Kawase in a fightan' game

[badlose]

Check it out: http://nintendoeverything.com/new-fighter-blade-strangers-coming-to-switch-characters-from-code-of-princess-cave-story-kawase/

The video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU7jOgZFTjM
Start at 1:35 if you want to skip ahead.

[nathan]

I guess this is the "new game" they mentioned during the livestream. Kinda disappointed it's not a new Kawase game, but whatever

[KawaseFan]

Here's the Switch version's boxart, good to see Umihara there as well as Noko and Emiko.

Alright, those of you who are getting this, which version are you getting?  I think I'll get the PC version.  I don't buy too many fighting games, I'm generally fairly terrible at them, but I can't not get this one.

[Alc]

I don't buy too many fighting games, I'm generally fairly terrible at them

Same. Closest I ever got was getting halfway competent with Ryu in Super Street Fighter II on the Megadrive. I just don't have the patience.

I'm in two minds about this one... it's great to see the character in there, but it's really not my type of game.

[KawaseFan]

I missed this earlier in the month, but there was some more gameplay shown off on a stream during PAX West, including Emiko on a giant cat.  Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlEtZfxRKJs&t=160s (Emiko gameplay starts at 8:00)

[CyanideBlizzard]

I haven't been able to keep up with Umi-chan lately, but to find out that she's going to be in a fighting game is pretty nice.  Further, the fact that she drops a giant tadpole on her opponents? Day one purchase right here. 

What I'm especially curious about will be the mechanics.  The real test will be sitting down with it and the balancing as well.  I never got to play Blade Arcus, but it looks like an upgraded version of that.  Which should be quite nice, since Blade Arcus was their first fighting game and while the attention to that one was minimal the response was quite positive overall.

However, what I'm really excited about is this exposes a whole new demographic to Umihara Kawase.  When it comes to a mashup, you'll get people looking into where characters are from and this could be a great opportunity to potentially draw in new eyes.

Only time will tell how it does, but with a PS4, Switch, and PC release planned it's going to definitely have a good opportunity to get a few eyes on the game itself.

[KawaseFan]

Blade Strangers has a North American release date: August 28th.  https://twitter.com/nicalis/status/1012399854692126720

The tweet itself specifically mentions the Switch and PS4 versions, but the attached trailer also has the Steam logo, so I think that version will release on the same date.  The Steam store doesn't yet have a page for the game, but I'll keep an eye out and post the link when the page is up.

It doesn't look like there's any word yet on a release date for Europe, Australia, New Zealand, etc. (actually I'm not certain we'll get a physical release, they might just do a PSN store/eShop release).  I'm expecting the PC version on the same day as North America, though.

The Japanese PS4/Switch release date is August 30.

Hey, just a quick poll: Should Blade Strangers have its own board on the forum?  I'm comfortable with keeping discussion in the Other Umihara Kawase Discussion board since it's a crossover fighter and not a main Umihara Kawase game, but I'm open to the idea of splitting it off into its own board if there's enough support for that idea.

[Canvas]

Hey, just a quick poll: Should Blade Strangers have its own board on the forum?  I'm comfortable with keeping discussion in the Other Umihara Kawase Discussion board since it's a crossover fighter and not a main Umihara Kawase game, but I'm open to the idea of splitting it off into its own board if there's enough support for that idea.

Isn't it just a character?

[KawaseFan]

Noko and Emiko from Sayonara Umihara Kawase are in Blade Strangers as well.  But yeah, the fact that there are Umihara characters in what is otherwise an unrelated type of game makes me wonder whether it's worth the game having its own discussion board on the forum or not, and what everyone else thinks.  I suppose it doesn't hurt to wait until after the game's release and see how much discussion there is before deciding.

[KawaseFan]

Blade Strangers is now available for wishlisting on Steam, for those planning to get that version.

[KawaseFan]

Blade Strangers is out now.  For anyone looking to buy it on PC, it's 25% off on Steam for the next week.

I've played it a bit tonight and enjoying it so far.  Anyone else here buy it?  If so, what do you think of it?

[Canvas]

How are you enjoying it? Do any moves add LORE

[KawaseFan]

Well, I thought this special move was a bit disturbing.  But yeah, I've had fun with the game, though I've only played through each character's story mode and not online, but it gave me a good feel for which characters I played well (e.g. Curly Brace) and not so well (Ali).

(Also, I use 'well' as a relative term here; when it comes to fighting games, my 'well' is still pretty terrible!)

Here is a good video of a playthrough of Kawase's story mode, in case anyone who's not planning to get Blade Strangers is still interested in seeing her story.

[KawaseFan]

Better late than never, right?  I've just added a page to the site for Blade Strangers: https://kawasefan.net/blade-strangers

It does need more information about game modes, etc. which I hope to update within the next week or so.  Also, there's no mention of the arcade version at this stage, as I'm not sure when that was released; I'll update the page with that information once I find it.

[Alc]

Had a go on Blade Strangers the other day. I'm way out of my depth, fighting games aren't my thing at all, but the AI seems a lot easier than the old Street Fighter games I played back in the day. Some of the story mode content is pretty funny, too.

There's some serious cleavage on display! I'll hazard a guess that this is standard fare for indie fighters. I don't mean to sound like a prude, it was just a bit of a surprise to have these great heaving titties flopping around in the cutscenes.

The in-game art looks strange to my eyes - it's your standard anime stuff but it really looks like they took high-res art and downscaled it to make it look pixel-arty. It's noticeable in the hair of a few characters in particular. Why would they do this?

[Whendaleksattack]

So yee, I decided to give Blade Strangers on Steam a whirl due to the ongoing Winter Sale happening at the moment, since I've been waiting for a price drop for quite some time (I even had to go out to grab a Steam gift card at a store just so I could pick it up yesterday). After buying and installing it, I started playing it (obviously) and you know what, it's pretty damn good.

The artwork is nice and full of detail, but it looks a bit too pixelated in some instances. The controls are simple, though it took me awhile to get used to (since I'm a custom to Street Fighter's 6-button layout and such), but no major problems there. As for the AI, it was pretty much a cakewalk for me (again, because I'm used to the BS Street Fighter throws at me everytime), though I did have a good challenge here or there. I've yet to play online, but I don't really know if anyone actually plays online anymore, so we'll have to see.

The story I found to be cute; the interactions were funny for the most part, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I've only played through both Kawase and Summer Kawase's campaigns so far, so I'll have to see the other interesting interactions later on.

Overall, Blade Strangers (or Stranger Blades hehhehehehehe) is a pretty good fighting game. There's lots of fun to be had, as well as some disturbing things too (like Kawase's basic EX attack and Summer Kawase's downright creepy confrontation with her other self at the end of her campaign, calling her "depressing"), but I'd recommend it not only to Umi fans to are in desperate need of fanservice, but also to fighting game fans who might enjoy this game.

As for the issue with the sprites, I don't really know. Could be that they drew the sprites too large and downscaled them poorly (or with Microsoft Paint), or maybe it was in the name of size limitations on the sprites.