Latest ‘Guilty Gear’ Game Officially Named In New Trailer

Video game developer Arc System Works has been teasing the newest addition to the long-running Guilty Gear franchise, a cult-hit fighting game that first debuted in 1998 on the Playstation. Fans have been waiting months for more information about the latest installment in the franchise, which was first revealed at EVO 2019 in August. Finally, their patience has paid off.

Destructoid reports that this weekend at the Arc Revo Tour Finals, Arc System Works, known for its work with Persona 4 Arena and the Dragon Ball series, officially dubbed the new title Guilty Gear Strive. Along with the official naming, the Japanese developer dropped an accompanying trailer showing in-game combat and entirely updated battle mechanics. Strive will mark the seventh installment in the main Guilty Gear series, which has spanned almost every major gaming console of the last two decades.

The gameplay trailer depicts several melee combat scenes, attack sequences and supers from the reimagined Guilty Gear roster, including franchise mainstays like May, Ky Kysike, Sol Badguy, and Axl Low. Some fighters from the series catalog have yet to be announced or included in gameplay footage.

However, fans were excited to learn of the return of series favorite, Faust, who made an appearance near the end of a trailer in a creepy cinematic. Faust, a crazed doctor who went mad after a botched operation, returns to Guilty Gear with his characteristic oversized surgical blade and ability to distort reality.

In a report with Dual Shockers, Guilty Gear Series General Director Daisuke Ishiwatari says that the game isn’t an “evolution” of the series, or a “return to its roots,” but rather a “complete rebuild of Guilty Gear.”

On seeing the upgrades across the gameplay, fans were barely able to contain their excitement, remarking on everything from the gorgeous, animated characters and the iconic music score.

“THAT FAUST IS SO SICK,” said one fan on YouTube.

“The graphics just keep getting better every trailer!” exclaimed another.

“Just tell me when it’s gonna be released and i’ll [sic] throw you my money,” said another Guilty Gear stan.

Ishiwatari has even more in store for fans of the franchise. According to Inven Global, the game director announced that subsequent trailers will be released in January 2020 at Frosty Faustings XI in Wheeling, IL and EVO Japan 2020 in Makuheri. Those events will also present attendees with an opportunity to try a playable demo of the game before it hits shelves.

Guilty Gear Strives is slated for release in the fall of 2020 and will be available exclusively on PlayStation 4.