So,
Frontier Aja has announced that they're starting work on BBB2. It looks like it's keeping the same mechanics, despite the new engine being built completely from scratch. Here's to hoping for some serious improvements over the first installment (and since it's not being made by NRF, that's actually a possibility).
Before you get all uppity and label this prematurely as shit, lemme throw down some backstory that some of you might not know.
Frontier Aja was formerly a part of NRF, the creator of the original BBB (they also made MKV, but that was after the split). After NRF gave up on BBB, the portion of the team that is now Frontier Aja wanted to continue work on it (building a netplay and further balancing, among other things), but the NRF head denied it (he sounds like an asshole). This led them to split off into Frontier Aja.
Well, now that they had their own group and agenda, they could continue work on BBB right? Well...unfortunately NRF had control of the license to the BBB engine and wasn't going to give that shit over for a winning ticket to the megabucks lottery (or whatever the Japanese equivalent of that might be). So Frontier Aja said, "Fuck it, we'll build our own engine and just make the sequel! That'll show those NRF pricks!" Shortly after, they realized just how annoying making a fighter engine from scratch was. This brought them to the realization that maybe they should take it slow. Maybe build an easier engine like a side-scrolling platformer or some shit, you know? Get some experience under their belt before they tackle the big boss at the end of that gay warping forest half way through the game.
That reference is unimportant. What IS important is this spawned
Koumajou Densetsu, aka Scarlet Symphony. Why is this so significant? Well, apart from it being a totally awesome Touhou themed Castlevania clone with minor danmaku elements, it showed that they actually paid attention to their international audience. Frontier Aja's english spokesman was actively posting on the Doujinstyle forums asking for input and making announcements on new patches. They even went so far to patch in an English (and French for that matter) translation for the game. That, to me, is fucking amazing.
With that done, it appears they are finally confident enough to start work on BBB2. I look forward to seeing what they manage to do with the game.