Official PlayStation Magazine - 04.2020

065

GUILTY GEAR STRIVE

POWERFULPRESSURING/TYPEBALANCE/EASEOFUSE4.5/5/RANGESPECIALITYSHORT

thosejuststartingout,”says
Ishiwatarionthedifficultyof
balancingthetwosidesofthe
spectrum.“Theproblemwasthatthe
abilitygapbetweenseriesveteransand
beginnerswasstilltoolarge,even
thoughGuiltyGearXrdwasintended
tobea brand-newtitle.[Onething]
wearedoingnowis takinga hardlook
ata numberofthingsinorderto
establisha newbaselineforlong-time
playersandnewcomerstostartfrom.”

PUTTINGONA SHOW
WithStrive,GuiltyGearis undergoing
a bigmechanicaloverhaultoaddress
itscomplexnature.“Thegoalis notto
simplifycomplexmechanicsormake
thegameeasier.Toexcel,playerswill
stillneedtodevelopadvancedskills
andanin-depthunderstandingofthe
game,”saysIshiwatari.“Ourgames
havethereputationofbeinghardto
understandfromtheverybeginning.”
Fromthedemothat’sbeenshowcased

ata fewfightinggametournaments,

it’sclearthatwhilea lotofchanges

havebeenmade,charactersstillhave

manyofthemovesyou’llbeusedto.

Ratherthanbecomingmorebasic,

Striveis designedsoit’seasierto

understandwhattypesofgoodplays

youshouldmake.It’seasiertofollow.

Butthecoresystemremainsthesame:

youstringtogethercombosof

“IT’S EASIER TO

FOLLOW, BUT THE

CORE SYSTEM

REMAINS THE SAME.”

When we were told

Axl was in a chain

gang this wasn’t

what we had in mind.

Zoom-ins when using special moves reveal
the extremely detailed character designs.

S

omething of a cynical, gruff loner, Sol has reasons for pushing others

away. He’s a prototype ‘Gear’, a creature infused with magical energy

and built for combat. He suppresses his true form in his role as a bounty

hunter,onlyunleashinghisdevastatingdestructiveability when he has to.

Wildly swinging his hefty rectangular sword, the Junkyard Dog MK III,

Sol can hit with strong short-range attacks in fast-paced rushes. The

chunky weapon also enhances his fire magic, meaning he can end combos

with slashes that ignite his enemies – both his devastating Volcanic Viper

uppercut and knockback Gunflame are good for this.

special attacks

Gunflame 236 + P

Gunflame (Feint) 214 + P

Volcanic Viper 623 + S or HS (air okay)

Bandit Revolver 236 + K (air okay)

Bandit Bringer 214 + K (air okay)

Wild Throw 623 + K (near opponent)

Ground Viper Night Raid Vortex 214 + S (hold okay)

Fafnir 41236 + HS

Overdrives

Tyr ant Rave 632146 + HS

P – PUNCH K – KICK S – SLASH HS – HARD SLASH

SOL BADGUY – AGGRESSIVE STRIKER