BlazBlue: Continuum Shift...argh...

[evil_ash_xero]

http://www.moetron.com/2009/09/23/blazb ... ced-scans/

OK, I think BlazBlue is just awesome. Definitely my favorite next gen fighter thus far(haven't played SFIV yet). 2D fighter forever and whatnot.

Thing is, I hated the way the just kept releasing little updates to Guilty Gear 2, and sold them as full games. Why can't this just be DLC? Should I even bother buying this one, if I know another update will be right around the corner. How frustrating...

[Acid King]

But it's got a new HUD.

[BulletMagnet]

Assuming it comes to consoles we can hope that Arc does what Capcom's doing with SSFIV and releases it at a reduced price as well as with support for any already-downloaded extras from the original...then again, from what I've glimpsed SSFIV is getting more new stuff than BlazBlue CS is, so it might be kind of a moot point. Of course, we all also hope that fighting game developers remember that the nickel-and-diming updates of yore are partially what turned a lot of people off to the genre in the first place, and that especially in a bad economy we can abandon them just as quickly as we once did.

[brokenhalo]

yeah, thats why i never bothered to learn guilty gear. i never knew what iteration everyone was on.

you should pick up ssf4 when it comes out though. street fighter 4 is like crack, and if they fix the minor gripes that people have it'll be perfection.

[CMoon]

It's a shame that sports games can COMPLETELY get away with the nickel-and-diming updates, but I understand for enthusiasts its a different thing. I agree the update thing gets annoying (I just bought SF4 even knowing the update is right around the corner), but for fans, the updates are exciting and give new reason to play. I'm not sure whether the updates are actually a turn off or not--perhaps they're just an excuse for casuals to write off a series. Hmm, well you can't stop video gamers from griping.

[Taylor]

They're not just putting the characters in this years kit. That blog post and its list of changes is months old, there are a ton of changes, new characters, and it's still undergoing location tests in the arcade; you’ll get at least a years enjoyment out of your Calamity Trigger release before this hits.

Could it be DLC? Sure. So could Super Street Fighter IV (yes, it could) and Sensible FIFA PES 2009 II Ultimate Roster Update Soccer '98 World. ASW probably want to make some profit.

There are three versions of Guilty Gear XX that matter and none of them were 'little updates' if you were into it. Most people are playing Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, because that’s the latest. Unless you're playing on PC, where it stops at #Reload. Guilty Gear 2 wasn't a fighter.

[BulletMagnet]

Most people are playing Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, because that’s the latest.

I thought Accent Core Plus was the last one.

[Taylor]

Well yes and no. Plus was a budget priced bug fix for the Accent Core port.

[BulletMagnet]

Well yes and no. Plus was a budget priced bug fix for the Accent Core port.

I thought it also added in some new gameplay elements (I know there was a new Story mode, and Kliff and Justice were reinstated), since the "regular" Accent Core was already ported (and as you suggest, the Japanese version was buggy, though IIRC the US release was fixed). I'd hafta double-check though.

[Ganelon]

No change to mechanics; Kliff and Justice aren't tourney viable.

Anyway, while there are a lot of differences for people who care, people who just want to play a fighting game won't know the differences. They definitely don't emphasize casual player interests in fighters: new graphics, new characters, new story modes, new stages, new moves, and finally new battle systems (in that order). This is why Namco's games are generally so successful. Every installment has retouched character models, a few new characters, a different type of story mode, new higher polygon stages, new moves, and oftentimes a minor new mechanic.

Let's take SSF4: unchanged graphics(-), new characters(+), no major story mode(-), new stages(+), unknown on moves, and just a touched-up battle system(-). At this point, the chance of game acceptance is hard to say (although most of it will probably be relying on the SF license).

[evil_ash_xero]

I hate these constant tweaks. I don't care if it does this or that...Just release a game, if it needs some extra whatever, make it DLC, and then put all that energy into a fucking sequel.

Hey, I was able to download Death Smiles MBL with an extra stage and Sakura...why can't some fighting games do the same?

[AraraSPAMWitch]

I hate these constant tweaks. I don't care if it does this or that...Just release a game, if it needs some extra whatever, make it DLC, and then put all that energy into a fucking sequel.

Hey, I was able to download Death Smiles MBL with an extra stage and Sakura...why can't some fighting games do the same?

I don't understand your bitching. Isn't a fighting game sequel just the game with more characters, stages, revamped movelists, and better graphics? Isn't this what we'll be getting? Not only do all the old characters have new movelists, we have new characters, new animations AND there are significant changes to the system, namely the ability to stack Bursts. Do they have to make it 3D or add a 25 character roster for it to qualify as a sequel in your eyes?

Besides, it's going to be out in arcades long before it reaches consoles, so bitching about having to buy a whole new game can wait 'till then. I may happily wind up spending more to play this in the arcades than I will to buy the console version, and I know a lot of people will be in the same boat.

[evil_ash_xero]

I hate these constant tweaks. I don't care if it does this or that...Just release a game, if it needs some extra whatever, make it DLC, and then put all that energy into a fucking sequel.

Hey, I was able to download Death Smiles MBL with an extra stage and Sakura...why can't some fighting games do the same?

I don't understand your bitching. Isn't a fighting game sequel just the game with more characters, stages, revamped movelists, and better graphics? Isn't this what we'll be getting? Not only do all the old characters have new movelists, we have new characters, new animations AND there are significant changes to the system, namely the ability to stack Bursts. Do they have to make it 3D or add a 25 character roster for it to qualify as a sequel in your eyes?

Besides, it's going to be out in arcades long before it reaches consoles, so bitching about having to buy a whole new game can wait 'till then. I may happily wind up spending more to play this in the arcades than I will to buy the console version, and I know a lot of people will be in the same boat.

Yeah, because the differences between Guilty Gear XX and Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, were just as big as Street Fighter 2 to 3 to 4...

Well, for me to call it a proper sequel, redrawing all the sprites would be a nice start. Not that these don't look great, but it would be a must for a sequel. And all the stages be different. Yadda yadda yadda...same old stuff.

[Ganelon]

Well, it takes way more time to draw an HD fighting game character with all its animations than a few more ships and bullet patterns in a shooter. And besides GGXX, most fighters have different stage backgrounds, which in their abundance aren't much different from stage backgrounds in shooters.

So in terms of work involved, a tweaked fighter takes significantly longer than a tweaked shooter. That's also why there are way more doujin shooters than doujin fighters, even though fighters outperform shooters in JP arcades by a huge margin.

[Taylor]

It not only takes a lot longer to draw sprites, it's also a thousand times harder to iterate. It's rather odd sprites have come to mean cheap somehow, I saw people saying the original release of BlazBlue should have been on XBLA/PSN.

And each Guilty Gear edition added more than Capcom's various revisions and spin-offs.

Yeah, because the differences between Guilty Gear XX and Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, were just as big as Street Fighter 2 to 3 to 4...

Well, for me to call it a proper sequel, redrawing all the sprites would be a nice start. Not that these don't look great, but it would be a must for a sequel. And all the stages be different. Yadda yadda yadda...same old stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERDUbAv8Qz0#t=0m44s

[Gwyrgyn Blood]

Yeah, because the differences between Guilty Gear XX and Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, were just as big as Street Fighter 2 to 3 to 4...

You are aware that there were 6+ different versions of SF2 and they pretty much all sold as full price games? And there were 3 versions of SF3 (1&2 came on the same disc for DC though I think). SSF4 is the first one to actually not be a full priced new release. So I don't really get the point you're trying to make.

[handsome_rakshas]

There's no way I'm buying this, it should be a DLC and nothing more.

[evil_ash_xero]

Oh for fuck's sake. I don't like any of these multiple versions OK. I just hate buying a game, and then a year later there's another version to purchase. Well, maybe that wouldn't be so bad, but then there's another, and possibly another. It's just kinda annoying. If you guys can't understand that, well, you're more understanding than I am, so congratulations.

And in this day and age, I cannot see why it can't be DLC.

[Gwyrgyn Blood]

Honestly if you can't spring 60$ for a new version of a game you love every year then I dunno what to tell you. You would pay 3x that much money for a years subscription to an online RPG, just as an example.

Why WOULDN'T you want a newer and better version of a fighter to come out? And it's not like BB was a particularly good game to begin with so you don't even have to worry about them shitting on the gameplay or anything.

[D]

I would pay 60$ every month for a new updated version of Battle Gear.