Luminos564

Wait so the multi-eyed demon/spirit thing is called Hi no Kagutsuchi? I mean, I'm not surprised considering we've had most of the major Japanese pantheon name-dropped throughout this franchise, but the name brought me a thought: could Hi no Kagutsuchi be Nine's Nox? I do not recall if it was stated but was it ever confirmed if Nine fought only with her magic (or was that sorcery) and not any weapon of her own?

So since nobody has posted this, here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNkGxgMkcBE It is a comparison between KOFXIV and XIII with the (supposed) intention of indicating that "No really players, XIV is totally on the same level that XIII was The core gameplay is still that KOF spirit" . They even slow it down so you can notice the motion similarities easier. I dunno about you fellows but all I can see is how XIV looks so rough and lifeless as opposed to XIII but you know, personal bias and all that jazz.

Thing is though, and I must ask: if she is pulling yet another rewrite (and all the 725 times before), why does she continue to use Ragna for the role of the "hero"? If all she required out of her predetermined story was that the "hero saves the girl", then there's no particular reason for her to keep using Ragna specifically. She could have tried anyone else for a spin. Unless of course this is what Rachel meant when she said that "actors exist to fulfill their role on the stage" and Ragna just so happens to be the unfortunate one stuck with the role of the "hero" because Amaterasu is a terrible casting director. Going a bit on the side, has anyone else noticed the illustrations during the opening? We've see the "Beast" Ragna vs. Jin and several others, but also take note that there was a Lambda-11 vs. Haku-men one. I forget the exact line but isn't one of Lambda-11 quotes showcased as something like "I won't let Ragna be killed" or some other such variation? If this means she's planning on taking on Haku-men of all people then someone really ought to give her a gold medal for having the guts to do it.

You mean the idea of everything being "all just a dream", one of the most poorly implemented storytelling devices to date? Yeah no thanks. While the idea is not inherently bad, it has often been used as one of the laziest, most cop-out endings/explanations and I'd like to think that for a game that's supposed to signify the end of (at least) Ragna's story to have more substance than for it to end up as Amaterasu's little acid trip. That being said, looking at the opening I noticed that Amaterasu is depicted as completely alone in what looks like a barren wasteland while what I can only assume is the Embryo looming over her. Perhaps that has some significance down the line. If Amaterasu is indeed the "Girl" in the story, then perhaps she's doing this out of sheer loneliness. Clearly Ragna means something to her if she's pulling yet another massive phenomena intervention and attempting to revert things back to CT.

Sigh, I am truly sorry but I simply can't get past the aesthetics here. I love Leona and it is (usually) always nice to see her but geez this design looks..."alien". Not as bad as Kyo but still pretty darn close. At this point I fear for the next reveals rather than feeling hyped (which is probably the complete opposite of what game trailers ought to do). I can only hope that they don't use Vanessa and Shen Woo (my 2 most favorite characters) for this game. And I know most people will tell me that "aesthetics do not matter" in a game and I can respect that opinion, but please remember that games are a visual interactive medium. Trailers are supposed to look appealing and make you excited for something, yet this is having the reverse effect on people judging by the dislikes of this video and SNK removing comments. I'll make my final judgements on the game post-release but from what has been revealed so far, and this going purely by the 2 trailers we've had: it doesn't look good for either visuals or gameplay (the movement looks stiff and awkward, not mention how the red-background during Iori's Neomax clashes with the now 3D design). I'll keep an eye out for this game but I am not getting any hopes up of seeing anything improving.

Now there's a character that got my attention. I was content with letting SFV pass me by since, aside from Necalli, I didn't see much that enthralled me. And then this trailer hits and I'm thinking "Well damn, now I might have to play this". If they announce Q and/or Urien then I am totally sold.

Of this I, most unfortunately, agree. Even if you want to spin the whole "Teaser trailer =/= finished product" line, you also must understand that same trailer was what SNK deemed their "best" in order to hype up potential buyers/players. I got so excited when I saw KoFXIV announced only for my excitement to dissipate the moment I saw the 3D Kyo. Then I recalled the days of Maximum Impact and my whole body cringed. Look, I am normally fine with 3D fighters. Tekken and Soul Calibur being my favorite of the lot. But when a franchise that has been known up to now for its 2D sprites transitions into 3D it is, most often, jarring at best. And allow me to explain why, on a personal level, this trailer does not do it for me. See, 3D graphics have thus far been pushed to so many limits, that after years of gaming most 3D games do not offer me anything visually "different" to look at. To me, 3D is the kind of thing that homogenizes any given series (and fighters especially so). And for what purpose I must ask? The sprites that were used prior in KoFXIII were absolutely stunning. They were visually unique and I'd never mistake a KoFXIII character for someone in Blazblue or Guilty Gear. But here, had I no prior knowledge of either Kyo and Iori, my first guess would've been that these guys came from Tekken, Virtua Fighter or that Killer Instinct on X1. If SNK was trying to make KoFXIV stand out from the competition, then they didn't make a good call in my opinion.

So I managed to record some matches with a PSN buddy and I tried to apply some of the things that I ought to be doing. The result...isn't very pretty. I must confess, I have not had much chance to practice with Azrael due to work and other things happening in my life. But please have a look and see if you spot a difference between my last set and the now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXWb-QiMDvE. Apologies in advance for the poorer quality. I honestly have no idea what happened since the original video was converted to HD anyway. Chalk it up to youtube being dumb I guess. Some of the things I noticed: I managed to keep Growler usage down a lot. Unfortunately, it seems I picked up YOLO'ing Scud Punishment as a result for the tough situation, even though most don't call for its use. I am still pulling off random Valiants and Hornets, though sometimes this was due to either lag or small panic. Definitely need to get rid of both ASAP. I've also started applying 5A more on TCL wall-stick. Still haven't managed the full sequence (5A>jc>jA>jB>jC>jc>jD/j2D) but these were also the first times my brain remembered to try it out so work in progress. My pressure seems to be improving somewhat, though I keep forgetting to utilize 5D and 2D. What I am finding difficult is utilizing Azrael's backdash defensively. Though I didn't manage to pull it off in the matches recorded, there were times where I was able to backdash in between my opponent's block string. However, it is also inconsistent as sometimes I am able to do it on a move but then not be able to do it later on the same one. Would IB'ing be what makes the difference here? Because I cannot tell. Likewise, movement is still stiff. I grasp the principle of ending Azrael's dash with a jump or Barrier Block, but execution is another matter. Added, I am still not sure how to apply IAD to it or how to use it to give Gustav more ground. Is there a video/notation demonstration on this somewhere? I mean sure, I can practice for hours on end when I am not busy, but it's fruitless if I am not practicing correctly. Thanks a lot once again.

It's an interesting little detail, but the way most people regard the NOL tends to be for the most part neutral. It seems like that, in general, while a good number of people refer to the NOL as "Library" in snide tones, they also do recognize them as a reasonable authority (Hazama McDickers and Relius Dubag notwithstanding since they're more behind-the-scenes fellows). One perfect example is Noel who, while carrying the uniform of an NOL officer, is treated reasonably well by civilians. Heck, even Bang who owes the destruction of Ikaruga to NOL soldiers does work "with them" as a vigilante by trying to apprehend criminals. His anger is more directed towards Jin and even then he's willing to put that aside for the sake of a greater good. In general, it seems that as long as the NOL are not being overly pushy, the populace sees them in decent enough light. Homura taking the reign of the NOL should alleviate some of the tensions. Of course, we'd need to stop the populace from turning to seithr and being absorbed by the Embryo to do that.

This actually presents an interesting little idea and I feel like indulging a tiny bit. Now, Ragna's an amnesiac...again. CPEX had him tossed out of the Embryo and once again, at a loss of his own identity and memories. Azrael confirms this further in the trailer for CF, noting his memory loss and musing that despite it, he's still likely to wind up repeating history. Now, disregarding Azrael's musings, the amnesiac Ragna is, for all intents and purposes, a blank slate. He has no memory and therefore is unaware of what he has done prior to having lost it. At this point, is he still to be held accountable for his past crimes? Do you judge a man guilty of a crime he honestly does not know he committed? No doubt, Tsubaki does see him as evil and a vile criminal. But if the brief interaction when he was "captured" by Kagura is an indicator, she seems like the sort to stick to "due process". Keep in mind, at that point she had no reason to wait and could have made the attempt at his life but didn't. If BBCF played like a crime drama, this would be a narrative goldmine where you have Tsubaki interacting with the amnesiac Ragna and bond over a brief time. See a side of him she never even considered, which ultimately results in much dramatic tension somewhere down the line when she has pull an Old Yeller on him. Now naturally, Ragna's more than likely to recover his lost memory. However, once he does, do you think he'll be the same as he was by CP's end? Or would he still be different?

More or less this. Tsubaki is a nice gal most of the time. But touch Jin nii-sama (or heck, convince her of something related to him) and she'll go into Murder-mode at the drop of a hat. This is the same woman in Haku-men's timeline who (furiously) demanded an image of Saya to get away from Jin. Ragna could have been the most upstanding individual in this whole series and she'd still want to kill him if Jin offhandedly mentioned that Ragna once took his ice-cream back when they were kids. Unfortunately, from her perspective, all she knows is that Ragna was involved in brutally hurting Jin and Noel. It isn't helped that Rachel didn't even plead his case to her in that he was being forced to do so against his will (and on that note: what the hell, Rabbit?). It certainly wouldn't have changed anything as according to Rachel, Ragna needs to be killed soon but geez, why continue to leave out information like this?

Alright so forget the idea with beastkin and other animals. But Seithr is known to cause mutations correct? And they (animals) adapted? So it goes back to my original idea that perhaps Azrael is one of the few (or even only) human to be able to adapt to high Seithr concentration without suffering outlandish mutations. Though why he'd be a special case or what the circumstances are surrounding that is certainly a wild guess. Ah right. But of course, what Ragna actually is at this point is still up in the air. Though I question why Rachel strictly demanded him to promise her that he'd always "go on like a human", even when he "might feel like giving up". Perhaps the answer lies there?

I don't think that was the case. IIRC, he stumbles on both Haku-men and Celica going about and attempts to fight him. A skirmish occurs until Nu-13 flies in and Haku-men notes it is better to leave than deal with him (it is unknown if Haku-men was aware that Azrael cannot fight him unless the former has "fighting intent"). Whether or not Haku-men would have emerged the victor is anyone's guess. It's true that his power is rightly absurd. But then again, it seems like animals have dampening effects on the Seithr since beastkin resist it (humanoid they may be, but they do have some beastial qualities). Yet people like say Ragna, who got the Azure Grimmoire grafted onto him (and his Azure is really just hardened Seithr IIRC) benefitted IMMENSELY from it. To the point where the Library states that before grafting the arm, Ragna had absurdly low Ars Magus aptitude and only got better after it. Then again, it's dubious what sort of human Ragna is to begin with. All signs seem to point out that he's not all that "normal" either...

I feel ya, Shigekazu. I was in your shoes not too long ago in fact. Been playing since CT and I don't ever recall getting angry in fighters until I hit the online portion of that game. It was always the same: I could be riding a little high of some good matches where I wasn't outright winning but it was still favorable. Then all of a sudden, BOOM, in comes someone with obviously much better skill and matches under their belt and just wreck me and my mediocre play. This didn't help with my OCD need to complete the Ranked portion of the game because I'm a weird little mutant that likes getting trophies in these games. It wasn't until CPEX hit that I've finally been able to let go of these frustrations, mostly in part I feel like I finally found a character I can devote myself to (Azrael) and have been avoiding Ranked in favor of Training mode, Player Matches and the Lobby. Win or lose, I like playing this character and I love being able to land his stuff against other players (and my stuff is limited since I am just now learning him). It takes time for this to happen, and even then frustrations are going to happen. You will get angry at some point. You will get pissed and shout. And that's fine. We need to vent somehow and we all deal with it differently (though, do try to avoid this in public events like a tournament where they might have an issue). If I encounter a situation like this, I leave and go play some single player stuff or read something to mellow out. Heck you could even beat out the frustrations by doing some light exercise (and do your body a bit of good in the process). My point is, like others mentioned, losing is part of the whole fighting game process. Even the big boys/gals in BB and GG that attend EVO have lost their fair share. They too started out as beginners at some point. We all do. And I think, that's one of the reasons why I can remain calm now instead of getting angry. Here, try to look at it this way: statistical numbers and character match-up aside, what makes your opponent different from you? They're still human, they too can make mistakes that you can punish and most importantly, they too can lose. If not to you (right this moment) then maybe in another match. Or 10. Or 100. Persevere and keep going as much as you can and try to learn along the way. And if you feel lost, there is no shame in asking for advice (not unlike how you've already done). Anyway, that's all I was going to say and I'll apologise for the semi-wall of text. This sort of thing hits a little close to home for me and I wanted to be of as much help as possible.

Thing is though, for all his desire to fight and seek a strong enough opponent for him to go all-out, Azrael seems much more mentally "stable" than other typical berserkers in media. He knows he's powerful and has everything he needs to back it up. He's also quite cunning in the sense that he knows he could force Ragna's hand if he threatened the pretty girl that just walked in. He's definitely villainous, but I hesitate to call him insane. Then again, this is only accounting for his depiction in CP. Who knows what he acted like in the past. And if the "cannibal" attributed to his name by Jin is anything to go by, he's probably got more than his fair share of atrocities under his belt. Time will tell I suppose. As TD mentioned, here's hoping CF sheds some light on the matter. And if the trailer is anything to go by, he's going to be freed from captivity and encounter the now amnesiac Ragna (much to Azrael's delight I'm sure).

Hmm, I like this idea. It'd certainly explain why he's affiliated with them in the first place (can't imagine Azrael in lab-coat and glasses, teaching the interns about the scientific ramifications of messing with plutonium laced coffee). And of course, we know he's not the most cooperative beeftank so they had him frozen. My only question in that regard is: if the scientists had the means of creating someone like Azrael, why not use the method on themselves after they learned it was possible to create someone like Azrael? Surely obtaining that amount of power within like-minded individuals is preferable than say letting the Mad Dog himself run free again?

If we go down that route, then it stands to reason that Azrael is not a "conventional human". There are cases where people have survived very lethal substance doses and lived on to tell the tale. If you'd like a more specific real world example, Ozzy Osbourne was the subject of a Cambridge experiment to determine how he's still so functional after years of drug use. Turns out he's got genes that allow him to metabolize alcohol and opiates far better than any other human being. So let's try to operate on the idea that Azrael's body could function in that regard. It's just extremely rare since most other humans die outright in those cases. And remember, this is magical fantasy poison (Seithr) that we're talking about. That's the equivalent to the radioactive spider and freak supernovas that give all the cool powers to angsty teenagers in comics. Azrael instead is just much happier breaking your spine rather than question his place in life ;). This is a neat way to look at it. And indeed I do want to know more about these characters if only because the information we've had so far is bare-bones. Azrael is probably the only one of the new additions to have been fleshed out (a bit) until Bullet actually got some development in the Rat. Amane has none but Rachel alludes there's more to him than meets the eye.

I was joking more than not, but yeah he is associated with them, or at least, the group of scientists that let him loose and put that restraint on him. As is Makoto, technically, what with being a double agent for them (well, for Kokonoe specifically) during (or perhaps a bit before) CS.

Oh right, there was mention of beastkin being able to resist Seithr, wasn't there? Who was it....Jubei? During the Phase Shift chapters? Which was why the Kaka clan was made using his cells. I don't know if I'd attribute Azrael to the Power of Science. Wouldn't that be Tager or Kokonoe's shtick (:\)? Still, considering we know not his background, I suppose anything is possible.

So, I've been going over the powers most of characters have and have noticed a little detail in regards to Azrael. Unlike the rest of the cast, he quite literally has no explanation as to why he's so strong. Now hear me out: with the exception of maybe Amane (he too is a pretty big enigma until Mori gets around to writing a purpose for him) the other characters and their combat prowess (or just powers in general) can be explained within reasonable grounds. Ragna has the (fake) Azure Grimmoire and was trained by Jubei. Jin Has the Power of Order and wields Yukianesa in addition to his Academy military training. Noel is much the same except you add in her role as the Azure's inheritor and status as Kusanagi. Rachel is an ancient vampire, former Observer and is adept at sorcery (not Ars Magus). Characters like Makoto, Taokaka and Valkenhayn can be explained with beastkin genetics, while Kokonoe got the best of both her parents rolled into one. Tager was infused with the Red Ogre gene and then made into a cyborg. Even supposed normal humans like Bullet, Kahura and Hibiki can be explained via their military/mercenary profession. Azrael though? We know next to nothing about how he might have gotten his powers or why he's so strong. Look at the reactions from characters like Valkenhayn and Ragna during his Arcade run. They express utter bewilderment and even question whether or not he's human in the first place. We know he was present in the Ikaruga Civil War but that only tells us a (grim) tale of what he did with his abilities, not how he got them. To top it off, he makes no use of Ars Magus/Seithr so he's not hampered by Celica's presence. For a while, I struggled to come up with a theoretical answer as to why he is like this. Until I remembered that Makoto is, for whatever reason, resistant to Seithr while Celica naturally nullifies it. What if, hypothetically, Azrael is the result of a human being adapting to an environment with high concentration of the stuff, or at least an environment that was deemed uninhabitable? A sort of pseudo next step in human evolution. He acts more or less like a wild predator searching for his next kill than a member of today's BB-verse society and he doesn't make any use of its conventions either, both which I interpret as a sign that he's not from any city. It'd also explain why he'd be so strong. After all, if you're used to worse conditions then it makes sense that your body would appear stronger when it is no longer being weighed down by them. Hence why Azrael, being the bloodhound that he is, needs to limit himself so much. He did say that whenever he tended to all-out, most people simply cannot keep up and die all too quick. Of course, I most certainly could be wrong and Mori likely has a very different idea in mind for Azrael (if at all), but this is my personal take on Azrael.

First of all, thank you very much RentalBlackout for the detailed reply. I was somewhat worried that it'd take longer since the post before mine was in March but here I am, proven (happily) wrong. If you do not mind, I just need a bit of follow-ups on some of the points. I had tried sometime ago to use 2C and 6B as anti-airs. A good number of times the opponent either was able to stop themselves with a well-timed air barrier (6B) or simply stuffed it (2C). 5B proved more reliable to me and IIRC it can go into 2C link on hit correct? 5A is the only one that somewhat worries me since I've never been too good at comboing anything off of light attacks. Is it simply a matter of reacting faster to the hit-confirm? This I was not aware of. I mean, I remember hearing back in CP 1.1 that you could speed up Sentinel from a forward dash, but I wasn't aware that Gustav benefited from this either nor was I aware that I needed to input the 9 direction when doing it (might be the reason why I never noticed a difference up to now). The bolded part also intrigues me. I was always under the impression that jump canceling a dash (or any move in general) end with the character airborne. But from the phrasing, does this mean the JC'd dash means Azrael stays on the ground in order to then do a IAD? You're right about that. At this point in time I am not sure how to pressure/mix-up with Azrael. Especially on another player. Is there a way I can practice this in Training mode? Oh I absolutely agree. At the moment, I only really know how to go into 5B~B>TCL>BHS. But even that is inconsistent because the 46 motion for Cobra still feels unnatural to me. The CF loketest mentions that the motion was just changed to 6C, but that is neither now nor is is guaranteed to stay. So I definitely ought to practice it in varying combos until it becomes a non-issue. As for learning combos, is there a particular list of ones I could start with? I understand that eventually my "combo repertoire" will expand, but if you do not mind, which ones would be useful to prioritize first? Oh yeah I love landing that Astral. The fact that it is a "legit" option in some cases and not just swagger points is simply icing on the cake. My only regret is that I didn't hear the version with the maniacal laugh but meh. And yeah, out of all the characters I've tried, Azrael really is just the most fun and satisfying for me. I suppose I ought to change my signature soon... Thanks once again. Now I begin the process of practicing this.

So...this is a new one for me and I'll apologise in advance for any mistakes. First, a small bit of history on my part. I've played Haku-men exclusively since CT and for years I was perfectly fine with playing him in relative mediocrity. It wasn't until CP happened that I grew tired of playing him (the changes to his Drive didn't help) and I messed around with Terumi for a time until I picked up and played Azrael on a whim. Come CP Extend and I really like playing him the most. Unfortunately, the years of playing my mediocre Haku-men left me with too many bad habits and too little experience with anything else. To the point where even though I know Azrael is a very potent character in CP Extend just from footage alone, I am unable to utilize any of his better stuff. I've managed to compile a video of my Day 1 attempts at playing him. In truth, I know full well that I am utter garbage and that most of these victories were fraudulent on my part (you'll see it especially in the first match). At the moment, my playing can be likened to a Hail Mary pass where you go in more or less blind and hope for the best. The thing is that I don't want to remain at that level with this character. I don't need to be some EVO monster player but I should think that being competent isn't out of my reach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZrrmQznRQU&feature=youtu.be If you need a time-stamp on each match-up: I actually had a lot more matches recorded but I figured it best to condense it into something much shorter. I thought it best to pick the highlight that showcase both when I am at my worst and at the (current) best. The matches are in, more or less, chronological order of that day. Now to the point: what do I need to start practicing/learning about this character so that I can eventually move on from this trash level of play? What am I doing wrong (I realize there must be a lot but please point out whatever it is you see)? What am I doing right (I imagine this is a lot less than the former)? Upon self-observation, I should most likely stop throwing out Gustav so liberally along with Growler (though some of those happened due to lag online even though you don't see it in the video). Likewise, I find 3C isn't the best choice for trying to open the opponent up and have been trying to tone down its use. Finally, you notice that I am not doing any of Azrael's aerial stuff. That's because, at the moment, I am incapable of doing them. Oh sure, I pull his basic (UW) 5B>2C>6D>5B>J.B>J.C>J.D fine in challenge mode but not at all in actual combat (and I know that's just the basic one). Chalk another laundry list of things I ought to learn. Anyway, that's about it. I realise that this is asking a lot but if you've got advice and time to spare, I would love to hear it. Because I finally feel like I found a character that suits me in BB after so many years. Thank you in advance.

It's Mori though. He ditched Noel to a more backseat role because Celica needed plot relevance. The man has about as much loyalty to his waifu of choice as a starving bear has restraint in front of a fresh carcass. For all we know: Lamb-chops could turn out to be his waifu in CF or even Nine could be his "new squeeze".

That's because she's, more or less, done. She served her primary narrative purpose: motivate Ragna into being a not-so-real asshat more introspective on his own life's choices. Unless ASW can shoehorn in her importance again on the pretense that Nine is going to be directly involved now and that limited time-span thing that Japanese games/anime love to throw around like confetti, Celica has about as much to offer to the CF plot now as Litchi and Taokaka do. And I need not remind anyone how LITTLE they actually contribute now do I? Well...I suppose Celica has "shipping" going for her but that's a business ill suited for this thread... That being said, Celica COULD be used to show how far/low Nine's character has actually fallen since joining up with Death Goddess Mikado Izanami. If you remember, Nine was more or less Big Sister Templar when it came to Celica and was willing to condemn thousands upon thousands of souls by turning them into Nox Nyctores power batteries when the other option was to simply sacrifice Celica to use the Kushinada's Lynchpin. Though for full effect, you would need to have Kokonoe and Nine here as well since they are her only remaining family.

I wonder. Hazama/Terumi gave us the insight that the Black Beast is a failed Kusanagi. Now, Noel is the TRUE Kusanagi Murakumo and the only successful one but she did not need to merge with him in order to achieve that power. However, little miss Nu-13 revealed that originally Hazama/Terumi WANTED to turn into a Black Beast himself, despite having spent the entirety of Continuum Shift deriding the Black Beast's existence as a catastrophic failure for him. So what's the true purpose here? What changed? Right now we have a 1 successful Kusanagi (Noel) and a potential dud (Ragna and Nu-13) with mystery cards Lamb-chops and Naoto in the wait. And Naoto has a suspiciously similar emblem on him like Ragna does. I can only surmise that they are interconnected somehow.