Game: BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

Platform: Xbox 360; PlayStation 3

Publisher: Aksys Games

Developer: Arc System Works

ESRB: T

Genre: 2D anime brawler

Players: 1-2

What's Hot: Absolutely gorgeous character sprites; stellar animation; characters have a unique feel and have kickass designs; new game, familiar feel

What's Not: Can’t help but feel like you’ve played it before; unintelligible story; what the hell is going on?!

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Review by: Mitch Dyer

I suck at fighting games, but I love ‘em anyway. And what I love about BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, aside from its ridiculous title, is how welcoming it is. Within moments of starting my first arcade brawl I felt like I knew exactly what to do. Without even looking at a move list I was pumping out gorgeous-looking 20 hit combos like a pro.

That’s part of the magic. BlazBlue is a legitimately accessible fighting game, at least when it comes to the actual fisticuffs. Everything around it, from the art to the presentation to the story, is complete and utter nonsense. The incomprehensible stories are told through massive walls of text, which makes it hard to get engaged in the story mode, and the fights that follow the reading marathon are visually comparable to having kaleidoscope eyeballs. Each of the characters, who are memorable for their outstanding designs, not their names, has a unique set of flashy flair that accompanies their attacks. The beautiful character sprites move fluidly against the 3D backgrounds, which makes for stellar-looking brawls, though it’s oftentimes tough to comprehend. All that flash isn’t without a bit of substance, though.

Each of the 12 fighters feels different. Though the input for a lot of their abilities are similarly simplistic (forward, forward, X; quarter circle back, kick; etc.) everyone has a certain weight and speed you’ll need to balance to effectively use their moves. Some are more abstract than others, like the ludicrously large Tager, or Kaokaka, a shadowy face buried beneath an agile cat suit. They’re a weird batch, this new crew, but they’re all enjoyable to play. Button mashing works well enough for newcomers, but I found that, like in all fighting games, I started to prioritize my character’s skills to throw down lengthier combos and learn how to efficiently counter an attack. The sense of progression came naturally, and I still feel like I’m picking up on nuances every time I load up a fight.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is just about everything a fighting nut could want in a new fighting game. The availability of an entirely new roster of characters gives them a lot to explore and share with newcomers. It’s just that it’s the same thing we’ve been doing for 20 years. Two anime dudes punch each other until the other one falls over, and you move on to the next fight. It’s a somewhat stale but still winning formula. But new it isn’t. Even with the wacky style and awesome art, BlazBlue still feels like something you would have played in an arcade in the mid-90s.

That aspect is also what makes it so appealing. It’s comfortable. BlazBlue is a new franchise that calls back to the cabinet. It’s what you’d expect out of, and it’s what you want in, a new 2D fighting game.

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