Guilty Gear, a series commonly known for its unique and thorough mechanics, a diverse unique cast all with interactions and lore, a vast and expansive story... all don't feel present in Guilty Gear Strive... but that really isn't a bad thing at all.

Guilty Gear Strive is a unique take on the series. Not only does it revamp or change a lot of the things that are usually present in the series, but it also completely opens up its doors for western audiences. Forever it has been stuck in a rather niche status amongst fighting games, having only Japanese voice acting and support, it changes this immensely with Strive.

Strive has a much tamer approach to Guilty Gear as a whole, everything from the mechanics of the game and the dumbing down of the combos, to having less interactions overall for the characters, to even having more relaxed themes and characterizations for the characters we all know and love. This change has, of course, sparked a lot of outrage amongst the fans of this series, and it is honestly understandable why. Its story is rather quite lack luster as opposed to its predecessors, and its dumbing down of the gameplay has left a sour note in some fans. Its character interactions are also reduced to only characters that have met or are relatively similar. All of these changes are so different for this series, yet despite this it has led on for great things as well.

This game takes on so many difference approaches, to its new and (in my opinion) improved style, to it's changed characters that are done so amazingly and are brimming with life, to even its music being almost completely all vocal tracks in a series with rare vocals. Even its community itself has changed and through this all, this series feels so different, but it is all executed so well.

Not only did this game seriously open up its doors to a new and broader audience, but it also changed and completely separated itself from its predecessors in terms of gameplay and "style", so to put it. It still is a Guilty Gear game, but it feels almost more than that now. Its characters are no longer relegated to their own small community, their music is spreading far into music circles, and its popularity and status as THE anime fighter continues to grow and exceed everyone's expectations. This game is both a work of art but also a letdown to those who come from GGX+ to GGXRD. It has a lot of potential to spread its wings and I truly hope it gets to do that, but for now, Guilty Gear Strive feels almost held back in a way.

I love this game, I love what it did to both the community and the series, and although it does have some rough spots here and there, this game overall has been an amazing site to see and an absolutely gorgeous thing to actually experience and come by.