Some of you may be wondering what the point of Stylish Technique really is. You either want to fight properly or you don’t. BlazBlue has an incredibly rich background full of detail, history and interesting characters. It’s a world you could get swallowed up by. If, like me, you love your stories, your plot and characters and actually care more about that than smashing a little girl in the face with an electrified frog, then you should be allowed to enjoy the BlazBlue world without worrying if you can actually make it past the battles to access the next piece of the story. Story Mode played with Stylish Technique lets you sit back and enjoy the show with your feet up. You might even want to crack open a bag of Maltesers.
BlazBlue Chronophantasma EXTEND comes complete with a massive visual novel and huge index detailing the background and history. The visual novel included in Story Mode is split into three paths or timelines. These paths do link together but because you have to read up to a certain point on each path to unlock the next part on a different timeline, you are forced to jump back and forth. It’s an interesting approach to visual novel presentation and it works very well. What could have been a very linear tale turns into something a little more intriguing. Why are Celica and Ragna in the past and the present? It seems random and mysterious. Jump to one of the other paths, and these things begin to get some context. The story may be technically linear but it’s still up to your brain to put it all together. Scattered throughout the story are battles that keep you on your toes. Don’t get too relaxed because after an hour of story their sudden appearance may startle you into dropping your bag of Maltesers. The fights are short and you’ll soon be back to the plot with plenty of time to peer under the sofa to pick up the last of your chocolate balls before the next fight. This is true up until the final chapters when battles become much more frequent, leading up to a truly epic final boss.
Story Mode is a great way to get to know the characters you’re playing with. Newcomers will inevitably feel a little lost and the novel portions of the game really do immerse you into the BlazBlue universe