Strive is a bit of a generic subtitle for a fighting game, isn't it? Setting aside that other Guilty Gear entries have overwrought subtitles like XX Accent Core Plus R and Xrd Rev 2, aren't all games in this genre about the spirit of competition and the drive to improve? Being that Strive is my entry point to the FGC, I'm not actually qualified to answer that rhetorical question, but I do think that it's name belies a more distinctive identity then it would initially imply.
The most immediate and obvious appeal of Strive is its gorgeous fluidity. The characters look as though they leapt out of a seasonal anime produced by a top tier studio, replete with hefty smear frames, vibrant effects, and oversized feedback. The most basic actions are immediately gratifying, which provides the motivation to learn more complex inputs and tactics. Improving takes effort and dedication, but critically, it never feels like labor because the presentation is so rewarding in and of its self. This is the key ingredient that has made me fall hook, line, and sinker for the bread and butter mechanics of fighting games; motion inputs, whiffs, baits, punishes, counters, reversals, throws, dragon punches, supers, setups, mixups, combos, I love it all baby! The sheer quantity and complexity of mechanics on display in the genre mean that any given match provides so many different opportunities to express yourself and to prove yourself, which creates a hooting and hollering good time when approached with the right mentality of taking failure as a learning opportunity. Being my gateway drug to that world alone is enough to make Strive one of my new favorite games, but there's still more that solidifies my love for it.
Of course there are certain mechanics that are unique to Guilty Gear such as Roman Cancels and wallbreaks, but I wouldn't enough to lay a solid claim to the subtitle Strive amongst the ambition that the genre is known to inspire. That is found instead how Strive expresses its thematic ideas. To be certain, the non-interactive story mode is largely trash, being a convoluted tangle of the accumulation of two decades worth of narrative detritus and whacky metaphysics piling up. Still, there's one idea that resonates; the villain Happy Chaos wants to see humanity struggle, but not suffer. The more interesting expression of this is found not within Story Mode, but in Strive's beefy and spirited soundtrack, which has a vocal arrangement for each member of the roster. Across all of the tracks, the lyrics have a unifying theme; each character struggles with life in some way, and has a philosophy or outlook for getting what they want out of it. Sol advocates fighting for what you believe in no matter who or what gets in the way, Ky hopes to inspire others by pushing through his own struggles, May embraces the passion of her unrequited love , Bridget confronts her gender dysphoria, Nagoriyuki resolves to crawl towards freedom through the bleakness of the current moment. Even the less optimistic themes such as Faust's, Leo's, and Zato's provide comfort in how all of them are still working through their struggles even if they have yet to find peace. Through these songs, Guilty Gear Strive becomes a game that is just as much about how confront life's difficulties as it is about digitally beating up your friends and rivals, and I think that's beautiful.
The most immediate and obvious appeal of Strive is its gorgeous fluidity. The characters look as though they leapt out of a seasonal anime produced by a top tier studio, replete with hefty smear frames, vibrant effects, and oversized feedback. The most basic actions are immediately gratifying, which provides the motivation to learn more complex inputs and tactics. Improving takes effort and dedication, but critically, it never feels like labor because the presentation is so rewarding in and of its self. This is the key ingredient that has made me fall hook, line, and sinker for the bread and butter mechanics of fighting games; motion inputs, whiffs, baits, punishes, counters, reversals, throws, dragon punches, supers, setups, mixups, combos, I love it all baby! The sheer quantity and complexity of mechanics on display in the genre mean that any given match provides so many different opportunities to express yourself and to prove yourself, which creates a hooting and hollering good time when approached with the right mentality of taking failure as a learning opportunity. Being my gateway drug to that world alone is enough to make Strive one of my new favorite games, but there's still more that solidifies my love for it.
Of course there are certain mechanics that are unique to Guilty Gear such as Roman Cancels and wallbreaks, but I wouldn't enough to lay a solid claim to the subtitle Strive amongst the ambition that the genre is known to inspire. That is found instead how Strive expresses its thematic ideas. To be certain, the non-interactive story mode is largely trash, being a convoluted tangle of the accumulation of two decades worth of narrative detritus and whacky metaphysics piling up. Still, there's one idea that resonates; the villain Happy Chaos wants to see humanity struggle, but not suffer. The more interesting expression of this is found not within Story Mode, but in Strive's beefy and spirited soundtrack, which has a vocal arrangement for each member of the roster. Across all of the tracks, the lyrics have a unifying theme; each character struggles with life in some way, and has a philosophy or outlook for getting what they want out of it. Sol advocates fighting for what you believe in no matter who or what gets in the way, Ky hopes to inspire others by pushing through his own struggles, May embraces the passion of her unrequited love , Bridget confronts her gender dysphoria, Nagoriyuki resolves to crawl towards freedom through the bleakness of the current moment. Even the less optimistic themes such as Faust's, Leo's, and Zato's provide comfort in how all of them are still working through their struggles even if they have yet to find peace. Through these songs, Guilty Gear Strive becomes a game that is just as much about how confront life's difficulties as it is about digitally beating up your friends and rivals, and I think that's beautiful.