BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is the spiritual successor to Guilty Gear, the incredibly popular, exceptionally well animated 2D fighting game by Arc System Works.

Some similarities carry over from the previous titles by Arc System Works but the main thing that stands out when you start the game is the amount of time it must have taken to animate it. The animation in BlazBlue: CT is what sets it apart from every other fighting game I’ve played. I’d say it’s by far the most aesthetically pleasing fighter I’ve ever layed my eyes on, it seems to be able to draw your eyes to the characters even though the backgrounds are so incredibly detailed.  It mimics an anime style of artwork, rich backgrounds, incredibly detailed character design and move animations, it makes watching the game an absolute joy and playing it a delight. It feels like you are playing a cartoon more than a game.

If you are looking at BlazBlue with Street Fighter eyes, be prepared for a wake up. This game is fast, frenetic and you have to be constantly on top of what you are doing. The ability to combo on the ground and in the air and the motion involved in the game make this title excellent for people who want to push the combos. Even when you have downed an opponent, you still have the opportunity to capitalise on their unblockable state, making this a much more calculated affair. With various types of blocks and counters available, I would advise any new comer to take the time to learn the defense systems before jumping into the action straight away.

There are only 4 buttons required for play, which may make this title easier to adapt to than a 6 button fighter for those pad players out there.  You have a weak, medium and strong attack and each character has a unique attack button called a drive attack which differs for each character. Like other fighters, you have a bar at the bottom of the screen which increases with successful attacks, in BlazBlue: CT it’s called the heat meter and it lets you build up to unleash the highest damage special moves called distortion drive attacks. These are massive damage attacks which all look fantastic, you will never get bored of seeing these on the screen, no matter how many times you do them.

Aside from your 4 attack buttons you have two types of dash, 2 types of block and a rapid cancel option to allow you to cancel out of a combination or move to continue pushing the attack. As you can probably already tell, this isn’t a game for those of you who like to mash the buttons and hope for the best.

When you first start playing BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger you will notice that there is no tutorial into the game, the systems used for defense, attack or any modes to show you some of the basic combinations which are available for the characters. This game, instead gives you a training mode and lets you go in “old school” to work things out for yourself. While some of the fighting scene veterans may appreciate this nostalgic approach to learning how to play, games like Street Fighter 4 have shown us that a quicker uptake happens when developers give players the tools to see what options are available with the characters in the game. The combo challenge modes in Street Fighter 4 are a good example of this.

This potential flaw in the basic package has been addressed in the limited edition version of the product which has a VERY indepth DVD bonus disc tutorial to the game systems for defense and attack and a guide to each characters basic combinations and options available during a match. It also goes into in depth information on frame data which is probably only useful for the pros but none the less, an excellent addition. Given that I can see the limited edition of this game is on sale currently for a few pounds more, I would advise anyone who is wanting to give this a shot to pick up the limited edition as the bonus tutorial DVD makes this game much more accessible.

This game has a broad appeal, if you are a Guilty Gear fan then this is a no-brainer. If you are an old-school fighter fan then you should really have this in your collection. I would caution new fighter fans who have come in at the Street fighter 4 level, you may find the combo execution and game mechanics harder to follow, as I said, Blazblue isn’t a game for someone who doesn’t want to spend a bit of time working out the defensive or offensive options available before they jump in and give it a shot.