Arc System Works' futuristic fighting game is far from orthodox.
Here’s a look at its cast, equal parts ridiculous and badass.
Guilty Gearis one of the most underrated fighting game series youll ever find.
I guess its the over-the-top nature of the series.
I mean, just look at the name.
Thats not even counting the bizarre sequel names likeGuilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus RandGuilty Gear Xrd REVELATOR.
Regardless, I absolutely love the collection of characters and the games ridiculous storyline.
As Ive done so many times before, Im going to rank theGuilty Gearcast from worst to best.
Also, despite there being different incarnations, Im counting all of the Robo-Kys as a single entry.
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As always, Im ranking these based on style, storyline, and personal preference.
Anji is just lame all around.
His weapon sucks, he looks boring, and his defining character trait is is Japanese.
I really cant think of anything more to say about this doof.
Shes a female spinoff of Fausts subplot.
Personally, Id like to see her show up in one of the proper games with more normalized proportions.
But hey, in a series as weird asGuilty Gear, Bridget succeeds in having an outlandish design.
Unfortunately, Bridgets never been able to find his place in the series.
As it is, Bridget is just there.
ABA
ABA never got much play, but boy was she delightfully unnerving.
KLIFF UNDERSN
First appearance: Guilty Gear
Poor Kliff.
He was pretty much one and done in his first appearance.
Just as well, really.
Theres nothing especially wrong with the man.
Before Sol and Ky become an odd couple, its Kliffs belief in them both that brings them together.
When they brought him back in later versions of theGuilty Gear Xengine, it felt more out of necessity.
They ran out of old characters to reinvent, so might as well toss Kliff in with the rest.
Jams just about bounty hunting to earn enough money to own a restaurant.
Otherwise, she just Forrest Gumps her way through world events.
That and constantly hitting on Ky, not realizing that his heart belongs to an actual important character.
No, I dont mean Sol!…Pretty sure I dont.
Unfortunately, despite all this build, Raven feels flat.
His whole deal is that hes been immortal and unkillable for so long that hes apathetic about everything.
Zappas whole story is about dealing with being possessed, which keeps him interesting.
She just stands around yelling, I cant hold it much longer!
for the few times the game remembers to give her a subplot.
BAIKEN
Baikens always felt like Arcs attempt at their own Akuma, but I never really bought it.
Baikens cool, but not cool enough to pull that off.
But I dig her regardless.
MAY
The firstGuilty Gearhad a little too much grit to it.
May was there to bring the colorful and cartoony soul that would live on in its sequels.
Mays ability to wield an anchor over her shoulder would later be explained in a later game.
InGuilty Gear, Japanese people are both rare at this point in history and strangely mystical.
Anyway, May is an adorable sidekick who is just so important toGuilty Gears overall aesthetic.
Luckily, he isnt meant to be the main character.
At least, not yet.
If anything, Sins existence allows Ky and Sol to develop and get over their human flaws.
Sin is no hybrid protagonist, but hes a hell of a supporting character.
Unfortunately, shes programmed to help bring about extinction of the human race.
She also plays into the series love for musical references.
Not only is her gimmick guns and roses, but her Instant Kill is a shot through the heart.
And if you use it on Faust, he refers to her love as bad medicine, indeed!
Youwanther to be safe in the end.
Sagat and Shang Tsung were followed by their employers.
Geese Howard was followed by his half-brother, identified as the only person Geese ever feared.
Heihachi gave way to his demonic son.
From the beginning,Guilty Gearmade itseempretty straightforward.
The series went in a different direction.
TESTAMENT
If Justice is Apocalypse, then Testament is Magneto.
I guess that makes Dizzy Phoenix?
Then upon being transformed into a Gear as part of an experiment, he fully turns against humanity.
And all things considered, its not like he needed much nudging.
Its kind of nice that he isnt in theXrdgames.
VENOM
Venom started out as an insane design with a character that didnt stand on its own.
Then theres his ridiculous, albeit iconic hair.
Problem is, he was the third wheel to the Millia/Zato storyline.
Not that he wasnt a sympathetic one.
He was loyal to Zato and held an unrequited love for the man.
Like Jesus Christ, but with more 8-ball projectiles.
Venon survived, though.
Probably because the only characters he seems to connect with are the most anti-social.
Dude is just confused and frustrated.
When even I-No feels bad for you, youve really been hit hard.
Thats why I dig how, as the story progresses, Axl gradually grasps who and what he is.
He isnt just some poor sap who cant control rifts in history.
Hes actually a powerful wielder of time itself whose decisions are weighed down by his responsibility.
A good, old fashioned scoundrel with a heart of gold.
Plus I thought the series did such a good job building up his introduction.
He lived up to the hype with his quick slashes and flipped coins.
Shes not quite a boss character, but she is central to theRevelatorplot.
Not only is she created as the opposite of Justice, but shes delightfully the opposite of That Man.
Once she gets to actually do stuff, she is blunt and honest with the rest of the cast.
She doesnt go out of her way to say vague things and then sit it out in the shadows.
She outright tells I-No about what she is.
She doesnt hide who she is from Sol Badguy.
She doesnt even make any bones about the fact that she exists to sacrifice herself and save the world.
Even if I suck with him, nothing beats crushing people with Potemkins space-shuttle-sized arms.
Then theres that wonderful Japanese voice, which sounds like Andre the Giant gargling.
I want to put Potemkin in the top ten, but the guy really doesnt get to do anything.
Once Zepp is turned into less of an airborne shithole, Potemkin barely does anything of note.
Not only did he clown Bedman, but hes considered Slayers rival.
Give us President Gabriel on the select screen, already.
The developers grabbed that ball and ran it for a touchdown.
Rather than letting Chipps subplot be a one-off joke, Answers existence expands on it and vindicates it.
He seems to be what Capcom was going for with Crimson Viper.
That and the two ball creatures wielding giant swords for her while shooting lasers.
That works out well on its own, but her brief role inRevelatorbrings it up a notch.
KY KISKE
I already did that thing earlier where I comparedGuilty Gearcharacters to X-Men.
Well, Ky is obviously Cyclops while Sol is Wolverine.
Ky will never be as cool as Sol.
While Sol rides motorcycles and tracks down bounties, Ky does paperwork and stares at his sword.
Ky is a soldier, a police officer, and strongly religious.
Over the series, he finds himself having to question his faith in his superiors.
So, yeah, Ky can be compelling when he isnt dealing with paperwork.
Revelators story mode epilogue does fantastic work pushing him back up to being a fearsome protagonist.
Robo-Ky is something special and creative.
You know how RoboCop has a gun built into his leg?
Well, Robo-Ky has an entire throne built into his back!
InRevelator, Robo-Ky returned when the Postwar Administration Bureau storyline had long run its course and was practically forgotten.
Robo-Ky brought some hilarious comedy and surprising pathos to being a robot duplicate with no real purpose.
Robo-Kys partnership with Venom and altruistic behavior makes me psyched for when hell show up again.
I also need to mention that having his theme song Holy Orders?
be just a distorted version of regular Kys theme song is one of the finest touches inGuilty Gearhistory.
CHIPP ZANUFF
Chipp Zanuff proves how awesome the story ofGuilty Gearcan be because of its power to commit.
In the first game, he was probably the most forgettable character.
He was a ninja and recovering drug addict with an attitude problem.
Nothing much in comparison to the rest of the cast.
And so…Chipp decides to run for President!
Chipp has founded his own kingdom and wants to run a democratic election to be its president.
JUSTICE
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and thats what makes Justice work.
Guys like M. Bison, Shao Kahn, and Rugal Bernstein are practically cartoon supervillains.
Theyre threatening to an extent, but theyre repeatedly defeated and are considerably less scary the longer theyre around.
Justice is more on the level of Orochi fromKing of Fighters.
Theres such a fierce reputation to the character that everyone lives in the fear of it.
Justice represents the horrors of an endless war that mankind just barely survived.
If Justice were ever to return, then the world would be fucked.
In theXrdgames, the plot to resurrect Justice is treated like a doomsday scenario.
I-NO
I-No has the personality that Raven lacks.
She looks like it’s an immortal who started meaning well, but has since become corrupted.
Shes overly self-serving and anyone who falls in line with her whims is in deep shit.
Eventually, it was explained that I-No is the magical manifestation of mankinds hope and desire.
LEO WHITEFANG
Leo, Leo, Leo… Where have you been all my life?
Leo is the perfect mix of competent warrior, a strong leader, and a lovable doofus.
From the very beginning, her story is entirely cut-and-dry.
Shes been forced to be an assassin and wants her freedom.
The potential normal boyfriend to have a normal life with.
But things move into an awkward direction with Zato.
He dies and becomes a puppet for a violent creature.
We learn that Zato and Millia were closer than just being in the same clan.
Millia still had the right to leave, but there was a romantic relationship that she left behind.
She can finally move on and live that normal life by bringing closure to a complicated relationship.
Except…not really.
The normal life is boring.
That admirer of hers is actually a creepy stalker nice guy.
Millia finally realizes that, after all this time,that wasnt what she truly wanted.
Now its time for her to embrace what she is and walk towards the future.
Its a completely batshit and creative design for such a delightfully unsavory character.
The kid is messed up.
That robotic bed he wields.
His endless banter and obsession with film and theater.
His tendency to wear glasses despite never being awake to use them.
That he works for the Pope in a secret plot to recreate the world.
Slayer is an expert at killing and at being fashionable to the nines.
So of COURSE he started a guild based entirely on both of those things.
Nobodys dandier than Slayer.
SOL BADGUY
They named a character Sol Badguy, and were supposed to just accept that.
Thats the stupidest name.
The guy holds his future sword the same way Freddie Mercury held his mic.
Sol Badguy starts off as just a gruff anti-hero in a game where nearly everyone is violent and pissy.
Hes an immortal scientist-turned-science-experiment who wants nothing more than to purge the world of the nightmares he created.
He stopped being so genocidal when he met Dizzy, who may or may not be his kid.
BALDHEAD
During the Chipp entry, I mentioned commitment.
There is no better example of that than the whereabouts of Dr. Baldhead.
Baldhead was off-putting but definitely memorable.
He didnt truly hit his stride until he became Faust, adding inexplicable cartoon physics to his febrile behavior.
Hes the Deadpool of the series in that hes the perfect mix of nonsense action and emotional backstory.
And isnt that the best medicine?
In the beginning, Zato came off as a mid-level threat with a cool gimmick.
He supposedly sacrificed his eyes to give himself control over the shadows.
Starting off as genuinely frightening, the truth made Zato pathetic.
Losing his eyes did nothing.
He was unknowingly the host for a Gear offshoot species that took the form of shadows.
Zato was played like a fool while thinking he was badass.
Then he died and the creature danced his body around like a puppet.
