Guilty Gear Isuka (2004) - Arcade / Playstation 2 / Xbox / PC
American Cover
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Japanese Cover
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Guilty Gear Isuka
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Perhaps realizing that Guilty Gear XX and #Reload were
really only minor upgrades, Arc
System Works decided to try something completely
different for Guilty Gear Isuka. (The "Isuka" is a bird known in English as the "crossbill". It's supposed to represent the crossing of swords.) The
primary mode is a four player brawl reminiscent of the
multiplayer mode from Sega's
Saturn classic Guardian Heroes. Now, Guilty Gear has
always been a crazy, chaotic game
with just two players - double that and you have sheer
insanity onscreen. It's tough to
see exactly what you're doing, but get together some
friends and it's actually a lot of
fun. You can separate players into teams, to fight
against each other or the computer,
or just have a free-for-all. Of course, almost all of
the appeal lies in multiplayer.
Fending off three computer opponents at the same time,
by yourself, just isn't fun.
There are a few other quirks which greatly damage
Isuka. First off, your character
doesn't turn around automatically - you'll need to
press a button just to face the
opposite direction, resulting in lots of confusion.
Also, the action takes place on two
planes a la the Fatal Fury games, and it's often tough
to tell which plane you're on,
since there's very little differentiation between the
foreground and background levels.
All of the characters from Guilty Gear X2# Reload, with
the addition of two completely
new ones - the mummy girl A.B.A. and the ridiculously
huge boss Leopaldon. Even though
nearly all of the sprites are reused, there are all
new backgrounds and completely
original soundtrack. While there are only a handful of
songs, all of the music is
equally as excellent as the other games.
Perhaps realizing that the single player survival mode
was a bit weak, Arc Systems added
a few extra modes for the PS2 port. The Boost mode
is a side-scrolling beat-em-up
similar to Final Fight. It's a good idea, but the
awkward controls still get in the way
- like the regular game, you can't turn around unless
you press a button. The levels
themselves are almost featureless, and there are only
three enemy sprites, so this mode
ends up getting just as repetitive as the survival
mode. There's also an option to
customize Robo-Ky, buying various moves and parts.
Again, it's an interesting concept,
but you need to play the anemic Boost mode to get
any satisfaction out of it, and
ultimately, it's not worth it.
While it's admirable that Arc Systems actually tried
to do something different with
Guilty Gear, it doesn't quite work as anything more
than a throwaway party game. Oddly enough, only the Playstation 2 version came out in America - the Xbox version, with full Live support, stayed in Japan. A PC version also never left the country.
MP3s
The Irony of Chaste
Riches In Me
The Sheep Will Sleep If You Become Fatigued
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Guilty Gear Isuka
Guilty Gear Isuka
Guilty Gear Isuka
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Guilty Gear XX Slash (2005) - Arcade / Playstation 2 / PSP
Arcade Flyer
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Japanese Cover
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Guilty Gear Isuka
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Guilty Gear XX Slash is the next revision to the primary 1-on-1 gameplay after XX# Reload. It features two new characters: A.B.A. from Isuka and Order Sol. The changes to the returning characters are much more pronounced from #Reload to this than with XX to #Reload. Most of the characters have gained new moves or have had moves drastically altered. The opening animation has been edited to add in sequences of Robo-Ky, A.B.A., and Order Sol. A.B.A. and Order Sol each have new backgrounds and music tracks. Most notable is Order Sol's stage, a city turned battlefield in the midst of the Holy War with many large dead and dying Gears all around. Many of the existing stages have been revised, often with new and more detailed background characters. The status gauges at the top of the screen have undertaken another overhaul.
The game's new final boss, whom you fight after I-no, is a super-charged version of Order Sol. How cheap is he? Well, for starters, his health, tension, and level meters all regenerate. In addition to that, he can execute that devastating Overdrive combo with ease and is not shy about using it.
The Playstation 2 version includes the same modes as previous versions of XX, minus the Story mode. Mission mode has been completely redesigned for the better. All of the unlockable artwork is completely new and the menus have all been redone. One nice new feature is the ability to select any stage and track combination for versus battles. This version can also be found on the Japanese PSP version of Guilty Gear Judgment.
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Guilty Gear XX Slash
Guilty Gear XX Slash
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Portable Titles
Guilty Gear Puchi/Guilty Gear Puchi 2 (2000)/(2001) - Wonderswan Color
Guilty Gear Puchi Cover
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Guilty Gear Puchi 2 Cover
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Guilty Gear Puchi
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The first mini Guilty Gear titles were released for Bandai's Japanese-only Wonderswan Color. Featuring super-deformed versions of the characters, much like many Neo Geo Pocket games. The only real difference between the games is the character selection. The original Guilty Gear Puchi (also known as Guilty Gear Petit) has a slim roster of seven characters, including Sol, Ky, Potemkin, May, Jam, Millia, and a new character named Fanny. Fanny is a cutesy little nurse who attacks with syringes, scissors and bandages. While she goes along well with the lighthearted demeanor of the game, I don't think she'd really work well in the grown-up versions of the game. Which is fine, since she only appears in the Wonderswan games. Guilty Gear Petit 2 adds in Chipp, Faust, Axl, Johnny, Zato and Anji, as well as changing some of the backgrounds.
The gameplay translates relatively well, even though there're only two attack buttons. While I think I'd still take SNK vs Capcom: Match of the Millenium over either of these titles, the Wonderswan has far better color than the NGPC, and the result are some seriously nice looking games.
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Guilty Gear Puchi
Guilty Gear Puchi
Guilty Gear Puchi
Guilty Gear Puchi 2
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Guilty Gear X Advance (2003) - Gameboy Advance
American Cover
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Guilty Gear X Advance
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Guilty Gear X Advance
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Naturally, you can't really expect too much from a
Gameboy Advance port of Guilty Gear
X - especially since it eschews the super-deformed look of the Wonderswan version in favor of a style closer to the console versions - but it holds up surprisingly well. The characters are obviously much smaller, but the animation is decent, and the gameplay is actually pretty similar to its bigger brother, even if you have to deal with the shoulder buttons. Some of the backgrounds look absolutely hideous though.
The music amounts to NES-styled renditions of the regular Guilty Gear music, and it really doesn't come off to well.
The big problem is the completely awful AI - even at the highest difficulty setting, it's rare that your opponent will put up any semblance of a
fight. Still, it was released in America at the bargain price of $15, so it's a nice
cheap diversion. It's worth it just because it's one of the few fighting games for the
GBA.
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Guilty Gear X Advance
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Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers (2006) - Nintendo DS
American Cover
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Japanese Cover
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Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers
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The Guilty Gear's series second foray into the sub-genre of 4-player fighting games, Dust Strikers takes a much different approach compared to Isuka. It differentiates itself by simplifying the controls and realigning the playing field. The DS's four face buttons are used as weak attack, strong attack, special, and dust. Pressing a direction on the d-pad (or doing a simple fireball motion) changes the attack. With this system, you can execute special and super moves effortlessly. The downside to all of this is that the game loses a lot of depth and you must relearn which command goes with which move. One plus is that you can now turn around by simply pressing back while standing still, eliminating one of the major annoyances of Isuka. The L and R buttons are used for Burst and Roman Cancel, though the Burst move is now used to gain temporary invincibility at the cost of some tension.
The stages are arranged vertically with players jumping up and down four rows of platforms. The game uses both screens to show the full height of the arena at all times. Occasionally, items will appear on the battlefield. After grabbing them, they can be used (by tapping an icon in a corner of the touch screen) to heal yourself, or attack, stun, or switch the positions of your opponents.
The two main single-player gameplay modes are arcade and story. Both modes are pretty much the same except in story mode, the battles are preceded by the four characters chatting and finding a flimsy excuse to all fight in a battle royale. The final boss of both, Gig, is a hideous insectoid beast that's a full screen tall. Strangest of all, its tail seems to be a blue-skinned female angel. It seems rather difficult until you figure out that its only weak point is its tail. Once you know that, it's a real pushover. Both of the multi-player modes are local wireless only and require each player to have their own copy of the game.
The game also includes seven touch screen mini-games, each of which is based on a specific character. They involve such things as moving hoops for May's dolphins to jump through, playing pool with Venom, or cleaning Bridget's yo-yo. Some of them are mildly entertaining, while others are exercises in tedium. Getting high scores in these games unlock additional moves for Robo-Ky.
The character sprites and backgrounds are taken from XX and Isuka. The sprites' resolution have been reduced, but they still look quite good. Almost all of the music is from XX, aside from a few unremarkable new tracks. According the game's credits, it seems that Dust Strikers was primarily developed by a company called Xelflex, not Arc System Works.
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Guilty Gear Dust Strikers
Guilty Gear Dust Strikers
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Guilty Gear: Judgment (2006) - PSP
American Cover
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Guilty Gear: Judgment
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Guilty Gear: Judgment
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Guilty Gear Judgment is basically a port of Guilty Gear to the PSP. The American version of Judgment includes a port of Guilty Gear XX# Reload, while the Japanese version has Guilty Gear XX Slash. However, the main draw is a brand new side-scrolling brawler, similar to the Boost mode in Isuka. However, tt controls much better, and there's more variety in the enemies. It also has a whole lot of new music which, while not as good as the stuff in the real games, is fairly decent.
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Guilty Gear Judgment
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