art by Arc System Works
Guilty Gear Strive is a game with a rocking soundtrack, fantastic character design, smooth Mechanics, and sets the standards of what A fighting game can and should be. Guilty Gear Strive is the 7th main title in the Guilty Gear franchise designed by Daisuke Ishiwatari who has fathered the series since its inception.
Heaven or Hell
I am not going to lie when I say I discovered this Game through the infamous Jack-o pose challenge and up until now I have never really dedicated time to learning a real fighting game. I spent time playing Mortal Combat 9, Street Fighter V and of course, Super Smash Bros ultimate but could never get past those games barrier to entry. However, Strive fixed a lot of the problems I have with those other titles and problems with fighting games in general.
If you don't know your history fighting games spawned during the Arcade era of Video games and since then Controls, technology, and the social interactions of gaming have changed a lot, But fighting games didn't really grow with the times. Now people play on gamepads rather than fighting sticks and we play in the comfort of our own home. Strive inputs and connection are really smooth and that matters a lot in a fighting game it's one of the reasons Street Fighter V and Super Smash Bros ultimate get a lot of backlashes they have to be played locally. Strives inputs and mechanics are so smooth and responsive I have never once said or thought "now that's Bullshit" like I have with so many fighting games before it.
Its Roaster of Currently 18 with number 19 to be released in early 2022 is completely unique with each character having their own theme song to kick ass too. You are bound to find a character to fit your playstyle and most if not all characters have A low skill floor but a high skill ceiling. This allows Players to do crazy things as we can Jack-o one of the hardest characters in the game do in the example below.
In case It slips past you Strives barrier to entry is one of if not the best when it comes to fighting games the only one to rivel it is Super Smash Bros ultimate and I know I will make people mad for saying this but Super Smash Bros is designed for a more casual/family player base. However, Like any competitive game, you got to take the ass whoopings before you can dish them out. Strive does this by Having A test of your Skill and then placing you in an MMR (matchmaking rating) system called the Tower with 10 levels to it the hights being called the celestial tower. You can always jump up the tower but never go to a level you are not supposed to be at. For Example, lets say you are placed at level 3 and that is what the game recommends you to play at you can go the level 4+ but never 1 or 2. In my experience, I have never faced an opponent that I thought was miles ahead of me in terms of skill at my recommended level this allows me to ease the ass whooping and provides a better new player experience.
But of course, Strive is not the perfect game why I do write this as a player new to fighting games and still have anxiety about facing real people (because I hate Lossing) I have about 30 hours on the game most of that is in training mode and why I would like to add another 30+ hours it's hard to find the time to boot up the game with it taking so long to load ( that and I'm still playing FF: XIV Endwalker pulse LoL/Valorant and my backlog I know I have a lot) and the games Balance could and still needs some work.
The last thing I will say Before Moving on to the next section Is the Soundtrack is early good and deserves a mission just start with the game's main theme Smell of the Game.
Still, My Heart is Blazing
Why I can keep going on about why I Fell in Love with this game In General and Like I said, I want to add 30+ more hours and make this one of my main games (if I can break the curse of LoL) I want to talk about what really solid me other then the music or Jack-o crouch. It all starts with one name on the Strive roster and that name is Ramlethal Valentine. Ramlethal is just down Right Bad (in a good way) she has buttons and a move set that could be considered War Crimes Under the Geneva convention and fits my playstyle/personality perfectly. You see I'm a Player that likes Flashing things with a high skill ceiling I want my opponent to know that I'm better than them and that I put in the work to get here so I can enjoy their despair or put it simply I like a Good FIght in which I come out on top. Ramlethal provides this and more and once you get them in the corner well as a wise man once said "this is where the fun Begins"
Ramlethal Valentine really sold me on this game once I picked her up I started to understand the general mechanics of Strive and when my friend came over who is more experienced in fighting games he said to me "before you were easy to play against but now your dangerous. you don't stop hitting buttons when you get me in the Connor" that made me happy I felt like finally, I have a fighting game. I still consider myself super mediocre and have to practice a lot more but Strive is one of my favorite Games of 2021 and in case you missed it.
Strive
8.5/10
It's Not A Sport's Game of The Year 2021
I said it in our final show of the season but Guilty Gear Strive sets a new standard for fighting games and deserves its place in the halls of, game of the year here at It's not a sport. Even though 2021 saw a weak line of games due to covid and I still have aspects to explore in Strive such as the story and arcade modes. Guilty Gear Strive has raised to the top and outshined its current competitors in the fighting game community.
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