Guilty Gear Video Game Series

Over the course of nearly seventeen years, more than fifteen installments of the series (including eight main ones) were released on PC, consoles, mobile devices and arcades.

The series' plot runs two centuries into the future. Humanity is just recovering from a nearly century-long war with biomechanical beings called Gear. They were created by Earth's military scientists as weapons, but have turned against their masters. Faced with the growing threat of the return of the leaders of the rebellion, the United Nations decides to organize a tournament to determine the strongest warriors capable of opposing the enemy. A number of fighters has joined it, each guided by their own motives. The series depicts the fate of individual characters and the story of the conflict between Gear's opponents and allies.

The essence of the gameplay - as befits a fighting game - is combat. Each character is characterized by a different set of attacks and style of play, which forces the use of different tactics depending on the opponent. On top of that, there are special moves, which require the player to have a great timing and reflexes, as well asbeing able to correctly execute a complicated combination. The series puts at the disposal of players a number of different game modes - from the story campaign, in which we learn the fate of individual fighters, to free fights. Successive victories often unlock additional content in the form of graphics or music clips.

The series is so popular - especially in Japan - that it has received many releases expanding the canon of the universe, e.g. two novel adaptations, a manga (on which Daisuke Ishiwatari collaborated), a series of comic books and several radio dramas. In addition, Arc System Works released collectible figurines inspired by the series, as well as a card game.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, another game by the Arc System Works studio, is often considered the spiritual successor of Guilty Gear.