Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax

Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax is a crossover arcade fighting game released as part of Dengeki Bunko's 20th anniversary celebrations. It features characters from light novels published under the Dengeki Bunko imprint, including Durarara!! characters Shizuo Heiwajima, Celty Sturluson, and Izaya Orihara.

The game made its initial 2014 release in Japanese amusement arcades, and it was later released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. In 2015, it was available in China and North America for retail and digital download and in Europe for digital download only. Games pre-ordered in North America included the soundtrack CD.

In 2015, the game was followed by the sequel Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition. Ignition was introduced to Japanese arcades on July 28, 2015, and a home console version, for PS3, PS4, and PS Vita, was released December 17, 2015. A mobile version of the game, produced by Sega and the Chinese game developers 91Act and available exclusively in China, was showcased at ChinaJoy 2017 and released that year in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. The theme song of Fighting Climax Ignition is "ID" by LiSA.

Gameplay
The game involves two players forming teams to battle each other. Teams consist of a main, fully playable character and an assist character. Assist characters are not fully playable and their abilities are more restricted than those of main characters. Players can attack and guard with moves taken from characters' respective series.

Shizuo is available as a fully-playable character, while Celty and Izaya are assist characters.

The home version of the game features pre- and post-match dialogue. It also features online multiplayer functionality and saving between PS3 and PS Vita versions. Replay Mode is available to replay fight scenes and the Galley is where players can buy artwork and characters' voices with points. In music mode, some of the game's official soundtrack is also available for listening.

The game was praised by several critics for being easy to learn and enjoyable for anime and Sega fans. It features backgrounds from Dengeki Bunko series as well as Sega games, including Sonic the Hedgehog.

Game Mechanics
Seen in the image on the right, character icons identify the main and assist characters on each team. An assist character can be called out when the assist icon is colored. When grey, the assist character is either in play or charging after a move. The charge time is roughly five seconds.

The timer in the top center counts the round and time remaining. Each round begins with 99 seconds, and when time runs out, the character with the most health wins. The bars on either side are the characters' health gauge. Yellow bars identify stable health. When full, the bars are blue-green, and when low, the health gauge is red.

Underneath the health gauge are two hexagonal victory counters that display a V when a team has won a victory. Two victories will win a match. Next to the character icons, boxes read BLAST OK, meaning that each team can use a blast attack to 1) break combos and take less damage, 2) boost the character's ability, or 3) use during a combo attack to send the opponent flying into the air. Blast attacks cannot be used when the box says WAIT. They take time to charge after use.

At the bottom of the screen, climax meters fill with time and are boosted with attacking and defending. Five climax gauges can be filled and are used in special moves. An EX special move uses one bar of the climax gauge to execute an enhanced special move. Climax arts are powerful moves that will use up to two bars. In the image on the right, Shizuo is filling bar four, and Shana is filling bar three. The lightning symbols above the climax gauges are trump card icons, and using one allows the character to use a powerful counterattack or finishing move. There is a maximum of two trump card icons, and in the event of a loss, one is regained in the next round.

Shizuo Heiwajima
Shizuo is a main character with a variety of moves and abilities. Just like his light novel, manga, and anime counterpart, he beats his opponents using vending machines, road signs, and guardrails. He has armor instead of the start-up invincibility that most other characters have, according to the game's developers, to express his "Just suck it up and push through it" attitude. His attacks are long-range, and each of his moves involves a saying: Special Moves
 * "Where ya goin'!"
 * "What was that!?"
 * "Shut it!"

Impact Skills (unique skills, can be used in combo attacks)
 * "I'll crush you!"
 * "Bring it on!"

Climax Arts
 * "Shut your trap!"
 * "Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Trump Card
 * "Have a nice flight!"

A thorough list of Shizuo's action and ability commands are available at the Shizuo Heiwajima strategy guide offered on the game's Dengeki Online-managed wiki.

Celty Sturluson
Celty's character description on the game's official site: she "appears suddenly on her motorcycle and blitzes through the battlefield. She's an ambush-type character, and makes a good fit for both offensive and defensive roles."

Celty's profile on Dengeki Online's "Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax" Wiki provides additional details on her support technique.

Izaya Orihara
Izaya's character description on the game's official site: "He strolls into the battlefield, apparently giving himself up. But as soon as he sees an opening, he strikes with his knife. He's an easy-to-use support character with versatile moves."

Izaya's profile on Dengeki Online's "Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax" Wiki provides additional details on his support technique.

Dengeki Bunko series
Dengeki Bunko light novel series with characters included in the game:


 * A Certain Magical Index
 * Accel World
 * Black Bullet
 * Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan
 * Boogiepop
 * Golden Time
 * Grimoire of Zero
 * Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl
 * Heavy Object
 * Oreimo
 * Ro-Kyu-Bu!
 * Shakugan no Shana
 * Spice and Wolf
 * Sword Art Online
 * Strike the Blood
 * The Devil is a Part-Timer
 * The Irregular at Magic High School
 * The Pet Girl of Sakurasou
 * Toradora

Characters from two Sega games, Valkyria Chronicles and Virtua Fighter, are also available in the game. Most series offer one playable character and at least one assist. Six additional characters appear only when special moves are performed.

The sequel Fighting Climax Ignition added 14 more characters, including characters from the series Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, Grimoire of Zero, and And You Thought There is Never a Girl Online?