Games

The original “Guilty Gear Xrd” came out precisely a year ago on Japanese consoles (and a few months later on Western shores), and while I think we can all agree that it was a really great addition to our favorite series, it also wasn’t perfect, and never quite managed to amass the following that a fighting game needs in order to remain relevant, especially here across the Ocean. Well, the good news is that at the very least Arc System Works are willing to give it one more chance before giving up on the game by releasing an updated version/sequel titled “Guilty Gear Xrd 2”, which has already been out in Japanese arcade for a bit, but will finally be released in the West on May 26th – in precisely a month and a day since this article (hopefully) goes up!

In case you’re not familiar with them, most Japanese fighting games do sequels a little bit differently – rather than a fully-blown new installment of the game with entirely new story, mechanics, visuals and characters like it’s done in the West (see “Mortal Kombat” compared to “Mortal Kombat X”), Japanese fighting game sequels are just the same game as their predecessor, but with rebalancing based on fan feedback and extra content. That’s not true for all of them (the “Super Smash Bros.” series is always radically different), but each “Street Fighter” title has had numerous editions, “Marvel vs Capcom 3” got “Ultimate MvC3”, “Persona 4 Arena” got “Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax”, and similarly, franchises like “BlazBlue” and “King of Fighters” have also received these types of updates, alongside series which never left Japan, such as “Bleach: Heat the Soul”. “Guilty Gear Xrd 2” follows the same principle – it’s less of a full-blown sequel and more of an add-on which will contain all of the original content from “Guilty Gear Xrd”, plus a couple of extras.

Those extras come in the form of an overall roster rebalance, new moves for all characters, as well as new story episodes for fighters that didn’t have them. The main focus, however, are two new characters – Baiken, a badass female samurai (who, in true “Guilty Gear” fashion, is showing way more chest than is practical for combat) and Answer, who can be best described as an office worker/ninja. To be perfectly honest, this update doesn’t seem all that essential, and doesn’t really warrant the steep price tag ($20 if you own the original “Guilty Gear Xrd”, $40 if you’re new to the series). I mean, sure, if you’ve never played “Guilty Gear Xrd” and would like to get into it at an affordable pricetag, “Xrd 2” is the definitive version which may be worth getting. If you already own the original and the new characters aren’t a draw, then I’d personally wait until you can pick it up at a lower pricepoint, or perhaps skip it entirely.

Here’s a fun fact – there’s actually so many games in the “Guilty Gear” series that if you played a new one every day it would take you 13 years to play them all! Okay, actually that’s a lie, there’s not nearly that many, but there’s still a lot – Guilty Gear X, Guilty Gear Dust, Guilty Gear Judgment, Guilty Gear Xrd… Still, even with all of those games, it’s not unusual for hardcore fans of the series to get a bit bored of it after a while. That’s why I decided to make a short list of other fighting games similar to “Guilty Gear” that you might be interested in checking out! The rules of this list are simple – the game must be in 2D and it must play like “Guilty Gear”, so you’re not going to see any “Mortal Kombat” or “Street Fighter” games on here! Ready? Let’s get started!

1. Skullgirls

Ah, I need to start off with an indie darling! In an age where pretty much every fighting game franchise has transitioned firmly into 3D, “Skullgirls” came out and said “Screw that, we don’t care that 2D costs way more than 3D and takes a lot more time to make, we’re gonna come out and we’re gonna make the best damn 2D fighting game ever!” And, well, I’m not entirely sure if I’d call it the best, but their efforts are certainly impressive! I mean, “Skullgirls” is definitely the best-looking fighting game I’ve ever played in my life – its sprites are large, crisp, clean and very detailed, making battles a joy to watch! I mean, just look at this fan-made trailer which matches footage from the game with “Big Blast Sonic” (a song that “Guilty Gear” fans should be quite familiar with) and see for yourself! To top it all off, the game also features some pretty tight combat mechanics that call back the very classics that the graphics are paying homage to. Just mashing buttons may get you through a round of “Marvel Vs Capcom 3”, but in “Skullgirls” unless you know the mechanics inside and out you’re simply not going to win that fight.

2. BlazBlue

Ah, a favourite of mine! If you’ve played the excellent “Persona 4 Arena” or its sequel, then you’ve pretty much familiar with “BlazBlue” already, as both of those games were made by the same people and are very similar when it comes to gameplay style, relying on pulling off good combos between light and heavy/special attacks. “BlazBlue” looks and plays pretty much like a crazier version of “Arena”, but the similarities don’t end there! Remember the complex, intricate storylines of the “Persona” fighting games, how we jumped between several characters in a larger narrative to uncover the truth? Well, that’s also borrowed from “BlazBlue”, which has had one continuous storyline since its very first instalment! And it’s not just your typical Tekken “excuse plot” fare, we’re talking an actual narrative with good plot and character development! How many fighting games can boast that?

3. King of Fighters

Alright, alright, I am cheating a liiiittle bit with this one, beacause the latest instalment, “King of Fighters XIV”, features 3D models rather than 2D sprites, and as you may recall one of my rules was that all games I recommend need to be in full 2D. However, it’s honestly such a miracle that we’re even getting “King of Fighters XIV” that I think the exception is worth making. I mean, the last “King of Fighters” game we got was in 2010, before developer SNK went out of business in order to create pachinko machines. The fact that we’re only a month away from actually getting a proper sequel is amazing, and from the looks of it, even if it’s in 3D, the game very much looks and plays like classic 2D “King of Fighters” games. And if you still hate the 3D, then feel free to play any of those! They’re still great, even today!