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Review: Guilty Gear XX |
The Guilty Gear series has been received with mixed views in the US. The first game was released on PSX and became a cult hit with its strange characters and high-speed gameplay. The sequel, Guilty Gear X, was released a few years later on the Dreamcast in Japan and subsequently saw a PS2 release in both Japan and America. It saw a huge graphical update and many new features added to the gameplay, some which have never been featured in any fighting game before. Now the third game in the series is out on the PS2 in Japan and will soon see US shores in 2003. Being the ghey fanatic that I am, I imported this game right away, and I must say that it’s easily one of the best installments in the series to date.
Graphically, the game has seen some improvements over Guilty Gear X. Additional frames of animation have been added in to help smooth over how the game moves on-screen. The stages have received an overhaul, and there are no more backgrounds that are so garish as to hurt one’s eyes, and objects that once blocked your view of your characters on-screen (something rather loudly complained about, with good reason) will now turn transparent as the sprites pass by them. More detail has been added to the game overall, to the point of making it even more visually impressive than before. The game has a cool anime-style intro that shows off the new characters. The console version’s presentation is incredibly cool-looking; the menus all look very futuristic and polished.
Audio-wise, the game stays true to its heavy-metal theme. Old audio tracks have been remixed, and for the most part, sound better than their previous versions. There are some issues with the volume of the music in relation to the sound effects and voices, but the option menu lets you tweak volume settings for all three of these aspects. Those who weren’t fans of the soundtrack of the first game may be disappointed, but old-school fanboys will be happy to hear that not only do they get some cool new tracks, but there are also a couple of bonus tracks from the old games (I’ll refrain from telling which ones).
As for gameplay changes, the engine has been tweaked and a few new features have been added. For the most part, the game moves at a faster pace now; not as insanely fast as the first Guilty Gear, but definitely faster than GGX. It took me a while to adjust to the speed and timing changes, and I spent a great deal of time on GGX. The timing for landing combos has been tightened and hit impacts and pushback have been altered to the point that there are a good number of old combos from GGX that won’t work in GGXX. Blocking properties have also been altered in order to reduce or eliminate some of the more annoying pressure tactics that were used in GGX. Various other tweaks have been incorporated in order to reduce the usage of tactics that were complained about in GGX, such as OTG properties and wakeup games.
Thankfully, the game is not just a tweaked version of GGX, and there’s been some new stuff added.
First of all, there is a new button called the “Dust” button. This button serves as the replacement for pressing both Slash and Hard Slash together in order to activate the Dust attacks from GGX. Just press the Dust button while standing to perform an attack that must be blocked high and will launch your opponent into the air for Versus-style combos if it hits. Most of these attacks are slow and telegraphed, but they are still useful as part of a player’s mixup game. Pressing Dust while crouching produces a sweep attack which varies from character to character, but must be blocked low and will knock down if it hits. Pressing Dust in the air will make your character do a personalized attack that will have different effects depending on the character; most of them hit hard and knock down.
A new system called “Psych Burst” has been implemented. This system is managed by a gauge just under your lifebar that says “BURST” in large, fancy letters. The Burst Gauge starts full at the beginning of the match (you can tell it’s full because the gauge will be in full color and will pulsate in a most hypnotizing manner). Pressing any normal attack button plus the Dust button will activate the Psych Burst; your character will do a sort of ki explosion and knock the opponent away from him if he is close enough. The Burst has different effects depending on when it is used, but it can be done at almost any time. The only time you cannot Burst is if you are being thrown or your opponent is performing their Overdrive (super move). Performing the Burst while you are in an offensive position and not being attacked or pressured by your opponent will produce a yellow explosion; if the explosion connects, your Tension gauge (super meter) will immediately increase to full. Whether or not this Burst hits, you will only lose 2/3 of your Burst gauge, and you will be completely invincible to physical attacks as you fall from the explosion, until you land on the ground and recover. The second type of Burst is done when you are being attacked by your opponent (being hit or blocking their attack), or when you are knocked on the ground and being pressured as you get up. The Burst will cause a blue explosion that will use ALL of your Burst gauge; if the Burst connects, you will gain back 1/3 of your gauge. While this can be used as a sort of combo breaker, it executes slightly slower than the yellow Burst, and you will be completely vulnerable as you fall from the explosion, making this a risky move against opponents who expect it. The Psych Burst can turn the tide of a heated battle very quickly and adds to the feel of the game, reemphasizing the aggressive, high-paced theme.
Other new stuff that’s been added includes air throws, staggers, and False Roman Cancels. Everyone has the ability to perform an air throw by pressing forward or back plus Hard Slash when next to their opponent in the air; this is a neat little extra that allows for some interesting mindgames regarding how people tech in the air and how you can punish them. Certain normal moves cause a staggering effect (some only do so on counterhit) when they hit the opponent, sort of a mini-dizzy which can be shaken out of.
The False Roman Cancel is an extension of the Roman Cancel that first appeared in GGX; for those of you who don’t know or don’t remember, Roman Cancels let you cancel any physical attack and return to your neutral state at the cost of half your Tension bar by pressing three buttons when your attack hits (this allowed you to make your own combos). The False Roman Cancel works the same way in principle, but it’s a bit different in practice. First off, you can only FRC specific moves for each character that are listed online and in the special GGXX guidebook released in Japan. The FRC has a specific cancel window that is very small; they are similar to the “Just Frame” attacks in Tekken 4, though few of them are true Just Frames. The advantage to the FRC is that when done correctly, it will happen even if your attack doesn’t make contact with your opponent, and when successful, the FRC only uses a quarter of the Tension gauge, rather than half. FRCs have a major effect on gameplay strategies and combos, as they allow for some interesting setups.
All of the old characters have returned from GGX, and they all have new moves and some modified tricks. The developers chose to only slightly change and downplay the characters who dominated in GGX and upgrade the rest of the characters, rather than hugely toning them down to the level of the other characters. Personally, I really like this. There are many times where I’ve played a Capcom or SNK sequel and found that one of my old favorites may have been toned down harshly, and it’s usually not necessary. Many of the old characters feel more complete this time around, and the rough spots of their strategies and gameplans have been polished. The game rewards variety now more than brute force rushdown; mixing up and pressuring/confusing/annoying your opponent are paramount now.
There are 4 new characters in the cast this time around: Slayer (a cultivated vampire who fights with his bare hands…and teeth!), I-no (an oversexed witch with a large guitar), Zappa (a possessed freak with several random possessions that are similar to the “Stands” of the JoJo series), and Bridget (freakish transexual boy who fights with yoyos and a robotic teddy bear). They all fit into the GG series quite easily and have some very interesting abilities. The console version also features three exclusive hidden characters, two of which are old favorites: Kliff (the old leader of Ky’s organization who fights with a giant meat cleaver), Justice (BIG FUCKING LASER), and Robo-Ky (weird version of Ky). The console version includes “EX” versions of the 20 default characters who have some altered abilities (this effectively raises the playable roster to something like 43 characters), as well as “SP” versions that have insane abilities like maximum super at all times or increased speed or power. There’s a lot to try out.
The console version features plenty of other extras for the bored individual. Besides the traditional Arcade, Versus (2P and CPU), and Training modes, there’s an insanely long and difficult Survival mode, the “M.O.M.” mode (an altered Survival mode similar to the MOTW Survival mode with items to pick up), a thorough Story mode with multiple endings for each character (hilarity such as Chipp’s exclamation of “HOLY ZEN!” ensues within), a Gallery mode where you can gawk at pictures and movies you’ve unlocked, and the Mission mode.
Mission mode is a set of 50 missions, each of which has different parameters and requirements to complete it. The first one is deceptively simple (beat a regenerating Ky with Sol), but they get progressively harder and harder, to the point of insanity at times. Mission 50 is a nightmare; you are given a normal Ky who starts with only half life and forced to take on a Gold EX Sol. You can’t damage him with supers, and because of his powered-up state, he can easily kill you in one blow by plowing through you with any of his three supers. You can’t instant kill him, and you MUST knock him out; if time runs out, you will lose, regardless of whether or not you have more life. Did I mention that Gold Sol is constantly regenerating life and is permanently Dragon Installed?
Other crazy missions similar to this one abound, and it will take most players an eternity to finish all of them. You get a different picture for finishing each mission, which seems very unfair as a reward. Beat 40 of the 50 missions and you’ll unlock all of the EX and SP forms of the characters, as well as the three hidden characters and Guilty Gear mode.
Overall, I feel this game is thoroughly improved over GGX; however, at it’s core, it’s still the same type of fighting game. If you didn’t enjoy GGX because you don’t like fast-paced fighters with very open engines, then chances are that you won’t like GGXX. But if you’re an old fan of the GG series, or someone who liked the first game and was disappointed with GGX, then I recommend you pick this game up or rent it when it comes out this February in the US. The boatload of extras and the reworked gameplay make this a great game for the fighting fanatic who’s looking for something a little different.
