Review by: Michael Barnes

Blazblue: Continuum Shift is largely the same excellent anime-styled fighting game as last year’s surprise hit Calamity Trigger but there have been some significant renovations. Much like Super Street Fighter IV, the result is a game that feels more complete and balanced than its initial release. The game offers value in three new characters and a couple of new play modes. If you haven’t played Calamity Trigger and you enjoy 2D fighters, Continuum Shift is a must-buy if Super Street Fighter IV is becoming stale. If you already have a copy of Calamity Trigger in your library as a fighting game alternate, it’s still a good value and there is plenty of new material to explore.

Just don’t expect the game to be a full sequel. Even though it ships at a $40 retail price point I can’t help but feel that with a little more work it could have been a full sequel rather than an iterative stopgap to tide us over until the inevitable Blazblue 2. Most gameplay alterations are minor tweaks such as the elimination of the “Guard Libra” and “Barrier Burst” mechanics and a revision of the “Astral Heat system.” If all of that means nothing to you, or if you never quite mastered all of the intricacies of the system in the first game, then some of the changes will likely be irrelevant to your gameplay experience. Rest assured, it’s a great four-button fighting system with thrilling combos, dramatic “Distortion” finishes, and a small but extremely diverse roster of unique fighters each with radically different styles of play.

One of the really nice things about Continuum Shift is that it wants to help you be a better player and it provides a host of educational opportunities so you can sort out which characters you like the best and how to take advantage of its mechanics. I’ve been playing 2D fighting games since Karate Champ and I was in the local arcade the day they wheeled in the first Street Fighter II cabinet, but I’ve never really been all that ‘”good” at the genre. Therefore, the most significant update in my eyes is the inclusion of a very extensive tutorial section that provides even the most novice fighting game player with guidance ranging from moving and pushing an attack button all the way up to character-specific extended combos and strategies. It takes some time to work through the tutorial section, but I found it to be indispensible to enjoying the game and getting the most out of it. Even though I had played Calamity Trigger, I learned a lot about playing the game and playing it well.

Additionally, there are also Challenges for each character similar to those in SSFIV that require certain combinations or attack sequences to progress. It’s a great way to learn some of the complex techniques, although some can be particularly difficult. Perseverance pays off. I’m sure it’s my bad timing at fault, but there were a couple of occasions where I was sure I had input the correct sequence but failed time after time. It’s tough to blame the controller, because I found the game as a whole to be much more accommodating of standard controllers than I expected but a good fight stick is still the best option for pulling off those Shoryuken-style maneuvers and difficult quarter circle forward to half circle backward stunts.

Playing through both the tutorials and the character challenges will not only train you to be more competitive, but it will also help you identify if you’re a Ragna the Bloodedge player or an Iron Tager one. Once you think you’re ready, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the game and a number of difficulty settings to adjust the challenge to your taste. There’s a standard Arcade mode, complete with a practically impossible end boss that will have you seriously considering punching someone in real life. The story mode, which is incredibly long-winded and contains almost every anime cliché in the book, offers a number of interlocking character narratives to give all the punching and kicking some context. An all-new “Legion” game fails to position the game as a territorial conquest campaign, but it’s an option. A “beginner’s mode” is featured across the game modes that does away with the combo system altogether. The player simply has to press buttons and the combos and special attacks simply roll off of the controller. It’s great for kids or the easily frustrated adult. I swear I never used it.

The heart and soul of any fighting game is in its multiplayer, mano-a-mano matchups and Continuum Shift delivers, whether it’s a good old fashioned friends-on-the-couch ad hoc tournament or via the game’s excellent online service. Be warned though—the online multiplayer is like jumping into a shark tank. There are some extraordinary Blazblue players out there, so prepare to be humbled unless you’re one of those obsessively competitive frame-counters.