BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma coming to North America in March 2014, pre-orders open

Arc System Works' 2D fighting game, BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma, will launch in North America in March 2014 for the PlayStation 3, Aksys Games announced today, revealing that the Limited Edition is now available for pre-order from retail outlets.

For $79.99, the Limited Edition package consists of a 40-page book featuring artwork from various artists and a CD of the game's official soundtrack composed by Daisuke Ishiwatari. The collection also includes a small figurine of vampiress Rachel Alucard and two unannounced North American exclusives.

Set after the events of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, the third game in the Blazblue series centers on protagonist Ragna and his ultimate goal to hunt down Terumi.

Along with two downloadable characters, scientist Kokonoe and the nefarious Terumi, the game adds four new playable characters to the franchise's cast. Established characters have been redesigned, rebalanced and given new moves for the latest installment.

BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma features several modes, such as Arcade, Unlimited Mars, Survival and more. The game's networking capabilities have been revamped and players can now see who they are up against before a match starts with the addition of a new rank system.

Along with rebalancing updates, the game features reworked mechanics. For instance, a new mechanic called Overdrive replaces the Gold Bursts from Continuum Shift and Guard Crush has been tweaked into a new mechanic named Crush Trigger.