overview

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is a 2.5D fighting game released for in the arcades, then released in a console version for the XBOX360 and PS3. It is considered to be a successor to the Guilty Gear series, also made by Arc System Works. It has been critically acclaimed for its battle system, graphics, music, and unique 12 characters. A few months after its release, a sequel called "Continuum Shift" was released in the arcades.

In the world of BlazBlue, earth has changed drastically after the "Dark War". A monstrosity known as the Black Beast killed nearly half the population in the world. For years, humanity waged war against the beast, only failing. It was until a man named Hakumen and five other warriors appeared and told others how to use a magitechnology system known as Armagus to defeat the beast once and for all. The remains of the nightmare polluted the air with a mineral known as seithr which humans used to make magic. To control the flow of Armagus, the Novus Orbis Librarium, also known as NOL or the Library, was established. This body of government soon became a dictatorship and grew unpopular with the citizens. The following years after, Earth dealt with another war called the Ikaruga War in retaliation to NOL, which ended as soon as the city of Ikaruga was obliterated by a weapon called Take-Mikazuchi. By the end of the war, NOL imposed a strict ruling:

The story follows a man named Ragna the Bloodedge who one day enters the hierarchial city of Kagutsuchi. He is a wanted man, who rebelled against the Librarium by destroying several branches elsewhere. He also posses a special power known as the Azure Grimoire Several people hope to capture him, for their own individual purposes. Meanwhile the NOL await for his arrival, and an underground group hopes to bring about the ultimate demise of the world for reasons unknown. The cast includes:

• Ragna the Bloodege: a wanted man with the power of Azure Grimoire whose fate is to create the Black Beast
• Jin Kisaragi: Ragna's little brother, whose personality is warped by his weapon, Yukianesa
• Noel vermillion: A clone of Ragna's little sister, who has amnesia of her birth
• Rachel Alucard: a vampire princess who decides to help stop the loop
• Taokaka: a degenerated species clone of the hero Jubei, who wants to become a vigilante
• Tager: a special robotic minion of the Sector Seven scientist Kokonoe
• Litchi Faye Ling: ... you're in this fansite for this reason
• Arakune: a man who in his pursuit of wisdom grew insane and turned into a monster
• Bang Shishigami: a warrior who hopes to rebuilt his homeland of Ikaruga
• Carl Clover: a young vigilante hoping to save his sister Ada from her marionette body
• Hakumen: a future self of Jin sealed in a Susano-O unit body, who was sealed away by mankind for years in the past before Kokonoe awakened him
• And Nu-13: also a clone of Ragna's sister, who is designed with only a purpose to merge with Ragna again

It's very important to notice the fact that each characters' Story Modes are "alternate realities", with the "True Ending" being the only canon ending. In BlazBlue, the concept of time-travel and parallel dimensions is critical to the plot. That is because the events are infinitely looping. Ragna enters Kagutsuchi, merges with Nu-13 to become the Black Beast, and this beast distorts time, reaching all the way back to the Dark War. It is only until the loop is disrupted by Noel's intervene that the loop stops. However, instead of "changing" history, history is split off with two versions. And then we have two worlds known as the Boundary, and imaginary space. It's confusing indeed, and thus I suggest you read Yedokai's Plot Analysis for better understanding.