A recent interview with Kanako Kondou, the voice of Noel Vermillion, Nu-13, and Lambda-11 in BlazBlue, as well as articles by Famitsu and Kotaku have revealed the inclusion of a new playable character to the BlazBlue Continuum Shift roster. Exclusive to the console version only, Kondou will also be voicing Mu-12 or Kusanagi, the true form of Noel Vermillion that she takes after inheriting the True Azure Grimoire and re-uniting with a custom Murakumo Unit at the end of BlazBlue Continuum Shift’s arcade mode.

No details about how the character will play have been released, however concept art, and character selection screen art for the character have both been showcased. Mu-12 joins two new characters, Tsubaki Yayoi, a rich friend of Noels who controls a weapon of light, and Hazama, the head of the Novis Orbis Librarium’s intelligence division who is possessed by the spirt of Terumi, the main BlazBlue antagonist, and who fights with knives at the end of chains. Kondou herself will also be voicing Lambda-11, Nu-13′s replacement in Continuum Shift, whose basic move-list is similar to her previous incarnation, although how the movies themselves operate have vastly changed in terms of speed, power, and overall mechanics.

Many fans believe that Mu-12′s confirmation is a partial response to the recent leak of the arcade version. BlazBlue Continuum Shift runs off of Windows XP based software in arcade cabinets, and two weeks ago, hackers developed a way to rip the game to a computer hard-drive, and play it on any Windows based gaming computer. As a result, thousands of people have already downloaded the game for free, which originally could only be found in Japanese arcades, and very few places in America. Since the arcade version already includes options for a full English translation, training mode, score attack mode, and several difficulty settings, many felt that this leak would make owning the console version of Continuum Shift or even playing Continuum Shift in arcades, totally pointless to all who had downloaded it. In fact, there have been some instances of people attempting to resell the leaked version to American arcades, and other instances of fans making their own custom arcade cabinets specifically for the leaked version of the game. The sheer buzz and obsession this leak has caused, has been described as some critics as “the final blow” that will cause the “death of arcades.”

Some fans believe that Mu’s inclusion in the game in the first place was a reaction to the recent leak, as an attempt to give players more of a reason to buy the console port, however, it appears as if Arc System Works may have planned for Mu’s inclusion from the beginning. Originally, it was revealed that BlazBlue Continuum Shift would feature three new playable characters. When it hit the arcade, fans saw Hazama and Tsubaki as the first two, and assumed that Lambda-11, Nu-13′s reworked replacement was the third.

Now, fans have begun to speculate that Mu-12 is actually the third character that was hinted at. This theory is only strengthened by the fact that Mu-12′s character design was revealed in the ending of BlazBlue Continuum Shift’s arcade mode. In addition, fan sites have reported that pictures of Mu exist within the BlazBlue Continuum Shift’s arcade files, however unused image files are nothing new when it comes to game releases. Smash Brothers fans may remember the inclusion of several files for characters that never saw the light of day, and originally it was thoght that this might have been the case with BlazBlue Continuum Shift. Arc System Works has not commented on their motivations behind including Mu in the roster, as there is also curiosity behind how Mu’s appearance will effect the story of BlazBlue Continuum Shift, being that both Noel and Mu will be playable, and they are, story wise, the same person.

While it is true that arcades, an already suffering industry, have been hit hard by this leak, new characters such as Mu-12 will more than salvage hopes for the console release. Arc System works has since hinted that Mu-12 might not be the only console exclusive addition we will see in Continuum Shift. Other additions include the Legion mode from the PSP version of BlazBlue Calamity Trigger, several new stages, a new secret boss characters, more powerful “unlimited” versions of the roster, and a tutorial mode which will teach newcomers the basics of the system, as well as guiding them through learning basic fighting game inputs and the majority of the roster’s bread and butter combos.

BlazBlue Continuum Shift will be released in Japan on the PS3 and the Xbox 360 this summer, with an American release coming later in the year.

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