BlazBlue Centralfiction

80%
Game Brain Score Based on 8,218 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
BlazBlue Centralfiction Game Cover
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
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"BlazBlue Centralfiction" is a high-speed 2D fighting game with improved netplay and 35 unique characters. The game features beautiful visuals and deep expressive combat, as well as a breathtaking visual novel. Bonus content includes the Original Soundtrack and Memorial Book.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

80%
Audience ScoreBased on 8,218 reviews
story358 positive mentions
optimization10 negative mentions
  • story1,191 mentions

    The story of *BlazBlue: Centralfiction* serves as a complex and ambitious conclusion to the series, featuring a rich narrative that intertwines various character arcs and lore. While the visual novel-style storytelling is praised for its depth and emotional impact, it is also criticized for being convoluted and difficult to follow, especially for newcomers. The absence of an English dub has left some players feeling disconnected from the narrative, but for dedicated fans, the game offers a satisfying wrap-up to the overarching saga.

    • “Blazblue: Centralfiction is an outstanding entry in the acclaimed fighting game series, serving as a culmination of the intricate storytelling and refined gameplay that fans have come to love.”
    • “The narrative in Centralfiction is another highlight, serving as a fitting conclusion to the overarching story of the Blazblue series.”
    • “The game features an extensive single-player mode, complete with an engaging story campaign that ties together various character arcs and lore.”
    • “The story has collapsed under its own weight by now, bogged down by so many proper nouns and inelegant exposition dumps.”
    • “The actual story narrative is way too complex for its own good but is thankfully carried by the character interactions and voice acting.”
    • “If you are playing this for the story, I wouldn't recommend it.”
  • gameplay859 mentions

    The gameplay of *BlazBlue: Centralfiction* is widely praised for its depth, complexity, and unique character mechanics, making it both engaging and challenging for players. Each character features distinct abilities and playstyles, supported by robust mechanics like "overdrive" and "exceed accel," which enhance strategic gameplay. While the learning curve can be steep for newcomers, comprehensive tutorials and training modes help ease players into the experience, ensuring that both veterans and beginners can find enjoyment in its fast-paced, technical combat.

    • “Every character feels fun to play and has layers; the drive system allows for some fun and crazy gameplay moments.”
    • “The gameplay mechanics in Centralfiction are robust and finely tuned.”
    • “Building upon the foundations set by previous titles, the combat system introduces new features like the 'exceed accel' and 'overdrive' mechanics, which allow for strategic depth and exciting gameplay variations.”
    • “This being said, I only recommend this title for a specific group of people and no, it's not beginner friendly for two reasons: (1) matchmaking is in shambles, so you will get paired against veteran players and not players of your level, you would need to either come in with friends or join the BBCF community discord found on Dustloop to get a better online experience and (2) though the buttons utilize the older gatling system, it makes it significantly harder to apply and understand the core system mechanics provided in the title.”
    • “While it has a steep difficulty curve and many, many mechanics, it's more so hard due to the sheer amount of options you have in nearly any given situation, not due to hard execution (unless you decide to choose a character where that is something you need to worry about).”
    • “But such complexity comes at a cost: the game has a deep learning curve, and if you are new to fighting games, even if there is a tutorial included in the game, it will be hard to assimilate everything and appreciate every mechanic put in this game; instead, you might feel frustrated at how much stuff is going on in this game.”
  • music476 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its diverse and energetic soundtrack, often highlighting specific tracks like "bang bang big bang" and the contributions of composer Daisuke Ishiwatari. Players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the gameplay experience, describing it as "banging," "kickass," and "legendary," while also noting its variety across different character themes and stages. Overall, the music is considered one of the game's standout features, contributing significantly to its appeal and enjoyment.

    • “The soundtrack is just amazing.”
    • “The music is one of Blazblue's defining aspects.”
    • “An incredible fighting game with a huge amount of complex characters, a great visual style and some of the best music around.”
    • “The soundtrack has a song called 'bang bang big bang'; that should be all you need to know.”
    • “Music was okay but it didn't really wow me or anything.”
    • “Shit music”
  • graphics277 mentions

    The graphics of "BlazBlue: Centralfiction" are widely praised for their stunning hand-drawn art style and fluid animations, which enhance the overall gameplay experience. While many players appreciate the vibrant visuals and character designs, some note that the graphics can appear dated compared to newer titles, with occasional pixelation issues. Overall, the game maintains a strong aesthetic appeal, particularly for fans of 2D anime-inspired fighting games, and runs well even on lower-end systems.

    • “One of the standout features of Centralfiction is its breathtaking art style.”
    • “The hand-drawn animations are incredibly fluid, bringing each battle to life with stunning visuals that captivate players.”
    • “The beautifully crafted stages add to the immersive experience, with dynamic backgrounds that enhance the overall aesthetic.”
    • “The graphics look pretty dated too, making it harder to see these overhead pixels along with all of these visual effects flying around the screen.”
    • “It has a graphics bug that makes the game look horrible unless you mod it.”
    • “I'm not one to nitpick about visuals, but porting a sprite from one game to another is lazy beyond belief; they could at least put some decent anti-aliasing so that you don't see pixels on every character at a resolution that isn't even that high (1920x1080).”
  • humor94 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised, with players enjoying the quirky character interactions, funny mechanics, and comedic elements woven throughout the gameplay and story. Characters like the "funny snake man" and "funny dragon demon guy" contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere, while humorous vignettes and gag sections enhance the overall experience. Despite some criticisms regarding the removal of English dubbing, the game's comedic charm remains a significant highlight for many players.

    • “They introduce mechanics with these fun little character interactions explaining simple concepts such as how fighting games even work, to how the funny little meters and gauges all work.”
    • “Combos are simple to pull off, characters feel accessible and fluid, the OST slaps harder than a gorilla, and the story is deep, rich, and full of hilarious little vignettes that make you want to play this over and over again.”
    • “For Guilty Gear it's fun yes but I get tilted so much in that game it just feels like unfun BS sometimes but here it's just nonstop fun even if something BS happens it's just funny.”
  • character development74 mentions

    Character development in the game is marked by vibrant and detailed character designs that reflect unique personalities, though opinions on the designs can be mixed, with some players finding them hit or miss. Each character offers distinct gameplay mechanics and gimmicks, contributing to a diverse roster that encourages players to explore and connect with different fighters. Overall, the game successfully combines engaging character design with a rich narrative, enhancing the player's experience and investment in the characters.

    • “The character designs are vibrant and meticulously detailed, showcasing the unique personalities of each fighter.”
    • “It gave each character a lot of screen time, which led to a lot of character development, plus a wider variety of different characters to control and get to know.”
    • “Great story, well-designed mechanics, and above all, fantastic character design!”
    • “All of the character designs suck except for 4 or 5, but it's really fun and you can basically just play one character you like forever anyways.”
    • “I have some complaints; the game could do a better job explaining its mechanics (especially drive and active flow) and I somewhat don't like the lack of focus in some character designs. I'm personally not a fan of Izanami's design, for example, and think that although the idea of a barrier management character is cool, it could work better on a character that doesn't also have 3 other gimmicks.”
    • “Only a fighting game with truly great design could make me want to play it for hundreds of hours despite not liking 90% of character designs.”
  • optimization50 mentions

    The game's optimization has seen some improvements since launch, addressing many initial performance issues such as pixelation and slowdowns, but significant problems remain, particularly for lower-end PCs. While some players report smoother performance after updates, others still experience input lag and graphical glitches, indicating that optimization was not a primary focus during development. Overall, the game is more playable than before, but it still struggles with performance-heavy demands that can hinder gameplay.

    • “Finally, my computer struggled running more 3D-based games like OW2 or MK11 without the help of optimization software, but this game ran smoothly.”
    • “This game in itself is a great port; it supports borderless windowed mode and is more optimized than the last three BlazBlue titles that were ported on Steam.”
    • “Centralfiction for Steam is a good port, better than the last three games, and is far more optimized for PC.”
    • “Badly optimized for lower-end PCs (and the improvement mod wouldn't work on my machine for some reason).”
    • “Game's performance was horrible at launch: pixelation problems, frequent slowdowns, glitches, graphical problems (see one of them here - this happened before 1.03 patch), lack of some graphical options, etc. Now a lot of those problems are fixed but some of them still remain; like the weird slowdown on the character select screen.”
    • “The game is pointlessly performance-heavy, to the point where not only will graphics cards beefy enough to take on new AAA titles have trouble, but the people who were playing on potato PCs that could run the previous titles are absolutely shat on.”
  • emotional28 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its ability to evoke strong feelings, with many players reporting moments that made them cry multiple times. While the story is praised for its depth and emotional weight, it is also noted to be complex and at times confusing, especially for newcomers. Overall, the narrative is described as both heartwarming and heartbreaking, with a mix of humor and poignant moments that resonate deeply with players.

    • “Overall 4.5/5, I hate that it made me cry more than 5 times during the story.”
    • “This is the only fighting game series whose story made me cry, and this game managed to make me cry twice.”
    • “The story is awesome and also heartbreaking.”
  • stability22 mentions

    The game's stability has been criticized for its buggy launch, featuring issues like pixelation, slowdowns, and glitches, particularly in fullscreen mode. While many problems have been addressed through patches, some glitches and performance issues persist, such as frame drops and broken features. Overall, players express disappointment with the initial performance but note improvements, hoping for further fixes.

    • “One of the best fighting franchises ever and runs great on PC.”
    • “Switch the game to run on your GPU, and it runs great.”
    • “Game's performance was horrible at launch: pixelation problems, frequent slowdowns, glitches, graphical problems (see one of them here - this happened before the 1.03 patch), lack of some graphical options, etc. Now a lot of those problems are fixed but some of them still remain; like the weird slowdown on the character select screen.”
    • “On a really strong PC, I have frame drops between rounds; other players have reported anything from massive frame drops to complete freezes.”
    • “But for the price they are asking, giving us an inferior, buggy, badly performing port of an old game is unacceptable.”
  • grinding12 mentions

    Players note that grinding in the game, particularly in modes like Abyss and Grimoire, can feel repetitive and unrewarding after defeating the final boss. However, many appreciate the challenge and sense of accomplishment that comes from mastering the game's mechanics through dedicated practice, especially in a competitive anime-style fighting context. The community is active enough that finding matches doesn't heavily rely on external platforms like Discord, making the grinding experience more accessible for those willing to invest time.

    • “Abyss mode is just grinding over and over again for people who are bored; once you pass the final boss, it feels as if you didn't really get any reward.”
    • “The player base is big enough that using Discord for finding matches isn't that important (unless you have all day to spend on this game grinding).”
    • “It's pretty hard mechanically, but putting in the effort and grinding it out gives a great feeling.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The game features a large cast of unique characters and fast-paced gameplay, with a monetization model that avoids microtransactions and DLC. Players can earn in-game currency to purchase various cosmetic items and content, fostering a positive experience without additional costs. The presence of a robust modding community further enhances the game's longevity and appeal.

    • “Large cast of unique characters, fast fun gameplay, almost no DLC or microtransactions, multiple singleplayer options, and a large modding community.”
    • “There's also a shop where you can spend the in-game currency you earn (there's no microtransactions, don't worry) to purchase artwork, music, additional character colors, and a costume for Noel.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    The game offers virtually endless replayability, characteristic of 2D fighter games, thanks to its engaging gameplay, great soundtrack, and a well-balanced difficulty curve. Players appreciate the fun learning experience and the variety of flashy moves that contribute to its high replay value.

    • “This game is a delight to play, fun to learn, and has virtually endless replay value because of the nature of 2D fighter games.”
    • “Great soundtrack, nice difficulty curve, flashy moves, and tons of replay value.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, particularly for its appeal to Guilty Gear fans seeking a fresh gameplay experience. Reviewers emphasize the unique and engaging environment that sets it apart from traditional offerings in the genre.

    • “Highly recommended for Guilty Gear fans who want to experience a different gameplay atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere is immersive and captivating, drawing you into the game's world.”
    • “The unique atmosphere enhances the overall experience, making every moment feel special.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

85% average critic score

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Play time

27hMedian play time
592hAverage play time
10-350hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 30 analyzed playthroughs

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