BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend vs BlazBlue Centralfiction

[@R+5]

which has better replay value, and how different they are?

[Slaskburk]

Centralfiction has more replay value - because it's the latest iteration of the game and the one that will see the most online activity, if that's something you're interested in. It has the most characters and most up to date balance changes. It's the final arc of the BlazBlue story following the main character Ragna.

Chrono Phantasma is the prequel, story wise.

This is the series' lineage:
Calamity Trigger -> Continuum Shift -> Continuum Shift 2 -> Continuum Shift Extend -> Chrono Phantasma -> Chrono Phantasma Extend -> Central Fiction

The major entries are:
Calamity Trigger = Game 1
Continuum Shift = Game 2
Chrono Phantasma = Game 3
Central Fiction = Game 4

Each game has different mechanics, story, and game modes - and later iterations feature increasingly additional characters and new or revised moves. "Extend" versions are simply DLC and update inclusive. Game 1-3 is currently available on Steam in their "Extend" iterations.

When Centralfiction arrived on Steam it came with all the then available DLC included, and has received another DLC character, Jubei, alongside the console release since then.

[Red]

Originally posted by Slaskburk:

Centralfiction has more replay value - because it's the latest iteration of the game and the one that will see the most online activity, if that's something you're interested in. It has the most characters and most up to date balance changes. It's the final arc of the BlazBlue story following the main character Ragna.

Chrono Phantasma is the prequel, story wise.

This is the series' lineage:
Calamity Trigger -> Continuum Shift -> Continuum Shift 2 -> Continuum Shift Extend -> Chrono Phantasma -> Chrono Phantasma Extend -> Central Fiction

The major entries are:
Calamity Trigger = Game 1
Continuum Shift = Game 2
Chrono Phantasma = Game 3
Central Fiction = Game 4

Each game has different mechanics, story, and game modes - and later iterations feature increasingly additional characters and new or revised moves. "Extend" versions are simply DLC and update inclusive. Game 1-3 is currently available on Steam in their "Extend" iterations.

When Centralfiction arrived on Steam it came with all the then available DLC included, and has received another DLC character, Jubei, alongside the console release since then.

Just to nitpick:
- In terms of singleplayer content, BBCPE has arguably more game modes so a better replay value. But yeah, BBCF wins hands down on the multiplayer side of things.
- Centralfiction is the last game of Ragna's arc, though the BlazBlue series will go on.
- The official names are Chronophantasma and Centralfiction (without colon), but for some reason they're often misspelled. Maybe Aksys Games marketed them with the "wrong" names? Not that it matters much anyway (as I said, I'm nitpicking).
- Extend versions are actually re-releases containing the DLC of the same iteration's (same name) past releases as well as new content (including new characters) and balance changes. This was a huge downside on consoles since you had to buy the game again, not to mention that it split the playerbase. However, since the series arrived late on PC after BBCT, only the Extend version is available here on Steam.
- Calamity Trigger never had an Extend version or DLC. In a way, that makes it Extend by default.
- BBCF's Steam version doesn't have absolutely all the DLC from the console version IIRC. Some room accessories are likely missing, though it's less than what's missing in BBCSE and BBCPE which didn't include special character palettes, for instance.
- Centralfiction doesn't have an Extend version (at least, not yet... I really hope there won't be one, yet hope there will be more content someday), and instead had the 2.0 update which added Jubei as DLC.