"Insane for One Person, Incredibly Fun for More"

Guilty Gear Isuka is undoubtedly the "wildest" game to come out since Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The previous GG games were crazy, but the inclusion of 4-players makes it much more intense--having to fight more than one opponent in a game this fast-paced will keep even veteran GG players on their toes.

Because 4 players can now fight simultaneously, the control system has been changed. You now fight on two planes (just like some of the older Fatal Fury games) so there are now button combinations that allow moving and attacking between the foreground and background. Because you can receive attacks from both sides now, Sammy/Arc Systems has also created a button to turn your character around manually. At first it seems somewhat awkward, but soon it will come naturally (one thing most players didn't realize is that you can hit this button during a move/super or while on the ground, and your character will turn around on their own once that action is completed). Also new is the ability to attack behind you without turning around, for those times when a single attack is sufficient to get someone off your back while you concentrate on the opponent in front of you.

All of the new moves are welcome and have a use, although I rarely use the line attack. All of the other gameplay basics remain relatively unchanged from previous games (some moves are performed differently because of the new button setup) except for the axing of instant kills. As complicated as the control system is for Isuka, I feel that they could have been left in, but the game is so good that most players won't care.

The gameplay modes have been changed as well. Arcade mode is essentially Survival mode from previous GG games; you keep playing randomly generated opponents until your level raises to 100, where you fight the boss Leopaldon (after you beat him you change your starting level to 101 and start over, fighting Leo every 50th level until you get to 1000). This type of Arcade mode fits Isuka, since a story mode probably wouldn't have worked well fighting multiple opponents. Then there's the Factory Mode for Robo-Ky II (on of the games semi-new characters). Essentially this mode is dedicated to customizing a new version of Robo-Ky by altering his defense/offense and giving him moves from the game's other characters. The best new inclusion is GG Boost Mode, which is reminiscent of Final Fight and Streets of Rage. While it is short and gets old quick, it's fun to run through and is a great alternative to the core game.

Initially there is really only one new character in Isuka (A.B.A.), which is sort of a letdown (yes, Robo-Ky II is technically new, but he shares moves with other characters--A.B.A. is the only new original character). Later on you'll unlock the last boss Leopaldon and three Zako characters (these are the guys you fight against in GG Boost mode and really aren't worth playing as their moves are extremely limited). The EX characters are still present and are a nice alternative if you don't like the original version of a character. Finally, even though I haven't bothered to unlock them yet, powered-up versions of Sol and Ky are playable (you fight them at the end of GG Boost).

I do have some gripes with the game. My number one complaint is how frustrating and tedious the Arcade Mode gets. It's not so bad when you're first starting out, but eventually the computer will cheat (that's right, cheat) by speeding up the opponents you have to face (they only speed up walking/running and air dashing, the speed of the actual moves remains constant). At first I thought it would be a fun challenge, but the farther I got the more I disliked it. It seems like the designers are merely toying with you after awhile, intentionally programming your opponents to tick you off. With their increased speed, some opponents zip from one side of the screen to the other literally in the blink of an eye (Johnny, normally a rather slow character, dashes from one end of the screen to the other faster than Chipp's teleports). Dizzy will jump and dash over your head, then turn around in midair and dash back to where she started--what's the point? If you're fighting two opponents they'll sometimes spend so much time jumping back and forth over your head that you can't help but get peeved, and all the while you're constantly tapping the turn button to keep up (May is the worst offender when it comes to hopping all over the screen). Too many times I found myself actually chasing my enemies down because they wouldn't stand still. And if that wasn't bad enough, at around level 800 or so the computer opponents get infinite super bars as well.

The reason why I feel this isn't fun is because, while you do get better at Isuka by going through Arcade Mode, the characters are significantly altered to the point where you can't gauge their true potential (or yours). In other words, you can't really judge how well you are against a character based off of fighting him/her in Arcade because they're "juiced up". Altering the speed of walking/running/dashing screws with your zoning (there's a reason why Potempkin moves as slow as he does, and you maintain a certain distance from him based on that speed. But when that speed is altered it throws your whole game off). Consequently, you keep doing whatever you're doing to win and move on. As opposed to sharpening your game by playing skilled human players, the strategies you use in Arcade Mode won't necessarily work in Vs. Mode (where I feel it truly counts). It gets to the point where you're just going through this mode in order to unlock everything. When playing becomes a chore rather than an experience, the fun is gone.

Because you can fight more than one person at a time, the "rules" have been slightly modified as well--sometimes this works in your favor. For instance, your supers (and some special moves) can hit multiple opponents at once, and you can block attacks from both sides. If you position yourself correctly, you can actually get the computer-controlled opponents to hit each other (this takes little to no damage, but it gives you some breathing room and time to position yourself). Plus, whenever the fights are imbalanced (2 vs 1, 3 vs 1) the single character gets advantages, like increased resilience to damage and higher tension. However, sometimes fighting two people works against you. The computer is quite fond of having one character grab you while you were blocking attacks from the other (this is especially vicious when they are sped up; there's nothing more irritating than having a character that you thought was safely out of the way dash full-screen and grab you while you were blocking a super), or one character will do a ducking gatling combo while the other does a standing dust. Most of the time you only hit one character at a time, so combos and even supers can be interrupted by the other character at will. And, Leopaldon--well, I'll just say that this is the dirtiest Guilty Gear boss yet. He's not impossible, but you'll have to work extremely hard to beat this guy.

Overall, I was very pleased with Guilty Gear Isuka. Despite my gripes with the game, I think that the 4-player experience more than makes up for it's flaws (multi-player is where this game truly shines). If you're a Guilty Gear fan, buying Isuka is a no-brainer. The speed and complexity of the game might turn off some newcomers, but they can still enjoy it once they get the hang of it. Guilty Gear Isuka is a very different type of 2-D fighter, but it's uniqueness is refreshing and addictive.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/10/04