is like a visual novel and there are multiple routes depending what questions you answer in a certain path or how you fight. Each character has a certain percentage completion for the story and it can be tedious but the Story Mode is still an excellent addition that can add a lot of amusement for the player. Not only is the Story Mode a worthy addition to the game but the Network Mode will keep players going online for many many months to come. Along with those modes there is the Gallery which players can unlock videos and exclusive art that are fun to collect. There is the Replay Theater in which players can download videos that other people have uploaded and watch them. This will assist in how to better play a character and maybe some hilarity that ensued in the match. Last but not least there is the Training Mode where players can hone certain moves and combos so they may refine their playing style. Everything that BlazBlue has to offer goes above and beyond the normal and is definitely worth the full market price. There is no end to this game.

Conclusion (With the Reader’s Addition/Subtraction) ----- 9.4

BlazBlue in short is an absolute godsend to those who wish to play a fighting game with style and flashiness but not with the slow pace that Street Fighter has to offer. The game is absolutely exhilarating and there is never a moment of downtime. The gameplay will keep players on edge and the replayability and the extras that the game has to offer will take Blazblue a long way. The visuals will drop jaws considering this is a different take on recent games like Gears of War and Call of Duty and the audio is well done considering some other games out there. BlazBlue is a game that everyone should look into whether they are looking for a hardcore fighting game or a casual game that players can easily pick up and screw around with. This is the Calamity Trigger that will set the world loose.
 

Shakraka

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You seem to have trouble pronouncing words correctly throughout the video, but I think that's because you're trying to talk too fast. Slow down your pace and practice the script a little and you should be fine.

Other than that, this is a nice review. I'm really into BlazBlue as well, and I agree with a lot of the things you mentioned in the review.
 

kayos90

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actually that's because i have braces in my mouth so meh.... anyway, i tried to pronounce things as best as i could and if i screwed up i tried to improvise, so.... yea. Written review will be up by tonight or later this afternoon. Thanks guys!
 

ojsinnerz.

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Cablephish said:
Blazblue looks interesting. I'm waiting on KoF 12 though. It looks like an amazing game, and I might consider getting Blazblue eventually.

I played it, being a huge KOF fan myself. If you loved KOF XI for it's mechanics, you're not going to enjoy 12 as much as XI. But if you're somewhat new to the series, or is more of a casual fan of KOF, then it's an enjoyable game.


And I JUST got my copy of BB today. With the fighting stick, it's incredibly fun to play.
 

deathfisaro

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The game's actually good.
But I felt the balancing in Guilty Gear was far better.

Some characters are a disaster to play or play against.
(But nothing abusing crappy AI can't fix. I'm talking about Score Attack's unlimited duo)
 

ojsinnerz.

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While versing an experienced Arakune and Rachels can be difficult, it's not a disaster. The balance isn't horrible, it's certainly better than Accent Core plus, imo. Testament, Slayer, and Eddie, anyone? Besides. Being a first game in it's possible series, it's not bad at all.

I've versed numerous players that play like a decent arakune and Rachels, and I managed to beat a few of them using Jin and Arakune.

Oh, and if any of you think Hakumen is cheap, he's not. He's not overpowered at all. Rachel? She takes a lot of skill to control the wind. Arakune? He's not THAT hard to learn, but I normally see a pattern on how they throw the bees, so I avoid them. V13? She needs a bit of balancing, yes. Everyone else is fine.
 

deathfisaro

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Hmm.. I didn't feel that Arakune or Rachel were overpowered.

Iron Tager doesn't even have dash (and have you checked his HP? I think he can take more than a couple thousand damage than Carl. Not everybody's HP is at 10k)
Carl's Nirvana is soft as tofu (not to mention taking forever to repair)

Hakumen is rather well-balanced. It's got great attack damage, reach, and counters but it's mobility is very limited.
Taokaka's like the exact opposite, it's got mobility but nothing else.

Of course I haven't put in hours and hours to perfect every character, but I've never picked a character and said WTF after a couple minutes while playing SC4 or SF4
 

ojsinnerz.

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deathfisaro said:
Hmm.. I didn't feel that Arakune or Rachel were overpowered.

Iron Tager doesn't even have dash (and have you checked his HP? I think he can take more than a couple thousand damage than Carl. Not everybody's HP is at 10k)
Carl's Nirvana is soft as tofu (not to mention taking forever to repair)

Hakumen is rather well-balanced. It's got great attack damage, reach, and counters but it's mobility is very limited.
Taokaka's like the exact opposite, it's got mobility but nothing else.

Of course I haven't put in hours and hours to perfect every character, but I've never picked a character and said WTF after a couple minutes while playing SC4 or SF4

Arakune and Rachel aren't overpowered, but they can be pretty annoying to fight against, when the opponent is experienced. Especially Arakune, since you'll most likely be stuck in one place, since his "bees" attacks take up the entire screen, making it hard for anyone to dodge it.

Carl has the lowest health, at 9k. But, if you can use him properly, he has a few endless loop attacks, and has a lot of annoying things to deal with. So far, I've only seen a handful of people do this, so it's not that big of a deal. But Carl requires a setup for the loops. Otherwise, he's very hard to master.

Oh, and Carl, Ragna, and Nu/v13 has under 10k health.

EDIT: Ugh, I fucking hate having to verse flowchart Jins. They just back away, ice sword, and spam C/ Use SekkaJin, which cancels most of my own Jin's specials. Not to mention, since they do it constantly, using barrier burst would make it even worse. Afterwards, they'll ice car, and that's the only time when I can punish them, and go in for a simple combo, or a loop combo I found with Jin. But if I miss, they just spam C again, and do heaps of damage. Then, if I try to freeze them, they ice car, and hit me. If I use anything else, they'll use "arctic dagger" on me, thus killing me.

The only thing I can really do is to stop them with Jin's invincibles when they ice car. Thats the only time I can hit'em hard, it seems...
 

rommy667

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Great review
smile.gif
Im so pi**ed off that this one is regoin locked with no news of a pal rls for fu*k sake guilty gear 2 just came out in pal nearly 1 FULL yr after its usa rls prob 2 after the jap rls.........
 

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Nice review, I agree with much of what is said from my own experiences of the game.

I might get it at some point in the future, but they have the arcade version at one of my local game stores, so i'll maybe wait for a price drop.
 

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