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Fighting games are coming out in force for 2008, if you haven't heard elsewhere, then here we are with Arc System Works' latest fighting game "BlazBlue." It's apparently a follow up to their Guilty Gear property without Daisuke's input. Consider it a sequel in the same universe. Fan speculation I've seen on why this is, is that a non-fighting game Guilty Gear on the 360 and previous experimental failures were just a bit too much for ASW to tolerate at this point.

The claim to fame here is that the game looks absolutely stunning in motion. Yes, we have the generic anime character designs and it's very much looking to be like several fighting games of this type... but wow is it amazing to look at. It's the first time I've seen 3D backgrounds that didn't look incredibly out of place, and it is quite fluid in the animation department, not super fluid but a step up from Guilty Gear. Trailer music isn't too shabby either.

Plenty of information on this game has been circulating, but with AOU 2008, we've gotten a nice look at several fighting games in action. My interest is piqued for this game, I have to say. As coined elsewhere I've read, this seems to be the first "high resolution/next generation 2D fighter", at least in looks. Good stuff.

I'm glad Daisuke is gonna do the music for this game, more rocking tracks is always a good thing.

I can't wait to play this game, but before this comes here, I hope we get Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +.

I'll be honest, I'm not really into fighting games but I do enjoy playing games from the Guilty Gear series and this looks absolutely stunning.

Some of the special attacks in that video look incredibly well done, I personally think if I enjoy playing the Guilty Gear Games I'll probablly enjoy playing this one too.

I heard it'll be HD but the sprites won't be much of a hi-res. I did enjoy playing the GG series right until they started to rehash the Midnight carnival 4-5 times. I like the fact that making this game is a way to start out fresh again. Maybe we might see that 3rd installment in the future. KOF12 is by far a superior 2d game (as the vid finally came out ;p ).

From what I hear, its pronounced "blay blue" or "burei buruu"...or something.

Anyway, this is looking to be quite good. I just hope there isn't those LOL 100% DRIBBLE COMBOS present in Hokuto No Ken.

Also wondering if "HD" just means HD backgrounds like how Arcana Heart is supposed to be.

This picture apparently shows a comparison to a Guilty Gear sprite:

http://i32.tinypic.com/2411ipu.jpg

This is pretty cool, a whole new fighting game franchise.

From what I heard it's 1024x768, so about double from what GG was. That's good news, and with the HD KoF announced, the world of 2D is a little bit brighter than it was when all we had is that Street Fighter debacle.

As for this game, it really looks like they just wanted to "reboot" GG and remake it slightly different. I'm not a huge GG fan especially on the character design and this looks worse in that respect to be honest. But nevertheless I'm thrilled at the resolution of the sprites and the animation.

Christ, that video gave me the biggest boner I've ever gotten for a fighting game. What a gorgeous thing to look at. Here's hoping it comes stateside someday.

I'm normally never hyped for fighting games. Those sprites are orgasmic.

:3:

I've always loved guilty gear but it's great to see something new yet still similar. I've never been a great fighting gamer but that doesn't keep me from enjoying them and this one looks too good to pass up. I hope it makes it to America on the consoles as there are no arcades anywhere near me that still keep 2D fighters.

Yea. Some people say 2D games are at a down fall, and some companies also tend to shun at 2D, but progress of it is going up. Some people don't see the beauty of games like this, because a lot of the times I hear people wanting things in 3D. :(

Though this one caught my interest. :)

Not bad at all. From the video I think Jin is already my character to play as. Too bad its another typical Sol-Ky rehash rivalry >=p.

I can quickly see comparisons between all those characters and Guilty Gear characters. But god, that looks amazing, and seeing as the same company, I'd think it'll be just as good. I'm excited for this game now.

I'm sooooo waiting for this game.

Iron seems to be related to Potemkin. Not just in appearence, but also in attacks. Atomic Buster = Giga Buster and so on...

Also, I would have said that Noel looks hot, but I can see some similarities to Bridget. I'm not gonna fall for that one....again...

This year is gonna be the best ever for fighting fans. So much to play, so little time to master :(.

Guilty Gear XXX? Sign me up.

Front what I heard, GG Accent Core Plus (yes...another rehash..) is supposedly the "third" installment to the series. Every character has their new story and you get to find out more about "That man" and the post war administration bureau or something.

Dear Japan,

You are ridiculous.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/1...lpf1024wi1.jpg

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/8...lpe1024wv9.jpg

Moeeeeh~. Travis Touchdown

They really are going for all the generic anime touches in this game, I'd seen this news for a while, but I really couldn't be bothered to post it. The cat demon seems at least somewhat noteworthy.

Wow, this thread died a while ago. Here's the rest of the roster:

http://blazblue.jp/images/trailer/wall_p_G_1024.jpg

http://blazblue.jp/images/trailer/wall_p_H_1024.jpg

http://blazblue.jp/images/trailer/wall_p_I_1024.jpg

http://blazblue.jp/images/trailer/wall_p_J_1024.jpg

The bad news is that a PS3 release won't be happening for at least another year. The good news is that the U.S. publisher, Aksys Games is making a special effort to get BlazBlue into as many locations as possible, so you should be able to play it when it's released next month.

This thread will need to be changed to "Multi", because BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is finally coming to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game is being brought to the US by Aksys. Features of the port include new music, new animations, and a full-fleshed out story mode. In addtion, there is said to be Online play and the ability to switch between Japanese and English voices. There will be a limited edition bundle available for those who pre-order, and its the same price as the regular edition of the game!

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image...4/blazblue.jpg
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/image.../blazgreen.jpg

The Limited Editions feature the game (duh), a 2-disc, 42-song soundtrack set and a bonus disc containing tutorials from the experts at Dustloop.com and Shoryuken.com.
The video walks you through each character, showing you the ins and outs and delivering special tips for getting the most out of your favorite fighters.

Sources:

Kotaku - BlazBlue Limited Edition Is Very Blue Indeed - BlazBlue
Kotaku - Aksys Brings BlazBlue To America - BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
Gamestop.com - Buy BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Premium Pack - Xbox 360
Gamestop.com - Buy BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Premium Pack - Playstation 3

I haven't played a 2D fighter on the 360 yet, but I like Guilty Gear and this seems right up my ally, so I might pre-order it.
Release date on Gamestop seems to be at the end of June. Both versions will retail for $60.

Excellent. I haven't seen anything about this premium package until now, so thanks Nation. Looks pretty sharp.

Personally, I've never been a big player of the Guilty Gear series, but that's not gonna stop me from trying BlazBlue.

Whaaaa.... The artbook is only for online orders?

Lame.

But definitely picking this up in due time when it releases.

Ooh, been waiting for this one. The Guilty Gear series is one of very few 2D fighting games I've ever enjoyed, so a higher resolution and more fluid sequel/spinoff is definitely something I'd be interested in buying.

I've been kind of interested in this one, and this limited edition (at the same price as the regular edition, no less) is just what I needed to convince me to get it day one (because honestly, I'm a sucker for limited/collector's editions). While a new version of Guilty Gear would be preferable, this will definitely be enough to hold me over until that happens.

After perusing CAG, there seems to be three main options for getting it. The cheapest route seems to be Amazon at $60 with no tax (for most people) and free shipping, along with 10% off if you have an ECA membership bringing the total to about $54. However, aside from the stuff in the limited edition there is nothing extra. If you pre-order online at GameStop the game is $60 plus tax (shipping is free with the code SAVER), and you also get the free artbook. And finally, if you pre-order at GameCrazy (in-store only), the game is also $60 plus tax, and instead of an artbook you get a collector's edition Mana potion energy drink.

Though I'd normally go for the cheapest option, I'm also a sucker for pre-order bonuses, and out of the two options I think I'd rather have the artbook over the energy drink.

June 30, huh?

Well, I may pick it up. Hilarious story + fluid fighting dynamics are always interesting, plus I loved Guilty Gear.

I watched the videos on gametrailers and noticed a few new characters. There's an eyepatch girl with unlimited blade works and a Kojima-esque cyber ninja. Actually, their faces are on one of the boxes in the pics Dark Nation posted.

Oh, and at the end of the anime cinematic there is some guy with a Zaku mono-eye visor.

Anyways this is apparently coming out tomorrow(well today now that it's past midnight). Anyone getting it opening day? And if so want to share impressions with the rest of us? I'm planning on buying it Friday myself but I'm hoping to hear some stuff, good or bad by then so I can go with more than "it looks cool and the game magazines are rating it well".

I've got it pre-ordered online via gamestop thanks to the "online only" artbook pre-order bonus. It should be here by the end of the week, god willing. I haven't heard anything bad about it, though.

Same for me as well. It shipped out yesterday so I'm hoping to get it by today or tomorrow (since I got upgraded to free 3-day shipping), even though the arrival date is listed as Thursday.

I keep getting more and more excited every time I see this game, so even though I got burned by SFIV (not the game's fault really, I probably just overhyped myself for it considering I've never been a huge SF fan), I expect great things from this one. Guilty Gear has always been my favorite 2D fighting series, and I think Blazblue will live up to that.

Just noticed this, is three-day shipping not the slowest and something you have to pay for over there then? If so, that would explain why so few Americans seem to consider buying online as a viable way of getting games, that's awful service. Amazon over here gives you free next-day delivery if you spend over £5, Game is free next-day delivery on everything, as are most online games shops.

Wow, I had no idea your postal service was so crappy.

There's slower than three day. UPS ground can take between 7 days and two weeks on average. And you often have to pay for it too.

Of course considering how often things get lost in the mail around here I don't have a lot of faith in UPS in general. I'd say about one item in ten ends up having some sort of problem out of things I've ordered online. 10% is an extremely bad ratio.

The original order I placed was free shipping, but it was estimated to take about 7-10 days to arrive. They had the option to pay to upgrade to either three day shipping (which I think they gave me for free since they had some offer for free three day shipping on all pre-orders after I had already ordered it) or overnight shipping, but the prices just aren't worth it if you ask me.

It does vary by retailer, though. Our Amazon gives you free shipping on orders over $25, and it usually takes about a week or so for the order to arrive. Again, you can pay for either two or three day shipping, but it's just not worth it (I think I once ended up paying $25 for a $13 book just to get it in time for my mom's birthday). They have Prime, a service you can sign up for that gives you free two shipping on all orders regardless of price, but that's like $70 a year.

Newegg, on the other hand, has free three day shipping on all orders I believe. That's probably about the best you can get on shipping around here.

Newegg only gives free 3-day on select items, otherwise you're charged on a per-item rate instead of per-order.

Keep in mind the relative size of our countries. Some retailers offer California Overnight which is a special service that'll deliver anything in CA, AZ, and NM (I think it includes NM) for dirt cheap since they have to distribute over a much smaller area. Economies of scale seem to work backwards a bit when you've got over three million square miles of land to cover (England is ~2.5% the size of the US).

I realised that about as soon as I hit reply. I was assuming that over there you have the same density of distribution centres that we do (And a nationalised postal system like us) and it's easy to forget that some of you seem to drive further to get to work than it's possible to travel in Britain without doubling back on yourself.

http://www.gamingforce.org/miles/bb.jpg

This is how I roll. It's all about the free overnight shipping coupon.

Didn't know that. I've only used them about three or four times, but every time I have I've always gotten free three day shipping. I guess now I'll have to make sure the items qualify.

newegg used to kick ass....now they do so while fucking you on the shipping charges.

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...oldelivery.gif

Shit needs to get here right now.

Hito already has his copy. Jealous so bad.

I'll get mine tomorrow.

Apparently mine is expected to arrive Thursday, I'm hoping it might arrive tomorrow, but ah well if not.

Mine has already been pre-ordered at EB games, so I should be expecting any time now. Unfortunately, I won't be able to play it right away, not until I get back home which won't be until July 10th so in the meantime my wife will be picking up the game.

I took twelve dozen eggs, stuck them in a bowl, mixed the... FFFFFFFUCK out of them, and what did I get?

PEEEEEEEENIS.

Game came around 2 for me. Played that shit. Shit's awesome, but I can already hear the crying from people who consider Super Smash Bros. a competitive fighting game. <3 Litchi.

The lines in this game, lmao.

"My breasts aren't meat buns!"

"Hands off the panda!"

Too hilarious to ever switch to Japanese.

Edit: Also, Bang Install totally makes up for him being an otherwise worthless character.

How's the music? Guilty Gear had some great tunes and I'm hoping BlazBlue has an even better soundtrack.

Just check out Youtube for the music.

How is Bang a worthless character compared to... let's say... Carl?

:tpg:

Carl has the lowest health but in the right hands he can be decent...but why you'd use him over anything else is wtf.

I dunno, maybe because in the right hands he can be decent?

Picked it up. Having fun so far.

But you're putting yourself so out there for little reward imo. One Tager Drive and pretty much half your health is gone.

True. But you know, there's also not getting hit, something good players try to do.

And also playing the game for fun.

Anyone know how to perform Vermillion's astral drive ? this shit is just weird. the commands are there but uhh...how long do i have to hold the down button ?

Well, the game just arrived a few minutes ago. UPS decided to take their time in delivering it. Anyway, gonna try it out soon and see how things go :)

Catch me on PS3 Online wit this shit - The_Flowman is my name

Also my roommate does work, too - Xeraux

Who do you main?

I'm a Rachel and Litchi player.

So got this yesterday and spent most of the day playing it. Trying to main Tager as much as possible.

Just need the correct paths in the Story mode so I can 100% all of 'em, is all.

There's a few forums which have all of the routes outlined.

Protip: Lose to Tager in Noel's story for ultimate hilarity.

Sod all you guys making this sound fun, there's not even vague talk of a European release. Grrr.

Well, there's the PS3 option since that's region free for games. That's the platform I went with because I wasn't about to even try to use the 360's d-pad for this thing. Also preferring dualshock for any PC fighter I play.

Yeah, but I have the SFIV TE stick for the 360, so really I'd prefer to pick up any fighters on that platform. I do have a Hori EX3 for the PS3, so there is that option, but it doesn't hold a candle to the TE stick.

The other issue with the PS3 version is finding somewhere I can import it from.

Picked up Nu/v-13 today on a whim, since I was getting tired of owning with Rachel for hours (and losing to Arakune consecutively after a while pissed me off). I'm enjoying Nu immensely. She's very fun to play despite her very low health and emphasis on long-range gameplay. I may end up replacing Litchi as my alt if things end up well with Nu.

I still hate the holy-fuck out of Bang, and Arakune's frustrating with his BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES, at least as Rachel, which is weird since the match-up shouldn't be in his favor. In fact, either my friend got better with Arakune, or I was having an off day. Last week, the fights I had with RA/ARA were intense, but I typically came out the victor. The problem I faced today was getting George and the pumpkin out fast enough to counter Ara's fog and insect spamming, while also pressuring him, since he too excels at long-range combat (as well as air dominance, which Rachel doesn't in this case).

I just played this for the first time in the arcade and I tried out Arakune and Noel. Arakune wasn't really my style but I really like Noel save for the lack of aerials (or so it seemed). How does Noel fare?

Expect a lot of Noel players when you play online, although most of them are pretty scrubby and spam Drive attacks without fully understanding what they're doing.

She's a load of fun once you get to know her, but she's kind of easy to spam with, even if you don't intend to do so. Granted, I haven't trained with her outside of random, spur of the moment picks with friends. This 'problem' may disappear when you actually sit down and actively practice with her.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I plan on trying out the other characters as well but for now, Noel is pretty fun and hell, maybe I can actually become a player that knows what they're doing with her in time. :P

I understood about 95% of Chain Revolver and yes it is a spamfest ready to swarm the online world. I've done about a few links with CR and basic combos and they work but sometimes you can easily get out of it to just land or fly into your doom. You just gotta know what you're doing. overall, she's a good character to start off/main with if that's your choice =].

Tager's a 10 second battle since all he does is stand, grab,rush and super attack you . He doesn't suck or anything but you'll have to spend time in the practice room with the big guy so you can predict people online.

My reactions of the game so far: Haku-men and Nu can go fuck themselves. I realize I suck at fighting games, but seriously, they're impossible in arcade mode. Although I proved myself wrong by beating them, but that was probably some chance in hell.

I would actually like to play some matches with GFFers, so add me on XBL. Name: Yeldarbskich.

Throwing my name out there for some online ass kicking. Playing mostly Bang. Any other character and I tend to flail and hope for the best.

GT: RealPT1

S+, would watch again.

Alternatively, beat Bang with a distortion/astral finish in Tager's story. Guaranteed 100% daily dose of "WTF is this shit, Japan?".

Justin Wong apparently disowned Blazblue in a comment he made about the game at the latest Evo tourney in Las Vegas. Whatever. He can enjoy getting his ass handed to him by Daigo.

I picked up Litchi as my main and I'm doing pretty well with her. I dumped Nu after getting fed up of seeing her everywhere in vids and online (not nearly as bad as Jin Ice Car spammers). Rachel needs work and she's still my alt, but I'm still not very confident in my ability to play her anymore.

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/b...LOL_ICECAR.jpg

Someone at Dustloop made this. Made me lol.

lmao RIDE THE ICE CAR laughing at that image for life.

But have you seen how dat one guy from the bonus DVD use Litchi? That's some effective use right there; am deeply impressed.

Both of my friends that got BlazBlue decided to trade their copies in, so now I'm lacking in (non-random) people to play.

I main Taokaka, 360 version. XBL Tag: Generator Leon

I've been playing a lot online recently (PSN is ElTacoSegundo) and I've actually been doing pretty well for myself. I typically only lose to Jins, but there are a ton of them out there. There have also been a couple of Rachels and a couple of Litchis that really worked me something fierce.

Almost no other Tao players, at least none that I've fought.

Just got the game and loving it a lot more than i thought I would. The creativity of each player is pretty extensive and I have lot's of practice to do, I haven't even tried out every character yet.
Got it for ps3 and i think most ps3 users already have me listed but just in case my PSN is AniZeke. I'm not so good yet but practice against other players would be good. Maybe we can get a small lobby of GFFers for fun.

btw I found bang's hero music hilariously awesome.

Got this a while ago for the 360 and this is pretty much all I've been playing online. I'm about level 32 now and I main Tager. He's such a blast to use and it's awesome just turning around matches in just three moves.

Although, my weakness is finding a sub-character. Noel just isn't cutting it for me.

I'd love to face some GFF people, so hit me up on Scorccio.

Just use Jin. While I main Tager (level 10 for lulz), trying to master him without the LOL ICE CAR spam is worthwhile.

Or go Litchi, Tao or Rachel.

HUR HUR, I'LL JUST PIN THEM AGAINST THE WALL AND THROW.

LAUNCH TO THE AIR, ATOMIC COLLIDER, SLEDGEHAMMER THEN GENESIC TAGE BUSTER

lolololl

SLEDGE, LP, LP, LP, 360+B = WIN.

MANY MATCHES WERE TURNED AROUND THIS WAY.

Okay I'll try improving on my rank. Just to get that level 30 achieve.

But otherwise THAT IS WHAT I USE. SPARK VOLT, ATOMIC COLLIDER SLEDGE LP LP LP 360 B FORWARD C D

I'm starting to find my sub Litchi to be more reliable than Tao, but no matter what, I am having serious problems with online Bangs and Tagers. I'll hit you up soon, Chaotic (and any other 360 players).

Finally, after an extra month of waiting, I've had the chance to pick up and play this. If you haven't added my PSN yet then hit me up for some BB matches:
PSN ID: disgaeafanboy.

I've only really gotten a chance to play with Shenlon for a couple, as well as some online other friends on PSN. Thankfully, not everyone has reached "rape me with a perfect" levels yet, despite my one month delay.

I really wish I could like Carl Clover more, but I have the feeling he was meant to be played with a stick. On a pad, it seems like all I can do to keep Nirvana reliably close is use La Campanella all the time. It also seems like his damage output really sucks in comparison to big sister's. Regardless, I only really like him for his character design and really disturbing sister/automaton complex. I'm looking to work on Rachel and Litchi, since I'm getting sick of thinking every second with Carl, and not even getting great results at that.

That Sesshomuro dude wooped our ass with Nu even though all his combos were the typical sword moves.
I'm surprised you picked Carl again after I beat you with Bang though, I mean come on, if I have four losses in a row and my only win is against your Carl chances are you need more practice with him ^^;
The only thing I really knew was that one standing combo so I was pretty much the worst player there.
I also fought one match with Chato, got lucky in the first round then he continued to woop me with Noel >_>

Needless to say, I need to learn more than just basics

How interesting.
After playing for around five hours straight, if I were to create a distribution of the characters I've faced online in that time, it would be severely skewed towards v-13, Noel, and Bang. I've only faced one Rachel, and zero Carls (which is keeping me from getting that Ruler of Kagutsuchi trophy>=( ). On the other hand, this seems to throw off a lot of people since they don't know what to expect from Carl and fall for very simple setups. However, my lack of skill paired with his general suckiness outside his infinite loops still leads me to lose quite frequently.

I finally got my hands on the LE yesterday, (WTF THE LE COSTS THE SAME AS THE REGULAR?) and so far I'm really happy with it. Haven't played online at all yet, but I'll get to that eventually.

So far, for me on Live, the distribution has pretty much been:

Ranked - Jin, Nu (v-13), Noel

Player - Arakune, Bang, Ragna/Jin

No Carls, less than 5 each Rachel/Litchi/Taokaka (about 200 matches), a few Tagers/Hakumens.




And really, curse all you PSN users.

Spread's just about the same on PSN, except I only play with one group of people for Player Matches so that ends up being mostly Tager/Ragna/Bang.

I've played ~200 ranked matches and fought maybe 3 other Taokaka players. Fought one of them multiple times, though, and that was fun stuff.

I've played a Reachel but she was pretty much a new player since I was able to beat her. Also played an Arakune who wooped me.

Is it just me or is it impossible to connect to some player rooms. Even when there are two people in a six player lobby it always says "room full" but maybe it's a friends only thing, I dunno.
I usually try to connect to people to similar levels but it's like not a lot of people play because all I see are the crazy 30-40 level people who already devoted hundreds of hours into the game.

I pre-ordered the game thinking I was going to get the artbook for my b-day but sadly I was mistaken.

Personally I love the game. Of course it reminds me of Guilty Gear and I'm a huge fan of that series. As for the game itself, the story is interesting in itself (I hate Taokaka's story.. it was too non-nonsensical but I use her as my main character.)

I'm finding the same problem with connecting to "ranked matches" lately.. for some reason I cant seem to connect or takes forever to connect in general.

Just make a match. People swarm in that way.

Even then I have been jst sitting there for like 5-10mins and nothing.. idk what's up with Xbox live.

Patience.

When I made mine, it usually takes up to 15-30 minutes. Just specify certain parameters so players of all skill levels can enter. Hell, if you're up for it, set the conditions to "Pro players" and try your luck.

I can't do pro... yet... I'm getting better and better with Faye ling and taokaka.. but not pro status.