Melty Blood

Melty Blood
File:Melty-blood.jpg
Genre	2D fighting game
Video game
Developer	TYPE-MOON, French-Bread (known as Watanabe Seisakujo prior to 2003)
Genre	2D fighting game
Platform	PC, PS2
Manga
Written by	Takeru Kirishima (art)
Published by	Comics One / Dr. Master

Melty Blood (メルティブラッド, Meruti Buraddo) is a Japanese dōjin 2D fighting game, developed by Type-Moon and French-Bread (known as Watanabe Seisakujo prior to 2003), and is a spin-off to TYPE-MOON's visual novel game Tsukihime. It was featured at the international fighting game tournament Tougeki in 2006.

It has also been adapted into a manga series, featuring art by Takeru Kirishima and serialized in the CompAce magazine, published 2005.

Melty Blood was originally released in December 2002 on the PC, with an expansion patch, Re-ACT, being released two years later in May 2004, and ReACT Final Tuned, released in July 2005. An arcade and Playstation 2 port, Melty Blood: Act Cadenza, has also been released.

Expansions

Melty Blood Re-ACT

An expansion to the original game, featuring an 'Arcade Mode' whose storyline takes place after the original Melty Blood. The expansion made numerous changes in regards to character balance and to remove many infinite-combo sequences. Also, new movesets were created for the doppelgänger characters, whereas in the original, most of these characters had nearly identical movesets to their counterparts. It also made changes to the game's mechanics and added several new characters, though only two are playable.

• Len
• Satsuki Yumizuka
• Neko-Arc (non-playable character)
• Executioner Ciel (Ciel holding the Seventh Holy Scripture, non-playable character)
• White Len (non-playable sub-boss)
• Aoko Aozaki (non-playable boss)

Melty Blood Re-ACT, Final Tuned

The final revision for Melty Blood Re-ACT. Final Tuned adds several features designed to allow the game to be configured to resemble the gameplay of Melty Blood: Act Cadenza. It also adds a large number of gameplay tweaks and slightly updated animations.

The most notable of the new features are:

• The inclusion of a new, analog-friendly controller setup
• New configuration options that lets players assign multi-button commands to individual buttons
• The ability to alter and adjust many of the game's internal variables (via new interface options)
• Four new colors for each player

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza is an arcade port of Melty Blood to the NAOMI system by Ecole. It featured new characters, new gameplay mechanics and a re-organized storyline. On August 8th 2006, a port of Act Cadenza to the Sony PlayStation 2 was released. However, it is not a completely accurate port of the arcade version, as it includes several balancing changes and revisions to gameplay.

Playable characters introduced in Act Cadenza are:

• Aoko Aozaki
• Kishima Kouma
• Neko-Arc
• Neko-Arc Chaos

Certain gameplay changes introduced in Act Cadenza include:

File:MELTYBLOOD verB.jpg

Version B promotional poster

• Introduction of Shielding (as opposed to EX Shielding)
• Adjustment of animation frames and attack properties
• An Evasion maneuver (either a dodge or an evasive roll, depending on character)
• Introduction of a timer/clock, limiting the length of gameplay rounds

Cosmetic differences in Act Cadenza include:

• New artwork for character portraits
• New background scenarios
• New special effects
• New animation

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza ver.B

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza Ver. B is an arcade port of the PS2 game with various changes and upgrades, the most notable of which is the inclusion of 'White Len' as an initial playable character.

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza ver.B2

File:MbacvBpc tag-team.jpg

A screenshot depicting tag-team play in Version B for PC

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza ver.B2 is an updated edition of the series which corrects several errors and glitches from Melty Blood: Act Cadenza ver.B. Features an upgraded version of Neco Arc Chaos from the PS2 edition. Released in March 20, 2007.

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza ver.B PC

Melty Blood: Act Cadenza ver.B PC is a Windows PC port of the arcade ver.B2. It has added features such as tag-team mode, and is planned for release on July 27, 2007. Not all details about this game have been unveiled yet.

Characters

Main article: Characters in Tsukihime

As of Melty Blood: Act Cadenza, there are 23 playable characters.

• Akiha Tohno
• Aoko Aozaki
• Vermillion Akiha (called Kurenaisekisyu Akiha before Act Cadenza)
• Arcueid Brunestud
• Red Arcueid (Called Warcueid or Bousou Arcueid before Act Cadenza)
• Ciel
• Hisui
• Hisui & Kohaku
• Kohaku
• Kishima Kouma
• Len
• Mech-Hisui
• Miyako Arima
• Neko-Arc
• Neko-Arc Chaos
• Nrvnqsr (Nero) Chaos
• Satsuki Yumizuka
• Shiki Tohno
• Shiki Nanaya
• Sion Eltnam Atlasia
• Sion TATARI (called Vampire Sion before Act Cadenza)
• Warakia
• White Len

In the original Melty Blood, only six of these characters were available to be played, with eight more being unlockable through story-mode. However, in a later update released for the game (the 'Nero' patch), all the characters are available from the start. The reasons for this are slightly unclear; they appear to be the result of a legal misunderstanding whereby TYPE-MOON mistakenly thought they would no longer be allowed to produce updates/patches, and thus made a 'last patch' which unlocked the characters as a sort of gift for the fans. Whatever the reason, TYPE-MOON has left these characters available throughout all subsequent releases. In addition, Aoko and Kouma were both added to the game as of Act Cadenza, although Aoko was an unplayable 'boss character' in previous versions. Act Cadenza also changed the given names of several characters.

Gameplay

Melty Blood makes use of widely used concepts in fighting games such as cancels (canceling a normal attack with a special attack before its animation ends, allowing for more complex and damaging combos) chain combos (normal moves that cancel into other normal moves) and the use of power bars (Magic Circuits). It also introduces Shielding, an advanced defensive technique comparable to Parries in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and Slash Backs in Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core.

File:Ss09.gif

An in-game screenshot depicting the concept of shielding in Melty Blood Re-ACT: Final Tuned

EX-Shielding: A high-risk/reward technique which eliminates the damage and 'block-stun' from an attack. Activated by a button press, it requires exact timing to 'deflect' the opponent's attack, thus exposing them to a reversal. However, if mis-timed, an EX-Shield attempt leaves the player extremely vulnerable. EX-Shielding also carries a damage penalty for subsequent attacks, but grants a small amount of Magic Circuit and disallows the opponent to cancel his/her attack into another one. Finally, in later versions of Melty Blood, EX-Shielding during the Blood Heat state activates a unique attack known as a Last Arc. In Melty Blood: Act Cadenza, a new type of Shielding was introduced which allows the player to hold the Shield button for an extended length of time to defend against multiple attacks. However, this rapidly drains Magic Circuit, and grants fewer retaliatory options upon recovery.

Magic Circuit: A system that allows players to store up to 300% meter, for various uses such as EX Attacks(high-powered versions of special techniques) and the Heat and Blood Heat modes. These modes allow players to regenerate a portion of their lifebar, as well as allow access to their character's ultimate attacks, known as Arc-Drives and Last Arcs. All of these techniques consume Magic Circuit, which is accumulated by attacking your opponent, and to a lesser degree, successfully defending against your opponent. Magic Circuit carries over between rounds.

Clashing: An offensive state where certain attacks or maneuvers impact directly with an opponent's attack, thus resulting in a 'clash.' No damage is taken as a result, and both players are allowed to cancel their attacks as if they had connected successfully. This mechanic is also featured in the Guilty Gear series.

Aerial Recovery: A defensive measure used after being attacked in mid-air by pressing any button and, optionally, while holding a direction. It grants temporarily invulnerability to the player and allows them to resume action, but may be detrimental in certain circumstances if the attacking player predicts which direction the Aerial Recovery is performed.

Tactical Recovery: After being attacked, performed by pressing any upward direction upon impacting the floor. Doing so allows a player to quickly regain momentum and avoid 'OTG'(On The Ground) combos while utterly defenseless. However, players are not allowed to block during the recovery animation, and thus will expose themselves to punishment if the attacking player predicts the recovery attempt. This is an aspect of the Okizeme meta-game found in many fighting games.

Media

The original soundtrack of the game, Promised Dawn, was originally released on 29 April 2003. The music was composed by Raito Kate, with tracks 2-7 being arranged by James Harris (2-7), and 2-9 by Number 201.

Track listing

• Disc One
• VS Part

1. Melty Blood 3:27
2. I will begin 0:47
3. On the edge 0:13
4. Encount 3:30
5. Elegant Summer 2:56
6. Troublesome Visitor 3:35
7. Fearless 2:08
8. Noble Mind 2:04
9. Stillness Dark 3:29
10. for Crimson Air 3:12
11. Midnight Raider 3:56
12. PE-RI-CA 3:40
13. The theme of Arcueid 2:38
14. Emergency Occurrence 3:14
15. Help Me! 3:32
16. The end of 1000 years 3:06
17. A G Man 1:38
18. Chinese Girl 2:21
19. Count Down 0:44
20. Remember! 0:30
21. Memories of once 5:45
22. Bonus Track 8:08

• Disc Two
• Novel Part

1. Intro 0:36
2. Ready 1:57
3. Together 2:20
4. daydream 2:45
5. Alchemist 3:14
6. Another wonder 2:27
7. Bad Memory 1:32
8. Phantom Night 1:45
9. Under the moon 1:57
10. Outro 0:43
11. Character Voice Collection

Translation

Revolve Translations has officially released a full English patch, that includes English story mode. The patch is available for free to owners of Melty Blood. The translation patch is based on the Nero0623 final patch for Melty Blood.

External links

• Template:Jp icon Official website
• Moonlit World (Extensive TYPE-Moon Fansite for English Viewers)
• The Sacred Red Moon (Melty Blood site/forum, character discussion, match making (online and offline) etc)
• Melty Bread (Melty Blood Videos and Frame Data for Characters)
• Template:Jp icon Melty Blood Act Cadenza for Windows Official Site (Some menus in English)