Developed by: Arc System Works
Published by: Aksys Games
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4 (also available on PlayStation 3)
Guilty Gear is one of my all time favorites. It was one of the first games I played until the disc didn’t work back in the original PlayStation era. Its unique, very anime characters, solid mechanics, and bad ass metal soundtrack made me a fan from the first time I picked up the controller. This was way back in 1998. Over the years the series went through a string of sequels and tried different things. I still couldn’t get enough. At the turn of the decade around 2009, Arc System Works lost the rights to the franchise, and turned their eye towards creating a spiritual successor, which ended up being the popular BlazBlue series. I grew to love BlazBlue but I still missed the days of Sol Badguy and co. My desires were eventually fulfilled because the series was rebooted in 2013 in the form of Guilty Gear Xrd: Sign. I was thrilled with the way the game turned out. It was mechanically as deep as I remember the series ever being, but now has so much more to it now plus an awesome story mode and modernized net code for online play. How does the sequel, GUILTY GEAR XRD: REVELATOR stack up?
The game is drop dead gorgeous. The characters were given new life in 3D models but still animated as if they were in their old hand drawn forms. If you saw anything of Sign, you already know how this game steals the spotlight. There has been some minor tweaks from the previous game in terms of presentation, but it’s still impressive. The biggest changes are to the lighting effects. There are now shadows that actively change depending on where you are in a stage (if there’s a shaded corner or if the stage has a transition) and somethings like flames and energy bolts act as a source of light. This doesn’t affect gameplay but it makes the already stunning visuals even more impressive. That’s all that really needs to be said.
Now let’s get into what we all came here for. Is the fighting any good? The answer is “Hell Yes it is!” The game is fast, frantic and will definitely keep you on your toes. The cast of Guilty Gear has always been very unique in terms of design and concepts. There is a play style for everybody, whether you like fast rushing types, characters with crazy mix up abilities, or even characters who revolve around using fire arms. The entire cast feels viable. Even if some character match ups are difficult none of them are impossible. The balancing feels just right, especially considering we had a grand total of five new characters, two returning and three brand new to the series. There is also something else that I feel is also incredibly well done: the learning curve.
Now, it’s no secret that fighting games are some of the hardest to learn. The approach Arc System Works has taken is a game that allows new players with no experience what so ever to jump in and learn the basics in a friendly, easy to understand way. The game includes three different ways to learn outside of fighting opponents directly. There’s a tutorial mode and dojo mode, which teaches you how to perform special moves, combos, and later on, character specific match up info. The tutorial is easily the best in any fighting game I’ve ever played in the past two decades. By making the game play like an arcade style beat ‘em up, the that teaches you the controls and basic concepts step by step. You start by building confidence in your abilities and the game offers a lot of positive reinforcement. Once you’ve done that, the dojo mode teaches you some practical combos that range from easy to fairly complex. Satisfaction is abundant as you progress here. M.O.M (Medal of Millionaire) makes a return. It’s a mode where you earn items and currency that can be used in game to take on a sequence of challenging foes. Some have a lot of health, others are resistant to projectiles, there’s a lot of interesting stuff in here. The last thing up on offer is the online mode. While I found my first couple of time using the lobby system a tad awkward, I never had any issues after I figured out a couple of small details. The online experience in Revelator is pure awesome. The game plays buttery smooth and even when my opponent had a less than great connection, the game was still playable. It’s easy to spectate matches and even easier to initiate your own.
Next up is the sound department. Sound has always been important in Guilty Gear. From the unique sound effects to the ambient background noise, it’s all well put together. Where Guilty Gear really exceeds is voice acting and soundtrack. Sign had an English dub which is missing here. This will be a sore point for some, but honestly the Japanese voice cast is awesome so I let this one slide. The series is also famous for its metal soundtracks composed by series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari. The score sets the pace for each fight because of how well it matches each character that the theme is composed for. I feel there’s a wonderful connection made with the character’s personality that is captured by their unique theme.
I do also want to address something that many people will ask. Is this game worth buying if it’s an iterative sequel to Sign? To me this game is worth full price for the content it offers. The game not only offers enhanced features from the previous game, but also the new cast members and a continuation of Sign’s interesting story mode. The new mechanics and characters were honestly enough for me to buy the game either way, but the new modes along with the fantastic movie-esque story mode really sweeten the deal. It’s worth jumping in now, especially if you’re a hard core fighting game player. It’s already been nominated as a game for the biggest contest of the year, Evo 2016. If you’re more of a casual player, you can still pick this up to have a good time and even learn the basics of fighting games.
