BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Limited Edition)
System: PS3 (reviewed on), Xbox 360
MSRP: $59.99
Release Date: June 30th 2009

The creators of the Guilty Gear series, Arc System Works, has brought forth a new series that seems to epitomize all of the great characteristics of the crazy fighter, Guilty Gear, or does it?

Graphics

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is a beautiful 2D fighter that plays out at a full 60fps. The backgrounds are very crisp and the characters are vivid with flashy moves. A lot can go on during your fights, but there is never any slow down. Also, the cutscenes that play out look absolutely amazing, thanks to world famous anime studio, Gonzo.

- 19/20Sound

The audio in BlazBlue is stellar. Long time Guilty Gear music composer, Daisuke Ishiwatar, composed almost all of the music in this game. So, if you’ve played a Guilty Gear game, then you should know what to expect. The music is a blend of heavy metal, opera, and orchestra instrumentals that fit this game perfectly. Also, the voice over work is exceptional! The character’s seem to have “real” emotion when they speak.

- 20/20
Story

“In the 13th hierarchical city, Kagutsuchi, the Librarium regulates the amazing power of 'Armagus', a fusion of magic and technology. Currently they are after a wanted criminal named Ragna - The Bloodedge, also known as 'Death', who wants to destroy the Librarium. Due to Ragna possessing a powerful form of Armagus known as the Azure Grimoire, people far and wide are after not only his bounty, but his grimoire as well.” The story in BlazBlue is actually really good. Most fighting game stories have become convoluted do to the countless releases of the same title. Since, this is the first BlazBlue title, the story is very concise and offers some interesting character side stories, as well.

- 18/20Gameplay

The gameplay in this 2D fighter plays out very fast and fluid, with an emphasis on stringing together multiple combos on the ground and in the air. Every character is different, offering you many choices for a “main.” I have found it rather difficult to pick one character to devote my time to because all of the characters offer something different and they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

Unlike most fighters, BlazBlue is very well balanced. It saddens me to see that games that are already out that have balance issues don’t get updated via patching (especially you Street Fighter IV!). With that said, you will still run into the ever cockroach-like spammer when playing online. But, thanks to BlazBlue’s balance scheme, a fairly skilled player can make short work of a spammer. Also, noobs don’t fret, you can map at least one of every character’s special attack and their Distortion (instant kill) move to the right stick. However, this option is not available online, at least in ranked matches.

- 19/20Replayability

There are a total of 12 characters in the game and you start off with all of them unlocked. However, each character has an instant kill move, Astral Heat, that has to be unlocked. Also, there is artwork, videos, trophies/achievements, replays and dialogues that can be unlocked, too. Then there is one more thing, online multiplayer. The online multiplayer is excellent, which offers quick battle and custom matches. This is all nice, but what makes the online play stellar, is the fact that it is so stable and smooth, most of the time; you can’t really help if 1 out of 27 matches have some lag due to someone having a poor connection. This game relies heavily on timing your attacks and it’s great to see that you want have to delay inputs to pull off an epic combo. As a true fighting game fan I plan on spending an enormous amount of time on this title, so for me the replayability is near infinite, but for others, maybe not so much.

- 18/20Conclusion

If you pick up BlazBlue now while it is still only available in a Limited Edition package, you will receive a 2-disk soundtrack featuring 42 songs, the game and a bonus disc containing video tutorials from the experts at Dustloop.com and Shoryuken.com. Not bad for $59.99! This is by far, one of the best fighting games I have played in a really long time. Yes, there are only 12 characters, but they are all very unique and balanced. If you are even tempted to buy this game, just buy it now!

Final Score

- 94/100

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