"You'll have fun, just don't expect what the big brothers deliver."

OK, so after a LONG, LONG wait (this game was scheduled to come out in January), we finally have the long awaited Guilty Gear DS. And it is very different from previous incarnations of this series, but you probably knew that already. You may have already heard some naysayers complaining about the strange new fighting engine, and you may have also heard that this is a super fun DS fighting game (currently in short supply on American shores). So whom are you to believe? Both. Read on.

Graphics

Guilty Gear is a series that has always been about 2D eye-candy. This was apparent from the series' humble beginnings on the PS1 through the years onto the Dreamcast, PS2, and Xbox. Yeah, I know, great looking 2D on the PS1, and not even an import! Who knew? This game does not disappoint, but it does take getting used to. I was initially disappointed when I started my first fight, as characters are roughly 3/8 of the screen size tall, which is more than 1/3 and less than 1/2. I was used to the huge 2/3 tall sprites used in my beloved Dreamcast Guilty Gear X, and thought that any less would be unacceptable. I was also expecting zooming a la said game, but there was none to be found. So I guess 3/8 of the screen would have to do.

But then I played it more. And more. And more. And even though those sprites aren't as tall as I would have preferred, they sure do look purdy executing all those special moves we've come to love over the years. The supers are here, and while they don't fill the screen with 3D effects, you still love to see them. The animation isn't 100% of it's big system brothers, but it is better than most, and I would place it at about 60-75% of what modern Guilty Gear games are capable of, no mean feat for such a tiny portable system.

The backgrounds, however, looked great right away. Axl's stage, with the lights reflecting in the street, was faithfully done and a real treat. And since the playing field extends to the top screen, you will see more of the stages than you did before. All told, really good graphics.

Mini-Games

Contrary to what you might have read in the reviews posted of this game, the mini-games are far from hard. A couple, like the 9-Ball game and the Sword Slashing game, will take time for you to figure out how to get the high score. But I have had this game for a week and now have dominated every single mini-game. Are they fun? Well, there are 7 of them, and I play 2 of them regularly. But you don't buy Guilty Gear games for the ability to play a Whack-A-Mole clone, do you?

Gameplay

Aye, here's the rub. This is 4 player fighting. The logistics of this have repercussions on the gameplay. It's that simple. No more Street Fighter half-circle moves. They would never come out right. No more automatically turning to face your opponent, as you could want to face any of your other 3 opponents. Blocking is accomplished by holding down, not back. Back would only turn you around. And life bars appear underneath the characters, not in the corners of the screen. Imagine trying to hunt down the health of someone mid-game and looking around the screens to find the appropriate bar. You would be dead before you knew it. All of this is a bit jarring at first, but if you can stick with it, everything will make perfect sense.

This may give you the impression that the gameplay isn't as deep as usual. And you would be right. A bit of a letdown, but necessary for this type of game. The plus side to this is that characters that may not usually get to see action (I usually hate playing as Axl, Zato, and Venom. I find them difficult to control.) have been dumbed-down a bit. In this game, though, I play them all equally well, and I find this satisfying.

That said, there are cool additions. There are power-ups scattered around the stages like Power Stone that can completely turn the tide of battle. You can focus all of your energy on the weakest characters (easily indicated by a skull cursor above them) and then swoop in and steal victory at the last moment after every on else has exhausted their health.

And also contrary to other reviews, there IS a multiplayer mode to this game, but you need a cart for every DS in order to play, just like most multiplayer games for this system. However I do agree that a Wi-Fi mode would have taken this title to the next level. One can only play so much Mario-Kart!

Total Guilty Gear fanatics should know this: this game is nowhere near as hard as the other games in the series. There are only 6 battles per person, including a boss encounter. There is no need to play this game into the wee hours of the morning trying to beat the boss. Damn you, Dizzy!

The Boss

A lot has been said about the boss for this game, Gig. He is not difficult at all. Remember the first time you faced Apocalypse in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter? You were bewildered because he was just so big and you didn't know what to do. He hit you with the drill and you were dead. But you learned to jump over the drill, block a lot, and hit his head with a super. He was never a problem again. Even on 8 star difficulty he was a pushover. It's the same thing in this game. Here's a tip: stun the body coming out of the bottom of the creature. Either use a super or the handy 'stun' power-up (it looks like a flying blue bird). He then morphs into a ball that will not move or defend itself in any way until you hit it. Get a good hit on it (you only get one). He will change back to a monster. Lather, rinse, repeat. Easy peasy.

Overall

This is a great looking game for those looking to have a new fighting experience on the go, and a great diversion for the hardcore Guilty Gear fan. I liken this game to Capcom's Vs. series. Some people only like the hardcore Vampire/Street Fighter/Alpha/Zero slow and deliberate style gameplay, while some, like myself, prefer the over-the-top craziness of X-Men Vs. Street Fighter/Marvel Vs. Capcom/2/Power Stone/2 gameplay. Got 30 bucks and an itch to beat 3 people up at a time? Grab this game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/06