This week can generally be summed up by one game – Starcraft II. But did you know that there was also another hotly anticipated title released on the exact same day into Western Markets? It’s true! But who could possibly be silly enough to release a game on the same date as the juggernaut that is Starcraft II?
Who would buy it over Starcraft II? And what the heck is this game anyways? Well in hindsight, it wasn’t necessarily a bad move to release the game on the same date, because the game in question – Blazblue: Continuum Shift, attracts a generally different market all together. While the masses are busily constructing supply depots and pylons, Arc System Works quietly releases this update to the classic Blazblue: Calamity Trigger in the west. To those not in the scene, this may be nothing of consequence, but to those core fighting game fans and players alike, this is as big an event as Starcraft II. Arc System Works, established in 1988 in Yokohama Japan, is known mainly for one thing – fighting games. This was not always the case however. Their first few games were a diverse lot, from a sumo wrestling simulation to a space shoot-’em up to a fantasy strategy game. To this day, Arc System Works continues to make diverse games, such as fishing simulators and casual games for the Nintendo Wii. However, many gamers define them by their fighting games, and it was not until 1998 when Atlus imported across their first fighting game, Guilty Gear, did they suddenly gain wide recognition in the west.
Guilty Gear essentially sparked what was to be a paradigm shift in the company, one that would end up defining the company as one of the recognized experts in the fighting game genre. Guilty Gear was highly praised for its detailed 2D animations and deep fighting game engine. The game suddenly was placed on the same level as classic fighters already popular in Japan such as Capcom’s Street Fighter series and SNK’s King of Fighters series. The growing popularity of the game prompted them to import the game to the West, as well as begin work on revisions. Between 1998 and 2008, Guilty Gear has become one of the classic fighting game franchises, spawning a multitude amount of merchandise including figurines, soundtracks, and manga, and has gone through 10 separate revisions.
As the next generation consoles hit the scene, Arc System Works was pressured to provide a new ‘Guilty Gear’ for the current generation of hardware. Instead, they developed Blazblue – a spiritual successor to Guilty Gear, one that incorporated immediately recognizable elements such as beautiful 2D sprites and animations, and a deep and complex fighting game system. Released initially in 2008 in Japan, the game was an immediate hit and quickly found its way to Western shores, even so far as being featured on the EVO pro fighting game circuit.
The release of Blazblue: Continuum Shift, marks the first revision to the series from Arc System Works. Although it technically is simply a revision, to the core fighting game fan, it is much more than that – it is a new challenge to overcome, new characters to learn, and is essentially a wholly new game, just as good as any sequel. Knowing the mentality of their market, it’s easy to see then why Arc System Works was not afraid of sharing the release date with Starcraft II.
What does the future hold for them? Many are looking forward to new Blazblue revisions, and Guilty Gear is not yet totally out of the picture either, with head Guilty Gear honcho Daisuke Ishiwatari stating that “I have the full intention to create Guilty Gear for PS3 and Xbox 360.” in a recent meeting. All in all, Arc System Works is one of the cornerstone companies of the fighting game scene, and their work shows a bright future for fighting game fans globally.
