Evolution 2017 lineup announced

In a sit-down interview with Mike Ross on Red Bull eSports, Joey "Mr. Wizard" Cuellar revealed the games that will be part of Evo 2017.

The Evolution staff has chosen eight games for competition at this year's Evo: Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Injustice 2, Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev. 2, BlazBlue Central Fiction and King of Fighters XIV.

A ninth game will also be added to the roster as a result of Evo's first player vote since 2013. Mortal Kombat XL, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Skullgirls, Pokkén Tournament, Killer Instinct, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Arms, Windjammers and Nidhogg will compete for the spot via money donated on Generosity.com.  The game that wins will have a guaranteed $10,000 prize pot and will open Evo finals on the main stage on Sunday, July 16, 2017.

For its part, Arc System Works is working to prepare a playable demo version of Guilty Gear Xrd Rev. 2 for competitors in the same way that -Revelator- had in the spring of 2016. Mark "Markman" Julio also made his yearly appearance, bringing with him the first gameplay trailer of Tekken 7's preorder DLC character, Eliza.

Registration for Evolution 2017 opens Jan. 24, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. PST on the Evo website. Competitors can also register for their hotel rooms at Mandalay Bay.

Evolution 2017 is coming July 14-16! Make sure to check the Evo website for updates!

The Evolution staff has chosen eight games for competition at this year's Evo: Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Injustice 2, Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev. 2, BlazBlue Central Fiction and King of Fighters XIV. A ninth game will also be added to the roster as a result of Evo's first player vote since 2010. X, X and X will compete for votes cast IN THIS WAY

Other information revealed includes the return of the Indie Games area. Brook's Super Converters will be allowed but can be banned if any future issues affect them.

Dates, game list for KSB 2017 announced

The time, place and lineup of games that will be played at KVO x TSB 2017 have been announced.

Pokkén Tournament, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, BlazBlue Central Fiction, Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator-, The King of Fighters XIV, Fate/unlimited Codes, Koihime Enbu, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U round out the list of titles that will be played during the event held from May 4-6, 2017.

KSB 2017 will again be held at Misono Universe in Osaka, Japan. St1ckbug plans to update his website with more information for English-speaking players looking to attend the event, but in the meantime interested parties can ask him or Brett questions on Twitter.

BlazBlue Central Fiction console characters coming to arcades on Dec. 8

Arc System Works has announced that Es, Susano'o and Mai Natsume are being added to the arcade version of BBCF on Dec. 8, 2016, as part of BBCF version 1.30.

This update will bring the game to parity with the console version of BBCF. ASW has indicated that there will be no additional balance changes in this arcade revision.

BlazBlue Central Fiction was released in Japan on Oct. 6 and Nov. 1 in North America for PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles.

Mai Natsume joins BlazBlue Central Fiction on Nov. 1

BlazBlue Central Fiction DLC character Mai Natsume will be available when the game launches in early November.

According to Aksys Games, Mai will be available as a separate purchase—for $7.99—when the game is released on Nov. 1.

Mai will cost the same amount on both PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles. She joins fellow DLC characters Es and Susano'o as temporary console-exclusive content for BBCF.

Susano'o is a new playable character in BlazBlue Central Fiction

Aksys Games has confirmed that a third console character will be coming to home versions of BlazBlue Central Fiction: Susano'o.

An image of the character first made its way onto Twitter early on Oct. 4, and later in the day Aksys confirmed that the character will be playable, but maybe not in the way players expect.

It is not known at this time when Susano'o was supposed to be announced, or when players can expect to get their hands on the character.

BlazBlue Central Fiction releases on Oct. 6, 2016, in Japan and Nov. 1 in North America.

BlazBlue Central Fiction demo available for digital PS4 preorders in North America on Oct. 11

Players who purchase the digital PlayStation 4 version of BlazBlue Central Fiction before its release in North America on Nov. 1 will getting a playable demo starting on Oct. 11.

Aksys Games did not provide any details on the demo, but if it is the same as the one that launched in September in Japan, it will include Arcade, VS, Training and Network Modes as well as the entire arcade cast but none of the console DLC characters.

Central Fiction is available for PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles on Oct. 6, 2016, in Japan and Nov. 4 in Europe.

BlazBlue Central Fiction launches in North America on Nov. 1, 2016

Aksys Games has announced that the newest chapter in the BlazBlue saga will be coming home for North American players on the first day of November.

All versions of Central Fiction, physical and digital, will be available on that date and DLC character Es will be free from Nov. 1-8. 

The limited edition of the title, which comes with a soundtrack and mini Noel Nendroid, will retail for $89.99 or $79.99 for the PlayStation 3 version.

The release will come almost a month after the Japanese version of BBCF releases on Oct. 6.

BlazBlue Central Fiction demo menu translations by Kurushii

The BBCF demo is available now to those players who digitally preorder the Japanese version of the game on PlayStation 4. As this group of players includes many English speakers who have little to no understanding of the Japanese language, Kurushii has created a translation guide.

The public Google Document has a breakdown of every menu and sub-menu in the demo, even making sure to underline the choice that is the default for each list of options. The translations should help players avoid a lot of trial and error as they start practicing the new title in anticipation of its early October release.

BlazBlue Central Fiction demo launched on Japanese PSN

With no announcement or fanfare, Arc System Works has a released a demo of BBCF to the PlayStation Store in Japan.

Much like the -Revelator- preview that preceded the release of the new Guilty Gear title, the Central Fiction demo is only available to players who preorder the digital release of BBCF on PlayStation 4 and includes no new console characters. 

What is different, however, is that the BBCF demo will include a preview of the game's netplay features during the weekend of Sept. 9-11, 2016.

There is currently no word as to whether North America or Europe will receive the demo. BlazBlue Central Fiction releases in Japan on Oct. 6, 2016.

Aksys announces BlazBlue Central Fiction limited edition for Nov. 2016

While Aksys Games had previously put an ambiguous release window for BlazBlue Central Fiction's North American release at sometime this coming winter, the company today announced that it would be coming in November 2016 alongside the newly revealed limited edition of the game.

The BBCF LE will be offered on both PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles, and come with a deluxe hardcover art book, a Noel Vermillion mini Nendroid figure and the BlazBlue Song Interlude III soundtrack.

No price or actual date is available at this time, and Aksys confirmed that the game will ship without an English dub due to the time it would add to development.

Mai Natsume to join BlazBlue Central Fiction

Famitsu is reporting that the main character of BlazBlue's Remix Heart manga, Mai Natsume, will be joining the playable cast of BBCF when the game comes home this fall.

Mai had previously made a non-playable appearance in BlazBlue Chronophantasma Extend's story mode. She will join Xblaze protagonist Es as the second character coming to the console version of BBCF first.

BlazBlue Central Fiction comes to PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles in Japan on Oct. 6, 2016, with a North American release to follow sometime in the winter.

New footage shows BlazBlue Central Fiction's Es in action

Dengeki recently held an event where BBCF's new character Es was shown off to the public in demonstration matches.

During 20 minutes of action, Es faces off against several characters in the Central Fiction cast. The matches show basic combos and strategies for the character and should give players an idea of how Es will play when they finally get their hands on console BBCF.

The event was streamed on Nico, but for those who were unable to see it live Jourdal has uploaded the footage to YouTube. BlazBlue Central Fiction launches on PlayStation 3 and 4 in Japan on Oct. 6, 2016. Check out the video after the jump.

Click to read more ...

New trailer shows BlazBlue Central Fiction's Es in action

BlazBlue's latest chapter doesn't launch until Oct. 6, 2016, in Japan, but a new trailer shows a sneak peak at debuting character Es.

The short video shows off some combos and several of the Xblaze protagonist's supers in action. According to Arc System Works, Es will be offered as free DLC to players as an early purchase bonus.

BlazBlue Central Fiction is scheduled for North American release sometime during the upcoming winter. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Click to read more ...

Upcoming BlazBlue exhibition to feature English commentary

An upcoming round-robin exhibition of BlazBlue Central Fiction in Japan will feature high-level play along with English commentary.

The exhibition will feature three players competing in first-to-five sets. Players taking part will be Kaqn (Naoto), Zexo (Azrael) and Yutta (Jin). 

These sets will take place Sunday, July 3, at noon JST (Saturday, July 2, at 8 p.m. PDT, 11 p.m. EDT) with streaming on MajinObama's Twitch channel and commentary by Guymam.

BlazBlue Central Fiction Japanese console release set for Oct. 6, 2016

The newest version of BlazBlue is coming home to Japanese consoles in early October.

In an article about upcoming PlayStation events this summer, Dengeki Online has revealed that the new title will be launching for Japanese consoles on Oct. 6. As previously stated by Famitsu, the new version of BB will be coming to both PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles and add Xblaze protagonist Es to the playable cast of characters.

There is currently no release date for BBCF outside of Japan, but Aksys Games has said to expect the game this coming winter in North America.

BlazBlue Central Fiction coming to North America this winter

Aksys Games has announced that the newest BlazBlue will be coming home to PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles during a presentation at MomoCon in Atlanta, Georgia. This official announcement of a winter release comes on the heels of Amazon putting the games up for presale with a tentative street date of Dec. 30, 2016.

The console version of BBCF was first detailed in April 2016 and will include the features of the arcade game as well as a shop to buy in-game accessories and more; Alliance Mode, a "team construction mode"; and Speed Star Mode, where players will attempt to defeat computer-controlled opponents within a time limit. The title will also feature the debut of Xblaze's Es as a playable character.

BBCF has a tentative fall 2016 release window in Japan.

Japanese XrdR and BBCF exhibitions to feature English commentary

Upcoming exhibitions of Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- and BlazBlue Central Fiction in Japan will feature high-level play along with English commentary.

The first event will be a first-to-seven match in -Revelator- and feature 310's Venom against a mystery opponent. This will take place at roughly 5:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time (1 a.m. PDT, 4 a.m. EDT) on April 16 and be streamed on Jonio's Twitch channel with commentary by MajinObama.

Two BBCF exhibitions will follow the next day. Dora Bang will face of against Fumi's Nine and Ryo's Litchi will fight Shima's Izanami. These first-to-five sets will take place Sunday, April 17, at noon JST (Saturday, April 16, at 8 p.m. PDT, 11 p.m. EDT) with streaming on MajinObama's Twitch channel and commentary by Guymam.

BlazBlue Central Fiction coming to PS3, PS4, adds character Es

BlazBlue Central Fiction is coming to the PlayStation 3 and 4 consoles, and when it does Xblaze protagonist Es will be added to the roster.

Famitsu's website revealed that an upcoming issue of the magazine will feature a 10-page article about the console version of BBCF, including an interview with series producer Toshimichi Mori.

Es' addition to BBCF is interesting in that while Xblaze takes place in the same universe as BlazBlue, the two have not actively been connected in story until now. However, according to Dustloop "the main character from Lost: Memories resembles BlazBlue's Nine to such an extent that many believe they are the same person."

No release date has yet been given for the title.

Gameplay trailer shows BBCF's Hades Izanami in action

Arc System Works—via Famitsu—has released a brief gameplay trailer for BlazBlue Central Fiction Act 2's new character, Izanami.

The minute and a half video introduces Izanami and then shows highlights of her move set, including Distortion Drives. Greatfernman has also translated some information from Japanese bulletin boards that helps to explain the way she will play in the new title.

Izanami will be part of BBCF Act 2 when it releases on Jan. 28, 2016. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Click to read more ...

Hades Izanami joins BlazBlue Central Fiction in Act 2

With BBCF's Act 2 trailer release on Jan. 14 there was speculation that the game would be adding another character, and it turns out that suspicion was correct as series antagonist Hades Izanami will become playable on the update's release on Jan. 28.

Famitsu has posted a brief preview of the character, who will be part of a feature in the Jan. 21 issue of the magazine. Given that its release is only days away, players will know more about Hades and her gameplay sooner than later.

Check out the image from Famitsu after the jump.

Click to read more ...