"I'll just say this now, Bridget is a really cute guy."

For all the fighting game vets, do you remember the days of Darkstalkers/Vampire series? Matches against wicked looking characters in front of a twisted background? How about the Fatal Fury series? Remember how useful switching between two plans helped avoid oncoming attack then counterattack? Surely everyone has played Super Smash Brothers. Having 4 friends bash each other senseless on one screen is just awesomely fun right? Now mix all of these emotions up in a blender, add a “Best of 80's Rock” CD compilation, then press puree. Then end result may not be the greatest shake in the world but it'll be one of the best shakes to rock your socks.

This is my first Guilty Gear game and I would like to say that the learning curve is really steep. For one, many of the advance maneuvers like a dust attacks, Roman Cancels, moving between the two plans, etc, require a lot of time to memorize which groups of buttons do which maneuver during a fight. Secondly, the player must now turn the fighter around manually when the opponent jumps over your head. This is the number one thing that many people would have to get used to in the middle of the match, especially in a multi-fighter match. After playing numerous matches (which most of them resulted in getting my ass kicked), everything became second nature; however, learning to use them in a more efficient manner is what will separate the vets from the newbies. Lastly, the lack of analog support is not going in my favor.

This complex, universal controls will be very useful at different times when going up against different characters. Everyone has his or her own unique style unlike many Street Fighter characters. By unique, I mean people using giant syringes, pool queue sticks with floating billiard balls, yo-yos, shadow control, spirit control, the undead, samurais, ninjas, very cute pirates and other diversities that will have the first season of “The Real World” shaking their heads.

If the characters aren't good enough to be gander upon, the backgrounds are even better eye candy. I am amazed with the work that went into crafting the detailed backgrounds. The book spines are crystal clear in the Frasco, ghosts wonder aimlessly in Wilderness Gravemarker, and the bright and rich atmosphere of Pirate Fort are the great examples that represent the great number of elements that were considered and followed through flawlessly.

Another thing that was followed through perfectly was the awesome soundtrack. The majority of the background songs in the arcade mode features at least one kick ass guitar rift. That being said, the music will get a lot of people pumped. Talking about kick ass guitar rifts, there is a lot of rock inspiration not only in the soundtrack but also in the names of the moves themselves. For the hardcore 80's rocker, naming the origins to some of the moves could be a fun game to do when kicking ass is not on the list.

Although hunting for hidden rock songs are not meant to be done in this game, a lot of other neat stuff is included. The only new character to the Guilty Gear franchise is the closest to a create-a-fighter that Sammy can put in this game. It appears that upgrading Robo-Ky2 with the moves of the other fighters by gaining memory points in the game will add a lot more hours to the game.

Getting memory points for Robo-Ky2 is not a walk through the park. It's more of a struggle through a section. Going through Guilty Gear Boost is highly reminiscent of the good ‘ol side-scrolling beat-em up games of the early 90's. The only difference is that there are no continues. Once your fighter uses up all of his or her lives, it's game over. So far, I haven't gone past the hazardous Ninja Training Grounds so that still on my “To Do List”.

One final mode of play is the cream of the crop. Having a four-player battle is the most chaotic time you'll have with your friends since retrieving that lost baseball over the fence of a mean neighbor with a dog. Seriously, since the players must turn around manually, trying to block on both sides will be hard enough. Setting up an uninterrupted offensive will be nearly impossible if everyone is fighting in the same plan. Perhaps its really not the best idea to put 4 people into one small fighting stage.

If Guilty Gear Isuka were an equation, it'll be something like this:

Super Smash Bros: Melee – a lot of fighting space + complex controls + kick ass music = Guilty Gear Isuka

For a first impression, I was very pleased. I finally understand why this series has sparked up a lot of hype. The music alone is really unprecedented at this time of fighting games. Not ever since Street Fighter II, I was this pumped to play a game. I felt rewarded after learning the ropes to this game. However, be careful once you start playing another fighting game, try not pressing R1 (turn around).

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/04