According to the Sheng xiao, 2009 is the year of the ox, but at games™ this year is becoming more significant for rekindling our love affair with the fighting genre. From heated Street Fighter IV tournaments to the more streamlined delights of King Of Fighters XII, 2009 has reignited our passion for arcade sticks and super cancels. But before we prematurely award the championship belt to Capcom or SNK, Arc System Works takes its shot at the 2D title with the seminal BlazBlue. Oxen be damned, 2009 is the year of the fighter.

Coming from the same developer who brought us the first Guilty Gear over ten years ago, BlazBlue will be both familiar and fresh to anyone who’s performed a Roman Cancel. The character design in particular feels like a natural progression from that of the Midnight Carnival, with the red and blue dynamic of Ragna the Bloodedge and Jin Kisaragi reminiscent of the classic Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske. But to give the impression that BlazBlue is a Guilty Gear game in disguise would be misleading, because mechanically it’s quite a different beast.

Although not as fast paced as Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, BlazBlue is nonetheless more combo heavy than Street Fighter IV and seeing the consecutive hit counter soar past 20 is no rare occurrence. The combo system is also very flexible and allows most characters to chain their basic attacks from weakest to strongest, with the four-button layout divided up between light, medium, heavy and Drive. Other offensive mechanics included super moves, here called Distortion Drives, and the familiar-sounding Rapid Cancels. These cancel your character out of whatever animation they’re performing for a cost of half your super gauge – allowing for further combo madness. But where BlazBlue really stands out is the new Drive system.

As well as blocking high and low, players can parry an attack by blocking the instant it connects – gaining a slight frame advantage. In addition, and similar to Guilty Gear’s Faultless Defence, a Barrier can be activated while blocking to knock your opponent back. Finally, a single-use Barrier Burst is available in times of desperation by pushing all four buttons. This’ll interrupt your opponent’s hellish combo but comes at a hefty price – afterwards you’ll take 50 per cent more damage per attack and have your barrier gauge drained for the rest of the round. Generally, BlazBlue doesn’t reward players for being overly defensive, and should the game think you’re avoiding combat altogether, it’ll put you in a Negative Penalty state where you’ll take extra damage. Our advice? Don’t turtle.

Despite underlying familiarity, there is much about BlazBlue’s 12-strong roster that feels original. The goofy ninja Bang Shishigami fights with a giant nail strapped to his back and can poison opponents with his limited number of shurikens. His Burning Heat Drive allows him to counter and punish a predictable attack and his ‘Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan’ Distortion Drive drastically increases his speed – as well as playing his barmy theme song for the rest of the round. Another noteworthy addition is Arakune, whose grotesque appearance of a mask attached to a living oil slick is clear homage to No Face from Spirited Away. Connecting any of Arakune’s Crimson Drive attacks will put the enemy in a curse state where they’ll be attacked by insects till they hit him back.

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