Summary
Ever sinceGuilty Gear Strivehas pushed its series to unprecedented heights of popularity, the prospect of guest characters has floated around among the fanbase. Despite an ever-growing roster of original characters and expanding world-building, however, a crossover never ended up materializing after over three years since the title’s initial launch. Considering how many unique faces already fill theGGuniverse, it could easily be argued that it stands as a fighting game franchise in which guests are far from a necessity. The recent announcement of the next lineup of DLC fighters forGuilty Gear Strivehas come as a surprise to many fans due to this fact, as the unexpected IP that Arc System Works has chosen to collaborate with could indicate a bright future for crossovers.
EVO 2024 featured several major announcements across the fighting game world, but thereveal ofGuilty Gear Strive’s Season 4DLC came with the shocking reveal of Lucy from theCyberpunk: Edgerunnersanime series as the franchise’s first guest fighter. It might seem shocking that a character from an anime adaptation of a video game’s world has made it in over actual representatives of other video game IPs, but Lucy does have traits that could see her easily fitting in with the rest of the cast. Furthermore, her existence withinGGsignals that the series could be going in a direction where no franchise is off-limits.
A Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Character in Guilty Gear Means that Anime is Fair Game for Future Guests
Embracing the Style Guilty Gear Has Always Represented
While hardly anyone would have been likely to predict her inclusion, the visually striking art style that Lucy represents shares many qualities with the flamboyant and futuristic designs thatGuilty Gearis known for. In a roster filled with cybernetically-enhanced superhumans in an outlandish future setting, a member ofNight City’s criminal underworld inCyberpunkdoesn’t necessarily seem out of place.
Fan Requests Seem More Plausible Than Ever
Given the lore significance of multiplefan favorites not in Guilty GearStrive, future guests haven’t been as exciting as the prospect of legacy fighters in the eyes of some of the community. Now that the barrier between games and animated shows has been broken by the upcoming addition of Lucy, however, there’s an entirely new set of possibilities for bringing anime characters intoGuilty Gear.
This kind of crossover has been criticized for the limited potential for these guests to be integrated within the existingGGnarrative, with even fighters fromother Arc System Works gamesseeming to have no chance of finding a place in the story. Following hints from a recent interview, however, the developer may have deliberately chosen a character based on the role they can play in theGuilty Gearworld.
A Guest as Unexpected as Lucy Makes Other Arc System Works IP Crossovers Seem Easy
Lucy is Not Even the Protagonist of Her Own Series
Fans ofEdgerunnersare hyped to see a character from the show getting a new spotlight, but they’ve also been somewhat confused about who has been chosen. With David serving as the anime’s protagonist, he was thought to be much more likely to appear in a collaboration over another member of the cast. This was apparently an intentional choice by theGuilty Gearstudio, as Strive producerKen Miyauchi mysteriously explained to IGN:
“So I cannot talk much about why because that mKen Miyauchi mysteriously explained to IGNight spoil what we are trying to do. But there is a reason we decided Lucy. Of course, I personally wanted to see David with Sandevistan, but yeah, so I can’t talk about it right now, but I hope people will figure [it] out in the future.”
Fans Were Anticipating an In-House Guest if Any
The guest that the game ended up set to receive was unpredictable even within the community of their own IP, butStrive’s players mostly expected a crossover from under the Arc System Works umbrella upon seeing the option for a Guest Character inGuilty Gear Strive’s popularity polls. With multiple fighting game series featuring recognizable protagonists, such asBlazBlue’s Ragna the Bloodedge orUnder Night In-Birth’s Hyde, the company had far easier choices to pick from when crafting a moveset and its animations.
Even a collaboration with another fighting game developer would have arguably made more sense, as the likes of Mai Shiranui andTerry Bogard inStreet Fighter 6will soon demonstrate, but Arc Sys has instead shown a willingness to venture beyond the scope of what some fans thought was possible. Now, if the studio ever decides to include characters from its own IPs as guests in the future, they would seem a lot tamer and easier to legally implement by comparison. Considering the bold and experimental approach that is seemingly being taken regarding guests, it’s also more likely that these will continue in the form of lending out characters to other companies as well.
Guest Fighters in Guilty Gear Open the Door for GG Characters to Feature in Other Franchises
If someone as unlikely as Lucy can make it intoStriveby simply fitting into the game’s aesthetic and tone, there’s reason to believe that members ofGuilty Gear’s cast could do the same when it comes to appearing in other titles. Baiken is already impressively represented in2019’sSamurai Shodownreboot, as her fighting style was able to translate into that setting without compromising the identity she has formed throughoutGG.
It’s not always easy to predict whether fans ofGuilty Gear Strivewill be receptive to receiving a guest over another beloved character from the series' past, but the likes of Sol Badguy appearing in another title are far less likely to cause the same sort of potential offense. The announcement ofLucy fromCyberpunk: EdgerunnersforStrivemarks a significant milestone not only for the roster ofGGas a whole, but for the franchise’s growing reach that has seen it extending past the traditional confines of crossovers in gaming.
Guilty Gear -Strive-
WHERE TO PLAY
“Guilty Gear -Strive-“ is the latest entry in the critically acclaimed Guilty Gear fighting game franchise. Created by Daisuke Ishiwatari and developed by Arc System Works, “Guilty Gear -Strive-“ upholds the series’ reputation for a high octane soundtrack, groundbreaking hybrid 2D/3D cell-shaded graphics and intense, rewarding gameplay.Discover the Smell of the Game with Guilty Gear -Strive-! Immerse yourself in new gameplay mechanics designed to be simple and welcoming for fighting game newcomers, yet deep and creative for veterans. Ride the Fire into a heavy metal inspired alternate future full of over-the-top action, style and fun! Blazing!Head into the final confrontation with That Man, the person responsible for all the destruction and damage to the world and and it’s inhabitants. Join Sol Badguy, his rival Ky Kiske, and a total starting roster of 15 unique characters as they face the astonishing conclusion to a story 20 years in the making!
