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[Supaidaman]

I've only played a little of the first one and didn't even finish the storyline properly... But somehow I'm still excited for this one.

I don't know if I should jump on CP Extend and go from there or actually try to play all of them for the storyline, because I'm really interested in it.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Yeah, that's fair. I didn't take DLC into account. All of those song packs, stages and color palettes can add up fast.

I think it's just the characters.

I've only played a little of the first one and didn't even finish the storyline properly... But somehow I'm still excited for this one.

I don't know if I should jump on CP Extend and go from there or actually try to play all of them for the storyline, because I'm really interested in it.

If you want to enjoy the story you'll have to buy past games. Just pick up the extended versions of the games and maybe replay the original to freshen up on the story.

 

[Derpot]

So Nine will be there but where is Jubei ):

 

[Easy_D]

Does this mean PC can get Chrono Phantasma since it wouldn't be the latest release?
When is ArcSys gonna start blaming piracy for not releasing their latest game releases though

 

[BreakAtmo]

Just realistic, do you expect them to redraw +25 character or do them in ·D like Xrd?, that will take years and a lot of money to do.

A video game taking years and lots of money to make? Wow, never seen that before.

Seriously, after GGXrd set a new bar, Central Fiction really should have continued on the same road if it's going to be sold as a brand new game - especially if, as I've heard before, this is going to be the final game in the story. Right now it looks like it'll be sold at $49 despite recycling a massive chunk of its content from old games, which kind of sucks. I'll still get it since I want to finish the story, but I think the improved Xrd-style look could have brought a bunch more people in.

Oh well. I can still hope for an Xrd-style Persona 5 Arena!

 

[Luigi87]

Nice to see the fourth entry announced. I am quite surprised (and pleased) that CP only had one additional iteration.

 

[KuroPyonyo]

Seriously, after GGXrd set a new bar!

In their GDC conference they said they don't want GG to compete with their own BB. So GG will be 3D and BB will be 2D to differentiate the two series.

 

[BreakAtmo]

In their GDC conference they said they don't want GG to compete with their own BB. So GG will be 3D and BB will be 2D to differentiate the two series.

Which is dumb. BB doesn't need to be 'differentiated' by looking crappier than GG. I mean, they're the devs and it's their choice, but it's a stupid choice, and I don't entirely buy that saving money through heavy graphical recycling had nothing to do with it.

 

[Kintaro]

Ugh. CP Extend only just came out here. I can't get into this series anymore. =/ The release timing in the states is awful.

 

[Ogawa-san]

And ASW's cycle of announcing a sequel within a month or two of releasing their latest BB in the US (I'd say west but lol EU) continues, like clockwork.

Just in time to curb my idea of getting CPE at full price too.

 

[LongDongJunon]

Naoto is definitely giving me some Yuri from Shadow Hearts vibes.

 

[DiscoShark]

This is why I didn't buy Extend.

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

Which is dumb. BB doesn't need to be 'differentiated' by looking crappier than GG. I mean, they're the devs and it's their choice, but it's a stupid choice, and I don't entirely buy that saving money through heavy graphical recycling had nothing to do with it.

the sprites are fucking gorgeous. why the hell should they homogenize just because your opinion

 

[KuroPyonyo]

Which is dumb. BB doesn't need to be 'differentiated' by looking crappier than GG.

Which is subjective. To me GG only looks barley passable. Proper 2D still shits all over 3D. Especially since there are only a handfull of devs capable of high quality sprite works I don't want another series to become 3D.

 

[DiscoShark]

Which is dumb. BB doesn't need to be 'differentiated' by looking crappier than GG. I mean, they're the devs and it's their choice, but it's a stupid choice, and I don't entirely buy that saving money through heavy graphical recycling had nothing to do with it.

Of course that had something to do with it. In fact it's more than likely the primary reason that we're seeing this. If they wanted to shift the game into a Xrd style format we'd have to see the game's roster be cut to a fraction of what it is now in order to save money, I'm glad they didn't in this case.

 

[Scrooge McDuck]

A video game taking years and lots of money to make? Wow, never seen that before.

Seriously, after GGXrd set a new bar, Central Fiction really should have continued on the same road if it's going to be sold as a brand new game - especially if, as I've heard before, this is going to be the final game in the story. Right now it looks like it'll be sold at $49 despite recycling a massive chunk of its content from old games, which kind of sucks. I'll still get it since I want to finish the story, but I think the improved Xrd-style look could have brought a bunch more people in.

To be fair, Xrd was released more than ten years after its prequel and has six less characters.

 

[rockman zx]

A video game taking years and lots of money to make? Wow, never seen that before.

Maybe they don't have the time and the money to do it, think about it for a moment, or do you think ASW games sell millions and the company is loaded?.

 

[BreakAtmo]

the sprites are fucking gorgeous. why the hell should they homogenize just because your opinion

The sprites are not 'fucking gorgeous', they're low-res and heavily aliased. They're decent, but Xrd's 3D models look essentially identical to sprites - only more detailed and high-res. Xrd isn't homogenization, it's improvement. Except for maybe the backgrounds - I wouldn't mind if a '3D' cel-shaded BB left the camera-spinning out and kept the lovely 2D backgrounds.

Which is subjective. To me GG only looks barley passable.

Everybody's got their own opinion, but the fact is that the vast majority of people think Xrd looks way better. The whole reason the first Xrd trailers blew people's minds was because they were finally seeing what they had always wanted - a fighting game that combined the benefits of 3D with the gorgeous 'look' of hand-drawn 2D. I just saw another site announcing BBCF, and what to you know, it only took two comments for someone to be disappointed that it didn't look like Xrd.

Proper 2D still shits all over 3D. Especially since there are only a handfull of devs capable of high quality sprite works I don't want another series to become 3D.

It really doesn't, and calling GGXrd a '3D' game is really stretching things. For the most part it looks and plays identically to a 2D sprite game unless you're watching it on a massive TV (except for, yes, the backgrounds, which an Xrd-style BB game could change). Then you might be able to see the telltale signs of 3D modelling, and even then the characters look much cleaner than the sprites.

Maybe they don't have the time and the money to do it, think about it for a moment, or do you think ASW games sell millions and the company is loaded?.

You might be right, but that doesn't justify the extreme level of content-recycling we see here. Given how much cash they're saving by reusing all those characters and not even doing any re-drawing, the game should be cheaper than what it is - or possibly offer discounts for owners of the previous games. Not just for those who want to finish the story, but for those who don't care about the story and want to keep up with the gameplay without having to pay $50 for a few new characters and balance changes (and then another $50 when Central Fiction Extend comes out).

 

[cj_iwakura]

.

THIS IS ALL I EVER WANTED. Bring it on. Also, WTF at making Kagura's assistant playable.

He looks cool, though. Whatever. Nine. Give me. Now.

Oh god, please be on PS3.

 

[Americanmushroom]

Will wait for Blazblue 18

 

[Jimnymebob]

Except for maybe the backgrounds - I wouldn't mind if a '3D' cel-shaded BB left the camera-spinning out and kept the lovely 2D backgrounds.

What? The backgrounds in BlazBlue are 3D. There's 2D art mapped to some of it, sure, but it's 3D.

 

[Rhapsody]

When this gets a console release, I'm in.

 

[Caffeine]

i havent played the first 3

 

[BreakAtmo]

To be fair, Xrd was released more than ten years after its prequel and has six less characters.

True, which is a shame. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason for the smaller amount of content in GGXrd is that they had to work on the new graphical system from the ground up, experimenting with it and fine-tuning it to create what we eventually got. Any hypothetical 3D BlazBlue game would start with the benefit of all the experience and technical improvement developed on GGXrd and would probably be able to do a fair bit more content.

It's kinda like Naughty Dog's recent remasters. They described the making of The Last of Us Remastered as 'hell', because the PS3 and PS4 have such wildly different architectures that transferring their engine from one to the other was an incredibly complicated process that required a lot of technical skill along with trial-and-error. Now they're bringing out a PS4 collection of all 3 Uncharted games running at 1080p60 with other improvements that isn't even being made by them (Bluepoint is doing it), because so much of the work done on TLOUR was transferable.

 

[BreakAtmo]

What? The backgrounds in BlazBlue are 3D. There's 2D art mapped to some of it, sure, but it's 3D.

Oh, really? I was looking at some screenshots and thought they looked nicer and less obviously 3D-modelled than Xrd's stuff. This one, for example:

Backgrounds like that with Xrd-esque characters would be my dream BB game, graphics-wise. Dunno why Xrd's backgrounds look worse, for example:

Unless it is the 2D art you're talking about.

 

[Jotamide]

From all the stupid subtitles this game has, this one takes the cake. Will probably wait for the Extend version. I guarantee you that a character as important to the series as Nine or Jubei will end up being the Extend-exclusive character.

 

[Kusagari]

Jubei will never be playable

 

[cj_iwakura]

From all the stupid subtitles this game has, this one takes the cake. Will probably wait for the Extend version. I guarantee you that a character as important to the series as Nine or Jubei will end up being the Extend-exclusive character.

Heh, I thought it was some new manga or something when I saw the twitter feeds. Had no idea it was the next one. I still think it's a cool title.

I'm guessing the theme is someone manipulating everything from behind the scenes. Maybe someone other than Saya for once.


And yeah, I think the new backgrounds look stellar. Especially the one with the searchlights.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Oh, really? I was looking at some screenshots and thought they looked nicer and less obviously 3D-modelled than Xrd's stuff. This one, for example:

Backgrounds like that with Xrd-esque characters would be my dream BB game, graphics-wise.

There are certain stages where you can see it more clearly, like I think Tao's and Litchi's from Calamity Trigger, and it's especially more noticeable during the camera pan when you start a battle, but they're obviously 3D. I think some parts could possibly just be 2D, but the main components are high poly models at the front, low poly models in the distance.

That's the reason I preferred Guilty Gear's look pre Xrd; sure, it wasn't HD, but everything was sprite based if I remember correctly.

 

[Juke Joint Jezebel]

Ah great, another 7 versions and I'll finally be able to get the complete game! Can't wait!

 

[BreakAtmo]

There are certain stages where you can see it more clearly, like I think Tao's and Litchi's from Calamity Trigger, and it's especially more noticeable during the camera pan when you start a battle, but they're obviously 3D. I think some parts could possibly just be 2D, but the main components are high poly models at the front, low poly models in the distance.

That's the reason I preferred Guilty Gear's look pre Xrd; sure, it wasn't HD, but everything was sprite based if I remember correctly.

Yeah, it has been a while since I played BB, but now I remember them being 3D. I wonder why they aren't fully 2D? Xrd has the excuse of camera-spinning for specials and such (though I do think they should have done high-detail cel-shaded backgrounds that fit better with the characters).

 

[cj_iwakura]

Ah great, another 7 versions and I'll finally be able to get the complete game! Can't wait!

I know ArcSys keep doing this to themselves, but does everyone have this out of their system? Each new game adds major mechanic updates and story developments.

The Extend releases are BS, but Capcom's no better.

 

[BreakAtmo]

Ah great, another 7 versions and I'll finally be able to get the complete game! Can't wait!

Hah, a 'complete' BlazBlue. I appreciate your comedy stylings.

Though it would be nice for them to eventually release a 'final version' with the full, unabridged story modes from every game combined with the most up-to-date gameplay and graphics for every background and character.

I know ArcSys keep doing this to themselves, but does everyone have this out of their system? Each new game adds major mechanic updates and story developments.

The Extend releases are BS, but Capcom's no better.

Capcom is plenty better, they offer most of their updates as DLC as well as new discs (apart from stuff like SSF4 and UMVC3), and their new games are actual new games, not mechanic updates with new story. I believe they've also confirmed that while SFV will get updates, "the SFV disc is the only disc you'll need to own". So it will likely be all $15 DLCs rather than an endless tide of new $40 discs.

 

[Maleko Saint]

Hoping Mai pops up at some point in the future for this, even if it's DLC.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Hah, a 'complete' BlazBlue. I appreciate your comedy stylings.

Though it would be nice for them to eventually release a 'final version' with the full, unabridged story modes from every game combined with the most up-to-date gameplay and graphics for every background and character.

That would be nearly one hundred hours of fully voiced content. Each campaign is massive.

Capcom is plenty better, they offer most of their updates as DLC as well as new discs (apart from stuff like SSF4 and UMVC3), and their new games are actual new games, not mechanic updates with new story. I believe they've also confirmed that while SFV will get updates, "the SFV disc is the only disc you'll need to own". So it will likely be all $15 DLCs rather than an endless tide of new $40 discs.

With almost no single player content whatsoever.

 

[KuroPyonyo]

True, which is a shame. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason for the smaller amount of content in GGXrd is that they had to work on the new graphical system from the ground up, experimenting with it and fine-tuning it to create what we eventually got. Any hypothetical 3D BlazBlue game would start with the benefit of all the experience and technical improvement developed on GGXrd and would probably be able to do a fair bit more content.

You really should read up how the graphics of GG were achieved. There is no benefit of expirence here. GG was made on the bock standard UE3.
And more importantly there can't be any technical improvements. Every single polygon was placed by an artist by hand. Every outlines thickness level is defined manually. Every light value for all animations is set by hand. It takes them 4(!) month to develop one guilty gear character. The reason GG looks as good as it does is because artists had control over every little thing.

Everybody's got their own opinion, but the fact is that the vast majority of people think Xrd looks way better. The whole reason the first Xrd trailers blew people's minds was because they were finally seeing what they had always wanted - a fighting game that combined the benefits of 3D with the gorgeous 'look' of hand-drawn 2D. I just saw another site announcing BBCF, and what to you know, it only took two comments for someone to be disappointed that it didn't look like Xrd.

I don't care about the majority opinion, I have been anti 3D since the N64, because the games look like shit and they still do. There have only been very few 3D games that look ok. (wind waker, okami, gg, tearaway)

 

[Asd202]

With almost no single player content whatsoever.

Actually this this around with SFV they want to make the story much better. So maybe we'll see some good single party content too?

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

Arc System Works will NOT use the same graphic engine in both games. They don't want their franchises to compete.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Actually this this around with SFV they want to make the story much better. So maybe we'll see some good single party content too?

I hope so, because they have a lot of potential that they're throwing away. SFIV's endings were absolutely wretched.

I'll throw a fireball through this waterfall! THE END.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I'm been out of the BB loop for a few revisions now, but I'm interested.

 

[BreakAtmo]

That would be nearly one hundred hours of fully voiced content. Each campaign is massive.

So? The story modes would already be largely done, it wouldn't require much work, and it would easily fit on a Blu-ray. It would mostly be a content-recycling job. From what I can see, you're just reiterating how awesome it would be.

With almost no single player content whatsoever.

Many people don't care about this (I'm not one of them, I like story modes, but still). Also, the SF games have fully animated openings and closings for every character. BlazBlue has a shitload more story in terms of length and VA work, but very little of it is actually fully animated.

I'd actually be quite interested to see how much more expensive fully-animated stuff is compared to BlazBlue's talking heads and assload of dialogue, on a minute-by-minute basis.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Many people don't care about this (I'm not one of them, I like story modes, but still). Also, the SF games have fully animated openings and closings for every character. BlazBlue has a shitload more story in terms of length and VA work, but very little of it is actually fully animated.

Yeah, and those openings/closings are about nothing. And they're not all fully animated, some of it is just stills with dialogue over it. It's not just story, either. BB has the optional modes like Abyss and the online lobbies. They put a lot of effort into their releases across the board. I like Capcom games, but they get away with murder.

I never feel compelled to get a Capcom update, but I'll eventually(begrudgingly) pony up for BB ones.

 

[BreakAtmo]

You really should read up how the graphics of GG were achieved. There is no benefit of expirence here. GG was made on the bock standard UE3.
And more importantly there can't be any technical improvements. Every single polygon was placed by an artist by hand. Every outlines thickness level is defined manually. Every light value for all animations is set by hand. It takes them 4(!) month to develop one guilty gear character. The reason GG looks as good as it does is because artists had control over every little thing.

I wasn't talking about technical improvements. Getting the overall 'look' right and experimenting with the framerate restrictions to faithfully match the look of 2D would take plenty of time. If it was easy it would've been done long ago

I don't care about the majority opinion, I have been anti 3D since the N64, because the games look like shit and they still do. There have only been very few 3D games that look ok. (wind waker, okami, gg, tearaway)

So first it's an appeal to subjectivity, then it's 'the majority opinion doesn't matter, 3D games look like shit, period'. Uh-huh. You keep your jaggie-coated sprites, then.

 

[Master Milk]

hopefully my color's in this one

day one etc, etc

 

[VariantX]

Ah great, another 7 versions and I'll finally be able to get the complete game! Can't wait!

I don't have a problem with them constantly updating the game. I have a problem with needing to make a full-price purchase to update the game without the option for DLC patches for those who already own earlier versions BB games. I only had to do that once with SF4 to SSF4, and every update since, I've simply purchased and downloaded a DLC patch to keep that game updated.

 

[Valkerionseven]

Meh, I like BB and all but can't make myself interested in this series anymore. Didn't the last one just come out on consoles less than 3 months ago or something? I mean I know why they announce them this way, arcades and all but damn.

Not helping that the two new additions are uninteresting design wise. #stillwaitingforjubei I guess.

Spoiler

will probably end up buying this anyway because I'm a sucker

 

[cj_iwakura]

hopefully my color's in this one

day one etc, etc

Platinum's soul was actually stolen to power Nine's revival, please understand.

 

[BreakAtmo]

Yeah, and those openings/closings are about nothing. And they're not all fully animated, some of it is just stills with dialogue over it. It's not just story, either. BB has the optional modes like Abyss and the online lobbies. They put a lot of effort into their releases across the board. I like Capcom games, but they get away with murder.

I never feel compelled to get a Capcom update, but I'll eventually(begrudgingly) pony up for BB ones.

Oh, I didn't say that the SF stuff is better than BB - far from it. I'm just talking about the money that went into it. I agree that SF would do well to have more story done in BB's overall style.

I'm not sure if the Abyss Mode costs that much to make though. I haven't played Abyss yet, but how much of it is actually new? Isn't most of it just the same gameplay as the rest of the game? (This is not a bad thing, I'm just wondering about the effort involved here)

Really though, Ultra SF4 came out for $15 for anyone who owned SSF4, and $40 by itself. CP Extend is coming out for $50, period. Extend might have more content that you care about and 'more effort' put into it, but at that price it damn well should.

 

[Geminosity]

Spoiler

I find it incredibly hard to believe they'd write off a popular character like that permanently. Besides, Terumi gets legit offed and he's playable in this. I don't see why they couldn't do something with Jubei similar to what they did with Kliff in GG.

I'm confused actually.

Spoiler

didn't a whole bunch of people die at the end of CP Including Terumi and Platinum? Did I miss some sort of explanation in extend about how they all survived or is this a case of 'fighting game lore = LOL'?

 

[DVCY201]

Cool. I'll wait for the Extend version, mainly because I'm just a story player. I just get wrecked online after a certain period.