I’m kind of using Guilty Gear to talk about fighting games more generally, but Guilty Gear is definitely my favorite of the ones I’ve played. It’s bombastic, inspired by heavy metal, has a batshit plot and has wonderfully weighty combat with a lot of choices and options. It’s great, I love it. I’m going to talk about fighting games more generally now and why I think they’re cool.
They’re very skill intensive games, sure. They’re very fun! But I think what makes them special is two things, in my mind. Firstly is just the competition of it all. It’s a type game where you can always do better and you always know where you messed up. It’s a process of mastery where you hone your skills to beat bigger and better opponents. This is the joy of a lot of other genres (take roguelikes for examples) but there’s something wonderful about learning how to be better to specifically beat other people.
I think the other thing that makes them special, and the thing that separates them from other genres is the “conversation.” I’ll usually play sets of 30 or so games against the same stranger, over and over again. And over that time you get to know them without speaking a word. You get to learn their habits and they learn yours. You try to adapt yourself to react to their habits and tells while trying to lull your opponent into a false sense of security, switching up that habit on them. But whatever happens, you get to learn something about the person you’re playing against. Even if it’s “They really love doing empty jump lows” you get to know them a little bit. You steal knowledge from everyone you face and you take a little part of their skill with you, whether you incorporate it into your toolkit of gameplay ideas or whether you simply learn how to deal with their tech. It’s a conversation that evolves and changes and you learn something every time. And I think that’s really wonderful.
