By now, you’ve heard all the news of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, but if you haven’t yet and come across this post, let me explain to you!

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Title

So far, they’re underway on the second cabinet test the next iteration of the BlazBlue series. The changes? Guard Libra was replaced with a new system called Guard Primer which will be explain later, bursts are more Guilty Gear like, two new characters accounced, and a plethora of changes that’ll make your body tingle with anxiousness and excitement!

Lets dissect the changes, shall we?

• Astral Heats

The requirement for Astral Heats have been changed. The requirements are now, 100% heat, opponent at 20% life and you are one round away from winning match. When these requirements are met, your character portrait begins to flash white repeatedly.

• Guard Primer

The new Guard system emphasizes on Barrier Blocking certain attacks instead to prevent losing a Guard Stock. Your Guard Stock is either a number form 3-10. Tager having the most at 10, Λ-11(replacement v-13) having the least at 3. Certain special moves deplete a Guard Stock when blocked and when you run out of stocks, you’re guard crushed and vulnerable! Here is a list the number of stocks each character has. Like your Guard Libra from Calamity Trigger, Guard Primer’s Stocks do return after time.

Λ-11 : 3

Arakune, Carl, Rachel, Ragna, Taokaka : 4

Jin, Litchi, Noel, Tsubaki : 5

Bang, Hakumen, Hazama : 6

Tager : 10

• Burst Breaks

Barrier bursts have been have done away with as the damage penalty that comes with it, instead it halves your remaining Guard Primer stocks. Instead, they’ve been replaced with more of their Guilty Gear counterpart. Since they lack a penalty, you can do anything you please with it, do not feel like dealing with wake-up games? Burst. Being pressured too hard? Burst. Want to extend your combo? Burst since you’re able to KO if you’re opponent has been hit with a burst now! The power of the burst is still directly related to how much is left in your Barrier Gauge but they do not deplete it. Gold Bursts also have been changed. Instead of Guard Crushing or emptying your opponents Barrier Gauge, they launch your opponent high in the air giving you enough time to set-up a juggle combo as they fall to the ground.

You start with one burst a round and gain a burst stock for losing a round. You’ll never exceed two burst stocks, but if you deplete a burst stock, it is permanently gone for the rest of the match. So under this current revision, you’ll never be able to over twice in a match, but you’ll be able to burst twice in a round.

• Barrier Gauge

While it is separate from Bursting, if it empties, you will still enter into Danger and suffer the 50% Damage Increase Penalty as it refills.

• New Characters

• Tsubaki

Tsubaki was announced as a new character for the BlazBlue series. She is dressed in mage apparel with a thick book acting as a buckler and a dagger as her main weapon. She runs as fast as Noel and is incredibly aggressive. Her drive is named Install which powers up rest of her moves. Every time she holds down her Drive, she becomes vulnerable but gains stocks to power up her distortions or special moves. Unleashing her Install Drive for a special move will consume a stock but the outcome is quite powerful. Her distortions however consume all her stocks and depending how many she had (up to 5), the phrase, “LOOK AT THE DAMAGE!” can be said.

• Hazama

With 1930’s Gangster Apparel, Hazama appears in Continuum Shift as an odd hybrid between two Guilty Gear characters, Axl Low and Johnny. It’s been determined that his health is low and so is his damage output, but his potential seems great. He has very unique method of moving around in the BlazBlue series by launching chains from drive, either using it to ensnare his opponents or move with great speed along an axis. He wields two small daggers and his normals are generally short ranged.

• Changes to the Remaining Cast

There has been several changes that have brought upsets and joy alike. Hakumen gaining a force field when slashing a projectile, Tager gaining Guard Points on his 5D and several other changes. The game appears to be more balanced, though the characters that were previously low tier in Calamity Trigger seem much scarier now than they did before.

• Miscellaneous

The artwork is different and the game is much more animated, with more sprites.

That is all I have to say! Take care!

purupurupurupurupurupurupurupuru!