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
Even blocking has been turned into a new source of depth. Normal blocks are fine, sure, but all characters can use a Barrier Block, a shield that pushes opponents back but drains a slowly-recharging meter. Completely draining the meter puts you in Danger Mode, where defense turns to complete crap. Normal blocks are something of a mini-game, though, as every single one moves the needle of the Guard Libra gauge one way or the other. If it fills completely, the person guarding is sent into Barrier Crash status and can essentially be pounded on. See? No more turtling for most of the match. Offense and defense are wonderfully balanced.
Oh, and for those that still need their Last Resort Option, there's the Dr. Steve Brule-endorsed Barrier Burst. Trading an instant (and round-permanent) Danger Mode for a shockwave that can completely break you out of any combo, Barrier Bursts are the ultimate form of risk meeting reward -- or at the very least represent an "ohshitohshitohshit" button that can be used when near-death anyway. Like all of BlazBlue's more advanced moves, though, it can be used strategically to shift the flow of a fight with proper reaction times.
In perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the entire package, those reaction times won't really have to change when you hop online. The netcode in this game is solid. Better, even, it's the best I've ever seen in a fighter. International matches, local matches -- even a few games I played while accidentally leaving a torrent going were flawless. I'm absolutely floored by how well this game handles online play when seemingly every other fighter has at least some issues. Finding a game, getting into it and rolling out is a breeze (barring a bit of pre-match synching while the game apparently calls forth dark forces from the The Pit to make it all run so well), and I really can't praise the game enough for working almost exactly as it does online as when you're playing locally.
And after a match? Yeah, you can save the entire thing to your hard drive and play it back at multiple speeds, learning where you went wrong (or oh so right) and even breaking down opponent techniques and patters if you're the obsessive sort. Wow.
Oh, hey, apply that "wow" sentiment to the visuals while you're at it. Arc System Works was always at the forefront of continuing to push huge, detailed, well animated (if slightly stiff) sprites with their standard-def offerings, but the move to HD is glorious. This is how you keep 2D sprite-based fighters relevant; the dozen-strong roster isn't quite as quirky and weird as Guilty Gear's, but there's still enough whacked-out creations to keep the WTF-level reactions up upon first meeting them, and every character has their own feel and absolutely stunning amount of detail that comes largely from seeing how they all move. The backgrounds, too, are teeming with detail and movement and so distracting that more than a few times I ended up losing a match because I'd neglected something happening in the fore while staring at all the purdy stuff in the background.
The soundtrack is, predictably, rife with wailing guitars and epic swells, but it's not quite as over-the-top as the Guilty Gear track list. That's not saying it's bad -- far from it -- but I didn't quite get the hooks this time around like I did with my first taste of Arc System Works' tunes. Thankfully, the voice acting in the rather lengthy (and branched... and interlocking... and interesting) story arcs is certainly tolerable in English and the Japanese versions are included too for purists. You'll miss out on plenty of "Boobie Lady" mentions, though, so... well, that's probably a good thing.
All of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is a good thing. It's insanely deep, it's the new torch bearer for hand-drawn sprite-driven 2D fighters and it's absolutely, unequivocally an awesome game. Go buy it. Seriously.
