Guilty Gear XX

, also known in some localized releases as Guilty Gear X2 and subtitled The Midnight Carnival, is the third full installment in the Guilty Gear series of fighting games. First released in 2002, it has since received three updated versions. GGXX furthered the plot of the series and introduced new characters and gameplay mechanics. The graphics also appeared to be notably improved. It was much more commercially successful than its predecessor, Guilty Gear X.

Mechanics
A notable change to the mechanics of the previous games is the "False Roman Cancel", or "Force Roman Cancel" as it is called in Λ Core, which is similar to the "Roman Cancel" available in previous games, but generally requires much more precise timing, and is only possible with certain moves. False Roman Cancels require only 25% tension, can be performed even if the move does not hit (including projectiles), and generally are used for offensive pressure or mixup.

Air Throws now are possible, and one can grab Recovering characters and even Burst Attacks. Also, Aerial Dust is available now.

This game may also have to skip cutscenes, either winning or losing the game, and the beginning of the battle.

Characters
Testament and Dizzy make their first appearances as non-boss characters (and are therefore legal in competitive play). In addition there are five entirely new characters, four of which are available to start with.(all characters are available at the start of the game.)


 * I-No is a strange, guitar-playing woman who works for That Man, the creator of the gears. She is the boss of the arcade version of the game, but is also a playable character from the start, albeit less powerful. She is the first boss character thusly playable in a Guilty Gear game so far.
 * Bridget is a young, androgynous bounty hunter, who has set out to prove his masculinity.
 * Zappa is an Australian man, who has been possessed by ghosts, and seeks a cure for his mysterious ailment, despite being oblivious of its true nature.
 * Slayer is the previously unmentioned founder of the assassin's guild, and is also the only vampire featured in the series.
 * Robo-Ky is a robotic version of Ky Kiske, and apparently was built by and works for the Post-War Administration Bureau, generally appearing to enforce their will.
 * Two additional characters (Justice & Kliff) can be unlocked when reaching level 480 in survival mode.

Plot
GGXX picks up the story approximately two weeks after the events of GGX. The plot threads are character-driven, but most of the conflict is sparked by either I-No and her quest to destroy all perceived threats to her master, or Robo-Ky, and the Post-War Administration Bureau's agenda. Most characters encounter That Man at some point in their story paths. Some sort of conflict appears to be mounting between various organizations.

#Reload
was released in 2003. #Reload was intended to further balance high-level play. Many moves were altered, from slight tweaks in speed and damage to almost complete reworkings in some cases, False Roman Cancel points were added, and notably, Robo-Ky was changed entirely, made playable from the beginning, and considered tournament-legal from then on. In actuality, two versions were released, the first being referred to as "Red Reload." Red Reload contained many errors and was quickly revised and redistributed, this time widely called "Blue Reload."

The soundtrack for the Korean version of the game was composed by Korean musician Shin Hae Chul, and features a darker tone to the music, with some techno influences and more focus on the rhythm of the music rather than melody. However, the rock/thrash/metal theme of the series' music remains in this soundtrack, as well.

The Windows version of the game was based on the PlayStation 2 game, but added an extra movie in gallery mode. The Xbox version contains an extra movie as well. Online versus play is available thanks to fan-based patches.

Slash
is the second GGXX revision and was released in 2005 in Japan, this time with much more significant changes. Once again, the game's balance was reworked by changing properties of certain moves. This time, however, the changes were more pronounced, including entirely new moves for some characters and a complete reworking of the tiers of the game. Two new tournament-legal characters were introduced, these being A.B.A, who debuted in Guilty Gear Isuka, and Order-Sol, who was a version of Sol Badguy with an entirely different costume, moveset, stage, and theme music. Two new stages were added for these characters, and all of the existing stages were changed similarly to the difference between them in GGX and GGXX. A stage/music selection system was added to the console version's Versus mode.

Λ Core
is 3rd version of Guilty Gear XX released to Japanese arcades on December 20, 2006. A home console version on Sony's PlayStation 2 was released on May 30, 2007 in Japan. A Wii version of this game was released on July 26, 2007, also in Japan, complete with support for the Classic Controller and Nintendo GameCube controller, along with a setup using both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Aksys Games released the PS2 version in America on September 11, 2007 and released the Wii version on October 16, 2007.

In addition to balance changes along the lines of those in #Reload and Slash, Λ Core features a new type of special move, the "Force Break," which consumes 25% of the Tension bar when used. Most characters have gained new special moves, and some have had existing specials (or powered-up versions of existing specials) converted into Force Break attacks. It also introduces moves that make opponents stick briefly to walls or slide across the floor of a stage. New additions also include "Slashback," a form of parrying with reduced block stun, and throw breaks.

Λ Core also underwent the first major aesthetic change for the series since the original release of Guilty Gear XX. In addition to a new opening movie and a redesigned menu, all voices, including that of the announcer, have been re-recorded (or replaced with previously unused samples), sometimes by different actors. The playable characters artwork was also redone, and two new music tracks, Launch Out and Keep The Flag Flying, were added. Since this revision has been made to balance the game, two characters deemed illegal by tournament standards, Justice and Kliff, were removed from the game's playable roster.

Both versions of the game feature three gameplay modes per character, based on the Guilty Gear, Guilty Gear X, and Λ Core fighting systems.

Despite the bugs reported in the Japanese PS2 version of the game, Aksys corrected the majority of glitches in the Japanese version for the US release.

Λ Core Plus
An enhanced version of Λ Core titled was released on March 27, 2008 for the PS2 in Japan. No changes to the battle system have been made, but new features were added. Features include the return of Kliff and Justice, with appropriate changes and additions made for the game, the return of Mission mode, a new Survival mode with level-up features, a new Gallery mode with new illustrations, and bug fixes, rebalances, and tune ups from the previous version. A cheaper "Append" version of this game requires the Λ Core disk upon start-up.

Λ Core Plus also features a new Story mode. The story is a continuation of the storyline from Guilty Gear XX. All characters have a storyline, and the stories cover the major events involving the mystery of Gears, "That Man" and conflict with the Post War Administration Bureau, etc. The mode uses a full branching path Zapping system with a total of 350 scenarios. The game also introduces a new NPC character: the Post War Administration Bureau scientist Crow, who attacks the cast in the Story mode using mindless clones of Justice.

A version for the PlayStation Portable with 3-on-3 tag matches was released on July 24, 2008 in Japan.

Aksys Games released Λ Core Plus for the US market on April 7, 2009 for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable and on May 12 for the Wii.

#Reload

 * Guilty Gear X2 #Reload - Official English Homepage
 * Official Japanese homepage of the Guilty Gear X series
 * Majesco Guilty Gear X2 #Reload page
 * Majesco Guilty Gear X2 #Reload page
 * XBOX Guilty Gear XX #Reload page
 * Japanese PS2 Guilty Gear XX #Reload page
 * MediaKite PC Guilty Gear XX #Reload page
 * ZOO Guilty Gear XX #Reload page: PC, PS2, XBOX

Slash

 * Sega arcade page

Accent Core

 * Sega arcade page
 * Official Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Japanese Website
 * Official Guilty Gear XX Accent Core American Website
 * 505 Games page
 * Aksys Games pages: PS2, Wii

Accent Core Plus

 * Aksys Games pages: PSP, PS2, Wii
 * Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus in the House!