my gut reaction to this game was just average. seemed solidly put together but didn't capture what i liked about guilty gear. after letting it breathe some and giving it more time, it's definitely grown on me. it's definitely different from old gear, but the dna is still there. it's still a blast to play. i think this is a sentiment more fgc players need to adapt. if you enjoy the old game, play the old game, and try to see the new as something new. if you still don't like it, well, the old games aren't going away and plenty of people will stick with the game that really hits for them, so you can keep playing what you do like.

the music truly is abysmal though. most of the character in the songs comes purely through the lyrics, with the instrumentation taking a backseat and largely sounding very samey, and naoki's performance is almost satirical, sounding like a theater kid playing the role of a metal musician in a high school play. a lot of the song structures just don't fit a high intensity fighting game either, with too many tracks having odd low energy interludes. i really like the themes of faust, baiken, and hc, but all of them just have terrible sections that completely kill the momentum during a round. i wish they had been chopped and edited so the in-game versions would've flowed better in a match, and left the full versions for the ost album. i love the lyrics as a lore fiend and think they do well at displaying the character they represent, i just wish they were performed better, or there were optional instrumental versions just due to my disdain of naoki's performance. i will admit that (most of) aisha's performances were really nice and shine through the sludge that is the majority of the soundtrack.