A few years after the release of Nintendo Switch, we can confidently say that it is a truly versatile gaming console that is worth the game. Who wouldn't want to take your favorite titles everywhere? Not surprisingly, many game developers are confronted with the question: “Will your game come on Switch?” In Arc System Works, and like most other developers, they avoided the answers at first, but eventually on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their fighter Guilty Gear announced their arrival on Switch. You say you don't know what Guilty Gear is and not at all that it's been here for two decades? It's time to fix it.

Guilty Gear is “hardcore” in all respects, from fast gameplay with lots of original features, to sophisticated characters, crazy anime design and brutal soundtrack. Its creators have always gone against the stream and their extravagant style may not have attracted masses such as Street Fighter or King of Fighters, but by their originality and complexity they have created a cult of fans who have remained faithful across the full spectrum of sequels and easy-to-lose versions. First of all, the game attracts the audiovisual side of Daisuke Ishiwatari. In addition to the story, character design and music, the game series father also gave his voice to the main antihero of the game named Sol Badguy, who is to some extent Ishiwatari's alterego. Through it you will learn what Guilty Gear means.

The story of Guilty Gear takes place in the dystopian future after the 100-year war of mankind with bio-organic weapons called Gears. However, the threat has not been averted and Gears remains in the world, planning to exterminate humanity for good. As part of the crisis plan, a tournament was launched to help find fighters capable of confronting a growing enemy. You will meet different characters, each with their own motivation for joining the tournament. Among them is Sol Badguy, but under the headband hides a clear sign that he himself is Gear. However, why is he immune to Commander Gear's orders and why he hates Gears in a branched story based on unique characters and the dynamics amongst rivals in the series. The solo contradiction is Ky Kiske, and like Scorpion and Sub-Zero, Ryu and Ken are battling for the favor of the players. The difference is that Sol and Ky have an incredible style over their 2D competitors.

Sol and Ky are ideal entry characters for any player familiar with the Guilty Gear dueling system. The game can surprise players at its fast pace with regard to combining combos into endless chain attacks. You will need up to six buttons, and very few attacks are based on repeated presses. Rather, combos are focused on combining quarter to semicircles with one of the basic attacks or Taunt and Respect. In this game is not enough a few favorite combos, which timed according to the movement of the enemy. When alternating attacks, the game allows you to chain them without the necessary recovery, and you can make the opponent a few-second hell that he can only get out of thanks to other techniques they invented at Arc System Works, including the timing of the attack or defeat attacks. In addition, there is a Tension indicator that is complemented by offensive moves and allows you to trigger the most powerful Overdrive attacks.

Over time, with Sol you can perform an incredible fire theater that only Kyova's electrifying show can match. But other characters don't have to rely on the elements, and you'll see some of the most bizarre weapons you can imagine, based on everyday objects. Ishiwatari unleashed his imagination and designed a mad doctor with a giant scalpel, a Russian beauty with magical hair, or a Japanese samurai warrior with a metal chain where she missed her hand. Gradually, the characters appeared armed with fans, yoy, guitar and cue. All these crazy things look fantastic in 2D anime graphics, and chain combos unleash a fascinating show that attacks your senses.

The pompous theater must not miss a proper soundtrack and Ishiwatari took care of a rock that competes with successful heavy metal bands. Rock and metal is a religion in this game, and if you don't like these genres, you're automatically excluded from Guilty Gear. For the creator of the series, music is not only a hobby, but it is the very essence of the whole game. The characters' names, their attacks and musical themes are inspired by Ishiwatari's favorite bands. "Millia Rage attacked Slayer, and with a successful Iron Maiden, he gave him a devastating final Slash." How many musical messages did you capture? And yet these are some of the most obvious.

Arc System Works sa však rozhodli, že vám na Switchi svoju rozsiahlu sériu predstavia len v skratke. Guilty Gear 20th Anniversary Pack obsahuje len dve hry – úplne prvú hru Guilty Gear a Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R. Za rozsiahlym názvom druhej menovanej hry stojí vlastne posledná verzia tretieho dielu predtým, ako sa séria presunula z 2D spritov do 3D. Vo fyzickej kópii tohto packu si tak môžete užiť dva míľniky Guilt Gear série. Digitálne si kúpite tieto hry osobitne, no oplatí sa ich brať obidve? Prvý diel Guilty Gear má primárne nostalgickú hodnotu, no GGXXACPR so všetkými doplnenými postavami a režimami je skutočne hodnotnou kúpou z tejto dvojice. Druhá hra z tohto packu obsahuje aj online režim, no ten je značne oklieštený faktom, že hru hrá relatívne málo hráčov v európskom regióne a je len malá šanca, že vám niekoho nájde do súboja bez lagov spôsobených vzdialenosťou. Tiež sa zdá, že online režim nebol nijako vylepšený oproti stavu, keď hra pôvodne vyšla.

Kým prvá Guilty Gear hra predstavuje korene, ktoré je potrebné poznať, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R je príkladom toho, kam sa hra so silnými koreňmi dokázala rozrásť. Keď si obe hry zapnete na Switchi, základ je rovnaký, no pritom je posun vskutku markantný. Nejde pritom len o vzhľad, tvorcovia tejto série išli cestou vydávania stále novších verzií základných hier, preto je každé slovo za GGXX akýmsi zárezom vývojárov v snahe vypiplať ju k dokonalosti. Na Switchi si preto zahráte GGXX so všetkými dostupnými postavami s doplnenými a vybalansovanými útokmi. Výber týchto dvoch hier do spomienkového packu je odôvodnený, no dávalo by oveľa väčší zmysel, keby balenie obsahovalo aspoň druhý diel Guilty Gear X. Z príbehového hľadiska vám tiež bude chýbať GGXX, pretože táto séria má až prekvapivo rozsiahly príbeh, no práve dve hry, ktoré sa dostali na Switch, nie sú najreprezentatívnejšie. Zdá sa, že žiadať aj o 4. diel GG Xrd, či o akýkoľvek spin-off, ako je napríklad tímová bojovka GG Isuka na Switch, by už bolo trúfalé.

Séria Guilty Gear si vždy zaslúžila viac pozornosti, ako sa jej dostalo a jubilejný pack na Switchi jej mohol pomôcť pripomenúť sa hráčom v celej svojej sláve. Nakoniec sa však na tejto konzole mohli predstaviť len dve hry, ktoré takú komplexnú sériu zjednodušujú na jej počiatok a koniec jej 2D éry. Všetky animácie frenetických súbojov sú pompézne, no svoje natrénované zručnosti si len s veľkými ťažkosťami môžete otestovať online. Zdá sa, že autori sa na porte týchto hier na Switch veľmi nepotrápili a hry zostali vo svojom pôvodnom stave ako v čase, keď vyšli. Guilty Gear sa predovšetkým spolieha na jej nadčasové prvky - fantastickú hrateľnosť a jedinečný audiovizuálny zážitok, aký môže bojovka ponúknuť. Z dvojice hier je však rozhodne tá novšia skutočne hodnotným kúskom, ktorý by mal byť vo vašej Switch knižnici.