BlazBlue Written Review

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review

Developer: Aksys System Works
Publisher: Aksys Games
Release: June 30, 2009
Platforms: Playstation 3*, Xbox 360, Arcade

And now it begins...
Christmas of 2009 was a odd one, mainly due to the fact that it wasn't the largest gaming wish list around that year, with only really expecting MW 2 (Which I'll get to that disappointment of a shooter in a later review) and both RB2 (which I owned for the 360 but had a full band on the PS3) and Lego RB under the tree that year. While looking at games that my older bro would like, there it stood, a game I remembered X-play giving this game a 4 out of 5 and it looked interesting enough. So I got it on the PS3 and when Christmas arrived and he started to play it, we both got sucked in to it's very intriguing plot line, characters, and very-accessible combat.


Best looking 2D fighter to date? Perhaps
The visuals is one of the game's biggest strengths, giving it very wide selection of a color palette along with some of he greatest and smoothest animation I've seen in a fighter to date. The characters look exactly as they do outside of the fighting and the backgrounds are spectacular. The character design and art is also some of the best I've seen, clearly the artist put his heart into designing characters like Noel or Hakumen, and giving unique quirks to Bang or Taokaka. Not too much more too say on visuals but they definitely please the eye on this one.

Very fulfilling plot line
This is the game's true selling point among most other fighting games out on the market, one of the best written plots to a fighting game ever. The game may have a small roster, but they do their best to make you care about each one of them, Ragna is a pretty cool and unique protagonist who's oddly polite despite the Ichigo-like persona he gives, Jin may be a jack-ass, but his psychology is well done being able to have almost split personalities when it comes to Ragna and Noel or Nu. Noel probably is my favorite out of bunch due to not only being one of the most well-designed females of a game, but overall I appreciated her plot more, though I wish her endings (as un-cannon as they are) were better, also, the game can be awfully brutal on her if you fail. Hakumen is certainly a bad-ass of epic proportions, with having some of the coolest one-liners in the game and simply has a bad-ass voice to accompany them. I'll stop talking about the plot and characters here, but just know they make the game. P.S I also really appreciate the "Teach Me, Ms. Litchi!" segments for doing a good job explaining the world and also being pretty damn funny.
Great fighting, but maybe too simple
I don't know what most reviewers of this game are talking about when new players won't find this an easy fighting game, I think this may be the most accessible fighting game to date with good A.I and a cheat sheet for special moves. Every character plays differently, but still effective in the long run with the exception of Carl that he does need practice to master. Of all the characters, I found Noel, Jin, and Tager to be the most powerful due to Noel's chain attacks which deal massive damage and make up most of her attacks combined with her speed, Jin dealing out ridiculous damage and being able to freeze the enemy, and Tager's magnetic throw easily capturing anyone close to him. It might be a little too simply to master these characters, but overall, it makes for fun gameplay.

Final Verdict
BlazBlue is simply one of the better fighting games made in recent memory, and it definitely stands with Super Street Fighter 4 in terms of value. If your a fighting game or animie fan, you won't be disappointed.

Pros: Great presentation, Great soundtrack, Excellent characters, Fun fighting system, "Teach Me, Ms. Litchi!" Segments are funny
Cons: Doesn't last forever after the final ending is unlocked, 12 characters, Some balancing issues

9.8 out of 10
5 out of 5

I am Hakumen! THE END HAS COME!

Don't look

Faked Out