It was an exciting night for Arc System Works. In honor of their 25th anniversary, they held a 3 game tournament at their Arc System Works Festival. If you were up late enough to catch the stream, you’d be treated to extremely high level play of BlazBlue, Guilty Gear, and Persona 4: Arena. Battles were won, prizes were handed out, voice actors were met. But it was also the 15th anniversary of their Guilty Gear franchise, and with that, they had a special announcement.
The Guilty Gear series is finally making a return! As noted in the company's video description, series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari is said to be taking helm. Considering he’s always done so in the past, it may be safe to assume that he’s composing the soundtrack as well.
Guilty Gear Xrd –SIGN- is the first game in the series to move to 3D character models, leaving the traditional character sprites behind. This isn’t Arc System Works’ first foray into 3D, however, so don’t be too nervous! Guilty Gear Xrd –SIGN- has a gorgeous cel-shaded look that imitates anime beautifully.
The trailer features gameplay footage of franchise rivals Sol Badguy and Ky Kiske. Seems like the American and French swordsmen are still unable to put their differences aside and work together. They both have a few updates to their outfits, but no major makeovers have taken place. The same can’t be said for Millia Rage, who appears at the end of the trailer. She’s sporting a much shorter haircut and a color scheme that’s slightly reminiscent of spunky pirate May.
No release date or platforms have been announced so far, but is this the game series that Arc System Works said they wanted to work on for the PS4? Keep an eye on the portal site for Xrd –SIGN-. Hopefully we’ll be getting answers soon!
