LET'S ENJOY A GREAT SHOWTIME...AGAIN!
At first glance, Slash may look like the previous two GGXX games but with each remake done in each version, some character enhancements and additional moves done as well as making the game more balanced overall and making the A.I. more advanced than ever. I was taken aback realizing that the A.I. fighter finally learnt how to use False Roman Cancel (FRC or FR) in their moves so this spices some competition even without a human player. Last time they were mere punching bags even the Gold versions in Survival Mode but now they sure have come to take revenge!
Guilty Gear XX Slash brings you 21+2+2 characters. Most eagerly anticipated will be the arrival of Order-Sol, which depicts Sol Badguy as a Knight of the Holy Order five years ago decked out in the same but different colored ‘Ky Kiske' outfit but with his own weapon and new moves. A.B.A. was last seen as a console exclusive in GG Isuka so she’s not quite new but with some tweaks done from Isuka, it makes using her more interesting. And let’s not forget (yes I’ve let off a spoiler) Kliff and Justice are back again (got them from Survival mode)!
I immediately went into action with Sol (who else to use but my own standard character first!) and rip out at Arcade mode but was ripped out by Order-Sol in Rd 1 of 3 at the final stage before smashing him to a pulp. If you are wondering, yes; Order-Sol is now the final boss for this version. That said I’ll keep the details of his style a secret unless you’ve played the arcade version at Bugis.
Although enhanced in difficulty and tweaks, the Mission mode, once dreaded is now much friendlier (sort of). Each specific fighter will have to deck out at 3 levels of 18 stages altogether to complete their route. The last stage (3-4) is basically a Gold version of themselves! Yup, Gold! It all depends on your skills on how to defeat them normally!
Playing with a friend (or training with a CPU) makes it far enjoyable. Now you can mix and match your favorite BGM with you preferred stage. Imagine giving yourself the theme music ‘Nothing out of the Ordinary’ (Same Character Duel BGM) in Justice’s stage and calling it your domain!
Of course no game’s without a flaw or two. My beef is that the game lacks a color edit mode. Some of the other colors do not match the other characters. Well that said, it’ll get shrugged off after some time and I’ll probably make do with another color and call it my own (in fact I’ve already did). And after beating a Gold character in Survival mode you can’t use it in there other than VS or Arcade against Normal characters. Somewhat one-sided but damn it should be allowed! Finally: no replay mode. You get the idea what this mode is about.
Nevertheless, Guilty Gear XX Slash shall be welcomed by all fighting from all levels and layouts. If you’ve never played a GG game before, this is one you should get and never forget it for the rest of your life!