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is a series of
fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
s by
Arc System Works , commonly referred to as ArcSys, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher located in Yokohama. Founded by Minoru Kidooka in 1988, the company is known for arcade 2D fighting game franchises, including ''Guilty Gear'' and ''BlazBlue'', a ...
, created and designed by artist
Daisuke Ishiwatari is a Japanese video game developer, illustrator, musician, composer and voice actor. He is best known for creating the 2D fighting game series ''Guilty Gear''. He designed the characters and storyline, and wrote the music. He also provides the ...
.
The first game ''The First Game'' is a painting by Arnold Friberg, and was commissioned in 1968 by Chevrolet Motor Division as one of four paintings to commemorate the then-upcoming centennial celebration of college football in the United States. It depicts ...
was published in 1998, and has spawned several sequels. It has also adapted to other media such as
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
and
drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
. ''Guilty Gear'' has generally received praise from video game reviewers for its highly technical gameplay,
graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...
, soundtrack, and for its characters. Another fighting game franchise by Arc System Works, ''
BlazBlue ''BlazBlue'' is a fighting video game series developed and published in Japan by Arc System Works, and later localized in North America by Aksys Games and in Europe by Zen United. An anime adaptation aired in Autumn 2013. The series has sold 1.7 ...
'', is considered a
spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...
of the series.


Sypnosis

The story is set in a world where magic has replaced almost every aspect of modern day technology. But through its dire consequences leading up to the creation of the gears, the world has nearly become a post-apocalyptic environment due to Crusades’s effects on the world. But even though the world is still recovering, much work is still needed to be done and the mysteries behind the creation of the gears have yet to be resolved. The story mostly focus Sol Badguy, a brash bounty hunter and die hard Queen enthusiast who, feeling guilty of his past creations which in turn, results in him becoming a gear, decides to make up for his own actions through fighting them whilst keeping his own identity a secret. However, his own reluctance to help others, as well as his selfish actions, often attracts the attention of Ky Kiske, his own rival and former comrade, who tries to get into fights with him whenever annoyed. Throughout the story, Sol enacts his own vengeance upon That Man, who is mainly the cause behind most of the series conflicts, through killing him. As the series progresses, much of his past and is revealed, along with his connections with That Man, as well has his long lost fiancé, Aria. With it, Sol begins to realize that is own past is what deeply conflicts him the most, and through his past rivalries with Ky, as well as his relationships with the other characters, helps to overcome the enemy that he sorely sought to destroy in the first place.


Games


Main series


Updated versions


Spin-offs


Gameplay

''Guilty Gear'' consists primarily of one-on-one competitive battles. Players are tasked with depleting their opponent's life gauge by utilizing attacks unique to each playable character. In the case of timed matches, the player with the most remaining life when time runs out is the victor of that round. The series' emphasis on speed and technicality and introduction of unique movement options such as an "air dash" would ultimately become the foundation for the "anime" subgenre of fighting games. ''Guilty Gear Isuka'' prominently allowed up to four simultaneous players in battle, as well as the option to divide the characters into teams. It also eschewed the typical multiple-round format in favor of each player having a limited stock of "souls". Depleting a player's life gauge decreased their stock of souls and temporarily incapacitated them, and each remaining soul allowed a player to return to battle with a full life gauge. They would be defeated for the rest of the match if their life gauge and souls were both exhausted. These features have not returned for subsequent games. Each game in the series includes a "Tension Gauge" that fills as the player performs offensive maneuvers, such as approaching the opponent or attacking them. Portions of the Tension Gauge can be expended to perform various techniques. Each character has at least one Overdrive, special attacks that can deal extensive damage to an opponent or bolster aspects of the user, like speed or attack power. "Faultless Defense" allows players to prevent "chip damage," damage received from normally guarding against attacks, at the expense of the Tension Gauge. ''Guilty Gear X'' and later titles introduced more advanced techniques involving the Tension Gauge, such as the "Roman Cancel", allowing players to immediately stop the remaining animation of an attack, and "Dead Angle Attacks", counterattacks performed while a player is guarding. The Tension Gauge is also tied in with the usage of , high-risk attacks that are difficult to connect with but instantly inflict death on the opponent regardless of the amount of life remaining. In ''Guilty Gear'', these attacks ended the entire match if they successfully hit the opponent, but this was toned down in later games by ending the round instead. Failing to connect with the technique penalizes the user by removing the Tension Gauge and its related uses for the rest of the round. ''Guilty Gear X2'' introduced a "Burst Gauge" that slowly fills during the progression of a match. When completely filled, players can perform a "Psyche Burst" in an attempt to quickly stop an opponent's offense, even knocking back the opponent if they are close enough. This mechanic has also appeared in some form in other Arc System Works games, such as ''
BlazBlue ''BlazBlue'' is a fighting video game series developed and published in Japan by Arc System Works, and later localized in North America by Aksys Games and in Europe by Zen United. An anime adaptation aired in Autumn 2013. The series has sold 1.7 ...
'' and ''
Persona 4 Arena ''Persona 4 Arena'' is a fighting video game co-developed by Atlus and Arc System Works for arcades, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360; the game is a spin-off from the ''Persona'' series, itself part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. The game w ...
'', as well as other fighting games such as ''
Skullgirls ''Skullgirls'' is a 2D fighting game developed by Reverge Labs and published by Autumn Games. In ''Skullgirls'', players fight each other with teams of one, two, or three characters, attempting to knock out their opponents or have the most cumul ...
''. Many characters also feature their own unique mechanics that differentiate them from each other. For example,
Zato-1 This is a list of characters from the ''Guilty Gear'' fighting game series. Creation and influences Daisuke Ishiwatari has cited Kazushi Hagiwara's manga ''Bastard!!'', and the fighting game ''Street Fighter II'' as influence to the ''Guilty G ...
utilizes a shadow-like symbiotic creature named Eddie that is able to detach itself and be controlled separately for a period of time, allowing complex tandem attacks between the two.
Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
can set out weaponized billiard balls on screen that can be projected in various directions depending on how the player strikes them with certain attacks.
Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...
carries a limited set of coins that can be thrown at the opponent. Though the coins themselves deal little damage, each successive hit strengthens his "Mist Finer" technique to incredibly powerful levels.


Playable characters

;Notes Playable in the Slash update onward, ''
Guilty Gear XX Slash ''Guilty Gear X2'' (released as ''Guilty Gear XX: The Midnight Carnival'' in Japan) is a 2D fighting video game developed by Arc System Works, and published by Sammy Studios. First released on May 23, 2002, for the arcades, in Japan, it was later ...
''.
Only playable in the PlayStation 2 version.
Only in ''
Guilty Gear Petit 2 ''Guilty Gear Petit'' is a sub-series of fighting video games, spin-offs of the ''Guilty Gear'' series, directed by Emiko Iwasaki and released for the Japan-only handheld WonderSwan Color. ''Guilty Gear Petit'' is the first handheld version ...
''.
Only in the update version, ''
Guilty Gear X Plus subtitled ''By Your Side'' in Japan, is a fighting game developed by Arc System Works and published by Sammy Studios. The second installment of the ''Guilty Gear'' series, ''Guilty Gear X'' was developed over a period of about two years after ...
''.
Only playable in the update/sequel version, ''
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- is a fighting video game sub-series by Arc System Works and part of the ''Guilty Gear'' series. ''Guilty Gear Xrd'' was developed using Unreal Engine 3, with cel-shaded graphics in place of the series traditional hand drawn sprites. Following th ...
''.
Kliff and Justice were balanced for tournament play in the ''
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R ''Guilty Gear X2'' (released as ''Guilty Gear XX: The Midnight Carnival'' in Japan) is a 2D fighting video game developed by Arc System Works, and published by Sammy Studios. First released on May 23, 2002, for the arcades, in Japan, it was later ...
'' update, and were absent in ''Guilty Gear XX Accent Core''.
Only playable in the update/sequel version, '' Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2''.
Paid DLC only.


Media

In addition to the ''Guilty Gear'' video game series, other products were also released. Two novelizations of ''Guilty Gear X'' were written by
Norimitsu Kaihō is a Japanese light novel writer and translator. Born in Kanagawa prefecture. He is from Keio University Fantasy Study Group. When he was a college student, he posted a coterie translation of an English tabletop RPG "TORG" supplement to Shinki ...
, illustrated by Daisuke Ishiwatari, and published by
Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on 30 January 1987 as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy ...
: , and , on January 20, 2001 and on August 24, 2002. A manga titled , a collaboration among Daisuke Ishiwatari, Norimitsu Kaihō, and Akihito Sumii, was serialized in
Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
's ''
Magazine Z was a Japanese seinen mixed-media magazine published by Kodansha, aimed at adult males, but particularly at hardcore anime and manga fans, featuring articles as well as manga tied into popular franchises. Original manga were also featured in the ...
'' on September 22, 2003. Studio DNA and Enterbrain also published
comics anthologies A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to co ...
. Several
drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
s were published;
Scitron is a Japanese record label that publishes video game music albums. List of video game albums released A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H -  I  - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z ...
released a series of two drama CDs—''Guilty Gear X Vol. 1'' and ''Vol. 2''—between October 24, and November 24, 2001, and two series of drama CDs based on ''Guilty Gear X2'' were released by Team Entertainment: ''Red'' and ''Black''—a series— were released in 2003 between July 16, and August 20. Another series of drama CDs, ''Night of Knives'', was published in three volumes between October 20 and December 22, 2004. Also
action figure An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...
s, guidebooks, and a
trading card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...
series based on ''Guilty Gear'' were released. On February 11, 2017, Arc System Works announced a collaboration with
Tecmo Koei is a Japanese video game, amusement and anime holding company created in 2009 in video gaming, 2009 by the merger of Koei and Tecmo. Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies, the biggest one of those being its flagship game developer and publi ...
's
Team Ninja is a Japanese video game developer, and a division of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1995 as a part of Tecmo. It is founded and formerly led by Tomonobu Itagaki, later by Yosuke Hayashi, and is best known for the ''Ninja Gaiden'' action-adventure game ...
to release Arc System Works Costume Set consisting the costumes of some characters from ''
BlazBlue ''BlazBlue'' is a fighting video game series developed and published in Japan by Arc System Works, and later localized in North America by Aksys Games and in Europe by Zen United. An anime adaptation aired in Autumn 2013. The series has sold 1.7 ...
'' and ''Guilty Gear'' series in March 2017 for '' Dead or Alive 5: Last Round''.


Reception and legacy

The ''Guilty Gear'' series is considered a cult classic among video game fans. The series has often been remarked upon for its visual elements, fighting engine, soundtrack, and the variety of designs of the characters and attacks. ''X''s
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
version has the highest score of the series as compiled by review aggregator
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
(89.33%), while ''X2'' for PlayStation 2 occupies that position according to the other major aggregator,
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
(87). On the other hand, the lowest score is given to ''Guilty Gear 2: Overture'' from both GameRankings (58.19%) and Metacritic (56/100). ''Guilty Gear'' is considered by several sources to be the greatest 2D fighting game.
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
said that "''Guilty Gear'' is one of the few non-
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
or
SNK is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...
2D fighters to make any sort of impact on the genre", while
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
stated: "If 2D beat-em-ups are moving toward extinction, they really are ending on a high note with stuff like this." Its sequels were also well received.
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
said "''Guilty Gear X'' is hands-down the best 2D fighting game to date", and ''Guilty Gear X2'' was described by
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...
as "easily the best 2D fighter to come around in a long time." In 2012, ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked ''Guilty Gear'' at number 47 on the list of the best video game franchises, commenting: "Where other fighters were moving toward realism and more down to Earth physics and combos, ''Guilty Gear'' was content to turn those notions on their head, paving the way for the more chaotic fighters we're seeing today."
Yahoo! Voices Yahoo! Voices, formerly Associated Content (AC), was a division of Yahoo! that focused on online publishing. Yahoo! Voices distributed a large variety of writing through its website and content partners, including Yahoo! News. In early December 20 ...
' editor S.W. Hampson included ''Guilty Gear'' among the 10 best fighting game franchises of all time, praising the series's evolution along the years, the "distinctive visual flair" of its 2D sprites, and the "well-defined story lines", adding "its identity is among the most unique in the world of beat-'em-ups." '' BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger'', another fighting game developed by Arc System Works, is often referred to as a spiritual successor of the ''Guilty Gear'' series.


References


External links


Official homepage of the ''Guilty Gear'' series
{{Arc System Works 2D fighting games Arc System Works franchises Fighting video games by series Dystopian video games Video game franchises introduced in 1998