New Guilty Gear Will Confront The "Essence" Of Fighting Games

A new entry to the Guilty Gear franchise was unveiled during EVO 2019. Currently dubbed Guilty Gear 2020, there is very little information about the upcoming fighting game. However, Guilty Gear's general director Daisuke Ishiwatari is calling this new entry a "brand-new experience" that seeks to confront the core elements of the fighting game genre.

Ishiwatari wrote a lengthy note tweeted out by Arc System Works, stating the goal of Guilty Gear 2020 is to excite both new and existing players. To that end, Ishiwatari and his team are aiming to create a title "unlike those of the past." Guilty Gear 2020, according to Ishiwatari, is not an evolution of the franchise nor a return to its roots. By "disassembl[ing] the current franchise into fragments," Ishiwatari wrote, Arc System Works' intention is "a full-frontal confrontation with the essence of the fighting game genre."

The teaser trailer, above, is a brisk minute-and-a-half long, but it boasts stunning visuals and a camera system that transitions between 2.5D and 3D to give fights a more cinematic vibe. Series mainstays Ky Kiske and Sol Badguy (who is voiced by Ishiwatari himself) are seen battling and hopping between various locales similar to Dragon Ball FighterZ. Just before the trailer closes, Arc System Works introduces a new character: an African American male with dreadlocks and two katanas that looks like a cross between Afro Samurai and legendary two-sword samurai Musashi Miyamoto.

Though no release window has been confirmed and no platforms have been announced, Guilty Gear 2020 is expected to arrive sometime next year.

Speaking of Dragon Ball FighterZ, Janemba is the game's latest DLC character as part of the FighterZ Pass 2. He joins previously announced Pass 2 characters GT Goku, Jiren, and Videl. Also in Janemba's announcement trailer, SSGSS Gogeta is said to be joining the roster soon. Dragon Ball FighterZ's FighterZ Pass 2 retails for $25 USD / $36 AUD / £20 GBP, though each individual character can be purchased for $5 USD / $7 AUD / £4 GBP.