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 was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Arc System Works.)
On May 19 at Pacifico Yokohama in Kanagawa, Japan, the event “Arc System Works Festival” (Arc Fes) was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Arc System Works. It was a day that beat ‘em-up game fans from around the world had been anxiously waiting for. Yokohama was blessed with good weather on the day of the event, and in spite of it being two hours before the event opened, fans were already crowded in front of the convention center and lines were forming for the goods marketplace.
In front of the entrance to the event was a successive lineup of illustrations from the Guilty Gear series on display. Together with being a feast for fans’ eyes, demos of Arc System Works’ games were also prepared. People were crowded into every corner as if to foreshadow how successful the event would be.
While fans were wrapped up in excitement, the time approached noon, and Arc Fes was finally opened. The opening portion of the event looked back at the 25-year history of Arc System Works, giving introductions to many of its games. These included the 15-year-old Guilty Gear series and the 5-year-old Blazblue series, which, along with being essential titles for the company, made the audience once again feel the impact they have had on the history of beat ‘em up games.
Next, the final round of the “Arc Revolution Cup,” a game tournament focused on Arc System Works’ Blazblue: Chronophantasma, Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus R, and Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena, began. Players from all over the country who had won the preliminary rounds gathered together for this tournament. Three matches were played for each game to decide the best eight players of each.
The event heated up at the “Arc Music Live” when Faylan sang at the top of her lungs the theme song to Blazblue: Continuum Shift Extend, “Celestial Light.” Continuing from this song, the theme song “Blue Sanction” from the PS3 game Blazblue: Chronophantasma, which will be released on Oct. 24, was performed for the first time. While those in the audience listened in ecstasy to Faylan’s beautiful voice, thoughts of the game raced through their minds.
Faylan then passed the baton to her band members, who were in charge of the performances at the 2011 live event “Guilty Gear × Blazblue.” The special band organized beautifully from three members who collectively play the keyboard, bass, drums, violin, and guitar resounded their stout rock sound throughout the convention center. A variety of famous songs used in the games that inspire players were naturally reborn live.
Next was the continuation of the “Arc Revolution Cup” and a live recording of the popular web radio show “Bururaji H”. More and more, it was starting to feel like a real festival. We will go into more detail regarding these two events in a separate article.
What we’d like to focus on in this article are the various announcements that were made and information divulged that had fans at the event beaming with joy. First, new information regarding previously announced titled was divulged. This included the opening movie the the PS3 and PS Vita game XBlaze Code: Embryo, to be released on July 25, and a movie introducing the two new characters Kagura Mutsuki and Yuuki Terumi from the PS3 game Blazblue: Chronophantasma, to be released on Oct. 24.
Getting an even bigger reaction from the crowd was the announcement of an anime adaptation for Blazblue. The anime, titled BlazBlue: Alter Memory, will begin broadcasting this fall. It is being directed by Hideki Tachibana, co-directed by Seiji Mizushima, and supervised by Toshimichi Mori, the creator of Blazblue. The cast for the anime will also be the same as that of the games, so fans will be able to enjoy the anime without feeling like something is amiss.
As the end of the event approached, there was one more announcement that was saved for last which had everyone in attendance buzzing with excitement. This was the announcement of the newest game in the Guitly Gear series, Guilty Gear Xrd: Sign. There is no doubt that everyone thought that the beautiful animations intermixed in the fighting scenes were cleanly implemented. The audience was stirred up even more when general director Daisuke Ishiwatari informed them that all the performances shown used in-game 3D character models. After their astonishment, the audience’s thoughts quickly turned to wanting to play the game.
Arc Fes was brought to a close with Arc System Works’ representative director Minoru Kidooka’s marching song. Even though the event lasted more than nine hours, it was packed with so much content that it seemed to fly by in an instant. Surely, it’s possible to say that this day was a symbol of the unshakable “beat ‘em up game spirit” that every fan possesses.
With everything that it offered, Arc Fes had too many highlights to be able to count and too much volume to be able to adequately cover in only one article. As such, we will go into more detail regarding the “Arc Revolution Cup” and live recording of the web radio show “Bururaji H” in a separate article.
Furthermore, we will share comments from general director Ishiwatari of the Guilty Gear series and producer Mori of the Blazblue series for overseas fans who enjoy Arc System Works’ games. Check back soon to not miss out on anything from this exciting event!
Xblaze Code: Embryo Official Site:
http://www.arcsystemworks.jp/xblaze/ (Japanese)
Blazblue: Chronophantasma Official Site:
http://blazblue.jp/cp/ (Japanese)
Blazblue: Alter Memory Official Site:
http://blazblue-am.jp/ (Japanese)
Guilty Gear Xrd: Sign Official Site:
http://ggxrd.com/ (Japanese)
© Arc System Works
© Arc System Works / Blazblue Partners
