The upcoming game Guilty Gear Strive is currently blowing up everywhere, especially since almost every pro player who has competed in fighting game professionally is currently jumping on the hype train of Guilty Gear. Players like SonixFox, Justin Wong, Cloud805, HookGangGod, DotoDoya, Maximilian Dood, SaJam, and more are throwing their hat in the ring to test out this new game. Ever since the trailer was released in 2019, fans of the fighting game genre have been ready to play it. To understand why people are so excited for this game, we have to take a look back in time to understand why this series is loved by so many.
Guilty Gear was created by Arc System Work, who have been known for creating multiple popular fighting games over the last year, such as BlazBlue and Dragon Ball FighterZ. The first game was published in 1998 and has spawned several sequels over the years. During that time, the series has established itself as one of the hardest and most fast-paced fighting games in the genre. Guilty Gear Strive, which will be released in 2021, has blown the minds of everyone with its high-quality graphics and unbelievable animation along with roaring, thunderous music. In fact, here is a video of a well-known graphic analysist’s take on the game itself:
Fans around the world fear that the gameplay will be dumbed down and that Guilty Gear will be changed into something that long-time fans will not recognize anymore. Thankfully, during the interview with Katano, one of the game’s developers, those fears have been put to rest. Katano stated, “First, I’d like to establish that we believe that ‘simple’ and ‘easy’ are separate concepts. We are working to make the appearance of moves and general impression of the game easier to comprehend compared to prior entries in the series. However, advanced techniques will be accordingly difficult to perform.”
The game also comes with a rollback netcode instead of the standard delay-based netcode. Some might wonder what a rollback netcode is and what difference it makes. For a full explanation of the difference, here is the linked article that explains it in detail. To summarize in short, rather than waiting for input to be received from other players before simulating the next frame, rollback netcode will predict the next input they will send and simulate the next frame without delay using that assumption. When other players’ inputs arrive, if any input does not match the prediction, it will roll back the state of the game to the last correct state. Then, it will replay all players’ revised inputs back until the current frame. This allows for more consistent gameplay, causing more players to take more of an interest in their game than before. However, there are already games and footage across the globe of gameplay that prove that this game can be played both online and offline effectively. Adam Fike, one of the best players in Smash Bros Ultimate at Greenville University, stated, “It seems like it will be pretty good. I like a lot of the characters, and the online seems solid”.
Guilty Gear has been a series that emphasizes a fast-paced and high-skill ceiling for anyone who wants to throw their hat into the ring. This newest iteration is no exception. Not only did Strive ignite the fighting game community, but it also leaves a mark on the history of the FGC, showing that animation can be pushed farther than ever. It also shows the developer that rollback netcode is what the fans want for the future of fighting games. Players will no longer have to endure the suffering of delay-based netcode any longer thanks to Guilty Gear Strive listening to the voice of the community.
Media by Minh La.
