Heaven or Hell

I just finished beating one of Venom's story mode paths in Guitly Gear XX Accent Core Plus for the PSP.  The final battle was against one of the many Justice-clones a new character named Crow has created.  The victory against her took a good half hour, as she was more powerfual than usual, almost to the point of her Missing Link incarnation (that or I'm just not that good as Venom), but none the less the battle was physically exahusting but I felt extrodinarly satisfied, like when I beat the original Guilty Gear ten years ago.

I've been with this series forever now.  I remember first playing the Missing Link and being unsure who exactly was a protagonist since everyone but May and Ky looked evil.  Wound up going with Sol regadless since May was a girl and Ky's sword looked flimsy, and the rest was history.

I got hooked into its unique characters, I got into music through it's soundtrack, I fell in love with Daisukes raw art, it was the series I've been looking for all my life.

Flash forward 2008, we're with Accent Core Plus.  Well, Japan is, but none the less I imported it a few months ago for the PSP.  Playing it long enough now, discovering all the unlockables from Daisuke's art, old school stages (albeit with slightly different designs), the story mode, interviews with all the voice actors and every character so far that isn't in Overture playable, this strikes me almost as a "farewell, for now!" game with further proof would be Blazblue's sheer existence.

Saddened, probably wrong, but happy it's ending on a high note for the time being, I decided to make a decent overview of the series.  Mostly to spite Hardcore Gamer 101 and their terrible article on the series.  I'd seriously punch Kurt Kalata in the face for that mess ("VENOM: A MYSTERIOUS DUDE IN A MASK"), but since I'll never meet him, this is the next best thing.

Anyways, lets mosey.

The creator: Daisuke Ishiwatari

It would be a lie if I said this guy wasn't my hero.  Sure I don't know him in person.  Sure I don't know his personality.  But seriously, everything he does is just awesome.

While his role isn't as big as it used to be, he still for the most part writes the story, helped program the first game, produces most of the art for the series and wrote all the music (minus the first volume of Overture).

And Hell, he even voices Sol Badguy who is said to be like Daisuke's alter ego.  How awesome is that?

If anything, he's one of most underrated contributors in the videogame realm.  If I shook his hand, I could die and go to Heaven and not even care.

PLOT BACKGROUND
This will be slightly important (hopefully) while I off handily name various events, people and places.  I had to watch that damn animated movie on Guilty Gear multiple times to get these dates, and the font is rather tiny, so pardon me if I'm wrong.

Sometime in 2010 A.D., we discover a new energy source and dub it "Magic" as it solves most of the worlds energy problems. A few years later in 2014, the Gear Project begins as a means to benefit mankind.  There are two leading scientists in this project, one who everyone calls "That Man", and another man named Fredrick.  In 2016, Fredrick undergoes the process of becoming a Gear but soon escapes and the Gear Project is brought to a hault. 

For the longest time, nothing happens but suddenly That Man reappears in 2070 and proclaims he's perfected the first true Gear, a bioweapon created with the Magic energy source.  Fredrick learns of this and begins designing the Outrage Anti-Gear super weapon, which is comprised of eight different componets (a few well known swords, a pair of fans, ect.).

In 2073 various countries use Gears as weapons in their military, but suddenly a Commander Gear named Justice becomes self-aware, and soon coaxes all of the other Gears to follow by herside.  Sometime in this year, Japan is wiped off the face of the planet, and the long war against the Gears begins.

In 2175, a man named Sol joins the Holy Order.  In 2174, through the combined effort of Sol and Ky, Justice is sealed away in a dimensional prison, and all Gears cease to function, but five years later, one is discovered to still be active which leads us to...

GUILTY GEAR: THE MISSING LINK
Playstation - 1998

Characters introduced: Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, Millia Rage, Zato-1one, Potemkin, May, Chipp Zanuff, Dr. Baldhead (Faust), Axl Low, Kliff Undersn, Baiken, Testament and Justice

Story: A few years have passed since the 100-year long war against the magical bioweapons known as Gears has ended, with their leader Justice being sealed away in a dimensional prison.  Out of the blue, a Gear that's still active named Testament appears, and a tournament is held to see who can defeat him.  Eventually, it's discovered there is more to the tournament than let on.

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So yeah.  Guilty Gear: The Missing Link.  The beginning of everything.

It's gritty, it's rocking, fast and it's... kind of broken.  This is to GG as the original Street Fighter is to the rest of it's series, except it's not terrible.  While the signs of whats to come is there, it's still quite dfferent from the rest of the series.  But first, lets get the bad out of the way: Instant Kills.

Instant Kills are kind of a trademark to the series.  Pretty much useless now-a-days, albeit I will admit occasionally in desperation against some over powered opponet in storymode (I-No), but you can at least see them coming and even if you do managed to get hit by one, you only loose a round thankfully.

Not back in 1998.  You'd not just loose a round, but the match as a whole.  And back then, the computer can use instant kills and will, including the epitome of what a SNK boss stands for (ironicly not being a SNK boss), Justice.

I don't really need to elabroate any further, but it was such a drag back then to think you're about to beat Justice for once, only for that wench to turn the tables and use her instant kill on you.  Doesn't help that I find them a bit hard to pull off so you can't mockingly use it on the computer, but oh well.

For the rest of the game though, I think it holds up pretty well, and in a way, I kind of like it more than the rest of the games in the series.  It has this raw, angry warriors spirit in it that many fighting games just dont have, even it's successors  It's incrediblly fast and brutal, supplemented by the blood pumping hard rock soundtrack which sounds like it was recorded in a garage, but that just adds to everything.

The graphics still look nice, characters are large and detailed with featuring decent animation,  with all the action sat to memorable backgrounds in the future post-apocalyptic wartorn world (the collapsed statue of liberty in Sol's stage needs to show up again).

The plot was rather neat for a "tournament" themed fighting game, with a decent twist before Justice.  Characters actually had full fledged endings, something most fighting games don't have (and even GG sort of left in the dust up till Guilty Gear X Plus, which we never even saw).

I'd still recommend people to buy it if it's possible.  While the gameplay is a lot more refined with it's sequels, the Missing Link is still a good game in it's own rights.

Characters introduced:
Sol Badguy (real name Fredrick)
Theme song: Keep Yourself Alive (GG)
Keep Yourself Alive 2 (GGX)
Keep Yourself Alive II (GGXX)
Keep Yourself Alive 3 (GG2)
Starchaser (#R)
Sheep Will Sleep (if You Become Fatigued) (Isuka)

Sol.  Main character.  Hero to all children.  Rival to Ky.  Pinnacle of badasses.

Sol is something of a carefree bounty hunter, who once served in the Holy Order during the 100-year war against the Gears, eventually leading them to victory with Justice being sealed away.  In reality, he was one of the scientists who worked on the Gear Project 100 years earlier, and became the prototype Gear (with his significant other, Aria, becoming Justice).

He's now on a mission to kill "That Man", another scientist on the Gear Project who most likely helped start the 100-year war against the Gears.  The headband he wears, happens to keep his sanity in check and keeps him from fully turning into a Gear.  He weilds a bizarre rectangular sword called the Fireseal (guess what that does) and attacks with... well, fire.

When the Sacred Order of Holy Knights tournament was announced, he knew something was up and sat forth to find out what.

Happens to be a big fan of Queen, with his favorite album being "Sheer Heartattack", and seems to only wear Riot brand of clothing.

Ky Kiske
Theme song:
Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead) (all games)
Pillars of the Underworld (#RELOAD)
Sheep Will Sleep (if You Become Fatigued) (Isuka)


The other main character, and Sol's obligatory rival, Ky was a commander during the war against the Gears, but since sealing away Justice, he's now captain of the international police force.  With this new tournament announced, he enters to investigate what is going on.

Ky has a scewed perspective on life, seeing things as only black and white.  While he means well, he kind of goes overboard with his sense of justice.  He uses the Thunderseal in battle, and is one of the few people in the world who mastered lightening magic.

Though he and Sol worked together to seal away Justice in the dimensional prison, he despises him for bailing out and running off with the Fireseal after the war.

Millia Rage
Theme song:
Writhe in Pain (all games)
Great Empress (#RELOAD)
Irony of Chaste (Isuka)


Former assassin, she helped the international police put Zato-1 in jail after turning her back on that life style.  Her weapon in combat is her hair, which she can control through forbidden spell called "Angra".

After Zato-1 escaped prison, she enters this new tournament hoping to find and stop him.

Their relationship, along with the introduction of Venom and Slayer, form a unique side-story in the Guilty Gear unvierse later on.

Zato-1one
Theme songs:
Black Soul (GG)
Feel a Fear (GGX forward)
Dementia (#RELOAD)
Push a Bush (Isuka)

Leader of the Assassins Guild, he practiced one of the forbidden black spells and gained control of his shadow  (really a new type of bioweapon by the Post-war Administaration Bureau called "Eddy", who I'll get to in GGXX) and rose through the ranks of the assassins guild..  He was betrayed by Milia and thrown in prison sometime before the events the Missing Link, only to be let out by Testament for his little tournament.

Later on near the end of the second game, he dies and Eddy takes over his body...

May
Theme songs:
Unidentified Child (GG)
Blue Water, Blue Sky (GGX forward)
Get Out of My Way (#RELOAD)
Exceptional Routine Work (Isuka)

Cute little member of the Jellyfish sky pirates, she has a unbreakable love for their captain, Johnny.  But sadly, Johnny was captured before the events of the game, so she and her crew hatches a plan to win the Sacred Knights Tournament to gain a large sum of money so they can free him.

Johnny later shows up in the sequel as the second most badass character in the series.

Axl Low
Theme songs:
March of the Wicked King (GG)
Make Oneself (GGX forward)
Dogs on the Run (#RELOAD)
Drunkard Does Make Wise Remarks (Isuka)

Axl is really a poor bloke from the 20th century, who somehow wound up in the 22nd century, and occasionally gets sent through more time rifts, but usually ends back in the future with the rest of the cast (he speaks to Sol like their BFFs, and claims to have baby pictures of him lol).

He too has command over fire (perhaps taught to him by Sol?) and weilds twin sickles in combat with his overly cheery disposition.  He has mysterious connections to another character named Raven, who first shows up in a few GG novels, and later as a NPC in The Midnight Carnival before finally becoming playable in Overture of all things.

Designed after Axl Rose, frontman of Guns N' Roses

Chipp Zanuff
Theme songs:
Suck a Sage (all games)
Child of the Wild (#RELOAD)
Drumhead Pulsation (Isuka)


Formally a drug trafficker in America, he got into some deep **** and wound up being chased by the mafia only to be saved by a ninja named Tsuyoshi.  Tsuyoshi took Chipp in and turned his life around, taught him the ways of a ninja and became the father figure Chipp needed.

Everything was going well until one day, the a hitman named Volf from the Assassins Guild killed Tsuyoshi.  Vowing to get revenge, he enters the tournament to get a lead on his masters murderer.  Eventually it's discovered that Venom (appears in GGX) issued the orders on his death.

Since Chipp is a American ninja, he tends to use common Japanese words that any non-speaker would know for humorous effect.

*Volf never actually appears in any of the games, only in one of the novels.  Although Venom happens to be the one who issued his commands...

Dr. Baldhead/Faust
Theme songs:
Suspicious Cook (GG)
The Original (GGX forward)
Take the Pain (#RELOAD)
Home Sweet Grave (Isuka)

Once the greatest doctor in the world, a misfortunate accident during an operation on a little girl drove Dr. Baldhead insane into killing well over one hundred people before getting captured.

Years later, he is released from prison by Testament for his agenda.  During the tournament, he discovers that the death of the little girl was not his fault, but that of rival doctors, and learning that, he disappears not too long afterwords.

Soon after Baldheads disapperence, a mysterious healer wearing a paper bag over his head appears.

Potemkin
Theme songs:
Slaves Glory (GG)
Burly Heart (GGX forward)
Megatona Furioso (#RELOAD)
Riches in Me (Isuka)

A soldier to Zepp, the only country in the world that still uses technology from the 20th century, Potemkin was sent to win the tournament only to find himself aiding in a cause to rebel against Zepp's military dictatorship with his mentor, Gabrial.

Eventually he becomes a top agent under Gabrials rule.

Kliff Undersn
Theme songs:
Pride and Glory (all games)
Vengeance Is Mine (#RELOAD)

Kliff has been troubled by Gears all of his life.  When he was six, his family came under attack by Gears, and he only survived by Sol's intervention.  He eventually joined the Holy Order, and became it's captain, only to find that his step-son decided to become a Gear himself (Testament).

He joined the Sacred Knights Tournament, fearing Justices revival when he learned Testament, still alive and well, was behind it all.  After the game, he dies of old age, but is still playable in later installments as a hidden character.

SUBBOSS: Testament
Theme songs:
A Fixed Idea (GG)
Bloodstained Lineage (GGX forward)
In the Arms of Death (#RELOAD)
Push a Bush (Isuka)

Orphaned by a Gear attack, he was adopted by Kliff and eventually joined the Holy Order as the Black Knight of Death.  However, he became mentally unstable sometime during the war, and the Post-War Admin Bereau took advantage of that by turning him into a Gear, although unlike many Gears, he retained a majority of his senses and his human form.

After the war, it seems he disappeared only to turn up years later, hoping to revive Justice by using the blood of all those slained in the tournament as a means to do so.

BOSS: Justice
Theme songs:
Meet Again (all games)
Day of Judgment (#RELOAD)



To quote Elton John: "The bitch is back."

Justice was the first mass produced Gear ever created.  She is a Commander Gear, giving her power over all other Gears and was Sol's lover, a woman known as Aria.  She gained self awareness 100-years before the start of the game, and initiated the human genocide, seeing Gears as a better species.

Eventually through the combined efforts of Sol and Ky (and some interventions by I-No, but I'll touch apon that in GGXX), she is sealed off in the dimensional prison, causing all Gears to cease... but Testament.

SECRET CHARACTER: Baiken
Theme songs:
Momentary Life (all games)
Ricochet (#RELOAD)
Drumhead Pulsation (Isuka)


A one-eyed one-armed ronin of sorts, she is one of the few remaining Japanese left on Earth after Japan was vaporized by the Gears during the war.  She is now on a mission to exterminate "That Man" and any other "devil".

She's nigh impossible to unlock, and I've honestly never played as her in the original game.

 

Anyways, time for sleep.  Tomorrow I'll try to tackle By Your Side and the Midnight Carnival.