Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Pack Switch

Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Edition is a set of two installments of a series of 2D fighting games developed by Arc System Works. The set includes the first installment, from 1998, and Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R from 2013. Both productions were also released separately with the release of Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Edition, with the older one also making its debut on PlayStation 4.

Plot

The action of both games included in Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Edition takes place in an alternative reality in which humanity has discovered a potentially unlimited source of magical energy. One of the consequences of this discovery was the creation of the eponymous Gears - magical beings, which over time began to be used as a living weapons. At some point the Gears revolted, led by the so-called Justice, defeated only after a hundred years of bloody fights.

First part of Guilty Gear takes place in 2180 and focuses on Gear attempts to resurrect Justice by a Gear calling himself Testament. In response, mankind organised a tournament to find the strongest man who can overcome the danger.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R builds on Guilty Gear XX and continues the story presented in Guilty Gear X. This time we follow the events connected with the activities of the Post-War Administration Bureau (P.W.A.B. for short), which show a disturbing interest in Gears and participants of the tournaments. As if that wasn't enough, the dangerous human I-No, acting at the orders from mysterious forces, enters the stage.

Mechanics

According to the convention of the genre, in both titles we observe the action from the side, and the fun comes down to dynamic duels in two-dimensional arenas. Guilty Gear offers ten warriors to choose from (plus three secret characters), and as much as twenty-five are available in Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R, characterized by a unique character and style of combat. Everyone has a large number of attacks, including complex combo and even instant killer moves.

One of the characteristic features of the Guilty Gear series is a tension sbar, which fills up as the opponent is hit. When it reaches a certain value, we can use special attacks, and in the case of Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R also use the so-called Roman Cancel, which enables the warriors to take immediate action after an attack. Note, however, that too passive a game will cause a drop in tension, which promotes an aggressive style of play.

Game modes

Guilty Gear offers three gameplay modes that are characteristic of fighting game: Arcade adventure, Versus multiplayer and training mode. Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R adds further variants, such as Versus CPU, i.e. battle agains a computer opponent. We will also find here a more extensive story mode, continuing the threads from the original Guilty Gear XX. As part of the story, we follow the fate of the selected hero, and even make decisions that will lead us to one of the several dozen endings. There is also the Mission mode, which comes down to duels under pre-defined conditions and restrictions (for example, the player can't use the jump) and Survival (we fight subsequent enemies untill we fall or defeat the last opponent, during which we can develop our character). Medal of Millionaires is a variant of Survival, in which we receive special medals for executing spectacular combos.

In addition, the newer of the two games offers additional attractions. IWhen taking a break from the duels we can watch the unlocked endings and videos, as well as an image gallery.

Technical aspects

Both titles comprising Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Edition features two-dimensional visuals in manga style, although the age difference between them is clearly visible. The main innovation is the fact tha the graphics were adapted to higher resolutions and widescreen displays. The sound and music in both productions draw attention - in Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R the characters speak with Japanese voices, and in both games the battles are accompanied by energetic music, making our blood pumping in combat.

Last updated on 19 March 2019