Central Fiction Arcade Plot Discussion (spoilers)

[Chaoschao222]

None of that. Falls under the whole "flat out stupid posts" thing. This is a discussion thread, not your soapbox blog.

[Orihalcon]

So we're not allowed to discuss how he just seems thrown into the plot with little or no reason, then?  Or is that a 'soapbox blog' thing too?  Or the fact that it looks like he's going to upstage Ragna, who already barely gets any spotlight whatsoever in the series he's the freaking protagonist of?  Because if any discussion that isn't praise of a character's inclusion isn't allowed, that's bull.

[VermilionBird]

First off, I'm just gonna criticise your signature for being hilariously hypocritical before I delve into the meat of this argument.

Nine's design like this was practically revealed in CP. Sure she should be wearing more, but you actually expect something from a Japanese game where this kind of stuff is everywhere? I don't like it, but I'm not going ahead on a smear campaign because Mori did something you don't like.

Naoto is meant to be like a typical protagonist. This series thrives off archetypes, so it was only a matter of time until this one was put in. He's clearly a part of the plot here, and judging by all the arcade info flowing in, there is something going on in the background of the story which none of us know about.

He's not a "shitty ripoff ham-fisted into the story". He's a legitimate character who's here to stay. He's the only character who has directly interacted with characters from XBlaze, Bloodedge Experience, and BlazBlue. He's important, and I'm glad to have him in Central Fiction, as are many other people.

Instead of throwing all your toys out the pram and complaining rather vulgarly about something you don't like, just move on and get over it. This thread is for speculation and story information, not opinions that are, frankly, annoying.

[Chaoschao222]

That's more or less fine. Running in all "fuck Naoto this is bullshit fuck goddamn fuck" is not.

[Orihalcon]

43 minutes ago, VermilionBird said:

First off, I'm just gonna criticise your signature for being hilariously hypocritical before I delve into the meat of this argument.

Nine's design like this was practically revealed in CP. Sure she should be wearing more, but you actually expect something from a Japanese game where this kind of stuff is everywhere? I don't like it, but I'm not going ahead on a smear campaign because Mori did something you don't like.

Naoto is meant to be like a typical protagonist. This series thrives off archetypes, so it was only a matter of time until this one was put in. He's clearly a part of the plot here, and judging by all the arcade info flowing in, there is something going on in the background of the story which none of us know about.

He's not a "shitty ripoff ham-fisted into the story". He's a legitimate character who's here to stay. He's the only character who has directly interacted with characters from XBlaze, Bloodedge Experience, and BlazBlue. He's important, and I'm glad to have him in Central Fiction, as are many other people.

Instead of throwing all your toys out the pram and complaining rather vulgarly about something you don't like, just move on and get over it. This thread is for speculation and story information, not opinions that are, frankly, annoying.

lolwut.  I'm not even sure if I can take you seriously if that's your first sentence.  Thanks for proving my sig right though!

I'm defending Nine's design and telling other people not to shit on Mori for the design, dingus.  Granted I'll give you this one since my original post got deleted, but yeah.  We're in agreement on this one.  Be careful though; defending her outfit might make somebody mistake your post for arguing about the general portrayal of women in videogames even though you're just rationalizing a design that's pretty good.

You're right, Naoto is meant to be the typical protagonist except OH WAIT THAT'S ALREADY WHAT RAGNA'S ARCHETYPE WAS.  And Naoto's not even the protagonist, so it looks even stupider and more forced than anything.  He was fine with what he was for Bloodedge Experience, dumb as it was, but now it's just ridiculous.

How is he legitimate?  What about him makes him stand out?  He's literally a carbon copy of Ragna with a worse personality.  Directly interacting with Xblaze is not a strong point either since XBlaze barely even connected to anything, and if nothing else just convoluted crap more.  People who're glad to have him in Centralfiction likely don't give a damn about the story, since he ultimately adds nothing beyond 'hey Rachel you look like your clone; did I mention how stupid of a plot thing that was?'  NAoto's very existence in the game does nothing but just make things more convoluted in regards to the timeline and characters themselves, and he should've stayed in Bloodedge Experience.

[VermilionBird]

I'm glad to have him in CF and I care largely about the story.

Code: Embryo didn't have a lot to add to the BlazBlue narrative, true enough, but the two series are linked. Lost: Memories is largely related to BlazBlue because of Nine, Celica, the Phantom Field, etc. 

Ragna's archetype was a brooding protagonist, and here we have Naoto, who's practically the Ken to Ragna's Ryu. His moveset is quite literally nods to other protagonists of other fighting game series, and that's likely what his base is.

I'm also gonna call you out on calling BE dumb. It's fantastic, and personally, I loved it. Its done its best to connect XB and BB, and it did so, and it's hardly mucking up the plot further. Yeah, it gives us a few questions but it gives us a lot of answers. We see how Valkenhayn and Relius know each other, we learn about the Terumi clan, and we see lots of little references here and there, like with Saya Terumi.
Mori's always had a rough outline for how BlazBlue was going to go. Mori had always planned for Celica to appear in the main games, and even have a high probability of becoming playable. He's got this planned and we don't know how it'll turn out, so please don't criticise Naoto's inclusion and the BE series as a whole until we actually know exactly where Mori is going with this. 

It's fine to not like something in a game, but your manner in voicing your disapproval wasn't exactly great.
Anyway, this is clogging up the thread, if you want to talk more about it, then go ahead and send me a PM.

[Luminos564]

10 hours ago, Calamitus said:

 

  Hide contents

 

 

Can't believe I missed this but hey Azrael is fighting someone...a member of the Six Heroes no less, and he's not having his usual blood knight slasher smile on. Do we have any potential news regarding this encounter? I know Azrael is one of the few that does realise the current world is a tad effed up what with having been imprisoned since CP but what is his deal now? I know he must have encountered Bullet and Tager but that can't be all there is to it can it?

[churchblue]

Naoto's role in the main storyline better make sense.

How many "real" and awared characters are in the "current fake world"?

[Fangs Of Despair]

Damn Labyrinths! People from other dimensions always get sucked in it.... 

[BlackYakuzu94]

We really don't know Naoto's role in the story or what he's going to do, so I think it's presumptuous to say he's pointless when we know so little lol.

Its funny how its like the opposite of the hate Celica gets for being too important, meanwhile Naoto gets it for not being important enough lol.

Maybe fans just have a natural aversion to Light Novel characters for some reason.

[Poultrygeist]

16 hours ago, kosmos badgirl said:

 

So this is Relius as one of the ten sages.

 

It was his hood, Mr. Krabs!  He was number one!

[Xionic]

Relius bombshells have me reeling and the Hibiki ones have me screaming, goddammit CF please settle down. Can't believe we have 2 more acts to get through, this is gonna be crazy.

That said, anything involving kagura's story yet?

[Poultrygeist]

2 hours ago, Orihalcon said:

2 hours ago, Orihalcon said:

lolwut.  I'm not even sure if I can take you seriously if that's your first sentence.  Thanks for proving my sig right though!

I'm defending Nine's design and telling other people not to shit on Mori for the design, dingus.  Granted I'll give you this one since my original post got deleted, but yeah.  We're in agreement on this one.  Be careful though; defending her outfit might make somebody mistake your post for arguing about the general portrayal of women in videogames even though you're just rationalizing a design that's pretty good.

You're right, Naoto is meant to be the typical protagonist except OH WAIT THAT'S ALREADY WHAT RAGNA'S ARCHETYPE WAS.  And Naoto's not even the protagonist, so it looks even stupider and more forced than anything.  He was fine with what he was for Bloodedge Experience, dumb as it was, but now it's just ridiculous.

How is he legitimate?  What about him makes him stand out?  He's literally a carbon copy of Ragna with a worse personality.  Directly interacting with Xblaze is not a strong point either since XBlaze barely even connected to anything, and if nothing else just convoluted crap more.  People who're glad to have him in Centralfiction likely don't give a damn about the story, since he ultimately adds nothing beyond 'hey Rachel you look like your clone; did I mention how stupid of a plot thing that was?'  NAoto's very existence in the game does nothing but just make things more convoluted in regards to the timeline and characters themselves, and he should've stayed in Bloodedge Experience.

 

I don't know if Naoto is actually meant to be the protagonist this time, I think he's there because he's significant and makes for a good fighting game character.  I guess you can think of it as how Kyo is still included in KOF even when K' and Ash took his place as the main guy for their respective arcs.

[kylehyde]

27 minutes ago, BlackYakuzu94 said:

We really don't know Naoto's role in the story or what he's going to do, so I think it's presumptuous to say he's pointless when we know so little lol.

Its funny how its like the opposite of the hate Celica gets for being too important, meanwhile Naoto gets it for not being important enough lol.

Maybe fans just have a natural aversion to Light Novel characters for some reason.

I think it has more to do that we in the west can't read the light novels so Naoto seems like he came out of nowhere and just gave Ragna the middle finger. Of course we know of Blood Edge Experience, but only the things that Zedar has kindly been able to provide us. Still we're barely getting info of the beginning so it's probably a bit too premature to jump to conclusions on Naoto's overall spotlight.

I have no problem with him as a character and am quite interested in his role in all of this but I can see where the person is coming from. This is Ragna's last game (supposedly) and they want him to be right in the center, having all the important scenes with all the important characters.

Anyway, seems like Kokonoe is fighting against Kagura now? What?! 

[raziel12]

yea guys im kinda glad hes on here too just wait till the other Acts release but their is no doubt that both of them nato and ragna share a special connection to each other and keep it at that

[Shinhwa]

13 hours ago, Zedar90 said:

He could have used it, but it was never obvious. He likes science more?

Any way, Ragna's arcade ending.
Ragna stretched his hand to Nu, and Nu asks Ragna why he is saving her. Ragna tells Nu that she is like a child crying and being violent.
Nu's voice is beginning to turn into Nine, and Nine appears.
It seems like Ragna remembers Nine.
When Nine asks Ragna what he desires, Ragna gets flashbacks to his time at the church.
And it ends with Nine telling Ragna to collect the Noxes and defeat Izanami if he wants his desire fulfilled.
And Unlike other characters, that screen turns black and Nine says “I wish from the bottom of my heart that it's you that defeats Izanami”

 

Hibiki
3 Bullet
6 Jin
7 Hazama
8 Nine

Bullet fight's Hibiki in order to buy some time. He warns Kokonoe that he will not show any mercy if she goes against Kagura
Hibiki had come to stop Jin, since Jin seems to remember from CP, he says that he can't stop. After the battle Jin tells Hibiki to go since Hazama is deeper.
Hazama is contacting HQ. Hibiki tells Hazama that he can't be here since it's Kagura's private area and it's restricted. Hazama refuses since he is on order by HQ, and Hibiki tries to kill Hazama
Nine asks Hibiki what his desire is, and he says that Kagura's desire is his desire. Nine says that's boring. After the fight Nine shows Hibiki a scene where Hibiki kills Kagura. Hibiki denies it, but Nine says it's the truth that Hibiki have tried to kill Kagura before. That Hibiki's desire is to “just kill someone”, that he “continues to want to be an emotionless tool”

Nu
3 Relius
6 Izayoi
7 Naoto
8 Nine
Nu recognize Relius as her creator. However even if he is her creator she wont allow him to be in her way to Ragna. After the battle, Relius says that “perhaps Nu is the answer. It's too bad for Carl, but I'll observe you”.
Izayoi tells Nu that if she hands over Murakumo, she won't harm Nu. After the battle, Nu sense Ragna and runs of. Izayoi tries to chase after Nu, but Relius appears and says that he won't allow Izayoi to get in 13's way.
When Nu comes to the cauldron, she sees Naoto instead of Ragna. Naoto misstakes Nu for Kiiro for a short while. Nu gets angry over that she is sensing Ragna but it's someone elese.
After the battle, Naoto says that since she is a prime field, he has to destroy her. But before he can do it, Nine teleports Nu away.
Nine tells Nu that she and Relius created the Murakumo together, which ended with Nu saying “what are you saying, obasan” which pisses Nine of and a battle occur.
Nu's desire is a “true merge” with Ragna.

 

Nu calling Nine "Oba-san" Oh god my sides XD

[DeathTurn]

14 hours ago, Zedar90 said:

Nu's desire is a “true merge” with Ragna.

 

"True merge" - that would imply the incorporation of the Azure Grimoire into the Murakumo Unit: transforming her into a Kusanagi. She wants to become "complete" as opposed to becoming the "heart" of the failure that is the Black Beast. Interesting distinction...

I bet this is Mori teasing Alpha again.

 

 

 

[Zedar90]

Azrael arcade.

3 Ragna
6 Kokonoe
7 Hakumen
8 Nine

Azrael fights a amnesic Ragna, but after the battle Azrael losses his intrest due to Ragna being too weak. Azrael leaves telling Ragna to regain his memories.
Kokonoe doesn't have her memories either, but Azrael thinks that Kokonoe could be more fun to fight than Ragna anyway.
Azrael fights a Hakumen that seems to have his memories, but soon Azrael notice that this Hakumen is a phantom and notices Nine's existence.
Nine admires Azrael for being able to infiltrate the embryo with is bare hands. Azrael had broke out from the dimensional prison on his own.
Nine says to Azrael if he wants to fight a strong opponent, he should go to the place where the imperator will appear. Nine seemed to be surprised with that Azrael calls the Imperator a god.
And it ends with Nine telling Azrael to awaken Ragna as the Black Beast before the doomsday arrives.

[mAc Chaos]

lol wow, fucking Azrael. With his bare hands.

[oh no, he said]

God, when I first learned about Azreal I thought he was going to be boring, but the more they play up how he tears through people/magical inter-dimensional soul labyrinths with nothing but his fists and grit the more I can't help but love the guy. Bonus points for all the little comments he makes that implies he knows a fair bit about what's going on but couldn't care less so long as he gets to pound meat sacks and tussle with someone worth half a damn.

It's kinda weird/contradictory that Nine wishes for Ragna to be the one to have his desire come true, while also advising Azreal to go ahead and flip Ragna's localized apocalypse switch, since we know from the CS bad ending that doing that pretty much results in Ragna biting it.

[Zedar90]

It's probably that the Black Beast part is something Ragna has to deal with before the doomsday begins for real, so Nine sends Azrael to force Ragna to deal with it instead of trying to take care of it later when it might be too late.

[Zedar90]

Arakune
3 Litchi
6 Noel
7 Kokonoe
8 Nine

Arakune believe he is an azure grimoire and wants to take in an azure into him so he becomes a black beast
Arakune doesn't remember Litchi. Litchi is chasing after Roy. Litchi seems to have a line were she says something like "are you Roy?"
Arakune tries to eat Noel, but Noel is being teleported away, probably by Kokonoe.
Kokonoe tells Arakune that he isn't an azure grimore, and the proof is that he is seeking the azure, and Arakune tells Kokonoe to shut up.
Nine says she is surprised that Arakune is one of the entitled. But she says that Arakune won't become an Black Beast. However, if he defeats/eat the Imperator he will become a black beast.

edit:
Makoto
3 Bullet
6 Tsubaki
7 Hazama
8 Nine

The place where Makoto was supposed to meet up with Tager had been known by NOL, so Makoto tries to let Bullet know that the location had changed. Bullet misunderstands Makoto and thus a battle occurs.
Tsubaki suspects Makoto for treason and they battle, after battle Makoto apologize to Tsubaki and says that she can't be caught.

Makoto arrives to the location she were she was going to meet with Tager, but Hazama said that he had already taken care of him, and asked what she was going to do with the sector seven here. After the battle Hazama said that he already knew that Makoto was connected with the sector seven, and said that they might have to investigate her friends, and Makoto said that they had nothing to do with this.

Nine says to Makoto that she is impressed that Makoto was chosen as a entitled based only on the attributes of her soul.
Told to defeat Izanami, Makoto's wish is to protect Tsubaki and Noel.

Mu
3 Makoto
6 Izayoi
7 Kagura
8 Nine

Makoto attacks Noel saying ”everyone's enemy” and not listening to what Noel is saying. After the battle Noel wonders if it's Terumi's work.
Izaoi attacks Mu like Makoto did.
Kagura says that he heard that she was going towards the cauldron so he got before them. Kagura also says that Mu is a far more bigger criminal than Ragna who not only have destroyed cities but also killed Ragna and Jin. Noel thinks that Rachel could explain the situation and ask Kagura where she is. And Kagura says ”what are you saying? The first one you targeted was Rachel Alucard”. That Noel is know the evil and shows that evil Mu image.
Noel asks Nine if it was her that have created all of this, but Nine says that it was Noel that had created it.

[Luminos564]

4 hours ago, Zedar90 said:

Azrael arcade.

3 Ragna
6 Kokonoe
7 Hakumen
8 Nine

Azrael fights a amnesic Ragna, but after the battle Azrael losses his intrest due to Ragna being too weak. Azrael leaves telling Ragna to regain his memories.
Kokonoe doesn't have her memories either, but Azrael thinks that Kokonoe could be more fun to fight than Ragna anyway.
Azrael fights a Hakumen that seems to have his memories, but soon Azrael notice that this Hakumen is a phantom and notices Nine's existence.
Nine admires Azrael for being able to infiltrate the embryo with is bare hands. Azrael had broke out from the dimensional prison on his own.
Nine says to Azrael if he wants to fight a strong opponent, he should go to the place where the imperator will appear. Nine seemed to be surprised with that Azrael calls the Imperator a god.
And it ends with Nine telling Azrael to awaken Ragna as the Black Beast before the doomsday arrives.

Zedar you are my hero. Seriously what's not to like about Azrael? He's like the Chuck Norris jokes if they were fully realized and played completely straight . In a franchise where everyone has their little schemes, doomsday worship and manipulations, his entire desire to be able to punch something really, really hard stands out as remarkably unique.

I agree that Nine is probably making plans on forcing Ragna to deal with his whole Black Beast fiasco. This is something he HAS to have solved if she truly does want Ragna to be able to take down Izanami and have his desire granted. Kinda hard to take down a creature who can make your source of power (Azure Grimoire) go haywire like in CP's true ending. Notice that Nine is the one tasking Azrael to awaken Ragna, as opposed to telling him to just gun for Izanami like she's telling everyone else. Either she's trying to unite them in a way that they all have a common foe or she's setting them up for failure because she thinks/wants Ragna to deliver the kill. Time will tell I suppose.

It's also rather sweet, in a weird way, that Nine has what can roughly resemble "respect" or "friendship" with Ragna. Oh sure, she's probably all crass about it but from what is being said about their encounter, it seems like she genuinely does want him to succeed. I suppose making that promise in Phase Shift and tossing himself into the Black Beast's jaws for Celica's sake really changed her tone about him.

Oh and that Mu-12 arcade run: mind = . Seriously what the hell is happening?

[Xionic]

It's good to know that even in some weird alternate world thingamajig, Makoto still has the same goals. To protect Tsubaki and Noel, wouldn't have it any other way tbh.

Mu though, goddamn.......Out of all the characters to put through a murderous nightmare, they picked Noel. That's just cruel.

Yay at setting Azrael up for something more interesting too, thanks for all the info Zedar!

[Zedar90]

Kagura
3 Jin
6 Ragna
7 Tager
8 Nine
Kagura asks Jin why he left and what's the matter, and Jin responds with that he has to kill Broter and Izanami. After the battle, Kagura wondered what Jin meant with brother.
Kagura finds Ragna and calls him a criminal with Ragna no understanding what Kagura is saying. After the battle, Hibki arrives and sas thjat Noel and Hazama is heading towards the cauldron. Kagura says that he will chase after them and tells Hibiki to put Ragna in the jail inside the ship and not in the HQ.

Tager won't allow Kagura to go any furthur, and Kagura want's to hear why from Kokonoe but isn't given any response. After battle Kokonoe say that she has a theory that this world is a temporary one, that several people's memories are conflicting. And Kagura feels that while he is serving Homura he desires a reform.
Nine thinks Kagura is incredible to be able to go against this much while being only a human.
It ends with Nine telling Kagura to collect the Noxes and defeat Izanami.

Jin
3 Tsubaki
7 Kagura
8 Ragna
9 Nine

It seems like Jin has his memories from CP. Tsubaki tries to convince Jin to return, but Jin says ”I have nothing to say to the current you”.
Kagura appears and Jin knows that both Kagura and Tsubaki is fakes, and Jin defeats the fake Kagura.
Jin knows that the Ragna is also a fake. The fake Ragna turns into a black beast like form and Jin hears Tsubaki and Kagura saying ”defeat the black beast and become a hero”, and Jin is shown a image of Him being a hero, and Jin says that there is no meaning behind a hero created by someone.
Jin meets with Nine. This world is materialized from people's desire, the people want Jin to be like that, however Jin isn't being swallowed by the world due to power of Order.

Rachel
3 Ragna
6 Amane
7 Naoto
8 Nine

Rachel finds Ragna and says ”You really are hard to kill as always, not becoming seithr even though you aren't an entitled”. But Rachel soon finds out that this Ragna is only a projection created from her heart.
Amane tells Rachel to stop for a moment. And tells her if she continues she can't turn back. However Rachel says she is prepared for that and Amane tests her resolve and let her go.
Rachel finds Naoto, and his existence is too close to that of Ragna. He makes Ragna's existence thin. Rachel tries to erease Naoto.
Naoto pushes Rachel onto a wall and tells her to calm down, Naoto introduces himself to Rachel which makes Rachel more nervous since it's making Ragna's existence thinner.
Rachel is being brought to Nine. Nine says that even though Rachel is an observer, she have stopåed observing and stepped down unto the stage and thus become weaker, and that she will become weaker until she disappears. And Nine says that Rachel can't do anything and that Rachel will taste the same despair as Nine has.

Edit:
Noel
3 Carl
6 Hibiki
7 Nu
8 Nine
The Carl fight was almost the same as in CT, only with Nu feeling Deja vu. And also Nirvana stopped listening to Carl after the battle.
Hibiki tries to stop Noel, Noel says that she thinks she have gone before to the place this road leads to, which makes Hibiki says that she has to die if she does. Noel then says that she thinks that the Grim Reaper should be there.
Nu says that Noel is her, and Noel wonders why she thinks she knows Nu.
Noel's wish is to return to being a normal girl living with her parents and friends.
This world seems to have been made by Noel through tying together several continuum shift.
Noel has the power of granting her own wish by eating everyone's wishes.

And some more details about Mu's arcade ending. Mu thinks that this world is a ”realm” created by Nine or Terumi and not ”Reality”, but Nine says that it is reality. And the reason why Mu's world was like it was seems like it was because Mu wished for Mu to not exist