Remember when Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was announced? The public backlash against that game update was unprecedented, but it did highlight a growing resentment among consumers against the practice of re-releasing fighting games with minor improvements for a lower price. BlazBlue isn’t a big enough name to draw as much ire, and it’s been a while longer between iterations, but it’s yet another attempt at the business model, so let’s see if the new content to price ratio makes this a worthwhile purchase.

If you know anything about BlazBlue, then you know it has a convoluted story with more esoteric terminology than supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Perhaps the single best thing about Continuum Shift Extend is that it essentially combines Calamity Trigger and the original two Continuum Shifts, making it the most accessible entry into the franchise for newcomers. Not only is there a pretty extensive tutorial, but the whole story mode of the original game is available in a condensed form alongside the enhanced one from the second, allowing anyone to catch up with the plot (as well as is possible). Additionally, show-within-a-game Teach Me, Miss Litchi! returns once again for wacky slapstick comedy and background lore, for those who want to journey even deeper into the rabbit hole that Arc System Works has created.

The tutorials are decent, as resident Gothic Lolita vampire Rachel walks you through everything from jumping to dash cancels. The addition of character-specific primers is an interesting idea, but they aren’t deep or interactive enough to do much beyond give you an idea of each character’s play style. For series veterans, you’ll find that everything is pretty much the way you left it, with only minor balance tweaks made. The only new mode is called “Unlimited Mars,” and it plays out basically like a more difficult survival challenge, which the game already has in both original and RPG flavors (“Abyss Mode”).

The old DLC characters are included in all their ridiculous glory.

It’s a little late to actually be criticizing the core mechanics of an established fighting system, but I will say, for the record, that I think BlazBlue should have retained the launch button and instant-kill moves from its spiritual predeccesor, Guilty Gear. As is, Astral Heats are essentially useless, as they’re one-hit-kills that can only be used under ludicrously strict conditions. However, these are minor niggles with the game that aren’t endemic to this particular version, so feel free to ignore them.

The real selling point of Continuum Shift Extend is new cast member Relius Clover. The evil father of mainstay Carl Clover, Relius may at first look like he plays similar to his son, as they both have similar life-size mannequins that fight alongside them. However, unlike Carl’s incredibly complicated fighting style that relies on positioning his doll and catching a foe in a difficult mix-up, Relius is more of a traditional fighter whose puppet comes out for special attacks. As a combatant, he’s interesting but not really worth buying a game for. His contribution to the overall fiction seems to be more significant, as BlazBlue‘s signature branching story paths show he is pretty instrumental in a lot of the narrative machinations. If you’re extremely invested in the plight of those in The 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi, the Novus Orbis Librarium, and the slums beneath them both, then you’ll probably need to get this definitive version of the story so far.

This is where the majority of your money is going.

Everything else about the game can be summed up with, “like Continuum Shift II but a little shinier.” It’s hard to pick out exactly where graphical, gameplay, and soundtrack changes were made, but all the ones I could spot were for the better, or at least not annoying. The new opening cinematic is pretty, but if you were at all interested in the title leading up to launch, you’ve probably seen it already. As usual, the sprites look great, animations are fluid, and the OST is unique (if not as good as Guilty Gear‘s was).

One area BlazBlue does trump Sol Badguy and friends is in its multiplayer. While the niche fanbase means you’re a lot more likely to get your face kicked in whilst online, there are enough ways to play that it takes away a bit of the sting. Network mode, player matches, ranked matches, custom matches, and team battles are all available, as are leaderboards and several different systems of player ranking. “Rebel Points” are earned by accomplishing certain tasks in battle (“First Blood,” etc.) and contribute to leveling your profile up, which unlocks items in Gallery Mode for you to purchase with the in-game currency, Platinum Dollars. Lastly, there is the Player Rating System (PSR) which keeps track of how good you are with each character individually, letting online opponents know what they’re getting into.

Four games later and that is still funny.

There are certainly other things that could be touched on: the new storylines available for previously playable characters, specific balance tweaks (poor Jin), and Aksys Games’ classy full-color instruction booklet, just for instance. But by now you should know if you need to add this game to your collection. Unfortunately, Blistered Thumbs doesn’t have a recommendation for “Great for Hardcore Fans and Newcomers, but not Quite Worth it for Casual Fans,” but I’ve told you here, so now you know. It’s your $40; examine your priorities and decide how badly you need to slap an anime catgirl with a giant, evil puppet.

This game was purchased for review from a retailer and played for about 10 hours, including all modes. The title was played on Xbox 360, but is also available for PS3 and PS Vita.

Also, follow me on Twitter @austinyorski (please).

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend Review

By Austin Yorski

The official BT review of the second update to BlazBlue: Continuum Shift.