The Best Order to Play BlazBlue Games
BlazBlue is a franchise of fighting video games. To be more precise, BlazBlue games generally are 2D fighter games with anime aesthetics, air dashing mechanics and fast-paced fighting gameplay. Due to their fast-paced gameplay and unique aesthethics, BlazBlue games have become a fan-favorite among fighting game fans, and can be a refreshing experience for fighting game players that have grown accostumed to other fighting games.
What Are BlazBlue Games Like?
BlazBlue video games are traditional 2D fighting games, such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and The King of Fighters. However, unlike these franchises, BlazBlue features an air dashing mechanic, which makes the combat more fast-paced than in other fighting games. BlazBlue games have an anime aesthetic, and often feature a complete story mode.
BlazBlue games are characterized by unique, stylish characters, bright colors, and a fast-paced fighting gameplay. The characters in BlazBlue are able to achieve special, colorful moves during the gameplay. Most BlazBlue games are set in a distant future, at the beginning of the 23th century, with futuristic effects permeating different aspects of the series.
Even though BlazBlue games share similarities with other traditional 2D fighting games such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, it would be more accurate to say that BlazBlue is more similar to other air dasher fighting games than it is to Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. While essentially BlazBlue shares similarities with these fighting games, because they belong to the same sub-genre in video games, the gameplay of BlazBlue features the air dashing mechanic which in many cases causes the fighting dynamic to be more fast-paced. For this reason, it is reasonable to say that BlazBlue has a gameplay that is more similar to Darkstalkers and Guilty Gear than it is to Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. However, Blazblue, Darkstalkeres, Guilty Gear, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are all video games franchises that can be considered to belong to the same sub-genre of video games, the fighting game genre.
Is There an Order to Play the BlazBlue Games?
While BlazBlue games can be played and enjoyed for their gameplay, these games often feature a story mode that is best enjoyed when the BlazBlue video games are played in story order. There may also be dialogues throughout the games that will be better appreciated if the games have been played in story order. For this reason, while it is possible to play and enjoy the BlazBlue games in any order, it is suggested to play in the story order for fans and for players who want to have the most comprehensive story experience possible.
How is the Story Told in BlazBlue Games?
In BlazBlue video games, story is usually told through the story mode. In story mode, players learn more about the story of BlazBlue through texts, dialogues and fights related to the story. Perhaps, it is reasonable to say that the story mode of BlazBlue is a unique combination of visual novel and fighting game.
The Chronological Story Order of the BlazBlue Video Games
This is the chronological story order of the BlazBlue video games. In other words, this is the chronological order in which the story events of each game take place. This is the suggested order in which to play the BlazBlue video games for the most comprehensive story experience possible, as well as understanding the motivations of the characters and the backstory of each game. This chronological story order is very different from the chronological order of release dates of these games.
In some cases, a certain game has multiple versions, enhancements or upgrades, while retaining the same storyline. For example, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift has other versions: BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend. However, even though these are different versions, all of them contain essentially the same storyline. For this reason, play either version provides the same essential, core story experience, and for this reason, I consider them to be the same entry in my chronological story order. Even though these games may have gameplay differences and other adjustments, the core story experience should be the same, and for this reason I have included these different versions so that readers may choose any version to play. Since this is a story order list, the most important part is not what version you choose to play, but in what order you play the games. For the suggested story play order that I wrote, as long as you play BlazBlue: Continuum Shift after BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger and before BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, you can choose any version to play.
XBlaze Code: Embryo
XBlaze Lost: Memories
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift | BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II | BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend
BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma | BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend
BlazBlue: Central Fiction
It is notable how the first games, story-wise, in the BlazBlue series are not traditional fighting games, but rather visual novels. Indeed, these visual novel video games are set many years before the story events of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. For BlazBlue fans and for players who want to have the most comprehensive story experience in the BlazBlue games possible, it is suggested to play these two visual novel games, XBlaze Code: Embryo and XBlazde Lost: Memories, before playing the other BlazBlue games in the chronological story order list presented in this article.
In the case of BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, it is not clear to me when in the BlazBlue main continuity that game would be set. Rather, it seems to take place in an alternate continuity. For this reason, I did not include it in this chronological story order of the BlazBlue games list that I wrote. It should be considered to take place in an "what if" scenario. However, it is reasonable to assume that BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle would most necessarily be set before BlazBlue: Central Fiction. If I had decided to put BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle in my chronological story order of BlazBlue games, I would have put it after BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma and before BlazBlue: Central Fiction.
The Story Timeline Order of BlazBlue Games
For BlazBlue fans and fighting game fans that want to have a clearer notion of the time period of each BlazBlue games, I created a timeline list that includes the year in which each BlazBlue game takes place, or an estimation of that year in the cases where this was possible. Unfortunately, due to the lack of information, I was not possible to find the exact year of all BlazBlue games, in which cases I estimated the century or decade (when possible).
2050 XBlaze Code: Embryo
2??? XBlaze Lost: Memories
2199 BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
2200 BlazBlue: Continuum Shift | BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II | BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend
220? BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma | BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend
220? BlazBlue: Central Fiction
When Is BlazBlue Set?
While each BlazBlue video game takes place at a different time period, it is reasonable to say that most of the BlazBlue games take place in a distant future. While the visual novel XBlaze Code: Embryo takes place in the year 2050, most of the BlazBlue games take place either in 2200 or around that time period, with BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger being set in 2199. It is accurate to say that most BlazBlue games happen in the 23rd century.
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