If this is a future of Game Boy Advance ports, I want to keep my eyes wide open .
Of all the fighting games that are out there, one of the most colorful and definitely most imaginative has always been the Guilty Gear series. Guilty Gear X has finally found its way from Sega Dreamcast to the Sony PlayStation two, and now it makes its way to the Game Boy Advance. I am proud to say the Game Boy Advance version lacks absolutely nothing in execution.
Advance version of Guilty Gear X features graphics that rival any other portable system as well as some councils. Though the characters are small and somewhat under detailed compared to their big-screen counterparts . the game holds its own with posting a 320 by 240 resolution. All the visual effects still return in the game minus the 3-D backdrops. The 3D animated backdrops are a little that too much for the Game Boy Advance to handle, however to programmers to put a decent amount of detail to the existing backgrounds, which did make the final cut. All the characters appear in their small screen costumes, which are just lightly less detail their Game Boy Advance costumes are actually better than one would expect for portable system. The main result was characters with featureless faces and slightly low resolution outfits. But this was nothing more than anyone would expect from a portable system. Altogether, Sammy did a great job with visual presentation.
I really can't really much about the audio for the game, as due to the cuts in memory and the power of the system to game had to suffer somewhere. The majority of the screams yells and general sound effects that made game such a hit have been removed. They even removed the announcers quote "Heaven or Hell, Dual One, Lets Rock". Though this comes as a slight disappointment, I still believe the game has its merits.
It's the fighting engine that attracts most people to Guilty Gear X . It still features the same hard slash, weak slash, punch, and kick attack scheme that was featured in the original Dreamcast and PlayStation versions. With the smaller screen, and added that version more simplified three button approach has also added more one of the slashes have been removed in favor of a system that most represents rather resembles Street fighter Alpha 3, where player may press a button for a longer, or rather slightly more extended timeframe of button, and it will create a harder attack. The third button would be used for the tag feature for the game. I really haven't had much of the chance to play tag mode of that is mostly because it is difficult to locate someone with the same game roster as you would have for your Game Boy Advance. General gameplay still features the air dashes, ground dashes, and super jumps as well as the many other forms of movement that were initially in the original Guilty Gear X .
All the martial arts moves return to Guilty Gear X . Sammy did not omit one move at all from the game, they even managed to include all of the finishing blows. It is harder to switch from standard fighting mode to killing mode. However, once you are in killing mode is more difficult to pull off your finishing attack. Like the previous Guilty Gear X you are still able to finish your opponent at the beginning of a round, should you land successful death blow. If you spend too much time in killing mode, your life bar will deplete, as well as your super combo gauge. This creates an incentive for players to strategically use their killing mode. All of the death blows return. My personal favorite is Jam Kuderburi. Jam's killing blow includes a series of still images featuring her in various martial arts poses. Though this may not sound is interesting, the presentation is a welcome change from the standard slashes and theatrics that were performed for some of the other fighter's finishing attacks. The character Testament has one of the most disturbing killing moves in the game. In Testament's finishing attack, a naked woman performs a ritual sacrifice on the opponent, while they strapped to a bed. Though this twisted ask of cruelty may seem normal to some players, personally, I found the attack to be a bit much. A source of some comic relief for some, maybe that the final boss Dizzy. The reason she is called Dizzy, is most likely due to the fact that an angel and a demon argue over each of her shoulders, confusing her while she is trying to decide what attack unleashed next.
Of the story of Guilty Gear X the follows in the original footsteps of the Guilty Gear Series. Beings which are genetic mutations of machinery or magic (or both in some cases) must be destroyed. The rise of the new gear named Dizzy threatens the world. Though, she is only a mere three years old, her body has quickly matured to an age resembling a 21-year-old. Sol Badguy as well as the other Guilty Gear combatants must defeat Dizzy, before she is unleashed upon the world.
Guilty Gear X is somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me. With bizarre and interesting characters ranging from Baiken, the female samurai, to May, the pirate chick, this game encompasses some not only odd, but definitely interesting characters in its presentation. I strongly recommend this game to fighting fans. It definitely has a high replay value. I cannot explain why, but for some reason, I always find myself playing this game yet again and again. Guilty Gear X Advance may not be everything that its original console brother and sisters were, but Guilty Gear X Advance does holds its own in a fighting game genre. This is a must own for any Game Boy Advance owner.
Read GR% Blog
