Guilty Gear

"Will you be guilty of playing this game too much?!"

The Intro
I must admit I was very surprised when I first saw Guilty Gear out ! I took a look at the cover and just wondered where the hell did that ARC come from with this title that I hadn't even heard of. Wasn't the 2-D beat-em-up category be supposed to ''belong'' to Capcom and SNK with their Street Fighter [bouh !] and The King of Fighters [yay !] respectively. And yeah, I'll admit it, I didn't think much of the game before actually playing it. But upon playing the game, I immediately found it interesting and played it for some darn time. Guilty Gear is an excellent game and even better, it brings forward new ideas and innovations that were bound to make it stand out from the SF and KOF clones before eventually turning into a highly-awaited series itself.

What follows
Guilty Gear is set into the future. Robots and all the types are no longer a dream and people now have to cope with Man's greaterst fear, to be dominated by robots. The term 'Gear' actually refers to these robots which look just like those you see in the anime although there is only one of them in the game. The characters in this game are not the usual I'm-looking-for-a-stronger-opponent or other such types. Guilty Gear can boast to have amazing characters each with a very interesting plot. From the former Yakuza to the well-trained but banned dragoon without forgetting the mad scientist, all of them are great and for once, you don't get this feeling of déjà-vu which has been haunting beat-em-ups ever since they were created for our pleasure. 8 characters await you in Guilty Gear along with 3 hidden ones which are very tough to access.

The greatest feature in this new title is the Instant Kill move, which is something completely new. This move, which is kinda hard to pull at first, makes you win the entire match if you are successful. Not just the round, the entire match ! So, it means that just pulling this once will take you onto the next fight. But hey, don't start jumping with joy yet. It is possible to evade the move by inputting the appropriate commands. Moreover, the characters all have a high AI and don't you think you'll be the only one using it or you're in for a major disappointment. The computer uses it too and it's darn good at it ! How many times have I thought I was going to win and then lose to that Instant Kill move?! Even better, each character has an awesome Instant Kill animation (check out Ky's) which you'll never grow tired of watching.

This game also comes with the SNK syndrome, but it's much better here. This means that this game is combo-crazy. Not like Marvel vs. Capcom where you get tired of these huge combos but ARC has dosed the combos well and they're real fun to watch. Some combos are highly damaging but don't think you'll be able to pull them as soon as you start playing. Yes Sir, you need a lot of practice for this game and thankfully, there is a Practice Menu for those who aren't that good with the damn PSX pad..

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GENERAL RATINGS
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Graphics: 10
The graphics are great. The animations are really well done and I specially like watching the characters perform their specials and some instant kill moves like Ky's are awesome. The animation is smooth as well as the characters' movements. The effects are well-rendered all the time. And this game is quick, real quick. Don't try taking your eyes from the screen for a second or two, you'll more than likely regret it. The special jumps (a bit like in KoF) are marvellous to watch. Gimme 2D anytime !

Control: 10
As I already said, the animation is really smooth and the controls are responsive. Even for a beginner, decent combos are easy to pull and needless to say, once you've played the game for some time, it'll be even more easier to pull off all types of damaging combos.

Music: 9
The music is great and adds more depth to the game. If you like rock, you'll love the music in Guilty Gear. Personally, I don't usually like rock but I immediately went and bought the soundtrack. Each theme is well-suited and immediately gets you in the mood to fight. I really love Ky's tune, it's the best I've heard so far in a beat-em-up! The voices are also good. The voices are well-suited for each character and the voices in Guilty Gear won't get you on your nerves ( which is rare for such beat-em-ups!!! ). And Chipp's voice and his intro are magnificent. Just check out his the way he acts when he starts a fight or when he wins!

Gameplay: 10
The most important feature in this type of game. Since the control is good as well as the animation, I'll give it a 10. The combos are easy to master although the Playstation joypad is not made for it. The moves are fun to watch and the ability to combo all types of moves adds more depth to the game. The amount of combos you can pull off is simply awesome. And the Instant Kill moves really make this a must. This game rocks in Versus mode. Bring a bunch of friends and have fun !

The limited cast may be a problem though but ARC has dealt magnificently with this. Their technique is not a very subtle one but who cares as long as it works ?! Each character has a truly astounding number of combos and good luck in discovering them all ! Just with this, Guilty Gear gets a darn good gameplay !

Overall: 9
Guilty Gear comes really well since it actually makes some competition for SF and KOF and things can only be good for beat-em-up fans. With such somptuous graphics and its amazing gameplay adding some nice features, just go out and buy it !!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/01, Updated 11/09/02