Is Blazblue a good competitive fighting game in your opinion?

[Star-Demon]

Hey don't bash Gear, I'm a million times better at Blazblue, but Gear is still my faveorite, and how are GG characters not unique?

Don't get me wrong - I like the game a lot. The drives really exaggerate differences. Dust attacks are usually very similar. That's what I'm talking about. The game really needs the BlazBlue and Third Strike treatment. Expand and expose people to the characters in the story (get people attached), and make an online playable version of the game on a few platforms. Nothing less will save it from being the old but good game it is.

On topic, yes, BB is a great competitive game. I don't like most of the characters (Bang, Tao, Tager, Ragna, Arakune, Hakumen, Lambda...those are the only ones I like, unless you count Mu separate from Noel), but I love playing the game. Why people don't play the game, well let me tell you my expirence. I show people Tager, Bang, Ragna, and Hakumen "Oh hey that's cool", then they see Platinum, Noel, Rachel, "This game is dumb". No joke. The game is very Animesque, and a lot of people can deal with that style, Hell alot of the people I try to introduce to the game are anime fans, but moe and loli draw some people in, and push others away. When I first saw the game I wasn't interested at all because all I saw was Noel and Jin. Then Bang popped up, and I loved it ever since.

I have a WiP list of local players and their mains. Platinum is the most popular.

Most people that know OF BlazBlue like Bang. Thankfully, I don't play Rachel or Platinum, so I'm often showing off Litchi and Bang to new players. I also try to show how complex Carl is and how neat Tsubaki can be. (I teach people to block using 5B, I know, I'm a bastard.)

If you *show* people that the game is good and bring people in in a supportive manner, they will play.

I know you guys hate newbs, but seriously - you need em. You need 'em bad.

Edited November 25, 2011 by Star-Demon

[BURI]

The amount of hate BB gets even here in Dustloop due to comparisons with GG makes me sad, and makes me like GG less each time.

GG is great, but to be on par with new generation consoles it had to be fully remade in HD. I believe that since they would have to remake everything anyways (and there was that copyright problem at the time) they just made a different game before that.

GG will possibly have another version before the next BlazBlue (I mean the real next, like BB3) since there's a lot of story-driven changes to characters that would imply on (albeit slight) gameplay changes. By then, we'll all play GG and enjoy it a lot, but for now BB is in the spotlight, and it's honestly good.

The one big problem with GG is that it's -SO- not novice-friendly it hurts. It has an absurd leaning curve, and even the character designs aren't attractive to many people - in fact it was MADE to appeal to heavy metal fans (a specimen that, unfortunately, is endangered) and are just too freaking hard for people to identify with at first glance. BlazBlue has the great added bonus of bringing a lot of people to this community - and money to ASW and we all should be gratefull - not envious - of that.

I'll leave the heavy training to really get into GG when the next one is made, for it'll certainly rock.

[Tari]

I seem to recall that it was said in an interview that the next GG would not be made until all of BB was complete (story-wise, that is). So probably a few more years before GG gets the HD treatment.

Also, yes, anime-style attracts some people to the game and dissuades others. I ended up playing the game just because it looks absolutely stunning, graphics-wise.

Is the game competitive? Yes. Is it on the level of games like Marvel and SF? As far as popularity goes, no, and it may never reach that status. That doesn't make it a bad game to play, though.

[Fenrir Werwolf]

Thinking that a fighting game is good do to the story mode well written and because of HD is crazy.

Just crazy

[Zeero]

I've seen tournament play of this game and I got hooked. This game is more refined and better than SF in my opinion. I've played SF all my life and now I really want to make it as a Blazblue pro, I just wish Canada had a strong scene.

I see you havent met Leo7.

Anyway, I think you should make this post on like SRK or something... you're asking if BB is a good game in a BB forum

Take a look at what SRK says in their responses, I usually get a good laugh.

[Romeyurhomey]

People don't like blazblue because it actually takes time to master and there isn't a comeback mechanic like Xfactor, Ultra/Rage thus it's probably one of the most balanced games out there in the scene in America.

If it's too anime don't play games from Japan lol..

[destruction_adv]

I have a WiP list of local players and their mains. Platinum is the most popular.

Most people that know OF BlazBlue like Bang. Thankfully, I don't play Rachel or Platinum, so I'm often showing off Litchi and Bang to new players. I also try to show how complex Carl is and how neat Tsubaki can be. (I teach people to block using 5B, I know, I'm a bastard.)

If you *show* people that the game is good and bring people in in a supportive manner, they will play.

I know you guys hate newbs, but seriously - you need em. You need 'em bad.

Cool, round my parts everyone who was into the game before me hates Bang. The newer players like him, but I'm still the only Bang player, Valk is more popular round these parts. there was one Platinum, but I beat him until he switched to Noel, then I beat his Noel into Litchi, and now FRKZ is probably going to beat Litchi back to Platinum in CSE. Teir-whores eh?

About noobs, I tried to teach a 12 year old how to play BB. I'm teaching 8 year olds, raising up the next generation to see when their older that there is more than CoD. It helps that I have 2 psps (well, one is borrowed) to teach with during 7 hour AAU track meets. Yes, noobs are important.

[kenja0]

Blazblue is just getting drowned out by all the new fighting games and versions coming out. Let's think back of what came out this year, updates and all: AE, MvC3, MK9, AH3, KoF1994~???, 3SO, BBCS2, UMvC3, KoF13, BBCSEX, ver2012. Now let's see what's hype: SFxT, Skull Girlz, TTT2, SC5, VF5, DOA5.

Like really? 17 announcements/games on our lap?

So what happens? "There's too many games, I want to focus on the games I want to play." Then, all of the less popular games get weeded out of tournaments and those games just become obsolete and sparse in tournaments to where only the most popular will be held. Then, people focus on those popular games to stay relevant; what's the reason learning a game no one plays when everyone stops playing?

The fighting game community is going to crash because of everything that's out. And remember, the economy is bad, so there's only so much someone can invest in. So after it crashes, only the most popular of those will be the games people care about. The only things popular enough to stay around are games that have been around forever (Street Fighter, Tekken), games that are extremely fast paced (Marvel) and games that are seemingly casual (MK9, SC5). Game series that will drop off are ones that have made big mistakes in the past [sorry KoF13 but 12 fucked you dead] (VF5, DOA5), nostalgia is fulfilled (3SO, SNK games, Skull Girlz?), have too much of a hardcore following that no one wants to touch (BB, AH3, 3SO).

Blazblue just needs a sequel that revolutionizes its gameplay so much that people will look at it. Porting Guilty Gear to this gen would be awesome, but the nostalgia factor may just kill it and the hardcore fans would hate adjusting to lag. If Guilty Gear were to come back completely, new game with its port.

And don't forget, if it ain't in 3D, you're at a huge disadvantage since 2D gets old faster.

Do I think Blazblue is a great game? Yes I do. But then again, I also think that all these games have their pluses as well. I like 3SO, KoF13, SF4, MvC3, MK9, BB, and I'm looking forward to all the new games. But if I ever want to get good at my games, I have to focus. So I cut 3SO and MK9. I may have to cut KoF13 because of popularity (despite me thinking it's the most technically outstanding game in the bunch) and I want to cut SF4 because I'm too far behind.

You can't fix a game once it has hit hardcore status, because once you do, then your hardcore fans are gonna hate the casual direction the game is heading in and you'll just implode like the Smash community.

Edited November 26, 2011 by kenja0

[YukiBlue]

TL;DR THE WHOLE THREAD

1) Blazblue appeals to a more "Refined" Audience, Some who appreciate the art, Some who appreciate the Unique characters, Some who appreciate the FG Scene as a whole.

2) Street Fighter is for imperial milk drinkers

[Airk]

Blazblue just needs a sequel that revolutionizes its gameplay so much that people will look at it.

Er.... what exactly do you propose?

And don't forget, if it ain't in 3D, you're at a huge disadvantage since 2D gets old faster.

While 3D might give you a disadvantage because a lot of people think the more D's you have, the better your game is, 3d ABSOLUTELY ages much more rapidly than 2D. I just recently acquired a PS3 and grabbed a demo for Uncharted 1. This is a game that's 4 years old now, but current gen hardware. And pretty much my VERY FIRST THOUGHT looking at it was 'Holy crap, uncanny valley! It hurts!'. But I could go back and load up Odin Sphere (A slightly older title, for an older generation of hardware) and it still looks gorgeous.

[KayEff]

stuff

you're quite the narrow thinker, aren't you

[WolfCrimson]

BB has definitely become a really good competitive fighting game. I say 'become' because when the franchise started with CT there were a lot of things that, while initially seemed to be interesting, were either stupid or broken (intended or otherwise) from a system-mechanics point-of-view (Guard Libra, Barrier Bursts, Throw break OS that worked 100% of the time, air IB, no minimum damage on supers, tech rolls being special cancellable), and character balance was bad. Initially ArcSys fans were really pissed, this wasn't the game they wanted, and it had some stupid things in it which was unexpected from a company that produced the best fighting game there is, GGAC (while conveniently forgetting that GG started out pretty much the same way as BB), even though ArcSys stated that they wanted to do something different from GG, something that's more accessible. It's a really good thing that the company behind BB is ArcSys, because they're actually willing to work and fix what's wrong with their game (and have the history and experience to prove it), unlike a certain other company (*cough* Crapcom*cough*).

CS1 fixed some of the things that plagued CT, yet didn't do it completely, creating flaws of its own like up-back blocking due to lack of air-unblockable B and C normals to compensate for removal of air IB and barrier bursting, which effectively made mix-up in the game useless, and while the new Guard primer system was ok theoretically, there were some problems like bursting having too low of a penalty (half primers rounded up) on primers to effectively be a balanced system, and throws being purple during guard break which really affected Tager. And the character balance was still bad (BangBlue: Continuous Litchi).

CS2 fixed most if not all the problems with BB, and also added more strategy into the game with the mid-screen damage nerf. It's pretty much the best BB to date (not counting BBCSEX, because it's not out on consoles yet), and one of the better if not the best fighting game of the next-gen FGs imo. All the defensive and offensive subsystems are good, there's pretty much nothing wrong with the game mechanics&system-wise, from what I can see. The character balance is also really good, the gap between tiers is small, with only 1 C tier character (poor Tager) and one(Mak) (or two(Valk)) S tier character/s.

As to the future, BBCSEX looks like what its name suggests: sex.

P.S. There is only ONE THING I would like to see "fixed" with BB and GG: the goddamn hitstop. BB has a bit too much of it and GG has a bit too little. Why can't ArcSys do this right?

Edited November 27, 2011 by WolfCrimson

[swordiris]

Blazblue is a very competitive game just the fact that it was one of the five main events at EVO (along with SSF4, MK9, Tekken 6, and MvC3) already gives it a spot as one of the top fighting games. Blazblue has a lot of fighting systems that I believe to be better than the other game but I have had a hard time converting people from Street Fighter (maybe because I play with the loli vampire). The game isn't just for anime junkies, I picked this up because I'm a fighting game fan, not an anime fan (in fact Blazblue was a gateway to get me into anime). I wish more people would see Blazblue for the competitive game that it is instead of pushing it to the side.

Our community is like what SNK's community was in the 90's. We are very devoted to our game, but we are still "that other fighting game". I would be very shocked if our fanbase beat Capcom's although I doubt it will happen.

[Xtra_Zero]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I feel BB is harder to play at a high level than GG is. I can't explain why exactly, but it has something to do with what moves actually lead to good damage. Also otg state differences.

Edited November 27, 2011 by Xtra_Zero

[Circuitous]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I feel BB is harder to play at a high level than GG is. I can't explain why exactly, but it has something to do with what moves actually lead to good damage. Also otg state differences.

You need to have played both games at a high level before saying something like this. This is probably why you can't explain it.

[Zeron_X25]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I feel BB is harder to play at a high level than GG is. I can't explain why exactly, but it has something to do with what moves actually lead to good damage. Also otg state differences.

Ummm nope. GG is on another level.

[Tong]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I feel BB is harder to play at a high level than GG is. I can't explain why exactly, but it has something to do with what moves actually lead to good damage. Also otg state differences.

Combo'ing in GG is a freaking mission... and that's not even the biggest part of the game.

[Deikan]

Blazblue is a very competitive game just the fact that it was one of the five main events at EVO (along with SSF4, MK9, Tekken 6, and MvC3) already gives it a spot as one of the top fighting games. Blazblue has a lot of fighting systems that I believe to be better than the other game but I have had a hard time converting people from Street Fighter (maybe because I play with the loli vampire). The game isn't just for anime junkies, I picked this up because I'm a fighting game fan, not an anime fan (in fact Blazblue was a gateway to get me into anime). I wish more people would see Blazblue for the competitive game that it is instead of pushing it to the side.

Our community is like what SNK's community was in the 90's. We are very devoted to our game, but we are still "that other fighting game". I would be very shocked if our fanbase beat Capcom's although I doubt it will happen.

I totally agree with you, it needs a more stronger scene. I've seen Blazblue get played at Evo and I fell in love with the gameplay, the different character styles, and the hype the game brings to the community. I've been playing SF in the 90's and I picked up Blazblue because of three things: I want to broaden my horizon and learn a new game, I'm a fighting game fan, and I love anime to boot.

I'm a Rachel main myself, and despite the fact I'm not doing good online I'm really enjoying the game to its fullest, and I'm still practicing continuously hoping to get into the scene real soon.

[Manta]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I feel BB is harder to play at a high level than GG is. I can't explain why exactly, but it has something to do with what moves actually lead to good damage. Also otg state differences.

I played GG beforehand, and here's what I found:

Basic combos for any character were easier, most characters could work up the buttons like it was capcom and call it a combo in a way that doesn't work in BB. But the actual competitive combos that get the most out of your hits were considerably harder in GG and there was a much bigger emphasis on RC combos as opposed to Overdrives. Moves were generally quicker too so it made it much harder to keep up with the pace.

Learning BB to a competitive level is also easier because the interface tells you more, you get precise damage values and heat gain when you practice, and the system of prorating combos is generally much easier to understand.

[Lord Knight]

You get all that stuff in GG too, lol

[Kristoph]

other than execution requirements, the two things I always hear regarding Guilty Gear versus Blazblue are:

1) Guilty Gear has footsies

2) Guilty Gear has throws that don't suck

shrug

[Linear04]

gg has oki too

lol

[Airk]

other than execution requirements, the two things I always hear regarding Guilty Gear versus Blazblue are:

1) Guilty Gear has footsies

Explain please. As far as I can tell, all games have footsies. Unless you think that the movement options in BB invalidate them, but doesn't GG have all the same ones?

2) Guilty Gear has throws that don't suck

BB has throws that require strategy?

[Katsu78]

I think BB is good competitive game, I only got into it recently by watching match videos, but I was no stranger to the game.

When CT came out I was watching gameplay and thought "Wow, this game is extreme." It mostly had to deal with the high damage combos and the wonky system, which made me not want to play it, and I avoided it like the plague. Fastforward to CS2, I watched a tournament on the BBVlog, and got hyped and wanted to buy the game (only for my PS3 to break). I think BB has come a long way from what it was from CT, and hopefully I can join the NC scene soon with CSEX (also whenever I get a new PS3)

[Eshi]

the first game or two were pretty broken, but BB is definitely one of the best balanced and competitive games around now. I try to get into games with more competition like mvc3 and sfiv but compared to BB they're just gift-wrapped piles of crap.