Since its first release in 2008, fighting game franchise BlazBlue continues to be a staple in the anime fighting game community with its bi-yearly releases in the arcades and on home consoles. As I have said in the past when writing for a different website, Arc System Works tends to release new versions of the game with update fixes and roster on a new disc rather have it as a large DLC/update patch due to not wanting to be bogged down with the lengthy and often expensive authorization process (mostly on Microsoft’s end). Now finally the latest version of the arcade hit, BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend, has been released on PC through Stream.
Great Extend
Latest Arcade Balances/Nerfs/Buffs Implemented- Much like its previous iterations, most of Chrono Phantasma Extend’s play testing was done through play tests and its eventual release in Japanese arcades. If the devs found that there any bugs, imbalances, neffs or buffs that needed to be added to the game, they would quick fix the problem and test out the new patches live in the arcades. This way once the game was greenlighted for a Western release they would only have to do minor tweaks. This way any updates that need to be put on the console and PC version of Chrono Phantasma Extend can be added in right away.
My Room added to online network system- One of the most boring things to do when looking for someone online to play against is of course waiting. So to try to liven things up a bit, Arc System Works added into their online network system the My Room system. In My Room, you are able to decorate the room with wall images, furniture and all sorts of items. You can even team up with players to fight other players in Team Match. This is a welcome distraction for players who are waiting to get into matches rather than just looking at a status screen.
Four new features added to Stylish mode- Thanks to Stylish mode, BlazBlue is one of the more accessible fighting games out in the market right now. What Stylish mode does is that it maps a character’s special move onto each button, making it easier for players to pull of really cool looking moves, hence the name Stylish mode. With Chrono Phantasma Extend, the game adds in four new features: Auto Guard, Combo Attacks, Special Abilities, and Distortion Drive. With these new four features in place with the Stylish mode, now more beginner level players can pull off cool and killer moves just like the pro and have fun while doing it.
New characters, scenarios, costumes from previous games- Chrono Phantasma Extend still takes place in the BlazBlue story line set in Calamity Trigger, the very first game in the BlazBlue franchise. Any characters that have been added in previous games show up in this roster, as well as new characters that were in the arcade version of the game. Players will also be able to choose what version of the character they can use. As for the story Chrono Phantasma Extend does a really good job of condensing, editing, retconing and explaining everything that happened since the first game. And if you are still confused about the game;s overall story, then the Teach Me, Miss Litchi! Mode will catch you up on everything.
Remix Heart and Gag scenarios- One of the best things about the BlazBlue series besides the fighting, is that Arc System Works took time to create a back story for every character and over arching story. They basiclly treat BlazBlue as if was a visual novel with fighting game elements instead of just a fighting game. For Chrono Phantasma Extend the devs added in gag scenarios for some of the characters. These scenarios do not push the main story along what so ever, but they do run parallel to it and show what some of the other characters are doing while the main story is happening. They also added in a mini visual novel called Remix Heart starting Mai Natsume a new character that was made exclusive to Remix Heart. Mai is actually a male that accidentally transformed into a girl somehow and is trying to figure out what happened and how to change back.
Short reach
Minor issues- Though each iteration of BlazBlue that I’ve played had no major game breaking problems, there are a few minor issues that I did run into. Some of these issues are one my end, such as slow connection speed at certain times of the game and connection type, and other on the game’s end, such a rage quitters, long wait times for matches and of course mis-matching matchmaker, ie putting a low level player with a high ranked player.
Arc System Works continues to improve BlazBlue with BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend. It properly brings all of the arcade fixes, new characters and buffs/neffs all the while adding new features to the consoles/PC versions. These new features include Remix Heart, My Room, the new scenarios and the expansion and explanation of the over all story. If your a fan of Arc System Works fighters, and of flashy HD anime fighters, BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend is worth picking up.
