King of Fighters 12 Vs Blaz Blue

[Gabriel]

Initially, I had KoF12 on pre-order and was going to skip out on Blaz Blue. However, I eventually reversed my decision when I read about how Mai wouldn't be in KoF12 (as well as numerous other characters) and that BlazBlue would have a very nice limited edition pack.

 

I have positve feelings about BlazBlue, but I don't think it's one of the best fight games ever. It's somewhat above average. It heavily betrays it's origins as a Guilty Gear recycling, and is pretty bare-bones overall. Still, I'd give it a C+ or a B- for what it is.

 

"For what it is," that's a key thing to consider with BlazBlue. It's not Street Fighter or Soul Calibur. Expectations aren't very high. I think BlazBlue relies on that low bar of acceptance. Pixelated graphics, lack of stages, limited character choices, and a lack of bonus game modes like character edit are overlooked just because they're allowed to slide for some reason.

 

Admittedly, I haven't played a lot of King of Fighters 12. I played a single match with a demo game, and it wasn't enough to form much of an impression. However, it's interesting to look at the reviews. Every flaw which was ignored in BlazBlue's case is pointed out with the unyielding light of the sun.

 

It's strange to see reviews complaining about the pixelation and limited animation of KoF's sprites when similar reviews claimed the simple and equally jaggy 16 color sprites of BlazBlue were brilliant.

 

I think another part of it is because KoF12 tries to look like a current gen game with 1995 graphical techniques, and it ends up lacking. BlazBlue doesn't even try to look like something made post-2000, and therefore avoids unfavorable visual comparisons with say Soul Calibur IV. But since KoF12's main improvement is in terms of visuals, it does get compared to modern games. That's bad because KoF12 doesn't even look as good as KOF: Maximum Impact. It still looks better than BlazBlue, but it scores lower on visual components. Huh?

 

I find this double standard interesting. It seems to be plaguing video games lately.

 

Those of you with KoF12, please chime in.

[A Sprite]

KOF begs for the abuse. Ignoring the lazy stereotypes in pig people land, which you're forced to look at since there are only 5 or so stages, the programmers thought it would be a good idea to zoom in on their big beautiful sprites. Why is it a surprise that people would point out how ugly they become? The developers already suggested we didn't need to be politically correct, so there's no need to worry about hurting their feelings.

 

I think the ridiculous amount of praise for Blaz Blue is making up for the ridiculous ways the Guilty Gear series was underrated. They were called average games at the time of release due to their limited animation, but years later hardcore tournament players consider them some of the best, most balanced games ever released. Whoops. So much for judging gameplay over graphics. Game critics were revealed as being just fans with better written opinions. The whole mess became common knowledge among anyone paying attention when the Streetfighter HD designer started blogging. What was an honest critic to do?

Edited August 2, 2009 by A Sprite

[2600Lives]

KOF - Extremely deep and satisfying fighting system with NO extra content whatsoever. The so-called Arcade mode is like 5 matches? There are NO other modes, no story, no character backgrounds, NOTHING. Oh, and online is laggy as all shitout. Really disappointed in this one.

 

Blazblue - Very...average. I still liked SF4 way better. I was never a fan of Guilty Gear's fighting system and it's derivitaves (too friggin' complicated sometimes! Keep it simple!). It's solid, but it's not great. Online plays pretty smooth, though. No complaints there.

 

Verdict? I'd say about even, honestly. Get KOF if you have a lot of real-life buds who want to hang out and play fighters. Get BlazBlue if you have no real-life friends and live online. 'Nuff said.

[Lord Thag]

Sorry, I just picked up Blaz Blue, and I'm finding it a very pretty, very deep, and very balanced fighter with some original innovations. It's deep like Guildty Gear if you give it the chance. Great fighter.

[otaku]

blaz blue is amazing just so damn good however I hear KOF is not and based on the last one I'd say blaz wins

[Jess Ragan]

Yeah, I'm looking at the screenshots from King of Fighters XII and I'm not really impressed. Those supposed hand-drawn sprites are actually rotoscoped from computer rendered models, which defeats the purpose of MAKING hand-drawn artwork.