Official PlayStation Magazine - 04.2020

066

GUILTY GEAR STRIVE

EFFECTIVETECHNIQUES/TYPEBALANCE/EASEOFUSE5/5/RANGESPECIALITY MID

S

ol’srival,Kyis a formercommanderoftheSacredOrderOfHoly Knights,

aneliteforcedesignedtocombatGears.Nowhe’sthecaptain of the

InternationalPoliceForce.Heis extremelydevout,whichcancause him

innerturmoilashewrestleswithhismorals...andthosehemustfight.

Wieldingelectricity,Kycanjumpintothefrayandusemid-reaching sword

thrusts to stun his opponent. Stun Edge can frazzle enemies from a short

distance, allowing him to close the gap and deliver more jolts with the sliding

Stun Dipper or swing his sword in a wide arc above him with Vapor Thrust,

hurling foes into the air as he adopts a messiah-like pose.

special attacks

Stun Edge 236 + S

Stun Edge Charge Attack 236 + HS

Aerial Stun Edge 236 + S or HS in mid-air

Stun Dipper 236 + K

Special Attack (Flying Kick) 214 + K

Vapor Thrust 623 + S or HS (air okay)

Dire Eclat 214 + S

Overdrives

Ride The Lightning 632146 + HS

(air okay)

Sacred Edge 236236 + P

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

KY KISKE – ALL ROUNDER

UNPREDICTABLESTRANGEMOVES

T

hemedicalgeniusDr.Baldhead’sgriponreality(quiteliterally)broke

whena youngpatientofhisdiedmysteriously.Afterdonninga face-

concealingpaperbag,henowgoesbythemonikerofFaust.Sometimesa

deadlykiller,sometimesa healer,heseeksthetruthbehindtheincident.

Faust’s moves areallaboutmisdirectionandunpredictability,ashetangles

up opponents inhisconfusingwebofstrikes.He’llgrabyouwitha fishing

line with Re-re-reThrust,andthenspinattackyouin theair.Orhe’llgobble

you up to spit yououtofthecosmossomewhere.He’llevengrowoutyour

hair into an afro,dropsomestrangepills,orbecomea scarecrow.If you

don’t know what’sgoingon,thenneitherwillyourenemy.

FAUST – MYSTERIOUS DOCTOR

punches, kicks, slashes, and hard

slashes (it’s a four-button fighter, so

great on a standard controller). Those

moves are in order of strength; hard

slashes have more of a wind-up, and

you can combo upwards through those

moves. Timing is less important than

in, say, Street Fighter – just mash out

buttons up the scale, and like jamming

on a scale on a guitar you’ll get your

moves out. Dust attacks on u are

launch moves, and ducking while you

do it now gives you the option to

sweep attack to knock your opponent

off their feet. The combat’s always

been fairly simple to follow when you

break it down, but the way Strive is

presented ensures it all clicks into

place more quickly for new players.

Guilty Gear is well known for being

gorgeous – like 2D animation come to

life in three dimensions (while

remainingona 2Dplane–thecamera

pansaroundcharactersatkey

momentstorevealthedepth).But

withsomanyflashyeffectsandlong

combosnewplayerscouldfindit

intimidatingtograsp.“Themajorfocus

forthistitleis tomakea gamethat

evencasualspectatorscaneasily

understandwhatis happeningon

screen,”saysIshiwatari.“I thinkthatif

peoplecanclearlygraspwhatneedsto

bedoneinordertowina round,

playersofanylevelwillbeableto

enjoythegameevenif thecore

mechanicsappeardifficult.”Thatsaid,

youstillhavetoputinpracticetobe

abletoekeallyoucanfroma

character’smoveset.“Weareworking

onmakingit anentirelynewexperience

forallplayers,”saysIshiwatari.

“However,weintendtomakeit such

thatplayerscanstillfeelelements

distinctivetoGuiltyGear,suchas

Potemkin only fights when he has to, but the

story makes it clear he has his orders.

“I THINK THAT [...]

PLAYERS OF ANY

LEVEL WILL BE ABLE

TO ENJOY THE GAME.”