[Busaiku]

http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showt...-amp-BB-colors haha, P4U has BB/GG reference alts.

Kanji and Naoto as Hazama are amazing.
Also Yu as Ky works incredibly well too.

[SolarPowered]

http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showt...-amp-BB-colors haha, P4U has BB/GG reference alts.

Okay, being a big Anji and Bang fan just made me decide which characters to main. Akihiko and Yukiko heeeere I cooooome!

Dat Litchi alt for Mitsuru

[Akselziys]

First piece of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND DLC is up on VITA & PS3 PSN! :)

Noel Vermillion announcer/system voice DLC!





Get it while it's hot! :D

[Esura]

First piece of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND DLC is up on VITA & PS3 PSN! :) Noel Vermillion announcer/system voice DLC! Get it while it's hot! :D

Mother of god....

I shall hit this up.

[Akselziys]

Mother of god.... I shall hit this up.

*Gasp* :o

You changed your avatar from Serah to Noel <3

Though you should resize and use the png with the transparent background :3

[raven777]

First piece of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND DLC is up on VITA & PS3 PSN! :) Noel Vermillion announcer/system voice DLC! Get it while it's hot! :D

ah, so its separate per character.....it feels little expensive. I might get noel, tsubaki and platinum

[Akselziys]

ah, so its separate per character.....it feels little expensive. I might get noel, tsubaki and platinum

Just to avoid any confusion, the voices are only in Japanese~

[sixteen-bit]

Sorry about the noob question but is the CS voice DLC compatible with CSE? What about colors?

[Kincaido]

Nice, will buy it tomorrow with my Vita. I'm personally waiting for Tsubaki. Asami Imai <3

[goldlion054]

Nice, will buy it tomorrow with my Vita. I'm personally waiting for Tsubaki. Asami Imai <3

You understand how to do things!

[Papercuts]

Sorry about the noob question but is the CS voice DLC compatible with CSE? What about colors?

The CS DLC is all purchasable with ingame currency.

[Esura]

*Gasp* :o You changed your avatar from Serah to Noel <3 Though you should resize and use the png with the transparent background :3

Yup, Noel > Serah.

And done and done. I forgot I had Photoshop open so I did it real quick. :)

Just to avoid any confusion, the voices are only in Japanese~

Even though I'm mostly used to Noel's English voice, the Japanese one has to be more tolerable as an announcer than the default.

Is there a schedule on when you guys are releasing the DLC? I hope Platinum is next.

[Akselziys]

Yup, Noel > Serah. And done and done. I forgot I had Photoshop open so I did it real quick. :) Even though I'm mostly used to Noel's English voice, the Japanese one has to be more tolerable as an announcer than the default. Is there a schedule on when you guys are releasing the DLC? I hope Platinum is next.

Very nice ;)

They'll be released weekly, until all 7 system voice/announcer DLC are released :)

Platinum is 2nd to last XD;

[Tobe]

mother of god at those alts for P4U. on subject 2 days till im able to play miss moe <3 platinum<3. solar did you eventually double dip?

[Esura]

Very nice ;) They'll be released weekly, until all 7 system voice/announcer DLC are released :) Platinum is 2nd to last XD;

Aww shucks. Oh well, any announcers that's not the default ones would do for me.

Oh, curious question about the Limited Editions of EXTEND. Why is it that there is two compartments in the box but everything is in one? Seemed odd so I just put the goodies in the front row.



I literally have nothing else to do right now but ask stupid questions. :D

[Akuun]

I disagree. Lambda's sword damages maxes out at around 3k without meter, CH or not. She depends on Act Parser CHs or crescent saber to get more than that midscreen (or, god forbid, A gravity well CH) outside of gimmicks with pinwheel. Rachel's max damage without meter on almost every hit outside of the corner is around 2.5k, with the obvious exception being CH cat chair. In the corner, Lambda depends on loops which rely on her being a half screen distance or less, whereas Rachel can use conventional pressure and meter to accomplish similar amounts of damage. But both of their projectiles/animals serve similar purposes -- they both make it difficult for characters to close space in the air (don't forget that Rachel also has one of the game's most powerful AAs) and they make a ground approach dangerous. The major differences are that Lambda has absolutely amazing backdashes and strong, zoning-oriented reversals whereas Rachel has blockstrings that aren't totally worthless. Real BB players putting NeoGAF on blast.

Are you basing this on netplay? I can only imagine that Lambda looks like she does only that much damage midscreen if people are doing her simpler combos online for consistency. Her gravity seedless combos are generally 3k at best, but that's not the best she can do.

If you include her more advanced combos with gravity seed, Lambda AVERAGES around 3k midscreen, and while simple sword counterhits that cannot be capitalized on with gravity seed or C tackle will be around 2.5k, she maxes at more like 4-4.5k midscreen meterless if she gets a solid hit like 5d CH into C tackle. Furthermore, while I agree that 214a Fatal generally never happens, Lambda will very rarely go for simple C tackle CH because C tackle is not a great move when used on its own - it is usually led into after an obvious punish, such as the aforementioned 5D CH into C tackle, or 5C x1 CH into C tackle. Poorly teched wheel oki and silly spike chaser hits should average around 3-4k.

Since CS2, Lambda actually is much less loopy in the corner, but those are combos and we're talking about game play style.

I agree that Rachel's blockstrings are far better than Lambda's, but my point is that the main purpose of Rachel's projectiles are primarily meant to help her get in, and stay in. Lambda's projectiles are primarily meant to keep her opponent out forever. While Rachel can and does use her projectiles to make enemy approaches difficult, her end goal is to eventually get the opponent in the corner with George out, and then get in their face. Lambda, in contrast, uses her projectiles to keep the opponent out but DOES NOT need to get in the opponent's face herself. Lambda is perfectly happy stepping back and pinning down the opponent with projectiles because going in usually is a big risk for her due to the aforementioned crappy blockstrings. Rachel, on the other hand, would be stupid not to go in if the opponent is blocking George in the corner, because that is where she is at her best.

Basically, when Rachel has an opponent cornered after a knockdown, she will drop George and get in close for pressure. When Lambda has an opponent cornered after a knockdown, she MAY throw her wheel and go in for pressure, but it is also perfectly valid for her to step back and do something much more passive, such as putting down the wheel and doing spike chaser, followed by stepping back and waiting for the opponent to try escaping in the hopes that she can punish the escape attempt.

[Akselziys]

Aww shucks. Oh well, any announcers that's not the default ones would do for me. Oh, curious question about the Limited Editions of EXTEND. Why is it that there is two compartments in the box but everything is in one? Seemed odd so I just put the goodies in the front row. I literally have nothing else to do right now but ask stupid questions. :D

Haha, it just depends how the packaging was assembled and processed I suppose :)

[Prototype-03]

Yup, Noel > Serah.

[TomcatTheLion]

I'm really hoping Amazon gets in a new stock of the Vita version. I haven't played BlazBlue since CT and I'm really excited to dive back in (mained Litchi with Noel as my secondary).

[kayos90]

Anyone feel like Mars Mode is essentially like Score Attack but with Unlimited. It feels sort of... pointless.

[Esura]

Haha, it just depends how the packaging was assembled and processed I suppose :)

Ah, thanks for the info. Sorry for the stupid questions.

No...no...not that Noel. I actually don't care for FFXIII-2's Noel too much but that's a story for another thread.

[Papercuts]

Anyone feel like Mars Mode is essentially like Score Attack but with Unlimited. It feels sort of... pointless.

Mars Mode is way harder than SA ever was. SA in this game is incredibly easy for whatever reason.

[Esura]

I can barely get pass Taokaka. After cheesing my way through her....BAM I face Litchi and get owned so bad it hurts.

I don't think I'll ever get through Unlimited Mars mode. Dreading Unlimited Mu so hard.

[Papercuts]

Woo, got over 200 PSR after a long session. 30-7 so far, lost 5 of those to a Valkenhayn...I have pretty much never fought one and that seems like a ROUGH fight for Tager. :\

I can barely get pass Taokaka. After cheesing my way through her....BAM I face Litchi and get owned so bad it hurts. I don't think I'll ever get through Unlimited Mars mode. Dreading Unlimited Mu so hard.

Yeah, I got passed Litchi and got rocked by Jin. Luckily they don't have anything tied to beating it so I'm probably not going to bother.

[fahr]

Hi guys, i purchased both the vita and ps3 versions, and i have couple of questions.

First, the vita version was a god damned open box at gamestop, and i noticed it has no inserts at all. Is this normal, or has gamestop sold me a "new" copy with missing manual?

Secondly, how on earth does one transfer their ps3 save to the vita? Right now i can only find how to transfer psp saves, but nothing on ps3.

Thanks!

[Extollere]

Yeah so... Platinum is pretty awesome. Totally slept on that character in CS. But right now I am definitely loving Lambda. Them air combos <3 That keep away!

[Kincaido]

Hi guys, i purchased both the vita and ps3 versions, and i have couple of questions. First, the vita version was a god damned open box at gamestop, and i noticed it has no inserts at all. Is this normal, or has gamestop sold me a "new" copy with missing manual? Secondly, how on earth does one transfer their ps3 save to the vita? Right now i can only find how to transfer psp saves, but nothing on ps3. Thanks!

From what I understand most Vita games don't come with manuals since they can be put as data on the cartridge. Blazblue might be one of them since most publishers decided not to print manuals. I can't help with the second one since I don't have a Vita yet.

[raven777]

So are they going to release one character's voice per week?

[Eusis]

From what I understand most Vita games don't come with manuals since they can be put as data on the cartridge. Blazblue might be one of them since most publishers decided not to print manuals. I can't help with the second one since I don't have a Vita yet.

I've been wondering whether ANY US games came with manuals, I know they can in Japan but I'm sort of wondering if it's possible SCEA mandated everyone skip or something. I'll see within a few months I guess, especially once P4 comes out. But yeah, I was trying to see if this came with a manual and it turned out the Japanese version came with the same "consult the digital manual" slip UMvC3 had.

[Kincaido]

I've been wondering whether ANY US games came with manuals, I know they can in Japan but I'm sort of wondering if it's possible SCEA mandated everyone skip or something. I'll see within a few months I guess, especially once P4 comes out. But yeah, I was trying to see if this came with a manual and it turned out the Japanese version came with the same "consult the digital manual" slip UMvC3 had.

I really hope that SCEA didn't create such a dumb rule like that. I like my physical manuals. I believe that Ragnarok Odyssey had one in Japan that was actually in full color. Anyways, I think this is the DLC schedule for the voices.

February 21: Noel
February 28: Rachel
March 6: Litchi
March 13: Tsubaki
March 20: Makoto
March 27: Platinum
April 3: Kokonoe

[Esura]

I really hope that SCEA didn't create such a dumb rule like that. I like my physical manuals. I believe that Ragnarok Odyssey had one in Japan that was actually in full color. Anyways, I think this is the DLC schedule for the voices. February 21: Noel February 28: Rachel March 6: Litchi March 13: Tsubaki March 20: Makoto March 27: Platinum April 3: Kokonoe

Yeeeeah....Kana Ueda. Her engrish is going to be awesome. Only seiyuu I know by name, and that's because of that Realta Nua patch for Fate/Stay Night.

[Fugu]

Are you basing this on netplay? I can only imagine that Lambda looks like she does only that much damage midscreen if people are doing her simpler combos online for consistency. Her gravity seedless combos are generally 3k at best, but that's not the best she can do. If you include her more advanced combos with gravity seed, Lambda AVERAGES around 3k midscreen, and while simple sword counterhits that cannot be capitalized on with gravity seed or C tackle will be around 2.5k, she maxes at more like 4-4.5k midscreen meterless if she gets a solid hit like 5d CH into C tackle. Furthermore, while I agree that 214a Fatal generally never happens, Lambda will very rarely go for simple C tackle CH because C tackle is not a great move when used on its own - it is usually led into after an obvious punish, such as the aforementioned 5D CH into C tackle, or 5C x1 CH into C tackle. Poorly teched wheel oki and silly spike chaser hits should average around 3-4k. Since CS2, Lambda actually is much less loopy in the corner, but those are combos and we're talking about game play style. I agree that Rachel's blockstrings are far better than Lambda's, but my point is that the main purpose of Rachel's projectiles are primarily meant to help her get in, and stay in. Lambda's projectiles are primarily meant to keep her opponent out forever. While Rachel can and does use her projectiles to make enemy approaches difficult, her end goal is to eventually get the opponent in the corner with George out, and then get in their face. Lambda, in contrast, uses her projectiles to keep the opponent out but DOES NOT need to get in the opponent's face herself. Lambda is perfectly happy stepping back and pinning down the opponent with projectiles because going in usually is a big risk for her due to the aforementioned crappy blockstrings. Rachel, on the other hand, would be stupid not to go in if the opponent is blocking George in the corner, because that is where she is at her best. Basically, when Rachel has an opponent cornered after a knockdown, she will drop George and get in close for pressure. When Lambda has an opponent cornered after a knockdown, she MAY throw her wheel and go in for pressure, but it is also perfectly valid for her to step back and do something much more passive, such as putting down the wheel and doing spike chaser, followed by stepping back and waiting for the opponent to try escaping in the hopes that she can punish the escape attempt.

You misunderstood my post. I was comparing full screen damage between Lambda and Rachel, not midscreen damage. Lambda has to close distance or take risks to break 3k; she cannot get much further than that without meter from full screen. I also do the majority of my playing offline, by the way. I've played the Lambda matchup probably more than any other matchup, except maybe Rachel.

Right, which is what makes Lambda more of a conventional zoning character. But that doesn't change the fact that Rachel has less options in pressure than a rushdown character and far more projectiles than most of the cast.

As a conventional zoning character, Lambda's pressure -- no matter how she chooses to do it -- is relatively weak in the corner. No weaker than her neutral pressure, but not much stronger, either; it is not all that difficult to get out of the corner on Lambda. When she chooses to use projectiles, the steps to blocking are obvious (slow overheads, all other options are either low or grabs). When she chooses to pressure, she doesn't have much room before she has to rely on unsafe tactics because her overhead options aren't great and she relies on cancels (and grab gimmicks I guess) to keep her pressure going. Rachel's is weak as well, although to a notably lesser degree due to wind, George, and better gatlings.

By the way, if your opponent is knocked down in the corner and it is now that you decide to put down George, your opponent is probably just going to neutral tech and jump unless you're standing immediately in front of them. Hell, Litchi's DP beats George, as do any other frame 1 invincibility moves inputted as reversals. George isn't exactly God's gift to oki; it only really grants her a couple of free hits at most.

[Papercuts]

I'm just going to stick to the Jin announcer, it's hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCW7qENY9-Q

Here's a random match I had earlier, with me mentally collapsing at the end of the first round! I really need to work on actual new Extend combos for Tager instead of doing all these dumb tech traps, but they're way too fun.

[Hitokage]

On a more fundamental level, Lambda only has one special and one distortion that produce an unattached hitbox, while everything else is more beam or dhalsim limb. Gravity seed stays out but it's more of an effect when used that way than an actual hitbox. Rachel is much more about putting stuff onscreen then acting relatively independent of them. Same for Mu, really.

[Fugu]

I'm just going to stick to the Jin announcer, it's hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCW7qENY9-Q Here's a random match I had earlier, with me mentally collapsing at the end of the first round! I really need to work on actual new Extend combos for Tager instead of doing all these dumb tech traps, but they're way too fun.

Drink every time this guy gets hit by Atomic Collider.

[Papercuts]

Drink every time this guy gets hit by Atomic Collider.

Haha, pretty much. I actually had a match with him earlier where I snagged him right after gadget finger multiple times which is why I used 5b in the video, didn't think he'd keep jumping...but people never seem to learn.

[sixteen-bit]

The CS DLC is all purchasable with ingame currency.

Ah, thanks.

[Akuun]

Ok, sounds like we're mostly in agreement about Lambda. I main Lambda, play offline and one of my most played matchups is against Rachel, which is why I was confused when you started drawing parallels between the two. Anyway, back to Rachel.

By the way, if your opponent is knocked down in the corner and it is now that you decide to put down George, your opponent is probably just going to neutral tech and jump unless you're standing immediately in front of them. Hell, Litchi's DP beats George, as do any other frame 1 invincibility moves inputted as reversals. George isn't exactly God's gift to oki; it only really grants her a couple of free hits at most.

George is not infallible, but he is a very good oki tool (Cue "George is the best character in the game" jokes).

You can jump straight out of George if he is thrown down midscreen or if you're standing because he takes some time before he activates, but after a corner knockdown George is effectively a meaty if thrown at the end of Rachel's combo. The reason why I think he is such a good oki tool is because he locks down a lot of your escape options in that situation. I don't think waking up with 1f invincibility moves is effective if Rachel is close to you and blocking, because then she would simply block the wakeup move and then George would shock you, allowing Rachel to follow up with a combo that usually ends with meaty George again.

Here's the way I see it. If I'm knocked down in the corner against George oki, and Rachel is sitting near me on the ground, outside throw range and waiting for George to activate, my wakeup options are limited like this:

Tech roll - physically blocked by Rachel and would get shocked by George.
Wakeup throw - out of range.
Wakeup DP - Rachel only needs to block the first hit and wait for George to activate.
Burst - Not a good time to burst, but if I did, the above would apply again.

Basically all I can do is neutral tech and block, which gives Rachel a free pass into going in for pressure and mixups. All of my escape options are AFTER blocking George. Like you said, they're only a few free hits, but they are significant because it gives her free momentum. Maybe Rachel's corner pressure is easier for you to deal with because Litchi has much better melee than Lambda, but once Rachel has me in the corner, it's very hard to get out. I have very few points to mash/run/jump out, which makes it relatively simple for the Rachel player to deny those escape attempts with a little bit of reading.

But I suppose that's fair, since Rachel has a hard time getting in on Lambda in the first place.

Does Litchi's DP outright kill George? I think most DPs don't. Maybe that's why George seems like less of a threat to you than it does to me.

By the way, where have you been playing offline? Just curious, because I don't see you around the local arcade much and we're both from the same area.

[Prototype-03]

By the way, if your opponent is knocked down in the corner and it is now that you decide to put down George, your opponent is probably just going to neutral tech and jump unless you're standing immediately in front of them. Hell, Litchi's DP beats George, as do any other frame 1 invincibility moves inputted as reversals. George isn't exactly God's gift to oki; it only really grants her a couple of free hits at most.

Shout outs to George not being a great oki tool. It might actually be best oki in the game that is not a super. Sure, Litchi's dd and Carl's & Relius' doll dd are far superior, but remember that Rachel is not using 50% meter.

[nicoga3000]

So I went through the tutorials last night (non-character specific) and I think my head hurts. There are SO many concepts to take note of...I know this is a very noob question to ask, but after completing the tutorials, is it best to jump into arcade/story mode and play through? I desperately want to get into and understand this game to the level of being moderately competitive online, but it feels like there's a LOT to learn and absorb from the get go.

Also, I'm playing on Vita if that matters.

[goldlion054]

Shout outs to George not being a great oki tool. It might actually be best oki in the game that is not a super. Sure, Litchi's dd and Carl's & Relius' doll dd are far superior, but remember that Rachel is not using 50% meter.

Meant to say something to you before, but mad respect to you for playing Rachel. I love her character, but don't have the patience to learn her. She seems like so much fun. ctually, I might have just convinced myself to try Rachel again....

But again, Respect

[SolarPowered]

So I went through the tutorials last night (non-character specific) and I think my head hurts. There are SO many concepts to take note of...I know this is a very noob question to ask, but after completing the tutorials, is it best to jump into arcade/story mode and play through? I desperately want to get into and understand this game to the level of being moderately competitive online, but it feels like there's a LOT to learn and absorb from the get go. Also, I'm playing on Vita if that matters.

Single player lets you mess around with characters you might not even try when you are fighting human opponents. A long story mode can actually be a plus in that sense.

[Akuun]

So I went through the tutorials last night (non-character specific) and I think my head hurts. There are SO many concepts to take note of...I know this is a very noob question to ask, but after completing the tutorials, is it best to jump into arcade/story mode and play through? I desperately want to get into and understand this game to the level of being moderately competitive online, but it feels like there's a LOT to learn and absorb from the get go. Also, I'm playing on Vita if that matters.

Short answer is yes. Just play around with the game and try to get a feel for how the game plays. Don't worry, it's complicated at first but it's not so bad if you pick things up one by one. Here's my suggestion:

1. Play around with arcade/story mode and see what character/characters you like. Pick a character.
2. Go into training mode with that character. Play around with the controls for that character and get a feel for that character's moveset. Mess around a little and see what moves combo into what. This is to get a feel for how your character's moves work and start to get an idea of how they are used.
3. Check Youtube for match videos of that character (not necessarily combo videos unless they are practical combos) and write down the inputs for the most common combos that the character uses. Try to look for japanese or high-level looking matches because that is where the optimal combos are. Don't try for the most fancy looking stuff just yet; just try to learn the simple stuff for now. While you're at it, keep an eye out for how the players use the moves of your character. Watch what moves they use in each situation (when they're attacking, when they're running away, when they're trying to defend themselves).
4. Go back into training mode and try to replicate those combos you learned. Practice until you can do them relatively consistently.
5. Go back into arcade mode and try to use those combos when you get a chance.
6. Once you're feeling a little more comfortable with your character, try playing someone, either online or in person. MAKE SURE TO GO IN WITH NO EXPECTATIONS. You will most likely be destroyed in your first matches against people. All the stuff you've learned and practiced either won't work as well as it did in arcade/story mode, or won't work at all. This is part of the normal learning process, so don't feel bad.

It's okay to take it slow. You learn each of the little mechanics one by one, and you eventually get used to it. Just ignore all that stuff about guard primers, barrier gauge and whatnot for the time being, and think about them later once you feel comfortable with the basic stuff (moving around, your character's moveset, simple combos).

[Prototype-03]

Meant to say something to you before, but mad respect to you for playing Rachel. I love her character, but don't have the patience to learn her. She seems like so much fun. ctually, I might have just convinced myself to try Rachel again.... But again, Respect

To be honest, I am nowhere close where I should be. I actually haven't really used her up seriously after Extend came out. Using all the winds within a fraction of a second is one of the most hilarious things that happens. Actually makes me shout "HAH!"

I'm trying to pick up Relius but he's not exactly the easiest guy to pick up either.

[nicoga3000]

@Akuun Thanks for the detailed writeup. I'm glad it's not just me when it comes to learning this game. I was a mid-level 3rd Strike player (nothing fancy, but I could hold my own) and figured BlazBlue would be relatively easy to pick-up. WRONG.

But that being said, of the characters I've used so far, I may try and learn either:

- Valkenhayn
- Taokaka
- Tsubaki

I still want to play around with Hazama, Carl, and Makoto. I tried Makoto a bit, but that was before doing the tutorials and understanding the bare minimum.

[Prototype-03]

@Akuun Thanks for the detailed writeup. I'm glad it's not just me when it comes to learning this game. I was a mid-level 3rd Strike player (nothing fancy, but I could hold my own) and figured BlazBlue would be relatively easy to pick-up. WRONG. But that being said, of the characters I've used so far, I may try and learn either: - Valkenhayn - Taokaka - Tsubaki I still want to play around with Hazama, Carl, and Makoto. I tried Makoto a bit, but that was before doing the tutorials and understanding the bare minimum.

Good luck! If you really like a character, stick to him/her even if it's really hard to use and lose a lot at the beginning. There's really no point to switch to a simpler character since it's almost like a whole new game when you switch over thanks to the Drives.

[Akuun]

@Akuun Thanks for the detailed writeup. I'm glad it's not just me when it comes to learning this game. I was a mid-level 3rd Strike player (nothing fancy, but I could hold my own) and figured BlazBlue would be relatively easy to pick-up. WRONG. But that being said, of the characters I've used so far, I may try and learn either: - Valkenhayn - Taokaka - Tsubaki I still want to play around with Hazama, Carl, and Makoto. I tried Makoto a bit, but that was before doing the tutorials and understanding the bare minimum.

Np. I'd recommend against Makoto at this point because I heard she's now the worst character in the game. I don't play or fight against Makoto though, so I don't know the reasoning behind that.

Carl may be pretty complicated to play, since you have to manage both him and his assist.

[sixteen-bit]

Yeah, Carl's hard work, but he's really rewarding if you're in it for the long haul. That said, I would probably recommend starting with a different character to get used to the system first. I originally played Carl in CT and it was super rough.

[nicoga3000]

The videos I watched of Carl are crazy cool, but I probably wouldn't learn him first. I think the mechanics are probably better learned on a slightly easier character. I didn't realize Makoto was a slightly piss poor character, haha. But I still may try her out because she was fun for what it's worth. The others will get some screen time after work!

[Esura]

Good luck! If you really like a character, stick to him/her even if it's really hard to use and lose a lot at the beginning. There's really no point to switch to a simpler character since it's almost like a whole new game when you switch over thanks to the Drives.

I agree with this. Might as well tough it out with a character you like instead of bouncing around from easier character to harder character.