Snacko
Level: Smiter
Rank Points: 448
Registered: 06-08-2006
IP: Logged
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Re: BlazBlue is awesome. (0)
Just finished the story mode, and although the True Ending story path was undeniably awesome, it's worth noting that the story is complex enough that you will be confused unless you really pursued certain character's alternate endings.
That said I really enjoyed the story overall, filler aside (there are some joke endings that follow plots such as Lichi chasing Noel around the city in order to dress her up while making fun of her flat chest and there is absolutely no way to know if an ending is vital to understanding the story). The characters were well developed and the cyclical nature of the story both really works with the game's structure and is utterly fascinating from an existential standpoint, but people who don't like reading or anime are going to be bored, and for them, unless you really like unlocking galleries, I would suggest that they simply don't play the Story Mode. It's entirely auxiliary to the main experience and they'll get most of the story anyway from the much more abridged Arcade Mode (though they'll be missing the true ending and I don't think Terumi, the main villain, appears at all, though Kokonoe's hand is ever present), which has 20 fights a character as opposed to the the 3-15 in Story Mode.
The patch literally worked perfectly. I have not been in one laggy match since downloading it. I think a lot of people write off fighting games as not worth their time because their experience is limited to Street Fighter II's god awful single player mode, which is a shame because competitive play can be absolutely exhilarating, especially in games as good as Street Fighter III, Guilty Gear XX, Melty Blood Act Cadenza and, of course, BlazBlue.
In my experience, I've seen five kinds of fighting games:
Street Fighter (simple mechanics, good balance, lots of strategic depth)
Mortal Kombat (absolutely not designed with gameplay in mind. Simply driven by a gimmick that looks crappy and in no way improves the game)
Melty Blood (big flashy explosions, long combo strings. Incredibly difficult to get a handle on, but almost always worth it)
Virtua Fighter (driven by a need to find, create and exploit openings in defense. Can be just as combo-heavy as Melty Blood, but is based more on timing than positioning)
Namco's Fighters (button mashing with only the requisite helping of counters and parries to make things interesting)
The great thing about BlazBlue, and Guilty Gear for that matter, is that it takes the best parts of the third and first to create something new. Combos are important, but they're no substitute for good timing and although many parts of the game take a lot of practice, they are generally accessible. How is this done? Well, there are a few ways:
Guard Gauges/Libras and damage scaling:
In Guilty Gear, it was fairly clear how this was done. Whenever a character blocked, a meter would increase, increasing the damage they take when they DO get hit, and the reverse happens when an attack connects. This meant that it was vital to stay on the offensive at all times, but the combo system (which is near excessive, especially in the case of characters like Chipp or Anji) requires that you be more deliberate in your revolver chains and that you find ways to chain together heavy hits rather than simply working your way up.
In BlazBlue, this is achieved through damage scaling and the Guard Libra. Every time a character blocks, the Guard Libra moves towards their direction. Once it hits the edge, their barrier shatters. Furthermore, the higher the combo meter gets, the more damage will be scaled down, determined by a percentile that is unique to each character. Tager, for example, won't do much damage on the second hit, as the main challenge of playing him is attempting to tag the enemy with powerful attacks: if his combos were useful, the character would be completely broken. Noel on the other hand needs to carefully use her Drive and long range attacks in tandem in order to keep pressure, especially since she can't do much damage outside her Drive. This also creates interesting situations, such as Jin's downright frightening combo potential made useless if it needs to be set up with weaker attacks, calling for Yukianesa's freeze Drive attacks.
Revolver Routes
The Revolver Route is the basic idea that a character can combo from a normal executed with a weaker button to one performed with a stronger button, with little quirks in the formula differing by character. This sidesteps the most intimidating part of mastering a combo: finding it out in the first place. It's clear what your next attack can and can't be, and you're left to puzzle out more important things, like when something can be jump or dash cancelled and whether that can be used to extend a combo. In other words, it takes the positioning and timing, that is, all the fun parts of constructing combos, and makes it the only thing you have to worry about. Tellingly, this system is virtually untouched in BlazBlue, with the only change being that Drive does not necessarily fit into the Route (with a few very important exceptions, such as Jin's Yukianesa).
Roman Cancels
I'm fully aware that I'm going a bit into the hardcore side of comboing here, but the truth is Roman Cancels open up a good deal of really tough combos for inexperienced players may not have the timing for them. Of course, the main draw of the feature is all the cool stuff you can do that you can't do traditionally, and luckily that works well too.
It's a game made for the hardcore crowd, sure, but it's always been accessible. Even if you don't want to learn all the bells and whistles, you can have a lot of fun just on the surface (as long as you don't play someone better).
Also Bang Shishigami is too awesome for words. Not only does he inexplicably carry a giant nail on his back that he never uses, but his will is so powerful that the only way he can truly express the essence of his never ending fight for love, loyalty and justice is with a special move that plays his theme song until the stage ends. Now that's a true hero.
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Director of the Department of Orderly Disruptions
[Last edited by Snacko at 07-03-2009 11:51 AM]
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