Guilty Gear Strive has just been announced as a new addition to the Nintendo Switch console. This explosive fighting game has made the rounds with its anime-like visuals, chaotic mechanics, and it’s music. Guilty Gear Strive has offered old fans a refreshing take on a fighting game. Newcomers and fighting game enthusiasts can finally taste the series’ carnage. Guilty Gear Strive’s Nintendo Switch port will be released early next year, on January 23rd, 2025.
What is ‘Guilty Gear’?
The franchise started with Arc System Works’ original Guilty Gear and has remained a fan favorite for years. Guilty Gear was released in 1998 and created by Daisuke Ishiwatari. Daisuke was not just a game developer, he was also a musician, voice actor, and illustrator. Not only did he design one of the game’s leading protagonists, Sol Badguy, but he also voiced him. A big part of Guilty Gear’s thematic hinges on its rock-hard soundtrack, composed by Ishiwatari himself. That sweet sound is a facet of the franchise and has offered a diverse rock sensation to many fans’ ears. Daisuke Ishiwatari’s music bled into the characters’ origins and helped paint their stories.
The Guilty Gear franchise has a long history behind it. The first game helped set up the entries for Guilty Gear X, and 2002’s Guilty Gear XX. 2007’s Overture was a brief departure, instead being an action-based title that also boasts the game’s first English voice acting. The Xrd series is a trilogy of stories, featuring 2014’s Xrd Sign, 2015’s Xrd Revelator, and 2016’s Rev 2. The Xrd Sub-Series of games remains a well-regarded series for its anime-like visuals and colorful characters. These titles have all helped pave the way for 2021’s Strive, one of the most well-received fighting games of the last several years.
Guilty Gear’s Prior Switch Release
Guilty Gear Strive is not the first Guilty Gear installment to find its way onto the Nintendo Switch. The Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Edition was available in May 2019. This bundled release compiled the original Guilty Gear and Guilty Gear Accent XX Core Plus R. The Anniversary Edition offered remastered graphics, music, and new modes for players.
Guilty Gear’s 20th Anniversary Edition had physical and digital releases available for European and Japanese audiences. There were initial plans for a physical release in North America. However, the physical release was canceled, and the games could only be downloaded on the Nintendo Eshop. North American fans waiting to play the game were initially dismayed at the lack of a physical release. Guilty Gear Strive will remedy this problem for gamers looking to collect a physical copy.
Guilty Gear Strive is Making Moves
Overall, ArcSys has carved out a clear niche in the fighting game market for its products. The company’s latest product, Strive, has won them much praise. Guilty Gear Strive has received positive acclaim from numerous reviewers. As of July 2024, the game has hit a new record of 3 million downloads. The fighting game is even slated to get it’s own animated spinoff, also known as Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers, which will debut in 2025.
Guilty Gear Strive has further helped expand the series’ audience. In addition, the game is still running with more content and more DLC is still on the way. The last few months saw Strive’s season 4 pass be revealed, promising returning characters and new ones. Strive’s rerelease for the Switch is helping make the game more accessible to a new audience. In fact, the game was created to be both a ‘soft reboot’ to endear the series to new players. Now that the series is on Nintendo Switch, things can only grow further for Guilty Gear. If you are an old franchise fan or a newcomer, check this game out when it leaps onto the Switch.
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