Game Over — Depth VS Fundamentals
Street Fighter IV or BlazBlue … Street Fighter IV or BlazBlue? This is the question that has been on my mind for the past few months … OK, that’s a lie. In reality, I am and always will be a BlazBlue fan, but this strange sort of pseudo rivalry has been noticed in the gaming community, so much so that IGN even had a “grudge match” when both games first came out. Now, we are staring down sequels for each. Street Fighter IV is getting a revamp via Super Street Fighter IV, and BlazBlue is getting a revamp in BlazBlue Continuum Shift, and the rivalry continues. Arcades are having tournaments for Street Fighter IV, and BlazBlue, you can find tournament videos of Street Figther IV side by side with tournament videos of BlazBlue. The communities around me for both games seem very separate, and I got to wondering “why?”
Street Fighter IV is actually a whole lot like Street Fighter II. Combo strings are short, damage scales very high, and the majority of the game is based on fundamentals. The most complicated system in the game is the focus system, and even that is little more than a rock-paper-scissors “soak one hit” mechanic. Beyond that, you have a super bar that lets you do more powerful moves, and a revenge bar that lets you do a very powerful move, and that is about it. Lots of the old gameplay conventions return. Characters become trapped in fireball wars, jumping in (due to lack of air blocking) is very risky, and most of the game involves poking and positioning.
BlazBlue, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. While is has fewer buttons compared to Street Fighter (4 instead of 6) it has an incredible amount of complexity via the burst mechanic, the barrier mechanic, the guard libra (or primer if you are playing Continuum Shift), negative penalty, movement options like air dashing and super jumping, instant blocking and air blocking, the counter (and fatal counter) hit system, different kinds of throws and throw breaks, and every characters unique drive system. Yeah, though I don’t seem to notice it while I’m playing the game, this game is fucking balls to the walls complicated.
Which game is “better?” though. Honestly, if this were a personal article, which I suppose to some extent it is, I would simply take the cheap way out and say neither is better, they are both just different, we can all enjoy everything with varying levels of appreciation, everyone hold hands and have a multi-cultural sing-along. However, both of these games really do bring up a good question. Is a fighting game (or any game for that matter, but fuck you I’m keeping this example small and local) better with lots of complex systems to take advantage of, or is it better off being a digital version of Othello, simple to learn, hard to master, and filled with little pieces you eventually end up losing between your couch cushions.
There are a lot of arguments for both sides. For example, BlazBlue characters are far more unique than Street Fighter characters. In fact, characters are so dissimilar that you have to totally rethink your fighting style for each one. Some characters can control the wind, others can magnetize you, nearly every character has their own unique meter or gauge that ties into their moves somehow, and button mashing will do little but get you killed right out of the gate. Unfortunately, this also means that there simply aren’t many BlazBlue characters to choose from. When the console port of Continuum Shift releases, there will be fifteen characters to play as, which isn’t a whole lot by today’s standards.
On the other side of the argument, Super Street Fighter IV will be releasing with 35 playable characters, more than twice what BlazBlue can advertise. However, these characters are much less unique, with many sporting small variations on traditional moves such as the fireball or the dragon punch. However, since Street Fighter is a much simpler game, it means that these subtle differences such as range, hitbox, speed, and so forth, make a very large difference in gameplay. It also means that moves are easier to pick up. Most characters have the button combinations that fall into a pattern. If quarter circle forward punch produces a fireball, then it will do so with any punch button.
BlazBlue on the other hand features very obscure button combinations that require very specific button presses that produce moves that don’t seem to naturally follow from the combination you pressed. Very few characters have generic moves, like fireballs, and nearly every move in the game has special properties that you have to learn, making learning the game from the get go a project and a half.
Both games have evolved complex meta-games and tier lists, and both games have their share of celebrities and pro players. Both games have had their balanced re-worked and have been broken by people who try hard enough. However, you seem to get two different feelings of accomplishment for mastering both games. Street Fighter boils down to fundamentals. Players spend a good portion of the game laying on chip damage, locking their opponents down into positions that are advantageous to themselves, and overall making it difficult to approach or get the other hand. BlazBlue, however, recreates the feeling of an anime battle, with a focus on aggression and combos while still balancing gameplay with any number of trump cards, reversals, and surprise attacks with special properties.
So which one is better? Well, as I said before I am a BlazBlue fan, but honestly I’m not king high muckity muck god of gaming. I can’t tell you which one is better. I can tell you that you are trading off intricacy for accessibility and expansion for uniqueness in both cases. If you are the kind of gamer that really likes knowing absolutely everything about your character down to framerates, you may enjoy BlazBlue, however if you are the type of gamer that likes a lot of options with a decreased focus on combos and memorization, Street Fighter IV is probably the game for you.
(25 votes, average: 2.80 out of 4)
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