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BlazBlue: Central Fiction

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BlazBlue: Central Fiction
Developer(s)Arc System Works
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Toshimichi Mori
Yūki Katō
Composer(s)Daisuke Ishiwatari
Galneryus
SeriesBlazBlue Xblaze
Platform(s)Arcade
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Windows
Nintendo Switch
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: November 19, 2015
PS3, PS4
  • JP: October 6, 2016
  • NA: November 1, 2016
  • EU: November 4, 2016
Windows
  • WW: April 26, 2017
Nintendo Switch
  • JP/NA: February 7, 2019
  • EU: February 8, 2019
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

BlazBlue: Central Fiction, released in Japan as BlazBlue: Centralfiction, is a 2-D fighting video game developed by Arc System Works. It is the fourth game in the BlazBlue series, and is set after the events of BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma. It is also the final game with Ragna as the main protagonist,[2] and serves as the conclusion of the C-Series that began in Calamity Trigger.

The international release of Central Fiction did not receive an English dub, making it the only BlazBlue title not dubbed.[3][4]

Gameplay

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Following the gameplay from BlazBlue Chrono Phantasma Extend, there are additional changes and new mechanics. The Overdrive activation's duration is now shown under the Burst Gauge in the form of a countdown timer (which counts seconds and split-seconds); The character portrait near the health bar shakes when taking damage; and each character's emblem appears on their side when the phrase "The Wheel of Fate is Turning" shows at the start of the first Rebel. The new gameplay mechanics are: Exceed Accel, a special type of Distortion Drive, which is executed a same input as Overdrive activation by holding it during Overdrive activation, or pressing it, begins with the character performing a specific attack in their move-set, and once it connects the rest of the background shatters away into the Overdrive background effect when the attack is performed. It dishes large damage, but immediately ends Overdrive; and Active Flow, which acts as the opposite of Negative Penalty status. A character that fights offensively goes into an Active Flow, which boosts damage and recovery of the Burst Gauge. Active Flow also increases the damage of Exceed Accel (for some it may add extra effects and animations). When a character enters Active Flow, his/her emblem on the health bar becomes purple pink. The purple pink color itself is also shown surrounding the Overdrive Gauge, when a character is close to entering Active Flow. A character can only enter Active Flow once per round.[5]

Central Fiction's story mode is over 40 hours long, with extra arcade mode stories separated into three acts.[6][7]

Characters

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Further information: List of BlazBlue characters § Playable in BlazBlue: Central Fiction

All 28 fighters from BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend return in Central Fiction. This brings the total roster to 36 playable fighters.

Characters introduced in the arcade release

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  • Hibiki Kohaku: Kagura's secretary and personal assassin. Born into a line of assassins that serve the Mutsuki household.[8]
  • Naoto Kurogane: The main protagonist of Bloodedge Experience. In Central Fiction, he is an outsider who arrived from a parallel world to search for a girl called Raquel Alucard.[8]
  • Nine the Phantom: Originally one of the Six Heroes. Possessing an exceptional intellect and extraordinary magical power, she is the creator of the "Nox Nyctores" and "Ars Magus." As of 2200AD, she been seen doing the Imperator's bidding as the mysterious figure, Phantom.[9]
  • Hades Izanami: The former Imperator, highest ranking political official and commander of the Novus Orbis Librarium. In reality, she is the Drive of The Origin. Her goal, to bring upon the day of reckoning, and return the world to nothing.[10]

Characters introduced in the console release

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  • Es: One of the main characters of the XBlaze spinoff series. Also known as Embryo Storage. In Central Fiction, she is the gatekeeper of the Gate to the Azure, and the proxy that conveys the will of the Azure.[11]
  • Mai Natsume: The main protagonist of the Remix Heart and its sequel Variable Heart manga. Heir to the Duodecim's Hazuki family, and a classmate of Noel and her friends during their days at the Military Academy.[12]
  • Susano'o: One of the Six Heroes who defeated the Black Beast once upon a time, as well as Yuuki Terumi's true form. Due to the effect of the Susano'o Unit, his impulse for destruction is unchecked, and he brings atrocities tyrannically.[13]
  • Jubei: One of the Six Heroes, he is the father of Kokonoe, and the husband of Nine. A beastkin warrior who fights with a katana and his razor-sharp claws. He believes in duty and humanity, and has a strong sense of justice. He was released on August 31, 2017, for North America and Japan, and September 4, 2017, for EU.[14]

Release

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The game was released for the arcades on November 19, 2015, with a location test having been done in mid-July of that year.[15] A console version was released in Japan on October 6, 2016, in North America on November 1, 2016, and Europe on November 4, 2016, for the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4, both physically and digitally.[1][16][17] Aksys Games has confirmed a limited edition for North American markets which includes a soundtrack disc, a nendoroid figure and a hardcover art book.

A Steam port was released on April 26, 2017.[18]

A Nintendo Switch release called BlazBlue: Centralfiction - Special Edition was released digitally on February 7, 2019, on Nintendo's eShop. It has also been released physically in Europe[19] and in Japan, but not in North America besides a limited release by Limited Run Games in 2022.[20] This version has every character including the PlayStation console added characters and the DLC character, Jubei.

At CEO 2021, it was revealed that the Steam version of the game will be patched with rollback netcode in 2022.[21] The rollback netcode for the Steam version was officially released on February 1, 2022.[22]

Reception

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In Japan, BlazBlue: Central Fiction sold 26,506 copies on PS4 and 9,674 copies on PS3.[31][32] Aggregate reviewer Metacritic gave BlazBlue: Central Fiction an 84 out of 100 citing generally positive reviews from websites.[23] Famitsu gave the game a 34/40 for both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 versions.[27] Chris Carter of Destructoid gave the title an 8.5/10 while complimenting the impressive amount of effort with few problems for a niche game.[25] Filippo Facchetti of Eurogamer gave Central Fiction a 9/10 recommending players who love fighting games and/or anime to buy the title.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b "BlazBlue: Central Fiction is coming to Europe in 2016!". Develop. Retrieved 2016-08-16.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "アークシステムワークス森利道氏インタビュー！ 新作格ゲー『ブレイブルー クロスタッグバトル』など森Pの新たな挑戦とは？【Evo2017】". Archived from the original on 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  3. ^ Romano, Sal (24 August 2016). "BlazBlue: Central Fiction limited edition announced for North America". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2016-08-25. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  4. ^ McClusky, Kevin (29 August 2016). "Sub-bull dub-bull toil and trouble". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2016-08-30. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
  5. ^ Miscevich, Danny (27 May 2016). "BlazBlue: Central Fiction Launches this Winter on PS4, PS3". PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  6. ^ Romano, Sal (27 May 2016). "BlazBlue: Central Fiction coming to North America this winter". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  7. ^ Sato (30 October 2015). "BlazBlue: Central Fiction Will Have Triple The Story Volume Of Chrono Phantasma". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  8. ^ a b Ishaan (12 July 2015). "BlazBlue Central Fiction Announced, Makes Hibiki And Naoto Playable". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  9. ^ Romano, Sal (17 November 2015). "BlazBlue: Central Fiction adds playable Nine". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  10. ^ "BlazBlue: Central Fiction Arcade Game Adds Izanami as Playable Character". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2016-04-24. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  11. ^ Joshi, Shaan (9 July 2016). "BlazBlue: Central Fiction Introduces Es to the Series". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  12. ^ Bahn, Chris. "A Manga Fan Favorite is Coming to BlazBlue". PVP Live. Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
  13. ^ Sato (7 October 2016). "Check Out BlazBlue: Central Fiction's Secret Character Susano'o And His Godly Combos". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  14. ^ Mejia, Ozzie. "EVO 2017: Anime worlds collide in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Jubei joins BlazBlue: Central Fiction". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 2018-01-07. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  15. ^ Barder, Ollie. "'BlazBlue Central Fiction' Announced Along With Location Test Details". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  16. ^ "PS4/PS3「BLAZBLUE CENTRALFICTION」，登場キャラ33名の情報を公式サイトにて公開". 4Gamer. Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  17. ^ MacGregor, Kyle (28 May 2016). "BlazBlue: Central Fiction hitting PS4, PS3 this winter". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  18. ^ Luster, Joseph. ""BlazBlue: Central Fiction" Heads to Steam on April 26". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  19. ^ "Pre-order bonus and new trailer for BLAZBLUE CENTRALFICTION Special Edition revealed". 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  20. ^ "BlazBlue Central Fiction (Switch)". Archived from the original on 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  21. ^ Agossah, Iyane (2021-12-06). "BlazBlue Central Fiction Rollback Beta Release Date and Time on Steam". DualShockers. Archived from the original on 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  22. ^ "Rollback netcode to be implemented officially on Feb 1st, 0000h PST!". Steam Game News. Arc System Works. 31 January 2022.
  23. ^ a b "BlazBlue: Central Fiction for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  24. ^ "BlazBlue: Central Fiction - Special Edition for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Carter, Chris (October 31, 2016). "Review: BlazBlue: Central Fiction". Destructoid. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  26. ^ a b Facchetti, Filippo (November 16, 2016). "BlazBlue: Central Fiction Review". Eurogamer. Eurogamer. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  27. ^ a b Romano, Sal (2016-09-27). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1452". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  28. ^ "BlazBlue CentralFiction Special Edition Review (Switch) | Aces high". Nintendo Life. 12 September 2021. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  29. ^ Zawodniak, Melanie (12 September 2021). "BlazBlue Central Fiction Special Edition (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  30. ^ "BlazBlue: Central Fiction review - "Speedy, stylish fighting" | Aces high". Pocket Gamer. 12 September 2021. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  31. ^ Romano, Sal (2016-10-12). "Media Create Sales: 10/3/16 – 10/9/16". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  32. ^ Romano, Sal (2016-10-19). "Media Create Sales: 10/10/16 – 10/16/16". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
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