BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

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Gameplay
BlazBlue is a traditional 2D fighter where two characters participate in a duel on a two dimensional plane. A round is called a "rebel" and one match can consist of one to five "rebels". To win a round, one player must either incapacitate the other by inflicting damage through various attacks to reduce health or by having more remaining health after the clock runs out if the rules of the match has one.

Every character has a weak, medium and strong attack. Also every character has a "unique" technique, called a Drive attack, which is different for each character. Those attacks are also known as "A", "B", "C" and "D". Various combos can be performed by every character through careful input of regular and drive attacks. A combo consists of two or more consecutive attacks that hit an opponent without them retaliating. As combos become longer, each attack will do less damage than normal to give the opponent a chance to retaliate. Grabs can be incorporated into combos also by pressing the "B" and "C" buttons at the same time. Occasionally, some attacks (e.g. Jin's Hirensou) will use portions of the player's heat gauge at the bottom of the screen. The heat gauge is filled by either dealing or receiving damage. When at a certain percentage, special moves called "distortion drives" can be performed. When a distortion drive is successfully performed and connects with the opponent, it deals massive damage and is visually flashier than normal attacks.

Along with attacks every character has two types of block. One is the regular block that can be broken with a "guard crush". That can be achieved by pushing the "guard libra" gauge all the way to the opponent's side through repeated attacks. If the opponent keeps blocking, then their guard can be broken, leaving them open for attack. The second type of block is a barrier block, which is initiated by blocking while holding the "A" and "B" buttons at the same time. A barrier block cannot be broken like a normal guard, but there is a limit on how long one can be held, which is indicated by the barrier gauge. If the barrier gauge empties, then the player will receive 150% damage until it regenerates to half-full.

Advanced tactics
A form of an advanced tactic is a "rapid cancel". These can be done after any attack to instantly cancel the character sprite's animation frames and reset back to the resting position. However this can only be done at the cost of 50% of the heat gauge.

Counters are the one of the easier tactics to perform. All that is required is for a player to strike their opponent while they are in the middle of an attacking animation to stop them in their tracks. This leaves an opponent open for a combo.

In addition to a player's regular block options, they can also "instant block", which requires stricter timing, but reduces the amount of time the character is stuck in their blocking animation and gives you a little heat.

If a player is under pressure from the opponent, a "barrier burst" can be done at any time to send the opponent away to create some space at the cost of having no barrier block and receiving 150% damage for the rest of the round. A barrier burst may also be used offensively to break the opponents guard (your character will still suffer the extra damage and be unable to barrier block for the remainder of the round).

Home version features
The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions includes all content from the arcade version, along with content exclusive to the console versions, including:


 * New music, animations, backgrounds and a console-exclusive story mode
 * Theme songs done by Kotoko(Ao-Iconoclast) for the OP, Hironobu Kageyama (Omae no Tettsui ni Kugi wo Ute) for Bang's Fūrinkazan Theme, and a song by Noel's VA 'Kanako Kando', titled 'Love So Blue', which plays at various points during story mode.
 * The ability to switch between Japanese and English voices
 * Online multiplayer supporting up to six players, where 2 players play at a time and the remainder are able to watch the battle as spectators.
 * Special "Unlimited" versions of characters, which grant boss-like properties similar to the Gold and Black forms in Guilty Gear. Unlimited Ragna has Blood Kain mode always activated without its HP drain (Devoured by Darkness does not deactivate Blood Kain either). Unlimited versions of v-13, Ragna, Rachel, and Haku-men can be fought and unlocked in the game's single player modes, while the rest are downloadable content.
 * Unlockable Astral Heats (Instant kill moves) for all characters. Astral Heats require a full Heat gauge and the opponent to have 20% or less of their health, and can only be performed during the final round of a match (ie. the 3 round of a best of three match). Successfully using an Astral Heat will result in what is known as an Astral Finish.
 * The PlayStation 3 version includes remote play that allows users to play the game on a PSP after connecting it to their console.
 * In the limited edition US version a Blu-Ray disc for PS3 or DVD for Xbox 360 is included with a strategy guide and combo videos for every character. Also included is a 2 disc Limited Edition soundtrack with special remixes from Oh No.

Characters
Ragna the Bloodedge: The SS-class criminal known as the "Grim Reaper". He fights endlessly against the government, determined to destroy them. With a grimoire said to have unparalled power in his possession, the price on his head is the highest on record.

Drive: Soul Eater

Jin Kisaragi: A major in the Praetorian Guard, the Librarium's top military unit, Jin is the youngest soldier ever to be awarded the title of "Hero". His accomplishments during the Ikaruga Civil War were second to none, and he has always been a loyal, obedient soldier. But something has happened...something has made Jin abandon his post and disobey an order for the first time in his life...Something that is drawing him to Kagutsuchi...

Drive: Frost Bite

Noel Vermillion: A lieutenant in the Praetorian Guard, the Librarium's top military unit, Noel is a member of the once powerful Vermillion family. She demonstrated exceptional skill in combat while at the Academy and was placed under Jin Kisaragi's command at a very young age. It wasn't long, however, that she discoverd she and Jin were not destined to get along with one another. After Jin's desertion, she was dispatched to Kagutsuchi to retrieve him, her heart heavy with worry...

Drive: Chain Revolver

Rachel Alucard: Rachel is the current head of the Alucard vampire family. She lives a rather mundane life in her castle with only her butler and pets for company. One day, she decides to leave for the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi, saying only that she is bored.

Drive: Silpheed

Iron Tager: His tremendous size has frightened many people and earned him the nickname of the Red Devil. Critically wounded during the Ikaruga Civil War, Tager was found by Kokonoe, who repaired his body with machinery. No one Knows for sure what he's doing in the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi, but chances are it has something to do with the rumors about Ragna the Bloodedge.

Drive: Voltic Battler

Taokaka: Taokaka is a member of the kaka clan that lives far below Kagutsuchi. Urban development has obscured the sky over her village, and Taokaka is determined to bring it back. She has heard that anyone who captures the man "Rawrgna" can get a lot of "money".

Drive: Dancing Edge

Litchi Faye-Ling: A doctor in Orient Town, one of the lower parts of Kagutsuchi. As a scientist and doctor, she is loved and admired by the residents of Orient Town. She's grown to love Orient Town as well...almost to forget why she came there in the first place...

Drive: Mantenbo

Arakune: His body teeming with thousands of insects, Arakune walks a path corrupted by magic. He has been living in the lowest levels of Kagutsuchi, attacking the kaka clan and any humans foolish enough to visit his sanctuary, searching for even greater power. But he has dtected an enormous source of power in the levels above and has begun to move

Drive: Crimson

Bang Shishigami: After losing their home in the Ikaruga Civil War, Bang and his clan of ninjas fled to Kagutsuchi to regroup and wait for achance to restore thier homeland to its former glory. While in Kagutsuchi, Bang decided to make his debut as a "Vigilante of Justice". When he learned that Ragna the Bloodedge had come to Kagutsuchi, he decided to bring the legendary criminal to justice!

Drive: Burning Heat

Carl Clover: A talented young boy and first-class vigilante, Carl has brought many criminals to justice with the aid of his mysterious doll Nirvana. His sights set on his next target, the infamous Ragna the Bloodedge, he heads for the 4th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi.

Drive: Automation

Hakumen: One of the Six Heroes of legend. When he disappeared after the war, people assumed he was gone for good. Little do they know, he has been lying in wait in the bowels of Kagutsuchi...but for what? Does his sword exist to cut the Black Beast, or...something else?

Drive: Zanshin (God Slash)

Nu (v-13): A mysterious child who appeared out of a giant contraption hidden in the depths of Kagutsuchi. What can this emotionless cyborg of a girl possibly want with Kagutsuchi...?

Drive: Sword Summoner

Plot
 Spoiler warning : Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Prologue
In a time now long past, mankind faced extinction at the hands of the "Black Beast", acreature that appeared out of the darkness. The Beast was possessed by an awesome power, and it appeared that the time of man would soon be at an end. It was then, in humanity's darkest hour, that six heroes of unknown origin came forward to defeat the Beast. They brought with them the ancient power of "magic", which they freely shared with mankind. Turning their ingenuity to the formation of new, more powerful weapons, humanity discovered a process by which they could infuse their own technology with the power of ancient magic. It was in this way that humanity created the "Armagus" and discovered a power far beyond what magic or technology alone could have given them.

With this newfound power, mankind once again confronted the Beast, with the six heroes fighting alongside them. After many long, blood-soaked battles, the Beast finally fell, ending what would come to be known as the "First War of Magic". The heroes who fought beside human warriors in the First War of Magic were immortalized for their deeds and, through generations, came to be known as the "Six Heroes".

An organization was formed during the First War to regulate the use of the "Grimoire Armagus", the Armagus training texts. This "Novus Orbis Librarium", and the power it wielded with the Grimoire Armagus, brought about great advances across the the spectrum of human technology. These gains threw mankind into a vast and all-encompassing reconstruction.

Decades have passed since the Librarium established itself as a dictatorship, and Armagus became the deciding factor in nearly all of humanity's affairs. This has led to a large socioeconomic gap between those who can wield the power of Armagus and those who cannot. Tensions began to flare, and before long a rebel organization calling itself the "Ikaruga Federation" appeared, defying the totalitarian authority of the Librarium. With the creation of the Federation, angry thoughts became open hostilities, and the "Second War of Magic" began. It was this conflict, which also came to be known as the "Ikaruga Civil War", that saw human using the power of Armagus against one another for the first time.

The Second War came to a close with the destruction of the Ikaruga Federation. Afraid of further conflict, the Librarium consummated its subjugation of the populace by issuing the following decree: "Whosoever chooses to defy the Novus Orbis Librarium shall be put to death, without exception."

Several years after the end of the Second War, a branch of the Libraruim, reputed to command a force as powerful as an entire nation's army, was suddenly and utterly destroyed. The few survivors spoke in hushed, shaken tones of a single man who had appeared out of nowhere, cutting down all in his path.

His name was "Ragna the Bloodedge"...

Story
`A.D. 2199 Dec`

By the end of the year, most citizens were expecting the beginning of an era of unprecedented development. Unfortunately, 2199 was also the year that the Librarium's greatest foe, the man with the highest sing bounty on record, Ragna the Bloodedge, was rumored to have appeared in the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutuschi. People gave him the nickname Grim Reaper, and it was said that his goal was the obliteration of the librarium in its entirety. Following the rumors, people began to make their way to Kagutsuchi-some after the incredible bounty on his head, others after the "ultimate power" said to be in his possession...and a few whose only interest was his assassination for the Librarium.

Spoilers end here.