BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend officially released in North America today

Awesome, awesome. I will be skipping this though. Going back to lose myself in Amalur.

@1

you suck i have no money and there are so many games i have yet to buy TT-TT

i want this :/ lol

I do wish they had released this the same way Capcom released AE (a cheaper downloadable patch alternative for people who already own BB:CS would have been nice). Either way, I don't play enough BlazBlue for this to be very high on my priority list, unfortunately.

So...how many versions of this game were there?

would rather have Phantom Breaker than this weak s**t lol

Amazon says Friday for delivery. So I guess I'll be playing it then :P

@5 I think 3. CS,CS2 and CS2E.

@kdavis851 #5
This is the third disc release on home consoles.

@8

Ah. How many characters were added in the 2 additional versions of the game?

cant wait to see the blazblue tab on this site soon. i hope gamestop delivers my copy as fast as possible!

cant wait to pick it up later

Wish this had been DLC instead of a disk, but I suppose I will still be buying the game when I can afford it. Just kinda disappointed I wasted $16 buying two of the DLC characters for nothing =/

Talk about milking...
And they say capcom releases too much
versions...
They add just one character plus rebalance and call it a new game?
give me a break

@kdavis851 #10
Continuum Shift (second release) added three characters, plus three DLC characters. CS Extend will have the three DLC characters already in the game, plus a new character.

@16

7 characters across 3 games. Neat.

2 games, I mean.

@kdavis851 #16
For comparison, Street Fighter III added 8 characters over two updated versions, and Street Fighter II added 9 characters over four updated versions.

@19

All examples are egregious. Not arguing that at all.

Just weird that Capcom gets as much crap as they do, when ArcSys is every bit as guilty. The number of versions of Guilty Gear X2 is another example.

Guilty Gear is a fine series (Guilty Gear X2 was my first competitive fighting game), but I did get burned out by the series the same way I was with SFII.

ArcSys is a fine company as well (not much of a Blazblue fan, but I want to give it another shot). I don't want to sound like I'm bashing the company or their games. Just an observation that I fine interesting and nothing more.

popular = more haters. BB/GG are less popular = less people hating on it.

popular players get more haters too. this is just the law of the Internet. In StarCraft community, there is a saying if you don't have alot of haters, you still haven't make it yet.

True. C'est la vie.

Agreed.

I would get this but there is only 1 new character and it cost 40bucks idk if I feel like paying 40 for 1 character and some balance changes should be 20 bucks lol @21 I agree

This should of been DLC.

Arc is crazy charging 40 bucks for this, and I feel bad for ppl that got ripped off paying for the 3 DLC characters in BBCS, and now they gotta buy another disc for retail price to stay up to date. Friggin retarded.

Just make Guilty Gear XXX already.

Runningwild
*points to BB1* there ya go

ArcSys needs to chill and actually focus on making sequels to their games not just re-releases

so basically $40 bucks for 1 new character and balance, what else is new besides that to justify that price tag? balance should be free update so $40 for a single character? what am I missing here?

Keep in mind that CS2 was a free dlc patch... So technically this is really only the second version in terms of product imo.. In terms of patching and balance, then yes this would be the third installment of bbcs.

@27 I believe you get all of the dlc characters that were released for the previous games on this version as well as an updated story mode... I never bought any of the dlc characters for bbcs; never just got around to it tbh, so getting this in my case is pretty cool, since I'll finally be able to have some serious time to play Valk and Platinum. Also, too most fighting game fans, story mode normally doesn't count for sh!t, however most Blazblue fans would probably say that the story mode for this game is top-notch and very entertaining; slightly tedious, but entertaining none the less.

I do find this installment a little odd, but I'm a huge Blazblue fan so I look forward to playing this.

Yay for BlazBlue, good work EventHubs!

Price tag on Extend is hella high though.

@ 16 kdavis851

Yes it is only 3 new characters between two new iterations of the game, but you have to realize just how detailed the characters are. Every single character plays vastly different from the others.

When you compare it to other fighting games (SF, KOF, MVC, etc), you can add a bunch of new people, but other than the looks, they are basically the same as everyone else.

Imo one new character in Blazblue is like having 8 new characters in SF.

@ #30

Really have to agree with this, BB characters are a total different story.

I honestly prefer this kind of approach, less characters but with hugely different gameplan.

This way you get to learn every matchup in the game, instead of having to fight once in a while underdeveloped characters nobody uses.

I think I'll get this one, unless they decide to make another version with 2 new characters or something, you can never tell these days with fighting games, or should I wait for the new persona fighting game?

@32,
I believe this is the final version of BB since it brings both story modes together on one disc. Btw, I noticed you mentioned the upcoming Persona fighting game, Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena. There's a community forum dedicated to gathering information about the game. You totally should check it out! http://mayonakamidnight.com/

Hopefully this game goes down to 20 soon. I bought all dlc for CS led to believe that was the direction they were going. Kinda upset they did it this way. Im sure SFxT will have a "complete" edition with gems and dlc included this time next year

@30

I implore you to find two characters in UMvC3 that play exactly the same.

@ 34

Probably because whoever pushed the idea to start covering Blazblue here isn't an ignorant jackass such as you.

Also the ammount of people who still say that Relius is the only new thing in Extend amazes me, you'd think you'd do some research before you start bitching.

- Relius Clover
- New Stage
- New BGM tracks
- Refined Abyss Mode (making its debut on a home console)
- Unlimited Mars Mode
- Online now has a team mode in player matches (which is a great addition in particular I might add)
- Arcade mode debuts Makoto, Valkenhayn and Platinum's arcades on a home console and has Relius arcade which is totally new.
- Challenge mode has been revamped, new combos are there are now 15 of them for each character.
- Story mode includes a scenario for CT's story which is revamped, has a new anime opening and includes a ton of new art. Then you have Makoto, Valkenhayn, Platinum and Relius' stories plus it debuts EX1 and EX2 on a home console.
- The gallery has new art.
- All unlimited characters have new distortions to play around with, some even have TWO new distortions.
- Adds a platinum dollar system which is used to purchase extras in the gallery.
- There's a new anime opening (and one of the main reasons them wanting money for this is justified since they had to hire a new animation studio for all the new anime scenes like this opening anf CT's opening)
- New balance which pretty much added some new combos and tricks for everyone, just look at EX Tager for example.

So, alot more then DER THEY JUST ADDING ONE THING CAUSE I CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO RESEARCH BEFORE I OPEN MY STUPID MOUTH

And some of you are so stingy it's unreal, you really were spoiled by getting CS2 for free. You know the last time we were charged for a home console Blazblue game was 2009 right? OH GOD HOW DARE THEY CHARGE US NOW I SUPPOSE WE SHOULD JUST GET BLAZBLUE FOR FREE EVERYTIME!

@37 in another words Extend = Relius Clover, rebalance and a bunch of stuff no one gives a damn about?

@38 If you actually play Blazblue chances are you do care about that stuff.

I'm happy to see EventHubs extending its reach to other fighting game series. I think bringing together fans of the genre will help it prosper more than having them all divided up by franchise, treating each other as enemies. I'm pretty sure Capcom learned this with their various crossovers (especially Capcom vs SNK). Introducing fans to each other's series helps both sides prosper.

@38 The extra stuff is certainly appreciated once you play a game lacking in such content like Soul Calibur 5. I for one don't take content for granted ... anymore.

@37 so in summary, they added one character and made some balance changes

@ 38 and 37

39 pretty much said it, you two do realize that there are actually people who play these games for more then just playing competitively right? Or are you both just THAT ignorant?

But I guess if you don't give a crap about it it doesn't matter right? Elitist pricks.

@ 38 and 41

39 pretty much said it, you two do realize that there are actually people who play these games for more then just playing competitively right? Or are you both just THAT ignorant?

But I guess if you don't give a crap about it it doesn't matter right? Elitist pricks.

@ #43

Completely agree.

And if you were into competitive play, you'd be buying it even with a $60 price tag, which incidentally is the money people pay for their annual generic online fps.

does anybody complaining about just 1 character even know how much work it takes just to make that 1 character.

http://www.siliconera.com/2012/02/09/...

It is because people almost never appreciate something unless they have to do it themselves. Same way most people don't seem to realize that Arc is a company and all this stuff NO MATTER HOW WORTHLESS THAT YOU THINK IT IS costed MONEY and that money has to be made back in kind by selling it to us.

Gonna be honest.
I'm a huge fan of this series, been playing it like crazy since the first release...
There's no way I'm getting this version any time soon, not for fourty bucks. I mean, fourty bucks for one character and some story mode stuff I'm never actually going to play through? I'll keep my money.
This is the kind of obvious cash-grab not even Capcom would touch with a ten foot pole

This pleases me greatly. Expect me to help out a bit with BlazBlue info in the future.

@1

No, you didnt. The game came out today.

@ #47

Come on guys, do you ever buy games for full price? Even at launch, you can usually snatch things for at least 20 % off by buying them online, and prices usually drop fast.

I'd much rather have this than Capcom's horrendous gem crap, especially considered how far back the previous disc-based launch dates for BB.

@50

Like +1

What a terrible time to release this game. Soul Calibur 5 just came out. Skull Girls and SFxT are coming out. Marvel 3 is at it's peak and the niche gamers are in KoF13.

How is a gameplay update with one new character going to compete?

@52, blazblue do better than you think.
Go check your Kof 13, SC5 and mvc3 number in Japan. Blazblue is different type of fighting game. they don't need to compete with Skull Girls, SC5, or Kof. Some people buy it just for the 15 hours story mode. Niche gamers are never in kof13, they play Melty Blood and blazblue.

We get an Disk update after 3 years and its for full price and people are complaining ?

Not to mention that they tried to keep Continuum shift alive for as long as possible with a FREE balance patch, you know the type you get with UMvC3 and SSF4/AE but for FREE not £30.

Also they couldn't do what AE did and release it as DLC coz there was no space on Continuum Shift to hold anything else.

This is a way better deal than having to spend an additional £30 after 6 months of buying a the incomplete game for £40.

yeah, new disk after couple years is reasonable. Not to mention the Limited Edition already sold out(during perorder) in my local store and sold out in amazon.com

@54 Where exactly did you get 3 years from? As far as I know, CS came out less than 2 years ago (July '10).

Not complaining, but I don't like it when one side of an argument exaggerates in order to prove a point.

For those complaining that this should have been DLC,

CS1 was the last disc version, then they released 2 DLC characters (Makoto/Valkenhayn). Then CS2 came out in Arcades which included all the DLC characters (Platinum included) and balance changes. Then they released a balance patch + Platinum for CS1 on consoles, thus making it CS2.

Extend is now the 3rd disc version, and it has been 1 year and 6 months since CS1 was released for consoles. Relius may be the only *new* character, but it includes all 3 other previously DLC characters, among a ton of other things. Think of it like you would a Game of the Year edition of other games.

And it is still only $40.

Every game has their own dedicated community. Let's be open minded and accept them for who they are. The last thing this world needs is more fanboy arguments.

Also, glad to see that people are submiting tips for other games and hope more will do the same. It goes a long way in making Eventhubs the site for all fighting game fans.

bb is a great game, but this new version is preposterous, 40 for so so few extra, i'll get that game but when it will go down 20

@53

Not to sound self centered, but sales in Japan don't matter much. The market in the US is where the money is.

And as for Melty Blood... that community is what? 10 people? I remember trying to find out how to play it online and had to really get deep into posts from 2008 to even find the links I needed. That's beyond niche.

The BBCS2 patch wasn't free. You have to buy the characters to have the full version. The characters were $21. I played through the BBCT story and couldn't sit through the BBCS story (bought Mu). I never touched Legion. For a lot of fans who followed the game, they're only adding one character. $40 is a lot to ask for that especially after you learned that the money you spent won't be honored. The game should be $20 with just Relius and have the BBCS2 DLC work for BBCSX. People who didn't get the DLC would still be paying $40 and people who did don't feel ripped off. I'm definitely not buying this for $40.

BBCT - $60
BBCS - $40
BBCS2 - $21
BBCSX - $40

No other modern fighting game has asked for that much money to stay current. We've only got 7 new characters $100 past the initial release.

@56

I was talking about the Arcade release date.

Got my copy!

@ 61

CS2 was a free patch, you didn't need to buy the characters to own the patch. Doesn't matter if you think buying the DLC completes it somehow, the patch was free meaning everyone got a free update to CS2's balance and could still fight against DLC characters even if they didn't want to buy them.

The people complaining about the additions made on this game have not thoroughly played Blazblue; plain and simple. Dedicated fans of this series will buy this game, because they know that these additions and changes are huge. The balance changes alone in CS2(it was a free balance patch btw) made it feel like a completely new game all around imo. This new installment is a good thing for Blazblue fans. If you haven't really played any Blazblue games then it honestly makes sense why you would see this new version as ridiculous, however these games have serious depth. Any changes/additions have huge impacts on this game.

the amount of fail I see in these comments make's me laugh. CS2 patch was free did not need to characters stop trying to justify you cheap asses.Say this is a rip off when CS1 has been out for 2 to 3 years then got a update about a year ago (for free!)a new release is needed. You aren't even getting it at 60 bucks unless you by the LE yet its not ok. Like TM and a few others said dedicated fans play blazblue for more then online they play it for the story so this update will be huge to most and get new players in to pick it up who never played the first.Most of these comments so how entitled gamers this gen are aswell as being hypocrites. Watch when SF x T comes out and have a new version released in about 2 or 4 months everyone will be ok with it.

(y) for evenhubs and for crapcom fags just let me remind you the versions of sf.
sf 4
ssf 4
ssf4 arcade jun edition (arcade edition)
ssf4 2012

all the versions of sf are pretty much the same, blazblue has 4 versions, bb, bbcs, bbcs2 and bbscex so i dont know whats the point of the point of this.

damn i bought kof13 today for a change from UMvC3. why didnt anyone tell me of this new game? is it better than kof?

I feel sorry for any of you that over payed for the DLC characters only to have them be in this version. I have nothing against how many versions of this game are released however it is pretty damn messed up for those people who payed for the DLC characters which are now included in this version.

With all the grief CAPCOM gets i find this much worse. BB DLC has been way over priced and most of it shouldve been free/cost less.

@69 most of the dlc other then characters was about 3 to 5 bucks wth are you talking about.I bought all the characters btw no one forced me.

@67, that's a fail comparison, seeing how SFIV had only 2 console releases (the AE edition was optional), with the 2nd release coming with 10 new characters (that were not past DLC, mind you). That alone justifies $40/new release. AE 2012 was not even planned and in fact fan demanded (you even proved this by calling it Yun edition). Oh, and it turned out to be free.

Honestly, I'm not backing Capcom up cause I'm a fanboy. I'm pretty butthurt from UMvC3 myself. But the point is, for fighting games, being up-to-date is very important because everyone needs to be at the same level in order to compete. It's fine if all the changes were single player, as that has no bearing to competitive play. But adding 1 character and doing balance changes? Forcing your entire competitive userbase to update for quick cash? If they were really serious about updating, they wouldn't be calling it CSII Extend, they'd call it a freakin' different subtitle. An update as insignificant as this does not merit a full console release.

If you want to prove your fan loyalty to Arc, go ahead. Or you could wait for Continuum Shift III Extend Plus, with Order Ragna! Same ****, different day...

*disc, not console.

sorry for double post.

@71 CS1 was out for about 2 to 3 years then cs2 game out that was about a year and that one was free now this one is coming out...I see no issue here.

I could've sworn this was the 4th version: CT, CS CS2, CSE

I hope Tekken doesn't follow this and keep its ways...

I think if you go by the $3-$4 per character rule, like most dlc fighting game charges for (or even higher) SFIV series is actually doing well.

vanilla SFIV
SSFIV-10 new characters + balance $40
SFIVAE-4 new characters + balance $15 DLC (fan demand)
SFIVAE2012-balance patch FREE
there is no DLC characters for SFIV series ever.

Last time I checked Makoto alone cost $8 on Europe ps store (where I buy DLCs from), a complete character roster do make the game seem complete thou, I will buy the BB extend since it has all the characters and its my 1st bb game, just wish this is the final version.

2 things people:

1) Making characters in BB takes a lot more time and money than you think. http://www.siliconera.com/2012/02/09/...

Making characters for SSF4 isn't nearly has hard as making anime characters for BB.

2) If you don't knw BB3 will be the next Blazblue game they are making. But it will start development once Persona 4 The Ultimate In Mayonaka Arena is done.

Btw this was unavoidable. The Disk version of Continuum Shift was full, it could hold nothing else. So re-balancing the game and adding Relius + the new story elements and modes would be impossible. As well as the new Team Battle mode and improved online.

Part 3: http://www.siliconera.com/2012/02/10/...

@Frost

Wait, you are telling me BB extend is not the last version? I just decided to buy the game...

@#60 evo 2010 melty blood had more people enter than Tekken. only second behind SSF4. If they have the new MB:AACC for evo 2012, i bet that it will have higher entrants than MK, SC.

@Frost

Also all characters in fighting games goes through those phases, concept, animation etc... it just depends on what the styles of the game is BB is 2d so obviously sprite would be an issue thus making it difficult, SFIV is 2.5 d which would focus on animation and character movement, which makes every move in the game feel like it has real life imapct, every punch and kick feels it has weight to it, I wouldnt eaxctly call SFIV characters easy to make.

@79

I mean that it will be the last update. The next BB (which won't be for a long time) will be a direct sequel so they will continue the story.

They are currently working on another project which is Persona 4 The Ultimate In Mayonaka Arena (check it out, even if your not into the Persona series) so they won't deal with BB for a while.

Also I'm not calling SF characters easy to make, I'm just saying that making Anime characters is much harder. Since everything is hand drawn. Making SF characters isn't easy by any means but drawing around 19, 000 sprites than having to tweak them and manipulated is harder.

@82

Yea I have heard about Persona 4 fighting game, I posted @32 and I was thinking to get extend or wait for the new persona fighting game since money is an issue to me right now. I'm not really intersted in stories, just that a full roster is good enough for me, if they make a sequal and decided to make 1 or 2 new characters then I would have to wait I guess since I want a complete character roster.

@83

The next BB game will probably have Lord Tenjō Son (story related, they mentioned he was still alive and that Bang is looking for him in Ikaruga which is basically were everyone is going) and Kokonoe (since her character portrait is the same as the other playable character)

But I hope we get Saya, Phantom and Jubei as well.

@VP:
The year thing has no relevance, it's around the same SFIV's releases. That doesn't justify a new disc at all (the Vita release I'm okay with.)

2009: SFIV (disc), BBCT (disc)
2010: SSFIV (disc), BBCS (disc)
2011: AE (DLC), BBCS2 (free DLC)
2012: AEv2012 (free DLC), BBCS2E (disc)

Again, I'm arguing with the competitive userbase in mind.