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The original was posted on /r/fighters by /u/OccultStoner on 2024-04-03 13:57:22.

As a pretext, I always liked fighting games, started with MKII and played many other great titles throughout. But was never too invested, because let’s be real: fighting games require some serious dedication, and if you do long breaks from playing any fightings, you get rusty real quick, while getting back in form takes ages, literally. Mostly play vs. CPU or very rarely some friends, who are also pretty casual.

Before BlazBlue I was playing crap out of GuiltyGear XX Reload and was having a blast, which introduced me to BB Calamity Trigger, as another ArcSys fighting. Wasn’t too impressed at first, but it was a nice change.

Fast-forward to BBCF (played each release) and this is the pinnacle of fighting game for me. Other than BBCF I play only MKXL, because I always loved MK and it was the last one which I really did enjoy and has perfect roster, content and gameplay mechanics.

Now, why BBCF is ideal for me? Gameplay mechanics. Mainly Stylish mode. Gonna be honest here, as I said in the beginning, I’m more of a casual, and right now I don’t have too much time to learn and train in fighting games, because life and I like to play other games too. When I boot up MKXL for some vs. CPU brawls after a few months or even a couple of weeks, it is always pain. Either though I main a single character, I need to play at least for an hour, look up moves again, to get my inputs straight and be able to do proper combos, special attacks, timings, movement, not to mention Fatalities and other stuff… After an hour or so I get into the flow again and can finally beat the hardest AI as I’m used to, having fun.

Why BBCF system is incredible in that regard? Many people shit on modes like Stylish, saying it’s a crutch and won’t let you be competitive, but to be honest, this mode wasn’t supposed to let you be competitive, if we say, in ranked online. Because it gives you serious drawbacks, like doing less damage on certain moves, and also makes you very predictable. But for an on and off gamer, it’s a blessing.

This Stylish mode is a lot more deep than many people think, while making the fighting game itself more accessible and letting you use more than one character. Not as effectively as your main ones, but you will be able to do something, and getting better at them won’t take your lifetime. To be more on point, particularly about system in BBCF:

If you just mash a single button, your character will be mostly doing the same combo string, which won’t get you far and will get your ass kicked even by CPU. But starter attack has a huge effect on which string your character goes with. Also, if you will be inputting different attacks, strings will change, including going into low attacks or going into an airborne combo. You can also control strings with input timing, avoid doing Distortions (if meter allows for string to use it as a finisher) and few other tricks.

So, even Stylish mode requires you to train quite a bit, to learn how strings of each particular character ties one into another. What are gap closers, what projectiles you have, what are safe attacks, what easy Distortions you can trigger and etc, but it will take you FAR less commitment to get it right, and even after long breaks you will feel the flow of combat really fast getting you back into gear.

On top of that, actual systems are incredible. Sprites still look amazing even today. Combat is very punchy and hard, you feel every impact. Roster is insane in size and variety. The soundtrack is an absolute banger, plus you can unlock new themes. Tons of arenas. How heat gauge works, new addition with Burst, letting you not only break combo, but go into Overdrive, which depends on your health and has super cool finisher + active mode. How (and when) Astrals work. That, not to mention specific character gimmicks, like Hakumen and others. The list can go on…

There are many fighting games with lots of depth and cool mechanics, but I was looking and trying tons of new and old fighting games. Literally NONE felt like everything is so perfectly in place like in BBCF and is very accessible at the same time. Which is a very big deal IMHO.

There are few gripes that I have with it, however:

  • Damage is pretty bonkers, so fights are bursty but very short.

  • Corner beatdowns are brutal. If you get yourself in the corner, it’s gg. If you got your opponent - guaranteed K.O. Breaking out is extremely hard. Newer fighting games try to fix it, pretty well, too (like Strive).

  • Single player content kinda sucks. I mean, compared to other fighting games, it looks packed. But for meaningful long time play, it’s missing.

  • Abyss mode is too shallow, boss run is the only challenge you’ll get, but it’s very cheap and unfun. In all SP modes, you don’t have DLC characters, which sucks big time.

  • The game lacks a simple survival-esque mode, ideally something like M.O.M mode from GGXrd. So you’re stuck with vs. CPU or friends when you beat Story and Arcade.

  • Score modes are short and boring.

P.S. I feel like there’s not much love for BB in fighting community, wonder why? Played it to death myself, feel kinda bored already, want something new, but feels like it doesn’t exist. Did you guys managed to find yourself BB replacement in some newer fighting games that has all the stuff and is that accessible too, with similar flow?