Melty Blood Act Cadenza is the second game of the 2D Fighting series and it’s the first entry to make its way over to arcades machines, as well as consoles. It is more of a soft reboot or greatest hits compilation than an actual sequel following either the first title or its expansion. One of the first things you’ll notice upon booting Cadenza up is the lack of a story mode, which was a key component to prior entries that simply wouldn’t work in the arcade environment this entry was intended for. Fair enough, but the Arcade mode that has you fighting ten matches with your selected character is quite simply a mess. With this being targeted to a new audience, it doesn’t even bother to introduce the characters or at least retell their motivations. You’ll find that it is entirely random in its storytelling that ultimately amounts to a whole lot of nothing, including interactions that will mean little to those not familiar with either Tsukihime or Melty Blood.
Starting off talking about the story in a Fighting game may seem odd, yet the brilliant plot in the original that took place after the visual novels really warrants a mention. It makes the randomness of what little “story” Cadenza does have all the more unappealing. Some characters will behave as if they have never met, others do pick off where they left off last title, and there is no end boss or objective to it. It is not a retelling of the original nor does it offer continuity. Once again, it is just a load of nothing. When the writing really shines is when you play as joke characters and Cadenza allows itself to be silly. Unfortunately, it is usually serious in tone, causing it to be quite the bore due to the lack of an overarching plot or continuity. On the plus side, there is only dialogue at the start, on the fifth match, and the last. All of it can be skipped, so it is ultimately a petty issue, just do not go in expecting anything from its narrative.
That said, Cadenza does succeed where it matters most. The gameplay. Melty Blood was an admitably sub-par fighter, its expansion pack called ReAct completely reworked it into something much better, and this entry further polishes that foundation. It has reached the point that it can easily stand next to other arcade cabinets, have someone try it, and completely engross them despite not having the slightest idea what a Tsukihime is. Same for the Fighting game fans on consoles. Going full circle, they did release a definite version for the PC with a few new additions, which is the one we are looking at today. It is a four-button fighter, but it is suggested to use a six-button gamepad to use the macros that easily allows you to pull off grabs and activate the Heat status, without the need for a button combination.
Moving the fighting stick, it is clearly noticeable just how much faster the action is than the original Melty Blood and a tad more than ReAct. With the ability to dash, double jump, and matches having a timer for the first time, it won’t be long before the first punch is thrown. All of the cast makes a return and four new ones are playable for the first time, making for a whopping 23 character roster. The most notable are the red-headed sorceress called Aoko and the demon-possessed Kouma. Both are extremely powerful characters in the Tsukihime universe and a ton of fun to play as. Then you have the other two, a pair of small humanoid cats known as Neco Arc and Neco Arc Chaos. Both are gag characters, though as cute and silly as they are, should not be underestimated. I wouldn’t call this game perfectly balanced, but all characters can hold their own and are viable.
Each person’s move-set varies wildly. Some may prefer ranged attacks or melee, fighting with guns or fists, and everything in between. One thing they all do share in common is the ability to Shield, as this game calls it. It is bound to the D button and blocks attacks, much the same as holding back the joystick. Where it truly differentiates itself is when you time it just right (ex-shielding), allowing you to attack through your enemy’s attack animation instead of staying on the defensive. It will also fill some of your magic meter to boot. Shielding does take up a ton of magic while using, so you’ll want to use it in bursts instead of holding it. It is safer to block, yet it is a game-changing feature to master.
There are three attack buttons and activating specials does not use complex inputs, mostly quarter-circles or double taps. Using a special will take up 100% of your magic meter, which completely fills at 300%. A bit confusing I know, I’m not a fan of their usage of percentages either. Once you hit 100% on your magic meter, you can activate Heat mode. That allows you to regenerate your health as far as the red on your meter currently reaches to. The catch here is that you can not be attacking or be attacked. Doing so will disrupt your healing and with how brief Heat is, easily circumvented by your opponent laying more pressure on you. It is not a get out of jail free card, you have to learn when to use it and how to control the battle for the duration. Getting your Magic meter up to 300% forcefully enters you into Heat mode. Sounds bad until you realize that once it depletes, you are back at 200% and can quickly fill it back again. You could really go crazy with specials or healing with how long Heat at 300% lasts.
If you are feeling particularly daring, you can enter Blood Heat if you fill your magic meter all the way. This mode gives you incredibly rapid healing and lets you use your ultimate move, known as a Last Arc. To activate a last arc, you will need to deflect an enemy attack with a properly timed shielding (ex-shield). That is easier said than done given how short the duration of Blood Heat is and how wary your opponent will be to make any big moves while you’re in this state. The pay off is devastating, however. It could very well make an imminent defeat into a victory, yet you risk all your magic meter for the chance. Unlike letting Heat run its course when it automatically activates, willingly entering Blood Heat will leave you at 0% magic instead of 200% once it wears off. That risk-reward factor is what makes matches so interesting, this couldn’t be further from a mindless button masher. It is incredibly approachable but has a ton of intricacies to master. With five difficulty levels, you can be as serious with this title as you want.
Disappointingly enough, most of the stage backgrounds are the same. They’ve been slightly improved visually, yet most of them were pretty bland to begin with. This being the third entry, seeing these stages again was hardly the most welcome thing. Also, the cool cityscape stage is gone, even if it appears in some ending scenes. Speaking of reusing content, most of the character portraits are the same and even some of the CGs. That causes Arcade mode to feel unsatisfying in addition to the nonexistent plot. For people new to the series this fact shouldn’t matter, which I’m betting quite a few were given the different audience they were targeting. I’m reviewing the PC version, however, the platform where all the other titles are. This intense lack of anything other than refined combat causes Cadenza to feel more like a small expansion rather than a new entry. Even in the case it was an expansion, it would still be disappointing given all that ReAct added.
It’s not all doom and gloom. At the end of the day what matters is the gameplay, as previously stated. This is without a doubt the best Melty Blood yet, in that regard. The PC version plays to these strengths with the new modes it includes. The first is Tag Battle. You choose two characters and two opponents, then go off to battle on a selected stage. It is not like King of Fighters or Marvel vs Capcom here, if one character loses all their health, that’s the end of the match. You need to tag out for dear life when that happens and let your other character take his place while he slowly regains health in the background. It is a ton of fun finding synergies between characters or just picking your favorites. Once the fight is finished, you can rematch or change characters. I wish they would have fleshed it out a bit more and included a Tag Battle arcade mode. Sadly, the series would never revisit this idea again, so credit where credit is due to Cadenza.
Another exclusive mode for the PC is Team Battle. It is a similar concept to Tag, but nowhere near as entertaining. You still pick two characters and choose two opponents, though this time you all fight at once. It is a mess. The game was never meant for that and this is more of a novelty you’ll try a few times, then never touch again. You’ll find it the screen too chaotic with all the characters and special effects going off. Your AI teammate is a liability so you need to play overly aggressively before it loses you the match, and heaven help you if you have an opponent on each side causing the controls to freak out. The mode is worth a look, yet I can’t imagine many people would spend too long with it. Correction: You can change whether the match ends when a partner is downed for both tag modes.
Finally, you have Survival. This is a mode where you fight back to back single matches until you eventually lose. Your health-bar is slightly refilled after every victory, but it is still a battle of attrition that you are destined to lose. I’m unsure if this is a PC exclusive mode as I don’t have a Japanese PS2, yet it is another great addition. Not too shabby on the modes front. The next and final Melty Blood title to be released only has Arcade, Vs, and Training by comparison. I know large parts of this review have been negative, however, Cadenza is still a worthwhile experience. It just falls into a very strange space in the series. The gameplay in the next entry is even better than it is here and that’s where the lack of story advancement or new content (aside from modes) comes back to bite Cadenza in the modern-day. You could skip it and not miss a thing, while skipping the original or ReAct is significant to understanding the series.
On the PC, Cadenza came out in 2007. It wasn’t until 2011 that the also arcade-focused Melty Blood Actress Again was released. I would be singing a far different tune if I’ve reviewed this within that time. That title features its own issues like once again reusing a ton of the backgrounds for a fourth time, lack of modes, and no dedicated story mode like the original title which seems like the outlier of the series by this point. It features better gameplay though, which is the one strength this had. Tag Battle isn’t fleshed out enough to grasp the player for long and Survival is a nice mode, but the issue of worse gameplay pops up. This is also the priciest Melty Blood to get imported, while the newer one is the first to get a worldwide release and is even on Steam. I’ve probably spent the most hours on Cadenza over the years and it is by no means a terrible game, it just feels like the type of title whose sole reason to play nowadays is nostalgia. There is no way this deserves a bad rating and at the same time, there is no way I’d recommend it to anybody. It is truly an odd case.
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