Although the Guilty Gear series has long fascinated me, today is the first day that I have opportuned to spend some time exploring, and attuning myself to, one of its games — in this case, X2.

My first clear observation is that, although this is a PS2 game, I can actually pull off any move with no trouble. I assume this is due to the effort Sammy put into adapting this game to the PS2. Just as the game comes with an optional anti-alias filter, it comes with controls that recognize how dearly Sony’s idea of a functionable controller is in need of re-examination. The game remains tight enough that I never pull off a move by accident, yet it has been untied enough that the stupid pad never gets in my way. I think perhaps Noise Factory might have studied this game (or perhaps its predecessor, if it is similarly forgiving), during the development of KOF: Maximum Impact.

This is such a relief after the likes of Capcom vs SNK 2 and The King of Fighters 2000 & 2001 — otherwise-decent ports which seem to forget which system they’re on.

Something to think about.

Another observation is that the most interesting characters tend to be the most recent. Without the new guys, the cast would be kind of dull.

Curious.