Superkenon

Heck with that. The time for Omicron-15 (O-15) is nigh! Or Sigma-18 (Σ-18)! Then we can make Megaman jokes! But yeah, I don't think we're going to be out our resident robot lady -- one way or another. Just sayin' it wouldn't be a completely unprecedented move for ArcSys. Still, I doubt it. She's way too popular.

Well... Kliff and Justice did vanish in Guilty Gear X on account of being dead. They did come back as unlockables in GGXX though. (And, of course, now they've since been reintroduced as balanced characters)

Nothin', really. There's this quote from the Mori interview: "Well the story has moved on, so Mu and Lambda isn't there. Well, if you want to know what happened to them, play some story mode after the arcade release." But that's only referencing story. Whether they remain as playable characters remains an uncrackable mystery!! For my money I don't think they're going to let the Nu moveset/sprites go to waste. I feel the same way about Mu, though somehow she feels slightly more expendable.

Would've been fun to see a Jin redesign I guess, but I really liked Mori's answer. Jin just doesn't give a care. He'll go on wearing what he wears, and no one can tell him otherwise!!

I'm excited for a whole new slew of backgrounds -- and themes! I'll be strangely sad if none of the old ones are selectable anymore though, haha.

Nyaa~!! Because it can. Numbers are fun, and sometimes it is interesting to look at. It could just well not exist as far as I'm concerned, but some people like the persistent stats as an incentive to keep playing -- in a similar fashion that character-building keeps people playing something like WoW. But it's definitely a mistake to let it lead you entirely, especially when you don't need it in the first place. You sound like you're having fun playing BlazBlue just for the fun of BlazBlue -- so, take your mind no further than that. Just keep on a-rollin', enjoying the game and the SPIRIT OF COMPETITION!!

Match-ups, yo. It's not so much having to play "better" against certain characters as it is having to play "differently". Which I think is totally cool. This game would be boring if the same strategy worked on every opponent. <-- testimony from a guy who gets stomped by hakumen and accepts it as "my bad!!"

Anyone who would hold your record against you is a douche. But most people don't even pay attention to those scores, let alone remember them. I do care about my own stats a bit, if only to gauge if I'm getting any better. But that's it. In some ways it's like a picture of your cat; no one but you is gonna give an eff. But anyway, take it from a guy who's unlikely to exceed a 5% victory ratio. What people do remember is how good of a sport you are. So, as long as you're having fun and taking everything in stride, you'll be considered good company. The thing is, everyone's gotta lose before they get better, and this is basically universally understood. There's no shame in being beaten, especially when you're learning from each loss. BATTLE SCARS

Astrals wouldn't be nearly as meaningful if they were easy to pull off. They're a fun event precisely because they're a rarity -- whereas if they were something that happened like every other match it'd just be tedious. INSTANT KILLS shouldn't be readily accessible anyway, but that's beside the point. I think it's okay for something to "merely" be fun. Think of it like an easter egg! And it's got candy inside!!!!!!!!!!

Chie's pretty easy to mash to success in these early hours, haha. She looks like she'll be really fun to grasp the nuances of though.

Just from preliminary impressions, Akihiko does have trouble from a distance. On the other hand, he seems to have health for days, so I (playing as an Akihiko) found I could afford to suffer some hits when attempting to close the gap. Then it's suddenly a bad day for Yukiko. I think it is safe to say that this matchup hinges on how well Yukiko keeps control over the range. Naturally her 236C/D is a key component of this.

Granted "strengthen up" is pretty vague, and could mean (un)literally anything. Though even if it was 'just' a damage increase... while not wholly exciting, it could well make a huge, scary difference. Just imagine every one of Nirvana's attacks taking out that much more health.

Yet... I am.

Aw yeah. Even if it's one I've already seen before, I forget so fast. Seems like every time I play the game I need to refresh myself on which one is which -- even with the aid of that color swatch thing. It's an outright tragedy!! Intense weeping, I say! Okay, it's not really that big of a deal, but I'll be strangely ecstatic if these sprite previews are implemented. Do we know for sure that this is in, or is it just a safe assumption since they did it for P4A?

I played Ky in Guilty Gear, so Jin was the natural progression. Magic swordsmen, to me!! Usually going for who looks 'cool' rather than a gameplay-oriented decision, though I do have a knack for being attracted to characters with interesting hooks, like Carl. Not that I ever became anything but 'clumsily passable' at playing him. Or Jin for that matter, haha. HADOKEN, HADOKEN, HADOKEN. ICE CAR. I'll cop to being most interested in Amane among this new batch.

Naoto looks like a lot of fun to play. Probably the kind of character a scrub like me should stay the hell away from, but dang it if I'm not going to try anyway, folks!! My Carl of the new generation.

Look at me, I'm part of the zeitgeist!! PS3, 'cause that's what I gots. But I prefer the Dualshock to the 360 controller anyway, especially with fighting games. Could just be me, but whatever. Been inching ever closer to finally breaking down and getting a fightin' stick though.

Definitely too early to be comparing it to X-Factor, so it's not worth getting worked-up over either way. But, at least it looks to have more strategical considerations involved; rather than being a no-reason-not-do-it attack boost.