BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend Review (PS4)
BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend is a beefed up version of the latest BlazBlue title. It may not bring too many additions, but if you have been holding out, waiting for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Vita versions you shouldn’t miss out on this one.
For a fighting game BlazBlue: Chronophantasm Extend has a giant story mode. The basic story is divided into three chapters: Chrono Phantasma, Six Heroes and Sector Seven. Then there is the Anthology section which features abridged versions of Calmity Trigger and Continumm Shift told by Rachel – a great way to bring everyone up to speed with the plot. Next there is the Extend Story which follows Kagura, Kokonoe and Bullet. And finally there is the extend gag for people that want something more lighthearted. All in all, you would need over 20 hours to see everything the story has to offer.
Aside from the game’s official story mode there are other story based modes to keep you engaged. People new to the story will want to jump into Teach Me More, Miss Litchi!, which does well to explain the character’s relationships and how the BlazBlue universe works.
If you still haven’t had enough of BlazBlue’s story, Extend added Remix Heart Gaiden, based on the manga. This side story visual novel has you following Mai Natsume, a guy in a girl’s body and his life in the military academy.
To help you follow all the characters and events the game gives you a handy cross referenced Library. You can literally spend hours reading up everything about Blazblue lore and fighting games in general.
All the DLC characters from Chronophantasma are available here from the get-go. Yuuki Terumi is one of the primary antagonists in the game. His main focus is on his Force Eater, where his D attacks sap the opponent’s Heat Gauge. Because of this he can use rapid cancels, counter assaults, crush triggers and distortions more frequently than any other character.
Kokonoe Mercury has been in the story mode since the beginning, but it was not until Chronophantasma that she became a playable character. She is nibble and uses her wacky gadgets in combat, reminiscent of Guilty Gear’s later versions of Robo-Ky back in the day. Aside from a variety of traps, her graviton capacitor allows her to attract and repel characters, perfect for zoning them out.
Celica A. Mercury is new to Chronophantasma Extend. She is yet another character that has a puppet/robot partner, however she uses her puppet as an extension of her attacks instead of directly controlling it. Celica has high damage output at the expense of total HP. Her overdrive and special skills allow her to recover lost HP.
Lambda-11 is back! Gameplay wise, she is almost a carbon copy of Nu.13 with a few small differences which ultimately make her play like a totally different beast. Lambda-11 is much more geared towards aggressive play and rush downs than her zoning counterpart.
Fighting games can be intimidating, especially if you are a newcomer to the genre. BlazBlue does an absolutely fantastic job of introducing players to each and every system in the game’s excellent Tutorial Mode. From basic movement and attacks to bursts, this step by step tutorial is a sure fire way to ready all players for the great multiplayer. The training mode is still there for those that want to polish their skills without any distractions.
Total beginners can opt to use the stylish type option. This allows newcomers to chain giant combos by mashing buttons and pull off special attacks at the press of a button. It won’t let rookies beat long time players, but it will at least give them a fighting chance and give better players a more challenging match.
Challenge mode is handy for veteran players. You will be able to learn character specific combos and play-styles. if you just can’t seem to get a grip on that combo timing, you can use the helpful playback feature to see how the move is supposed to look in motion and even slow it down if you wish. Still having a hard time? You can always enable notes to play whenever you hit a button. Hearing the beats and rhythm is a sure way to help you perfect those timings.
Once you get tired of the Arcade mode you can spice things up with a ton of different modes. Score Attack has you going through a set of enemies in order to earn the most points. Your score can later be uploaded in the online rankings. Highlander Assault Mode has an interesting twist; you fight against a Gigant Take-Mikazuchi which plays out like a hardcore boss battle. Expect to lose a lot. Veterans will likely enjoy Unlimited Mars Mode where you are put against super intelligent AI opponents. Finally, Abyss mode has you fighting enemy after enemy, every 20 floors being a boss battle. Beat that character and you can choose from three different upgrades. I spent hours grinding in Abyss mode looking to boost my character bit by bit creating the ultimate fighter.
As you play through the game you will accumulated P$, points which you can spend in order to unlock illustrations in the game’s gallery. This makes even a short play session feel like you are playing towards a bigger goal.
Size wise, the game is quite large. The PlayStation 4 version takes up 16GB. The problem comes with the Vita version whose basic download is over 3GB. However, if you opt to install the story mode be prepared to have over 7GB of free space in total for everything.
BlazBlue is still the looker. The PlayStation 3 and Vita version look stunning, using every pixel available. However, things are starting to show their age on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 – the sprites not looking as crisp as they could be. Still, this is likely the best looking 2D game out now. Like always the game is fully voiced in both Japanese and English and sounds great either way.
BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend is an enhanced version of one of the best and most accessible fighting games to date. If you already had your fill of BlazBlue, Chronophantasma Extended might not revitalize that spark. But, it’s jam packed with content sure to keep both newcomers and longtime fans engaged for hours upon end.
And the answer to BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend’s pressing question:
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