Long before Arc System Works devoted themselves to the various other fanbases with fighting games based off of role playing series, they devoted themselves to just one fighting game back in 1998: Guilty Gear. Now fifteen years later and a dozen revisions later, we’re now at the definitive version of the franchise: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus.
Let’s check out what’s HOT and what’s NOT in our review of Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus.
HOT
Plenty of extra modes
One thing that Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus has in strides is extra content to keep the player interested. From extra art galleries and two unlockable boss characters, there’s no shortage of things to keep the player occupied in unlocking. Where Accent Core Plus truly shines is the story mode. Each character has their own story that branches out depending on player choices and performance in combat. Most fighters, especially the Street Fighter series, don’t come close to the amount of story exposition that Arc System Works is known for.
Beyond the wonderfully expansive story mode, Accent Core Plus also features a number of other modes. New to the series is a team battle royale mode similar to King of Fighters. Two players face off with their dream team of three characters each with the winner of each round stick around and recovering a sliver of health before the opponent brings out the next combatant.
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus also includes the revamped versions of old series staple modes. Both the MoM (Medal of Millionaire) and Survival modes return in full glory for those that enjoy playing with themselves. Each mode is pretty similar in basics (pick a character, try to last as long as you can without getting your life bar completely drained, aim for the high score, etc) but the former is a bit easier with the addition of extra power ups and restoration items.
Perhaps the best addition to Accent Core Plus is the addition of network play. Anyone can finally put their money where their mouth is and take on the world instead of just being restricted to someone on the same couch. Practically a staple of any fighting game these days, it would be a huge setback if Arcsys didn’t include their famous ranked/player matches and netcode into the game.
True arcade gameplay
The mechanics to Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus, refined and tweaked over the past fifteen years, feel just as tight as they do in the arcades. The basis of the game falls upon five attack buttons: punch, kick, slash, heavy slash, and dust. Any combination of the first four can be easily linked into one another for flashy combos that are just as damaging as they look, whereas the dust button is primarily used for launching the opponent airborne for an unblockable aerial combo. Guilty Gear‘s always been the kind of game that flows well even when you’re just picking up a controller for the first time, so even beginners to the fighting game scene can pick a character they like and pull out some flashy combos.
