Guilty Gear Strive is a fighting game made by ArcSystem Works launched June 11th 2021. It is the most successful entry in the 25-year-old franchise and for a good reason. This game will certainly be a main stay in the FGC for years to come
Presentation
As I mentioned before in the Street Fighter 6 review, Guilty Gear Strive is a game that knows what it wants to be. I am not familiar with the franchise, so my opinions and thoughts would be just about this particular title, but I can say for sure that this game has style. Beautiful cell shaded graphics alongside an amazing original soundtrack and sound design. It has artistic merit all along the way. Not only that but the character design is top tier, and when compared with games like Tekken, KoF and MK it is clear that this game is far superior in that regard.
Features
There are four ways to fight people in this game: ranked mode, for fun, local and at player lobbies. The most interesting of these four is ranked mode's implementation. The ranked mode revolves around "floors" instead of an Elo. You start ranked against a CPU opponent that measures your power level and puts you on a floor. There are 11 floors in the game, 1 to 10 and then the celestial floor. The higher the floor number, the higher the skill of its players. Floor placement is way more fluid and dynamic than elo: you can go up or down in a matter of hours, so consistent play is way more important. One bad day and all your work can go to nothing. While a bit cruel, this system can give the sensation of a true "ascension" and journey, with highs and lows, so, because of that, I consider it a more interesting way of showing progression in the game.
Training, arcade and tutorials are very well made as well. You can even create and save your own combos, watch old matches and try to fight against an almost invincible final arcade boss. My only complaint is with the story mode: There is nothing to play, only a literal 4 hour movie. Since story mode is not a very important or strong part of most fighting games i can let it pass, but it is still a little disappointing.
Gameplay
Guilty Gear Strive has the gattling system:
- Punch (P) cancels into Punch or Command Normal
- Kick (K) cancels into Dust (D) or Command Normal
- Close Slash (S) cancels into Slash, Heavy Slash (HS), Dust or Command Normal
- Slash cancels into Heavy Slash
Besides that, there are the Roman Cancels and Bursts. Roman cancel is when you press 3 action buttons, besides Dust, and your character sends a shockwave that slows down the enemy for a few frames depending on the situation (which is indicated by the color of the Roman cancel: Blue, Yellow, Red and Purple), giving you tools to scape, trap or even extend combos. The burst is either a "get off me" tool to stop combos from enemies, or a more aggressive tool to gain meter faster when used at the right instant. All those mechanics are integrated in a fast-paced combat that gives room for smart play, quick thinking and originality. It is immensely satisfying to perform those mechanics and use them to your advantage, while maintaining your own fighting style.
Presentation
As I mentioned before in the Street Fighter 6 review, Guilty Gear Strive is a game that knows what it wants to be. I am not familiar with the franchise, so my opinions and thoughts would be just about this particular title, but I can say for sure that this game has style. Beautiful cell shaded graphics alongside an amazing original soundtrack and sound design. It has artistic merit all along the way. Not only that but the character design is top tier, and when compared with games like Tekken, KoF and MK it is clear that this game is far superior in that regard.
Features
There are four ways to fight people in this game: ranked mode, for fun, local and at player lobbies. The most interesting of these four is ranked mode's implementation. The ranked mode revolves around "floors" instead of an Elo. You start ranked against a CPU opponent that measures your power level and puts you on a floor. There are 11 floors in the game, 1 to 10 and then the celestial floor. The higher the floor number, the higher the skill of its players. Floor placement is way more fluid and dynamic than elo: you can go up or down in a matter of hours, so consistent play is way more important. One bad day and all your work can go to nothing. While a bit cruel, this system can give the sensation of a true "ascension" and journey, with highs and lows, so, because of that, I consider it a more interesting way of showing progression in the game.
Training, arcade and tutorials are very well made as well. You can even create and save your own combos, watch old matches and try to fight against an almost invincible final arcade boss. My only complaint is with the story mode: There is nothing to play, only a literal 4 hour movie. Since story mode is not a very important or strong part of most fighting games i can let it pass, but it is still a little disappointing.
Gameplay
Guilty Gear Strive has the gattling system:
- Punch (P) cancels into Punch or Command Normal
- Kick (K) cancels into Dust (D) or Command Normal
- Close Slash (S) cancels into Slash, Heavy Slash (HS), Dust or Command Normal
- Slash cancels into Heavy Slash
Besides that, there are the Roman Cancels and Bursts. Roman cancel is when you press 3 action buttons, besides Dust, and your character sends a shockwave that slows down the enemy for a few frames depending on the situation (which is indicated by the color of the Roman cancel: Blue, Yellow, Red and Purple), giving you tools to scape, trap or even extend combos. The burst is either a "get off me" tool to stop combos from enemies, or a more aggressive tool to gain meter faster when used at the right instant. All those mechanics are integrated in a fast-paced combat that gives room for smart play, quick thinking and originality. It is immensely satisfying to perform those mechanics and use them to your advantage, while maintaining your own fighting style.