Everything You Wanted To Know About BlazBlue – But Were Afraid To Ask

With the PS Vita launch just around the corner – we thought we’d take a look at a series that’s built a reputation for itself among fighting aficionados over the last couple of years.
Currently readying itself for a spot on the 22 February launch line up, BlazBlue is a fighter that’s proven something of a cult hit – a series that’s earned high praise from critics for its left-field approach to fighting but is still perceived in some fighting circles as ‘the weird other one’.

Getting stuck into a little Street Fighter or a bit of Tekken from time to time is comforting, familiar – you know your way around the character roster, their moves and abilities. You know where you stand – and we understand that.
BlazBlue, seems scary in comparison. For the uninitiated, gameplay footage looks full-on, intense – like the circus has arrived for a gunfight at a firework factory. It’s hard to look beyond the relentless visual assault and understand the fighting game that lies beneath.
So for all you BlazBlue beginners out there we thought we’d put together a quick crash course – and perhaps take the edge of what has been for many, the most innovative fighter of this generation…
1. IT’S A 2D FIGHTING GAME

Some people think this means ‘old’, ‘retro’, ‘dated’ – but to think that is to miss out. 2D’s is Arc System Works speciality. Try thinking of BlazBlue as the Studio Ghibli to Soul Calibur’s Pixar! BlazBlue’s HD 2D visuals are without equal in the fighting world – with astounding detail and gorgeous animation – did you know each character in the roster boast, on average, 1000 frames of animation each? You really don’t want to know how long it took to draw all those individual sprites – but man, it was worth it.
2. THE FIGHT SYSTEM IS DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE

Weak, Medium, Strong, Drive – just four buttons – for added convenience, weak combos into medium, which combos into hard. And that Drive Button? Best described as a character’s ‘do-something-cool button’. Magnetise your opponent, freeze them in ice, steal their health or charge power to your special moves – each character’s Drive has its own theme, and combining this with normal and special attacks is the key to victory.
3. THE CHARACTERS ARE ‘WEIRD’

Ever played a fighting game where some characters play very similar to others? BlazBlue has a very different philosophy. Every character in the roster is completely different to each other – and when we say ‘completely’ we mean, ‘COMPLETELY’. The reason? Arc wanted every character to be like a game in itself. What does this mean for you? A roster with quite exceptional depth, room for exploration – and are more open to different play styles and individual expression. More importantly, matchups against different characters play out as unique experiences, and that means more fun…
4. GET YOUR PhD IN HARDCORE

It’s often said that fighting games are too difficult. It’s not hard to see why when you’re faced with jargon like chaining, teching, whiffs and cancels. BlazBlue tackles this head on. It has an amazing suite of tutorials, which explains in detail (and lets you practice bit by bit) all of these techniques you’d heard about – but didn’t have a clue what they actually meant. Play the tutorial one evening – and it won’t just make you a better BlazBlue player, it’ll make you a better fighting game player. Period.
5. SO WHAT’S THE STORY?

Some people describe it as ‘mental’, we’d prefer to go for ‘Epic’. In a nutshell though – it’s like Groundhog Day, spread out over 100 years – where all the characters are doomed to die in a terrible calamity, kick-starting the same 100 years all over again, and where Bill Murray is wielding a 6ft Sword and Andie MacDowell is a Kung-Fu mistress from a secre… er… so, not really like Groundhog Day at all then.
Whatever, BlazBlue does (unusually for a fighting game) have a massive single player for those of you who aren’t that into playing competitively. As a bonus, Extend includes the original story, so you can play from the very beginning!
6. GETTING STARTED
Okay, so let’s say you’ve been brave enough to jump in head first? Where do you start? There are three golden rules.

• Character – wise, we’d say Ragna and Tsubaki represent the easiest characters – anyone familiar with Street Fighter will feel comfortable with these two. Fireball and Dragon Punch motions? Easy!
• Secondly – play the tutorial. Yes, we know tutorials are supposed to be boring – but you’ll be surprised how quickly you stop mashing and start playing with real skill. It’s also funny.
• Lastly, try Challenge Mode. Just do the opening 3 or 4 sections and this will take you through your character’s basic moves and introduce you to your first easy combos.

Trust us, you’ll be up and running in no time…