GUILTY GEAR
- May 15, 2019
- Microsoft Research
- 9h median play time
Get on Steam"Guilty Gear" is a fast-paced fighting game set in the 22nd century, where synthetic beings known as "gears" exist. The game's story revolves around a tournament organized by the Sacred Order to find a worthy hunter of the renegade gear, Justice, who has recently broken free from prison. Players take control of various characters, including the enigmatic Sol Badguy and the skilled knight Ky Kiske, to compete in the tournament and uncover its secrets. The winner is granted any wish, making the stakes higher than ever.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- The game features a fantastic soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- Despite its age, the gameplay is surprisingly fluid and fast-paced, making it enjoyable to play.
- The characters are diverse, each with unique abilities, providing a fun and chaotic fighting experience.
- The game suffers from severe balance issues, with some characters being overwhelmingly powerful and others feeling nearly unplayable.
- The AI is notoriously difficult, often using cheap tactics like instant kills that can frustrate players.
- There are significant technical issues, such as the game running too fast on high refresh rate monitors, making it unplayable without adjustments.
- gameplay55 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this title is characterized by a mix of innovative yet flawed mechanics, such as the controversial instant kill feature and numerous infinites, leading to a chaotic and often unbalanced experience. While some players find enjoyment in the fast-paced action and unique mechanics, many criticize the lack of responsiveness in controls and the steep difficulty curve, particularly in arcade mode. Overall, the game offers a nostalgic charm for fans of the series, but its broken mechanics and steep learning curve may deter newcomers.
“Kickass music, awesome art, and tons of funny broken mechanics.”
“The soundtrack is phenomenal, the gameplay holds up incredibly well, and just about everything was thoroughly enjoyable.”
“This game kickstarted anime fighters with its cool visuals, awesome soundtrack, and fast-paced gameplay.”
“The instant kill moves are what really put this game over the edge into 'just watch some YouTube videos.' They're not that hard to execute, and they have an escape mechanic, but it's almost impossible to escape them as a human player.”
“This game is an absolute mess; it embodies the term 'kusoge' with so much questionable design, balance, and strange mechanics to keep you up at night for hours.”
“Absolutely busted mechanics, both intentional and unintentional, such as instant kills winning you the entire match and are easy to pull off, charging specials which lets you charge cancel to go into infinites, desperation state, where at half health you can infinitely use supers, as well as the character balance being all out of whack.”
- music41 mentions
- 78 % positive mentions
- 15 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised, featuring a high-octane rock soundtrack that enhances the fast-paced gameplay and fits the game's intense atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the quality and memorability of the original soundtracks, with many considering it one of the best aspects of the game, despite some complaints about sound effects being overshadowed. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a standout feature that adds significant value to the gaming experience.
“The music is high octane rock, perfect for the adrenaline in the fast-paced fights.”
“It’s all so good and the music is everything you’d expect from a Guilty Gear game: fast-paced heavy rock tracks which get the adrenaline pumping and perfectly fit the intensity of the fights.”
“The soundtrack is phenomenal, the gameplay holds up incredibly well, and just about everything was thoroughly enjoyable.”
“The Guilty Gear series is about the gameplay first, music and visuals second, and story last.”
“Guilty Gear is an anime fighting game that has a more dark atmosphere to it aside from the cartoony art style and heavy metal music.”
“- No way to turn off the music.”
- story30 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its intriguing lore and character backstories, though it often lacks context and depth, relying heavily on arcade mode cutscenes and external resources for full understanding. While the narrative is engaging, it is considered basic compared to later entries in the series, with many players feeling that essential story elements are not adequately integrated into the game itself. Overall, it serves as a nostalgic entry point for long-time fans, offering a glimpse into the franchise's roots and character development.
“The lore is amazing, awesome dialogues, beautiful scenarios, cool characters... you can also see about the story of Guilty Gear on their official website (they even have a free manga of it) or watch it on YouTube, but anyway...”
“While not a good starting point for the series, I would highly recommend giving the game a shot despite its flaws if you feel invested in the franchise and have completed the other games while thirsting for more story.”
“I really liked how well written the story is for its genre, and this is a pretty big showcase of Daisuke Ishiwatari's skills as a game developer.”
“Sadly, this game struggles with a problem lots of old games have, where the story and some game mechanics are only properly explained in the manual, which the digital port does not have (although user gageschleser uploaded a scan of it in the game's guides).”
“It is enjoyable, but compared to the later games, it lacks characters and moves, and the story is basic arcade style 'win the tournament, see a short ending scene.'”
“But this is definitely a classic game where it feels like you need to read an instruction booklet to get the story's setup description for full context at first.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a distinct, hand-drawn aesthetic that combines stylish character designs with unique backgrounds, creating a visually appealing experience. While some reviews note that the pixel art may appear dated compared to modern standards, it still holds a nostalgic charm and is praised for its artistic effort and atmosphere. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's identity, blending a dark tone with vibrant anime-inspired elements.
“Everything about it is so stylish; the aesthetics and character designs are so cool.”
“The original pixel art graphics are still beautiful and as timeless as Street Fighter or other fighting games of its day.”
“Indeed it was a technical marvel, and alongside a slightly crude yet attractive anime-inspired art style, made it stand out among its competition back in the day.”
“Think any other Guilty Gear game, but the visuals, sound effects, and mechanics are all bitcrushed to all hell.”
“When it comes to its visuals, the game may look somewhat dimly colored and low resolution nowadays.”
“The gameplay is clunky and the graphics are chunky in this faithful PS1 port.”
- humor13 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from its broken mechanics and absurdities, with players finding enjoyment in the chaotic and often ridiculous gameplay, such as the instant kill system and numerous glitches. While some criticize the lack of balance, many agree that the game's flaws contribute to its comedic value, especially when played with friends. Overall, it’s described as a hilariously flawed experience that can be entertaining despite its shortcomings.
“This game is hilariously broken, but very easy to understand and complete, especially for a Guilty Gear game.”
“It's really funny to play with friends.”
“Instakill mechanic is terrible (you can just cheese it out to get to the last stages in arcade mode), lots and lots of infinites, no balance whatsoever, but it was still funny to play.”
- character development4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The character development in the game is highly praised for its stylish aesthetics and memorable designs, which have improved in later installments. Reviewers highlight the talent of Daisuke Ishiwatari in creating compelling character designs, conceptual artwork, and a captivating soundtrack, showcasing a strong artistic effort throughout the series.
“The character designs are memorable and have only gotten better with later installments in the series.”
“Everything about it is so stylish; the aesthetics and character designs are so cool.”
“However, it is a game with effort for its art, character design, sprites, and music.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
“I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; they didn't evolve in any meaningful way.”
“The lack of meaningful choices in character development left me feeling disengaged from the story.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players note that the game offers significant replayability, with some characters, like Johnny, being perceived as more enjoyable to play than others, such as Axl. This variety in character playstyles contributes to the overall replay value of the game.
“The replay value in this game is incredible, offering countless ways to experience the story.”
“Each playthrough feels fresh and engaging, making you want to dive back in for more.”
“The variety of characters and choices ensures that no two runs are ever the same.”
“The replay value is severely lacking.”
“I am 100% serious when I say Johnny is more playable than Axl in this game.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express strong emotional responses, feeling guilt and frustration due to the game's perceived unfairness and broken mechanics. The experience evokes deep sadness, with some users indicating it impacts their overall enjoyment negatively.
“All of the gears made me feel really guilty.”
“It's a broken mess; justice is completely unfair. It makes me want to cry.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of Guilty Gear is characterized by a dark and pessimistic tone, which stands out in contrast to its vibrant, cartoony art style and heavy metal soundtrack. This unique blend creates a compelling ambiance that many players feel is lacking in the series' later installments.
“Of all the things I love the most is its dark and pessimistic atmosphere, something that's missing in its later series.”
“Guilty Gear is an anime fighting game that has a darker atmosphere to it, aside from the cartoony art style and heavy metal music.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is seen as a necessary compromise to achieve smooth animations, camera zoom, and flashy special effects, particularly on a console that struggles with 2D games. Overall, while the performance is reasonably smooth, it comes at the cost of certain limitations.
“But this was unavoidable in order to allow smooth animations, zoom-in camera, and flashy special effects to perform at a reasonably smooth performance on a console that wasn't all that good at handling 2D games in the first place.”
