Hey, welcome to Cross-Up. Hope you had some happy holidays, and here’s
to another good year for all of us.
Now let’s stop talking about stupid stuff nobody
cares about and move in to Guilty Gear
Xrd -- because oh my God Guilty Gear
Xrd is out, so let’s all shut up and talk about it.
Yes.
So here’s the question that needs to be answered:
is Guilty Gear Xrd the game that
finally justifies the presence of the PS4?
Well…no, not really.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that because the game is
somehow inferior to previous iterations.
But hear me out on this; as much as I like the game -- and I like it a
whole lot, to the point where I’m trying to make “just Xrd it” into a thing -- ultimately it’s not something I
can name as a must-own for everyone everywhere.
It’s a fighting game, meaning that right off the bat its appeal gets
slashed by a good 75%.
And that appeal gets slashed again because even
among fighter fans Guilty Gear is
pretty niche; those who’ll only buy into Capcom’s brand might just scoff at the
mere existence of the game. To put it
simply, not a lot of people are going to -- or have a reason to -- care about Xrd.
They freakin’ should, but this is reality. Not some dream world where awesome, stylish
games get the respect they deserve.
The game’s esoteric nature makes it a hard sell
for anyone who isn’t already a fan, either of the franchise or the genre it
cannonballs into. But even beyond that,
there are other things to keep in mind. Not
only is Xrd a game that could
conceivably appear on the PS3, it IS a game on the PS3 (though apparently there
are issues with the sound, AKA the ONE thing no GG game can afford to screw up).
It’s an evolved form of the franchise, sure, but is it enough to say “go
out and buy a PS4 right now, kiddos!”
Not really, unless those kiddos are starved for content.
It’s a must-own for guys like me and my brother,
but for everyone else? It’s no killer
app. It hasn’t been treated as such by
Sony, the only way it’ll ever gain traction is through word of mouth (and even
then, to people who’ll never even consider a purchase), and even those that do
take the plunge might start shaking in their jimmies at the mere mention of a
system like “Roman Cancels” -- or even the fact that there are systems,
period. So as much as I want to
recommend this game, doing so would be inviting any given gamer to my secret
lair at the summit of an active volcano…which seems like a terrible place to
have a secret lair, now that I think about it.
That all said, I’m going to go ahead and invite
you to my secret lair at the summit of an active volcano anyway -- because in
some ways, Xrd manages to go beyond
its constraints and exist in that dream world we envision. It’s hitting logic in the face with a Tyrant
Rave -- and it’s high time I explain why.
Starting with…
THE VISUALS RRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!
You literally cannot talk about this game without
talking about how good it looks. You
just can’t.
The Best Friends Zaibatsu had a run with Xrd not too long ago, and one of them
joked about Arc System Works selling their
version of the Unreal Engine to others, seeing as how they did what
practically no one else could. That is,
they used THE guarantor of grimy, brown and gray environments (with tons of
texture pop-in, just ‘cause it loves you)
and created one of the most vibrant, stylish, and unbelievable-looking games
released yet. And remember, this is
coming from a company that’s barely dabbled in 3D; it’s been here and there,
but one of their first full forays was Guilty
Gear 2 Overture…and that had WAY more problems than just the visuals.
There was a post over on Sirlin.net the other day
that takes an in-depth look at some of the mechanics behind the new visuals (definitely worth a read, IMO). One of the things that the game does --
something that’s at the very least insanely difficult to do -- is make it look
as if the models are stretching, shrinking, compressing, warping, and more.
Darkstalkers did that with its sprites, as have plenty of others;
still, you don’t see that a lot with 3D models because, well, that’s just how
things are. But Xrd creates the illusion of being 2D by having its models do things
that you’d think were impossible. Not only
that, but it manages to keep its characters unbelievably expressive, be it with
their motions, their sounds, or even with their faces.
Seeing is believing, people. (Pro tip: open this video in another window and watch at max settings/60FPS. It's the only way.)
THE ACTION! FEELS
GOOD, MANG!
I think it’s possible to like both GG and its spiritual successor (and
effective substitute) BlazBlue. Just because we have the former in full force
now doesn’t mean that BB should
instantly become irrelevant, or that we should all collectively hate it. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I guess I have to
agree with the sentiment that, yes, GG is
technically better. Slightly, but
appreciably.
I’m the type who prefers the chain combo system to
link-types (AKA the type seen in something like Street Fighter), because I’m of the opinion that you should be
fighting the opponent, not the game.
Both GG and BB allow that, meaning that if you want
to put up an offense or get some good damage, you don’t need to do it with timing
that on occasion demands inputs within mere fractions of a second -- as in 1/60th
of a second, in some cases. Even so, GG has a better “feel” about it. It feels…well, I don’t want to say “faster”
than BB, but I can’t think of a
better way to describe it. It probably
is.
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Paradoxically, though, GG feels like a game that hits harder. Maybe that’s because I’ve been using resident
grappler Potemkin a lot recently, but there’s just something about the way each
hit -- light or heavy -- connects that creates this sense of weight. And speed, arguably; you know via countless
audiovisual clues that a punch is a punch, a slash is a slash, and a lightning
bolt is a lightning bolt. And the rate
at which all of that stuff gets fired off -- allowed by the ease of firing off stuff -- makes for a
game where you’re always feeling something.
More often than not, it’s something heavy.
SYSTEMS ON SYSTEMS ON SYSTEMS!
Here’s the weird thing about Xrd: even if it seems uninviting and “too hard” to play at a
glance, I’m of the opinion that it’s one of the easier fighters to get
into. Relatively speaking; you won’t be
a tournament-level player a week after plopping down with it, but it doesn’t
even take that long to figure out how to do reasonably well.
Like I said, when it comes to fighting games you
should be fighting the opponent, not the game.
Xrd facilitates that. If you want to do a basic combo, you’d
probably be all right by pressing a couple of the face buttons and ending in
your character’s special move. Maybe a
sweep. Comparatively, a game like Persona 4 Arena has you managing two
characters at once (not all the time, but enough of the time) just so you can maybe get some damage going. There’s a level of simplicity to Xrd that makes it easier to recommend to
beginners -- especially with the full-blown tutorial built almost directly into
the main menu.
Even if you don’t touch that, (which I can
understand, because it’s the equivalent of -- gasp! -- reading the manual), you can still intuit what you can do
mid-battle. And the reason for that is
because Xrd captures the essence of
what a fighting game should do. It’s not
about hundred-hit combos or a thousand Mach-speed inputs. It’s about using your character’s tool set to
overcome your opponent. If you can do
that, you stand a good chance of winning, even if you’re up against someone
leagues better than you.
As you’d expect, every character has a different
move set and play style. But once you
start a match with your warrior of choice, you have to ask yourself (or know
beforehand the answer to) a question: “What’s the move I have that can make
victory possible?” And there are plenty
of viable answers per character. Some moves
and strategies work better than others, but figuring out what to do leads to a
major eureka moment that’s hard for other games -- and genres in general -- to
match.
Tier lists aside, the playing field is pretty much
even because of the systems everyone has access to. In terms of offense, the biggest one is the
new-and-improved Roman Cancel system.
Press three buttons (or L1 by default), and for a portion of your super
meter you’ll cancel whatever action you were doing to return to a neutral state
-- meaning that you can make combos
out of things you otherwise couldn’t before.
Xrd makes that easier than
ever, because there’s a temporary slowdown effect that lets you assess as
situation and decide how to proceed from there.
Or to put it another way? Once
you Roman Cancel your way to a wide-open opponent, that’s your cue to go crazy.
Roman Cancels can be used to save you from getting
punished, so it doubles as a defensive tool as well. That said, you have others at your disposal;
like BB and P4A, you’ve got the ultimate last-resort defense, the Burst -- a
sort of get-off-me bubble that blows enemies away even if they’re pummeling
you. Likewise, you can spend some meter
to blow off an opponent while you’re blocking, resetting the situation so you
can apply pressure as well. But the big
addition to Xrd is the Blitz Shield,
a parry move that -- if you time it with an enemy’s attack -- stops an enemy
cold and leaves them wide open for pretty much whatever you want.
That seems like a lot to digest, I know -- but
it’s really not that complicated. The
game just gives you the tools needed to maximize damage given and minimize damage
taken. (Incidentally, because a lot of
those tools require percentages of your super meter, you’ll have to keep an eye
on that gauge in the bottom corner.)
Using those tools, as always, is what matters most. Here’s the thing, though: those tools are
available to everyone, and easily,
without issue or hassle. That’s the
clincher. And as nuts as it may sound,
it may be what helps make Xrd easier
to get into.
I don’t want to pick on Street Fighter, but it really does set a perfect example. SF4’s analogue
to the Roman Cancel is the FADC (Focus Attack Dash Cancel), which also allows
for offensive or defensive play. But
it’s a limited rendition of it; you can only FADC certain moves, have to
actually hit an opponent -- blocking or not -- to be able to activate it, and
you can only use it while on the ground.
And that’s setting aside the particulars -- the strict timing, the
inputs required (two buttons pressed simultaneously while tapping the stick
twice forward or backward), the meter consumption, and just considering which
move you want to FADC.
If FADCs just straight-copied Roman Cancels, then
it’d probably break SF4 wide
open. That said, I vastly prefer the
latter to the former, precisely because Roman Cancels fit in a game that
contextually welcomes them. What can Axl
do off of a RC? Plenty. What can Dhalsim do off of an FADC? Uh…there’s some stuff, but I have my doubts
it’s viable in a match. What can
Potemkin do off of a RC? Nightmarish
damage. What can T. Hawk do? T. Hawk can’t even FADC a lot of his
moves. Dee Jay can get some stuff, but
FADCs -- and the new Red Focus mechanic -- don’t really benefit him. There are characters that can do a lot, but the tradeoff is that
it (FADC or Red Focus, take your pick) widens the gulf between the haves and the
have-nots.
The mechanics of Xrd on top of the general character tool sets give everyone (more
or less) what they should have by design: a fighting chance. Desperate to get some damage with
shoto-archetype Ky, who’s got a fairly predictable style? Rush in and grab, then RC to launch them
skyward for a nice combo. Getting
pressured while playing as Venom, whose best bet is to sit there and pray? Throw up a Blitz Shield at the right moment
and reverse the flow of battle. Landed a
Potemkin Buster, but it didn’t quite kill?
RC and combo off it. Don’t want
to eat an Elphelt combo? Just Burst out
of it.
You could legitimately call Xrd something like Oh, I Can:
The Game, and it’s stronger because of it.
The moment you realize that you’re an active participant in any instance
-- when you understand the freedom the game allows -- is the moment you
appreciate every element of its design.
Landed a Greed Sever with Ky? Don’t
just stand there, idiot! Launch them
into an air combo! End it with a Ride
the Lightning! Keep up the pressure once
you touch back down, and build meter so you’re ready for anything! Get knocked down? No problem!
You don’t have to risk a DP on wakeup -- just blow ‘em off in the middle
of their next combo! Still got
meter? Launch a Charged Stun Edge, then
RC so you can start up a two-pronged approach, AND throw off the opponent’s
timing!
Man, and I haven’t even gotten to the characters.
So let’s go ahead and get to the characters. Follow me on this magical rainbow adventure!
…Oh, wait.
We’re already 2300+ words into this thing, and the rest of the file has
like 3000 more. It seems like that
happens every time I go into detail about the characters. I should probably work on that.
Or, alternatively, I can bury my head in the sand
and refuse to work on my obvious glaring weak points. Whatever the case, let’s do another Guilty Gear post for the other
stuff. See you guys then.
Happy 3-year anniversary, Cross-Up.
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