Arc System Works recently announced that BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma will be ported to the PlayStation Vita, and will also include a new beach scenario on the platform. Recently, director Ryohei Endo answered a few questions about the upcoming game during an interview with Famitsu.
Now that we know BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma will be headed to PlayStation Vita, Famitsu asks if there will be any difference between the portable version and the PlayStation 3 version.
“Of course there will be some new elements added,” says Endo. “The biggest change will be in the Abyss Mode, where you’ll be powering up your characters as you win through fights. The PlayStation 3 version fixated on acquiring items and equipping them on characters for strong combinations. In order to improve that, we’re introducing a cost system.”
“Now that you can’t equip countless strong items, it has the characteristics of a card game, where you’ll have to construct your deck,” adds Endo. “We’ve also added the number of items to go with it.”
Famitsu asks if he could share a little more about the added scenarios for the game’s story mode.
“Firstly, we’ve included a compilation that summarizes the BlazBlue series’ story,” says Endo. “Just looking back can be a little boring, so it’ll be set in a way where you’ll be seeing the likes of Ragna and Rachel say things like ‘I remember this and that,’ as they reminisce upon parts of the story from BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger and Continuum Shift. Naturally, the voices have been re-recorded. The summary part will also let you diverge into the comedy routes.”
While on the subject of comedy routes, Famitsu asks if they could share a little more on the recently-announced beach scenario.
“Yes, this is where Ragna, Kagura, Noel, and Celica will be appearing in swimsuits. We figured that if we were going to add something, we might as well have it be with swimsuits,” shares Endo with a laugh. “In the added scenario, the heroes and heroines will be competing through various events at a southern island. Of course it will also be fully voiced.”
Endo also reassures that fans who’ve yet to play a BlazBlue game can be at ease, as the the original staff that wrote the scenario of Calamity Trigger and Continuum Shift are the ones that are doing the summarization part, so they’ll be easy to follow.
Famitsu asks if they could take a few steps back and share some more on the differences between the Vita and PlayStation 3 versions.
“Due to circumstantial differences, there won’t be cross-play or online lobbies,” says Endo. “However, there will be ranked and player matches, rest assured. There will be an infrastructure mode, so you’ll be able to play against anyone in the country.”
“Again, this isn’t much, but the controls are set to be either directional pad only or left stick only,” he continues. “The reason being, when using both controls, there were many occasions of mishaps due to a player’s hand accidentally touching the left stick.”
BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma will be released on March 25, 2014 for PlayStation 3 in North America and on April 24 for PlayStation Vita in Japan.
