Nexus Heroes / Blaze

Blaze ( ブレイズ, Bureizu ) is a playable character in Nexus Heroes, hailing from the Streets of Rage series. She is mainly based around her appearance in Streets of Rage 4, but her design also takes from several elements in the other three, older games.
==Who is Blaze?==
===THE COP TURNED VIGILANTE ===
Along with her colleagues Axel Stone and Adam Hunter, the hot headed and battle ready Blaze Fielding was a police officer who quit her position due to the growing corruption in her department, and decided to take justice into her own hands, or better yet, her knuckles. Now operating outside of the law, Blaze and her friends must not only deal with the criminal empire of the crime lord Mr. X, but also the corrupt and vicious police forces that they once represented.
==Gameplay==
===Overview===
Blaze is a character who shines in chaining her attacks to create long and powerful combos, although doing so requires her to get up close with her opponents first, due to the short reach of her attacks, which mostly consist of kicks and punches. To reinforce her close distance based playstyle, Blaze can also count on some of the most damaging and efficient throws in the game, most of which are either capable of KOing foes at relatively low percentages, or give her an opener for some of her deadliest combos.
Her Specials are suited both for offense and defense, as her Neutral Special makes her invincible to projectile and has high priority, while Side Special provides her with a mid ranged burst attack that is useful to create space, at the cost of some high start and end lag. Her Down Special is worth considering as it allows Blaze to pick up and wield an iron pipe, which acts as a regular item, and can be therefore also thrown, giving Blaze a projectile of sorts. The pipe, however, breaks after being used for a while, and she won't be able to pick up another one for ten seconds after the first one is lost or destroyed.
==Movelist==
  	Name  	Description
Neutral Attack,, 	Bare Knuckle 	A rapid three hit combo, consisting of a punch, a turning hook and a front kick.
Dash AttackDash, 	Hishousouzan 	The trademark attack of Blaze from the Streets of Rage series, performed in the exact same way as a dash attack. This move has Blaze perform a reverse, frontal somersault capable of spiking opponents and start combos. It's an attack with many utilities, however it's a bit slow and doesn't kill reliably.
Side Tilt 	Raging Side Kick 	A turning side kick, which can be angled.
Up Tilt 	Axe Kick 	Kicks upward, then drops her leg down for a guillotine kick, hitting twice and spiking opponents with the second hit.
Down Tilt 	Ground Sweep 	A low to the ground sweep kick, useful to trip opponents and start combos.
Forward Strong+ 	Furious Strike 	A powerful, turning elbow strike.
Up Strong+ 	Star Heel 	Hops up while kicking directly above herself.
Down Strong+ 	Double Wind Strike 	Produces an energy blast from her palms at both sides, similarly to her Side Special.
Neutral AerialAirborne	Revenge Kick 	An air kick at a slightly downward angle, which covers a good range and has good power as well.
Forward AerialAirborne	Crashing In 	A strong aerial front kick, useful for aerial approaches. Lackluster in power, but it stays active for quite a bit.
Back AerialAirborne 	Back High Kick 	A turning high kick, aimed behind herself.
Up AerialAirborne 	Energy Wheel 	A quick somersault kick aimed above herself. It's a bit slow, but has some power.
Down AerialAirborne 	Double Punishment 	An attack in two parts ; first Blaze hits below herself with a karate chop, then, if the button is pressed again, she'll unleash a downward kick which spikes opponents.
Grab 	Grab 	Holds the opponent's shoulders with both hands
Pummel, 	Knee Assault 	Hits the opponent with her knee.
Forward Throw, 	Suplex 	Jumps around the opponent while holding them, then suplexes them, launching them away.
Back Throw, 	Cartwheel 	Performs a cartwheel toss on the opponent, launching them backward.
Up Throw, 	Hien Zan 	Rises into the air along with the opponent with an energy infused wheel kick.
Down Throw, 	Judo Slam 	Slams the opponents to the ground with a judo toss.
Floor AttackGrounded >	Spinning Heel 	Performs a 360° sweep kick, then gets back up.
Edge AttackLedge > 	Rising Kick 	Climbs up and performs a low to the ground kick.
NEUTRAL SPECIAL 	Embukyaku 	Her signature cartwheel kick, infused with chi energy. It sends opponents at an upward angle, and it makes her immune to projectiles throughout the whole move. In the air, this move becomes more similar to her Hishousouzan, acting as a reverse somersault which spikes opponents.
SIDE SPECIAL 	Kikou Shou / Tobi Kyaku	Thrusts her palm forward, producing a chi energy blast which knocks back opponents with great force. It has a pretty good range and it's useful for spacing, though it's a bit slow.In the air, Blaze's side special becomes Tobi Kyaku, a completely different move which has her shooting forward with an energy front kick. It can be used twice in quick succession, and it's especially effective when reversing direction after the first hit, hitting opponents twice in a row.
UP SPECIAL 	Spirit Strike 	Rises upward while slashing with an energy infused knife. If performed while holding the Iron Pipe, this move remains very similar in execution, but Blaze gains super armor and a wider hitbox, courtesy of the pipe.
DOWN SPECIAL 	Iron Pipe 	Crouches and picks up an Iron Pipe. The weapon has a little life bar near Blaze's Damage Display Icon, which indicates how many times it can be used before it breaks. The pipe modifies her Neutral Attack into a single, wide swing with the weapon, and her Tilt and Aerial Attacks will have Blaze throw the pipe in the corresponding direction, acting therefore as a regular item. It also enhances her recovery. When it makes contact with an opponent, the pipe bounces off them, and with good timing, Blaze can pick it up again by pressing the Neutral Attack button.
FINISHER 	Backup Call 	Blaze calls for backup on a small radio, triggering a special cut-in render of a Police Car appearing on screen, with a Police Officer using a large cannon to fire a powerful explosive blast onto the battlefield, at the center of the screen. Anyone caught in it will receive multiple, highly damaging hits and be then knocked away once the flaming explosion dissipates.
===Intro Animation===
Drops in from above, then gets ready to fight.
===Taunt===
Performs a brief lambada inspired dance, while a short tune (a remixed version of the Stage Clear theme from Streets of Rage 2) plays in the background.
===Idle Poses=== 
* Adjusts one of her gloves.
*Moves her hair backwards.
===Quotes===
====Selection Lines====
* " Bring it on! "
*" Let's dance! "
*" Someone called for backup? "
==== Successful KO==== 
*" Feel the heat! "
* " Just another street punk. "
*" How's that knuckle sandwich? "
* " Made you mad yet? "
*" Get serious, punk! "
*" Ha! That had to hurt! "
*" Not pulling my punches! "
*" Who even needs backup? "
*" Need an ambulance? "
*" That'll teach you to not mess with me! "
*" Busted! "
====Respawning====
* " I'll kick you back in your place! "
*" Time to get aggressive! "
*" Back in the fight! "
*" Ready for another go? "
* " Getting angry now! "
*" Anyone up for a beating? "
*" No holding back, huh? You got it! "
*" Let me punch some sense into you! "
===Victory Poses=== 
*UP : Strikes a yoga-like pose, rises up into the air and produces an energy burst around herself, with a mandala-style pattern behind her.
*SIDE : Blaze is seen from the back, moving her hair to the side, then she turns around striking a fighting pose.
* DOWN : Punches the air towards the camera, then ends with an axe kick and poses with a smirk.
==Arcade Mode==
In her Arcade Mode, Blaze faces battles against many opponents at once, true to the spirit of Beat 'Em Up games. Additionally, all of her opponents represent an enemy from the Streets Of Rage series.
The first round is against two Jackets and Rick. Jacket could be seen as a low tier enemy, such as Galsia, while Rick represents a stronger one, like Donovan or Fog. After this first battle, Blaze fights against Lara Croft and Crash. This particular fight represents the encounter against Bruce and Roo from Streets of Rage 3, in which Lara is Bruce (Lara's grappling hook is a stand-in for Bruce's whip) and Crash, a marsupial himself, stands in for Roo, the kangaroo who can also be unlocked as a playable character in the original game.
After a Bonus Stage, Blaze moves on to face Ash and two Kitanas. Kitana represents Diamond or Electra, while Ash represents the ninja enemies like Kusanagi, but also the Robots from the later stages of Streets of Rage 3. Moving on, Blaze now fights in a battle against three enemies which represent bosses from Streets of Rage : Wolverine, who stands in for Souther, and two other Blazes, which faithfully represent the palette swap bosses of Blaze from the very first game, Onihime and Yasha.
The third to last battle, fought after a second Bonus Stage, sees Blaze against Snake and Jin Kazama. As the stage also suggests, this battle represents the final boss of Streets of Rage 2, against Shiva (Jin Kazama) and Mr. X (Snake). Finally, before facing Kerrigan, Blaze can fight her Rival, Vi. Their battle is called "Streets Enforcers", as both Vi and Blaze are (or were) enforcers in some capacity, but tend to fight on their own as vigilantes to take out street punks and criminals.
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music 	
1 	Jacket
 Jacket
 Rick	Empire City 	Speed Of Light 	
2 	Crash
 Lara Croft	Boneyard Casino 	Against The Clock 	
Bonus Stage 1	Bonus Stage 1	Bonus Stage 1 	Bonus Stage 1 	Bonus Stage 1
3 	Ash
 Kitana
 Kitana	Metropolis 	Blackwater City 	
4 	Blaze
Blaze
 Wolverine	Amusement Park 	End Of The Unknown 	
Bonus Stage 2	Bonus Stage 2	Bonus Stage 2 	Bonus Stage 2 	Bonus Stage 2
5 	Snake
 Jin Kazama	Syndicate Stronghold	Revenge Of Mr.X 	
6 	Vi
(Rival Battle)	Piltover 	Vi, The Piltover Enforcer (Here Comes Vi)	
7 	Kerrigan 	Kerrigan's Leviathan	Conscience 	
==Alternates==
===Alternate Colors===
 
*RED : Default appearance, based on her appearance in Streets of Rage 4.
*GREEN : Based on the design of Onihime and Yasha, bosses from the Streets of Rage series which were originally based on Blaze's sprite.
*BLUE : Based on the boxart design of Blaze from Streets of Rage 2.
*WHITE : Based on the appearance of Blaze in the U.S version of Streets of Rage 3, and also on her appearance on the boxart of the first game.
===Alternate Costume===
File:PN BLAZE RENDER.png|"Default" Costume
File:PN BLAZE ALT.png|"90's Fit" Costume
 
*Default : Based on her appearance in Streets of Rage 4.
*90's Fit : Based on her debut design from Streets of Rage.
==Trivia==
*According to game designer AlwaysDREGOL, Axel Stone, Adam Hunter and Cherry Hunter were all considered as playable characters to represent Streets of Rage, before settling on Blaze. He cited Blaze as being, in his view, "the most iconic character in the series" and "a big fan favorite".
Category:Project Nexus
Category:Project Nexus / Movesets
Category:Movesets