Anime Takeover

Today's post is about the collective of anime fighters. I've never been very into Anime television or video games, therefore I haven't actually played any of these yet. In the fighting community the stars of anime fighters include The King of Fighters series, the Blazblue series, the Guilty Gear series, and the Persona series. Today we'll be going over the similarities and differences of these four series.

King of Fighters

There are more KoF games than I can count on my fingers. The first release was in 1994 and there has been a new release every year since excluding 2007. It's considered to be one of the more difficult and advanced fighters.

Plot (beginning with KoF 2003): KOF 2003 begins a new storyline focusing on another new lead character named Ash Crimson, a young man who seeks to possess the powers of the Three Divine Vessels for his own unknown agenda. The tournaments from KOF 2003 and KOF XI were hosted by "Those From the Past", an organization of inhuman warriors who try to break the Orochi seal to take its powers so that they can give it to their shrouded master. While KOF XII does not have a story, KOF XIII follows another tournament hosted by Those From the Past with Ash eventually confronting their superior despite him being Ash's ancestor.

BlazBlue

There are 5 releases of BlazBlue with 2 re-released versions of the second game. Created in 2008, it is considered to be a great starting game for people interested in anime fighters with deep rewards for advanced technical skill.

Plot: Before the events of the game, humanity was on the verge of extinction from a creature called the "Black Beast." The world was saved by six heroes who wielded magic. They helped humanity create "Ars Magus", a fusion of magic and science, to defeat the Black Beast. This event would be later known as the First War of Magic.

After the war, the Novus Orbis Librarium (the Library or NOL for short) was created to govern the world with the use of Ars Magus. A great deal of dissent was caused by the Library, partly due to Ars Magus' use in nearly every facet of society, and the widening socioeconomic gap between those who could and couldn't use Ars Magus. This dissent would eventually form years later into the Second War of Magic or also known as the Ikaruga Civil War, when the city of Ikaruga openly rebelled against the NOL. Upon winning the war, the NOL imposed a harsher rule on the world, punishing any rebellion against the NOL with death.

In December A.D. 2199, several years after the Second War of Magic, a branch of the NOL was utterly destroyed by an SS-class rebel named "Ragna" also known as the "Grim Reaper", in an attempt to destroy the Librarium. The NOL, hoping to stop him, immediately announced the largest bounty ever, available to anyone who could capture him. Interestingly, Ragna possesses a powerful form of Ars Magus known as the "Azure Grimoire." This led the NOL, as well as the other fighters, to hunt Ragna not just for his bounty, but also his Azure Grimoire.

Guilty Gear

Known for its unique graphics, rock and roll themes, and unique anime characters, Guilty Gear has an extensive list of games. The studio behind Guilty Gear (Arc System Works) is the same that made the BlazBlue series.

Plot: The Guilty Gear series takes place around the year 2180, in a chaotic, mystical future world. In 2010, mankind discovered an unlimited energy source of incredible power, which was labeled Magic. Despite providing a solution for world energy crisis, wars continued. The power of Magic was combined with humans and other creatures creating living weapons known as Gears. Eventually the Gears turned on the human race, beginning a century-long global war known as the Crusades where the Sacred Order of Holy Knights (Seikishidan being the Japanese name), defeated Justice, leader of the Gears. Justice having been locked away in a dimensional prison, all other Gears seemingly ceased to function, bringing end to an age of conflict.

Persona

Based off of the game "Megami Ibunroku Persona", the Persona fighting series takes off from the storyline and tweaks it a bit to fit a new game. The basis is fighting with guns and swords, but in a 2D environment (opposite of games such as Soul Calibur, which are considered 3D). 

Plot: Megami Ibunroku Persona centers around the protagonist and his classmates at St. Hermelin High School in Mikage-cho. Hidehiko Uesugi talks all of his friends into playing a game called "Persona", which is played much like the ritual game "Bloody Mary". While playing, the students lose consciousness and meet Philemon, who gives them the ability to summon reflections of their personalities, which are known as Personas.

A short time later, the protagonist and several of his friends go to visit Maki Sonomura, who is ill and bed-ridden. During their visit, they discover that the town is changing and demons are roaming the streets.