I have really been on the fence about picking up BlazBlue. I keep hearing and reading all of this crazy praise for it and it seemed like 1up practically wanted to have sex with it. I am intrigued...
So I just wanted to hear from some of you guys what it is about this game that makes it worth picking up. I know this may have been a better fit in the forums, but I never post anything anymore so just humor me without being a dickhead.
See... I like fighting games a lot, the problem is... Street Fighter IV just spells perfection to me. Now I see that a lot of you actually prefer BlazBlue to SFIV and this is making me very, very curious. On the other hand, there are some people that are saying if you are really into Street Fighter or KOF... this game may not be right for you, that the pace is quite different.
I have also heard that it is completely too flashy, over-the-top, and fucking noisy, but i mean... is the combat super-solid or what? I just want to know what you love so much about BlazBlue that makes it worth 60 bucks. I love me some good fighting games and this game
looks fucking beautiful. I am just afraid to make the leap. I love my 60 dollars and I love my SFIV... but perhaps there is room in my life for another 2D attraction.
I guess I could just rent it and find out, but then I couldn't write this blog and leave you this morsel of internet goodness...
humanity at its finest. 
Steel Squirrel's blog
follow this blog
subscribe via RSS
send message
invite to meetup+play
...Okay, that tattoo thing is one of the most disturbing thing's I've ever seen in my life. And being on the Internet as much as I am, that's saying a lot. Just... Wow.
You know I LOVE SF4 as much as you and I gotta tell you, I was blown away by the quality of BlazBlue. Get that shit dude. I think if you give it a chance, you're gonna love it.
Everyone seems to love it but i just didnt like the pace theres something weird about the fighting engine i dont like and i cant get behind the oki game.
You know i hate air dashing the only game that has it that i like is marvel even tvc i sort of feel im playing underwater if that makes any sense.
But the game is packed with content and the online is great so you should at least try it.
Btw for reference im also an sf player, my favorite is 3s and at the moment i love the fighting engine in kof12.
StreetfighterFOUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!
gimme your gamertag :3
Blazblue is aight I guess, but just understand the fact that playing ranked battles fucking SUCKS BALLS because everyone uses fucking annoying and cheap characters like V-13 and Jin and Noel and even when you play casually, you'll find that alot of people, including many Dtoiders use those same cheap characters too >__<
And don't get me started on Carls infinite. I've had it done to me 4 fucking times and it honestly made me want to sell the fucking game.
Don't get me wrong, it's fucking gorgeous. It's great eye candy for a while, but just like MVC2, there's so fucking much shit going on, so many cheap tactics that it ceases to be a spectacle after a short amount of time, whereas you could watch high level SF4 play all day and know exactly what's going on and not get bored.
But maybe that's just me. I honestly stopped playing Blazblue quite some time ago.
As a devout SFIV fan, I have to say skip Blazblue. It's a great first time effort, and I can definitely see where all the love for it comes from, but it is not for everyone. The game itself strikes a weird balance; button mashing can get you pretty far, but if you actually want to be good it's pretty deep... maybe a little too much so.
It just feels disjointed. In SFIV, your skills will carry over character to character, where as in Blazblue if you want to try a new character, prepare to relearn everything you know and reinvent your gameplay style.
I'm also just not a huge fan of the fighting itself. It feels really random and unbalanced. I know people like to bitch about Sagat, but anyone who has played a great amount of SFIV will tell you that he's really not THAT bad. Blazblue has Noel, who has great range, damage, and combo possibilities while being extremely easy to play. And as others have stated, V-13 is a nightmare.
This isn't to say Blaz is a bad game, it's just really not for everyone. If you enjoyed Guilty Gear at all, it's a no brainer. If you're a traditional fightin' fan like myself, you may want to "try before you buy."
Cliff notes: I'm completely with RAB (who I need to play some SFIV with). IMO, it's just flat out not worth 60 bucks. If you must have it, wait for it to drop.
Blazblue is one of my favorite fighting games, and I also hate it at the same time.
The ranked matches are usually used with the cheapest characters. V-13, Noel, Jin, and Ragna. There's not a whole lot of skill to play V-13, I actually don't consider her a character to the game at all. Anyone can push one button and that's all you need with this certain character.
Every character has a different style to learn from. Not every character is the same, which makes some matches really uneven and not even a good match.
I would say rent it if you get the chance to see if you like it, then go for it and buy it. This is coming from someone who really loves fighting games.
Honestly, if you really like fighting games, you should at least give BlazBlue a try (either rent it, borrow it, or if you have an arcade nearby, drop some quarters into it)
But if you want my opinion on it, the best thing about BlazBlue is how it punishes defensive style and encourages offensive tactics, so you will never see a situation where someone runs the clock out when they have more HP than you.
I may be in the minority, but I found SF4 to be a big step backward from 3rd Strike and this is definitely my go to fighting game after Super Turbo HD
Blazblue is the most fun I've ever had playing a fighting game. It's getting hype because it deserves it and you owe it to yourself to give it a go if you call yourself a fan of fighters. Like everyone else, you'll either love it or hate it, but chances are good that you will find it worthwhile.
Just picked up BlazBlu myself and I only got to play about 30 minutes last night but what I got to play I can definitely see that I'm going to love this game. I play MvC2 a LOT more than I do SF4, mostly cuz I agree with Fogo. SF4 is fun, but it isn't the end-all, be-all of fighters. Give it a shot if you can find it and rent it.
Rab is full of shit. Im a level 42 in BlazBlue and its not as bad as what he says. I've never had Carl's infinite put on me. Yes, a serious V-13 player is annoying but Tager's forward swipe goes through projectiles. You can beat her if you are a good player. BlazBlue allows you to have six friends in a lobbie. Its a very polished 2D fighter and deserves your hard earned money.
HOLY SHIT Blazblue bitch session! Finally!
Although I have nothing to say because I don't own it, I will say, since it's a lot like Guilty Gear, there is a LOT going on.
Based on your wording above, you seem to not like that very much. I would stick with SFIV then. You dont want to get Blazblue and find out it's too much for you, you know?
Try your darndest to preview it or wait for the possible demo.
By the by, anyone above who has SFIV on PS3, add me (Magnalon): I should have it in my hands when the mail arrives today.
Adding you, dude!
With regard to the complaints regarding cheap characters, one thing I have found that helps is actually playing for a bit as the characters giving you trouble. It helps you learn their limitations (and all the characters mentioned above have plenty), what tactics really screw their shit, and in turn, how you can best approach these fights.
I highly recommend at least giving BB a rental. The story mode is a breath of fresh air for the genre, the characters are dripping with personality, the soundtrack is fan-fucking-tastic, there's quite a bit of depth here, and of course it's beautiful. I just find it fun to play in general.
The biggest difference in pacing is because the BlazBlue basically penalizes you for playing turtling and playing defensively. That's the biggest difference between BlazBlue and SF4 in my mind.
@ RAB
GT: Steel Squirrel
Balrog vs. Balrog (Danmartigan told me about your Boxer)
@ everyone else
I have never been a big fan of the Guilty Gear games. They just always seemed so... unorthodox and wacky for the sake of being wacky to me. I've read that BlazBlue is even more over the top. From the mixed reactions I guess maybe I will check it out someday later when it is cheap and used... so I can bring it back if I don't like it.
Also... I think that the defensive strategy of SFIV is amazing. I think anyone that loses to someone turtling and running down the clock just isn't confident enough with their character or skills to stop that from happening. You can ALWAYS stop that from happening. That is no fault of the game's fighting system by any means.
If I am actually penalized for being strategic and defense oriented and just shoehorned into offense... that isn't alright with me. When I hear something like "encourages offense more than defense", I can just picture the game being way too flashy and spastic. A battle, to me, should be about careful timing and placement of moves, instead of overwhelming the other player. I just love the tense moments when both players are sizing each other up for that final attack.
Also again... I may be one of the only people who doesn't really like the Capcom Vs. games. I mean they are neat in concept and design, but if they played more like SFIV or even SFIII for that matter, that would be amazing. I just don't like the floaty feeling of those games. The characters just feel weightless and I've pulled off some insane combos just button-mashing and screwing around.
Anyway, thanks for the input. Sounds like a definite "try before you buy" for me.
@rab
But Carl is super weak and slow, and Nirvana is even more, if you let yourself get into the loop you really deserved it !
@Naim: for serious. As I see it one infinicombo isn't much to worry about when you know what you're watching for, and the character is otherwise full of flaws.
dammit bro, I told you to stop posting pics of me in your blogs!
Jack of no trades is full of shit in saying that I'm full of shit.
Yeah just rent it and see how it feels. I guess in the long run, telling somebody not to even bother with a game at all isn't fair to the person. Give it a shot yourself and see how you like it.
@Naim and pangloss
yeah but if you play a slow character like Rachel you can get punished for whiffing like one move and blap you're fucked.
I think BlazBlue is a fun fighter. I prefer King of Fighters XII over both BB and SFIV. If I had to rank them, I'd put BB slightly over SFIV mostly due to balance issues. Both SFIV and BB use loose controls but it makes more sense in BB as the game is so much faster than SF. I'd recommend a rental since you're on the fence. I bought it day one because I love fighters and enjoy most of them.
BlazBlue for life! Sure Nu is unbalanced as all shit; But besides her, the game is remarkably fun. I found SF4 to be unbalanced as can be, so if you can live with that, then you can live with Blazblue.
The only reason I could see someone not liking Blazblue, is if they didn't click with any of the characters. Each one is so unique that its possible you might not like how any of them plays.
Also, Tager
Also, THE POWER OF SCIENCE!
@Bullet: I'll see your Tager and raise you the manliest ninja and strangest catgirl ever.
I just don't understand where people are coming from when they say that SF4 is unbalanced.
It's a game of matchups, sure, but it's just up to the player to learn the match ups.
People get mad because they can't win with anybody besides Ken and Akuma because those are the most familiar characters and they refuse to learn to play in any other style.
SFIV is finally here! I'm anxious to get on it when my wife is done with Fat Princess.
@Rab
Oh shit sorry -
Ken has been my boy since Street Fighter II. He was my main in SNK2, with Terry, and my main in Alpha 3.
I'm fucked! I'll be seen as a poser from day one if I choose him, so I'll have to go with a few of my old school backups: Blanka is my second choice!
@RAB: TRUTH
@MAGNALON
I was in a similar situation for a while. Been playing Ken since Champion Edition, and since all the retards fell in love with him once IV hit, I was kind of torn who to focus on. And the fact that Capcom decided to add some real shitty characters to the game didn't help the situation.
Anyway I stuck with him, and the game is OK in terms of balance, but it seems like all my favorite characters need more tools to work with (Guile, Ken, Sak). Sometimes it can make for much harder fights, but to me it is more rewarding to play your favs than give in to the technically stronger ones.
@Magnalon
Blanka might not be a bad choice. He's fairly easy to pick up but has tons of potential if you practice. He's strong, doesn't take too much damage, and has great EX moves. He's just solid, and if you put in just a little bit of time you can do well with him.
Ok... I can't listen to anyone who is saying SFIV is unbalanced. Your opinion on becomes void to me right after seeing that.
There are at least 12 characters that are on an even playing field in SFIV and yeah... there are a few that might not be able hold a candle to the better characters, but I mean... BlazBlue only has 12 total, of course it will seem more balanced. At least you can mix it up in SFIV and if you try hard enough or adjust tactics, you CAN win with the lesser characters.
If all of the extra fluff characters in SFIV weren't included though and the game only shipped with like 12 characters... people would be claiming it was more balanced than it is now. The core is there though, that's what I'm getting at.
The thing is, Capcom wanted to add some extra characters just for fan service. Even if some of the extra characters are just there for fun and not for competing...why not have them anyway?
I mean... the core 8 characters from SFII have been solid in all of the Street Fighter games they have been in... with maybe the exception of Dhalsim, but even in the right hands he can be scary.
Anyway, balancing is more than just having a low number of characters to choose from, leading you to believe each one has their rightful spot. It is the ability to move from character to character and learn the game across an even playing field in your own style, adapting and improvising with each new character you pick. From the sound of it... you have to practically relearn the game each time you pick a new character in BlazBlue... and that just ain't my bag.
Thanks for the input guys.
Also... sorry Danmartigan... I forgot how sensitive you were about that tattoo! ;)
SFIV is one of the most balanced fighters I've played in a while at first glance: this is coming from someone who's played every single Street Fighter, from II to EXII, beyond.
If you buy it, I will do two things.
one, goto pax
and b) crossplay as taokaka
why? cause I'm a confused individual.
Hahaha... Joe.. if you cosplay as Tatanka from old school WWF, then we have a deal.
This is probably too late, but I'll offer my thoughts on this game.
BlazBlue is supremely unbalanced.
Some may say that it's because it's the first in the series, but a lot of it is just inexcusable.
Character Taokaka has moves that require completely precise timing all the time. If you don't play for a day, then your timing is going to be off and you'll lose most matches.
The only real combos she has are air combos, which are escapable after a while.
AND they're character specific, so if you're a smaller character, I have a high chance of missing.
Online, she is even less usable because they made her moves like that and the online mode isn't always lagless. She also has the second least guard libra, stuns easily, very low defense, and very low attack.
No projectiles, anti-air, counters, or anything.
Did I mention she has 3 completely useless moves that take 1 hp, are not combo able and leave her open for up to 3 seconds?
Yesterday as I was playing, Tager used one of his magnetic super moves (a grab move that sucks me into him) and caught me with it. the move took all of the 75 percent of the HP I had left.
Tager is a pretty cheap character himself, taking huge amounts of HP using only a grab move. His combos, while only hitting you about 4-5 times take half of your hp.
But even he has bad match ups. Going against an okay Arakune is impossible for Tager to do anything. If you're a tager user, prepare to lose.
Characters such as V-13 (nu), Arakune, and Rachel can all just spam and win with little skill.
Many characters have cheap loops that can take your entire bar of hp (Carl's famous grab loop, Litchi), others have counter-moves...
BlazBlue is a mess that I WANT to like, a lot, but I can't deny the complete imbalance.
My brother would just say to use a different character instead of Taokaka, which WOULD work, but I'm just sick of making due with games that are unbalanced. I liked Taokaka's design and wanted to use her, but I'm not a huge devoted fan, so using her is impossible.
There seems to be some input detection problems (could be my controller, but I never had this problem in SF4, Soul Calibur, or Dead or Alive), because it consistantly does the wrong move with a similar input.
If you don't mind unbalanced games, and I mean REALLY unbalanced, then go ahead and get this game. It's story and arcade modes are really well done, plus the music, characters, and animations are awesomely designed and in high definition.