Just Blaze
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is one of the most promising new franchises to hit fighting in years. Here's why.
Published: August 11, 2009
I mentioned this in our King of Fighters XII review, but a few years ago, nobody would have imagined fighting game fans would have not one, not two but five different fighters to choose from this year. It's an embarrassment of riches, honestly, and though some games might fare better than the rest, the renaissance of fighters is in full swing and even the weaker offerings would probably be considered play-worthy in any other year. This year, though, there are standout offerings in multiple styles, the most interestingly complex of them belonging to Guilty Gear creators Arc System Works' BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger.
Simply put, BlazBlue stands as one of the most promising 2D fighters to emerge in over a decade. It's clear that Arc System Works, took lessons learned from their previous outings, poured over the criticisms and notes, and set to work to make their breakout hit. Congrats, guys; mission accomplished. I've little doubt that only the hardcore fighting game crowd with glom onto things at first, but all it takes it just a bit of patience and a little instruction (a massive helping of which comes from the tutorial DVD included in the deluxe edition, which everyone should pick up), and the game blossoms into something relentlessly addictive and constantly, seemingly endlessly rewarding.
The key to that addiction comes from the very thing all good fighters need: layers. First impressions of the game give it the feel of a fairly traditional 2D fighter, but the more you play, learning each characters' move sets, the more the game's intense use of control over space and pacing becomes apparent. Add in the fact that every character has a super-jump (and some a double version), and suddenly controlling vertical space becomes as important as maintaining the traditional horizontal plan.
Careful attention was paid to adding enough starting characters that most can button mash and quarter-circle their way to victory early on, but some of the more advanced characters allow for an astonishing amount of baiting, trap laying and insanely cool time bomb moves that create absolutely epic combos. This is truly a game that's as fun to watch under the hand of an advanced player as it is to actually control.
There's also the issue of pacing. BlazBlue is a decidedly languid experience at times, one meant to allow for careful planning, creative reactions and modification to strategies on the fly. Ordinarily this is something I was never really capable in other fighters, instead defaulting to muscle memory and memorization of basic blocks of move sets to help me get through things. It was still strategic, but BlazBlue actively invites experimentation, and that's an extremely important distinction. It's made all the more interesting because dashing (especially mid-air) changes how space is managed, making for quick in/out bursts of action instead of incessant turtling or rushdowns that define other fighters. Everyone (well, save for poor dash-less Tager) is agile, reactive... and yet not spastic. It's not a slow fighter, but rather one that allows for amazing temporal elasticity; spazzy players can be punished, and hang-back opponents can be baited into a quick move that can end the battle in seconds.
I'll be honest, though: at first, I didn't really know what the hell was going on. You're given light/medium/hard attacks and an instant, excessively combo-friendly Drive button, but there are mystery meters everywhere and nearly everything in a given battle seems to affect them. Advanced moves like Distortion Drive (read: Supers) and Astral Heats (a third-round-only ubermove meant to rub in a victory with an insanely over-the-top, screen-filling instant kill) pull from the Heat Meter, but so does activating a Rapid Cancel (which breaks a combo and lets you instantly move into another one) and Counter Assaults (a block that turns into a counter).
Simply put, BlazBlue stands as one of the most promising 2D fighters to emerge in over a decade. It's clear that Arc System Works, took lessons learned from their previous outings, poured over the criticisms and notes, and set to work to make their breakout hit. Congrats, guys; mission accomplished. I've little doubt that only the hardcore fighting game crowd with glom onto things at first, but all it takes it just a bit of patience and a little instruction (a massive helping of which comes from the tutorial DVD included in the deluxe edition, which everyone should pick up), and the game blossoms into something relentlessly addictive and constantly, seemingly endlessly rewarding.
The key to that addiction comes from the very thing all good fighters need: layers. First impressions of the game give it the feel of a fairly traditional 2D fighter, but the more you play, learning each characters' move sets, the more the game's intense use of control over space and pacing becomes apparent. Add in the fact that every character has a super-jump (and some a double version), and suddenly controlling vertical space becomes as important as maintaining the traditional horizontal plan.
Careful attention was paid to adding enough starting characters that most can button mash and quarter-circle their way to victory early on, but some of the more advanced characters allow for an astonishing amount of baiting, trap laying and insanely cool time bomb moves that create absolutely epic combos. This is truly a game that's as fun to watch under the hand of an advanced player as it is to actually control.
There's also the issue of pacing. BlazBlue is a decidedly languid experience at times, one meant to allow for careful planning, creative reactions and modification to strategies on the fly. Ordinarily this is something I was never really capable in other fighters, instead defaulting to muscle memory and memorization of basic blocks of move sets to help me get through things. It was still strategic, but BlazBlue actively invites experimentation, and that's an extremely important distinction. It's made all the more interesting because dashing (especially mid-air) changes how space is managed, making for quick in/out bursts of action instead of incessant turtling or rushdowns that define other fighters. Everyone (well, save for poor dash-less Tager) is agile, reactive... and yet not spastic. It's not a slow fighter, but rather one that allows for amazing temporal elasticity; spazzy players can be punished, and hang-back opponents can be baited into a quick move that can end the battle in seconds.
I'll be honest, though: at first, I didn't really know what the hell was going on. You're given light/medium/hard attacks and an instant, excessively combo-friendly Drive button, but there are mystery meters everywhere and nearly everything in a given battle seems to affect them. Advanced moves like Distortion Drive (read: Supers) and Astral Heats (a third-round-only ubermove meant to rub in a victory with an insanely over-the-top, screen-filling instant kill) pull from the Heat Meter, but so does activating a Rapid Cancel (which breaks a combo and lets you instantly move into another one) and Counter Assaults (a block that turns into a counter).
