I wanna be an anime rock star… with a pool stick and a paper bag over my head!
Since its origins in 1998, Guilty Gear has been a cult classic amongst gamers. Without skipping a beat, Guilty Gear has spawned many games and though not becoming a smash hit, has kept cult gamers entertained for some time now. For those of you who aren’t cult enough to know of this classic, Guilty Gear is a heavy metal inspired anime themed 2D fighter. Notably loved for its gothic like appeal and insanely eccentric characters, GG has a unique appeal that can’t be denied.
Developed by Aksys Games, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core not only follows a tradition of long titles, but also heavy, fast paced action that made 2D fighters great to begin with. With that said, Guilty Gear does not break any new age molds with this newest iteration but has rather a few add-ons to spice things up a bit. The first thing you will notice is the trademarked colorful sprites that make the characters of the Guilty Gear series. Not only are they colorful, they are some of the most insanely bizarre characters you’ll ever see. Aside from the insanely colorful characters, there are also equally flamboyant backgrounds and special attacks that light the screen in a way only true to anime.
Guilty Gear is a one on one 2D fighter with loud bright characters that unleash powerful attacks with absurd names after them. You have a healthy roster of combination methods which include kicks, punches, and two slash attacks; all of the aforementioned can be done in the air to create a juggling effect. The highlight of Guilty Gear is the fast paced action and easily long strung combos by the most preposterous characters you will ever see. From the second the fight begins it turns into a button mashing combo frenzy. Most inexperienced players will get a kick out of it and experienced Guilty gamers will be able to transcend to an entirely different level of gaming goodness. When playing with a veteran buddy, I was quickly vomited on by acid from his cursed backside, pummeled by a yo-yo, whaled by a cursed school girl, in no particular order! The action is so fast paced and filled with colorful sprites dashing throughout the screen it is easy to get lost in the game’s outdated but very appealing nostalgic graphics. With so many games focusing on polygons and hi-def graphics, it is easy to forget sprites ever existed in games. Thankfully Guilty Gear is here to remind us of that. As if the characters are not amazing enough to watch, the backgrounds are equally impressive with lots of scenery and characters acting out simple routines that we have come to love in 2D fighting backgrounds. I quickly caught an anchor to the face while watching a girl feed a kitten in the background. Situations like that can only get worse if you don’t pay attention because it doesn’t take long at all to get totally owned in this game.
There have also been some additions to the series which will make veterans very happy. One particular addition is the “force break” attacks, which are enhanced versions of the character’s special attack that can enhance your offense and combo attacks. This also gives you the option of escaping those aggravating grapple attacks that we know some players over use (we know you are out there). Guilty Gear doesn’t favor the weak or cowardly either because running away or being too defensive actually makes your attacks less effective. So Guilty Gear caters to the aggressive player, and I doubt you are playing Guilty Gear to get hugs.