BlazBlue: Chronophantasma

BlazBlue: Chronophantasma (ブレイブルー クロノファンタズマ), released outside Japan as BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, is the third main installment of the BlazBlue series.

Plot
January AD 2200.

It’s been over a week since the timeloop of this world came to an end. Ragna, having destroyed the Kilns, had finished his quest.

However, there was still unfinished business in his books. It is to defeat his now-revived nemesis, Terumi.

Terumi abducts Noel, who can find the Master Unit, Amaterasu, as the Successor of the Blue. Hatred and vengeance awaken the God Slaying Sword, Kusanagi – Mu-12.

Ragna sacrifices his own flesh to save Noel, but even that, Terumi predicted. In a small window of opportunity, Terumi nullifies Takamagahara.

It was all a part of their——

The Emperor of the Control Organization expected it.

Later, Kokonoe restores Ragna’s lost body part, and he sets his course for the Ikaruga Union of Hierarchical Cities.

Little did he know, he would encounter the Chronophantasma – the Phantoms of Time – at his destination…

Information
The game takes place after the events of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. The Story Mode has three scenarios: BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, 7th Agency and Six Heroes. A remake was announced on December 17, 2014, titled BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend.

General changes
The character sprites have been redrawn and refined and several new songs were composed for the game. All previous musical themes have been re-arranged.

New game mechanics
The following have been removed from BlazBlue as of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma:
 * Gold Break Bursts
 * Guard Primers
 * Individual Storylines (Console version)

The following mechanics have been added to BlazBlue: Chronophantasma:
 * Overdrive: Each character has a new mechanic called Overdrive. When activated, it gives enhanced strength and access to new moves unique to the character. Normally, Overdrive lasts 5 seconds; however, at lower health, it lasts around 15 seconds. Usage of Overdrive freezes the timer. The bar to use Overdrive fills up over time, and can be used only when the bar is full. The Overdrive replaces the neutral stance Break Burst from the last game (since in that game it shares the same command: A+B+C+D), and also empties the bar used for the Burst, which now refills over time during the match, as opposed to the set amount of usable Bursts from the last game. In addition, the bar is automatically refilled by 1/3 if it was used for Overdrive as opposed to using a Break Burst, which completely empties it. When the character’s health is low, the bar refills much faster.
 * Crush Trigger: Crush Trigger acts as a replacement for the Guard Crush mechanics in the past games (Guard Libra and Guard Primers). By sacrificing 25% heat (or in Hakumen’s case, two Magatama) then pressing A+B, it will allow players to crush the opponent’s guard under normal circumstances. Crush Triggers cannot break the Barrier Guard instantly, but can deal high damage to it, and they can be delayed/charged to inflict even more damage to the Barrier Gauge.
 * Because of this, the Heat Gauge is now split up into four sections rather than two. Prior to BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, Jin had a Heat Gauge with four sections, due to spending 25% Heat to perform powered-up versions of his special moves by using the D button.
 * The game features three main storylines to follow, with boss battles included, which all come together for the true end.
 * On the character select screen, when selecting a color palette for a character, players can see what the palettes look like, instead of having to guess from three color swatches.
 * A new glossary is included for the JP version of the home console release.
 * A new 1.10 Patch version featuring re-balancing was featured for arcades on March 19, 2014 (which also includes the console-exclusive characters) and was featured for the console versions on May 14, 2014.
 * Overall, the hitstop on attacks is somewhat lessened by a notable amount, which makes this entry a lot more fast-paced compared to previous titles.

Playable characters
Returning characters: blue &middot; New characters: purple &middot; DLC only characters: green 


 * Ragna the Bloodedge (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Ragna the Bloodedge
 * Jin Kisaragi (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Jin Kisaragi
 * Noel Vermillion (Icon, Chronophantasma, 1).png Noel Vermillion
 * Rachel Alucard (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Rachel Alucard
 * Taokaka (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Taokaka
 * Carl Clover (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Carl Clover
 * Litchi Faye Ling (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Litchi Faye Ling
 * Arakune (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Arakune
 * Iron Tager (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Iron Tager
 * Bang Shishigami (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Bang Shishigami
 * Hakumen (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Hakumen
 * Hazama (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Hazama
 * Tsubaki Yayoi (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Tsubaki Yayoi


 * Makoto Nanaya (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Makoto Nanaya
 * Valkenhayn R. Hellsing (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Valkenhayn R. Hellsing
 * Platinum the Trinity (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Platinum the Trinity
 * Relius Clover (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Relius Clover
 * Nu-13 (Icon, Chronophantasma).png ν-13-
 * Mu-12 (Icon, Chronophantasma).png μ-12-
 * Amane Nishiki (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Amane Nishiki
 * Bullet (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Bullet
 * Azrael (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Azrael
 * Izayoi (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Izayoi
 * Kagura Mutsuki (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Kagura Mutsuki
 * Yūki Terumi (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Yūki Terumi
 * Kokonoe (Icon, Chronophantasma).png Kokonoe

Practice

 * Tutorial Mode (チュートリアルモード)
 * Training Mode (トレーニングモード)
 * Challenge Mode (チャレンジモード)

Story

 * Story Mode (ストーリーモード)
 * Teach Me More, Miss Litchi! (もっと教えて！ライチ先生)
 * Glossary (用語集) (Japanese version only)

Battle

 * Arcade Mode (アーケードモード)
 * Versus Mode (ブイエスモード)
 * Abyss Mode (アビスモード)
 * Score Attack Mode (スコアアタックモード)
 * Unlimited Mars Mode (アンリミテッドマーズモード)
 * Highlander Assault Mode (ハイランダーアサルトモード)

Network

 * Network Mode (ネットワークモード)

Collection

 * Replay Theater (リプレイシアター)
 * Gallery Mode (ギャラリーモード)

Reception
BlazBlue: Chronophantasma received a metascore of 83/100 on PS3. On whatoplay.com, it receives an aggregate score (playscore) of 8.59 on PS3 and 8.52 on PS Vita.

Trivia

 * The arcade opening reveals BlazBlue / Phase III as an alternative title for the game.
 * BlazBlue: Chronophantasma has many changes in terms of some of the menu screens and themes. The character select has been greatly altered, going from all the characters aligned in a circle formation to now being arranged like a conventional character select.
 * Characters also seem to be positioned in a way that those symmetrical to them counterpart them some way.
 * While there are a plethora of new stages, Moonlight Castle -Halloween- and the Altar stage were the first stages returning from previous games to be selectable for combat. Kagutsuchi Port AM 10:30 and The Gate stage also return, but they were only playable in Noel’s Arcade mode.
 * As of December 25, 2013, however, the two stages are playable thanks to a special DLC code included in the Limited Edition of the First Volume of BlazBlue: Alter Memory Blu-ray/DVD release, with more stages from the old games announced as DLC of the next Five Volumes.
 * The PlayStation Vita version features a story that summarizes the events of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift with gag scenarios included, and an exclusive gag scenario set on a beach.
 * This is the first BlazBlue game to have an NPC Boss Character (Highlander: Takemikazuchi/Hades: Izanami).
 * BlazBlue: Chronophantasma’s cast has alternate colors referencing other game series that have been affiliated with Arc System Works, namely Guilty Gear and the Persona series, as well a color referencing another character from BlazBlue itself. They are as follows: