GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS will arrive on Crunchyroll in April 2025, marking a major milestone for the Guilty Gear game franchise. Born from the creative mind of Daisuke Ishiwatari in 1998, Guilty Gear is a fighting game series famous for its very stylish art direction, “dad rock” music, outstanding characters and unique fighting system where characters can “Air-dash” (which is when a character can make aerial dashes and increase their range of combat options). RELATED: GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS Anime to Stream on Crunchyroll Ever since its initial release, Guilty Gear has had seven main games (with several improved versions), spin-offs, drama CDs, novels, manga, and a story that can be a bit difficult to comprehend. We know that the DUAL RULERS anime takes place after the events of the last game in the series, Guilty Gear -Strive- , so it is necessary to know a bit about what has happened in the story so far. But rest assured, I’m here to help you with this! In this Guilty Gear guide, I’ll talk about each main game in chronological order of release, give a quick summary of what happens in the main story, and comment on each game itself and what new things it brought in terms of mechanics and so on. Now fill up your Tension Gauge and LET’S ROCK! GUILTY GEAR GAMES IN ORDER An Introduction to Guilty Gear's Story Guilty Gear (1998) Guilty Gear X (2000) Guilty Gear XX: The Midnight Carnival (2002) Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- (2007) Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- (2014) Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- (2015) Guilty Gear -Strive- (2021) GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS (2025 anime) NOTE: Game images used throughout this guide are from the Arc System Works official YouTube channel and/or Steam. An Introduction to Guilty Gear’s Story Before we talk about the main plot of each game, let's go over the premise that is presented to us both by the manual of the first Guilty Gear and by what was retconned through a digest manga that Arc System Works itself created together with Sumeragi in preparation for the launch of Guilty Gear -Strive- . It all began in 1999 when all electronic and communication devices stopped working, followed by several major natural disasters that occurred around the world. This catastrophic situation left the world in panic, leaving the civilization on the brink of ruin until a man, known only as The Original, brought salvation to these desperate times with magic, which proved to be an unlimited power and the gateway to new possibilities. He and his disciples taught humanity how to use magic, which proved to be the main source of energy and the basis of the technology that would be used from then on. The UN declared a ban on all kinds of pre-magic technology and encouraged research and use of magic in both everyday life and for military purposes. In 2015, Project Gear was created, which aimed to take the next step in human evolution by infusing Gear cells — cells that were stabilized with magic. The project ended up going awry and became the trigger for a series of events that would change humanity forever. In particular, this project would impact three people, all of whom are the project's chief scientists. RELATED: GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS Anime Reveals Premiere Date, Opening Song in New Trailer First there’s Frederick Bulsara, who would become the prototype for Gears and would take on the name Sol Badguy, the protagonist of the franchise. Then there’s Aria Hale, Frederick's fiancee who, due to an incurable disease, also ends up undergoing therapy with Gear cells and would become the basis for Justice (the first Gear in history). The third person is a brilliant scientist and a college friend of Frederick and Aria, the director of Project Gear and the person responsible for transforming the two into Gears. For now, this scientist is referred to in the story as That Man. With this, the Gears emerged. RELATED: Singer Nowlu Performs GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS Anime Ending Song Gears are biological weapons that were once humans and animals with Gears cells infused into their bodies. Gears acted without questioning orders from their creators, something that changed the status quo of the world's military scenario. However, Justice ends up creating her own consciousness and declares war against all of humanity, taking control of these Gears that were basically enslaved by humans to carry out heinous acts of violence in war. This made the humans unite against a common enemy and create their own unified army whose mission was to fight against the Gears. That army was known as the Sacred Order of Holy Knights, and thus, the Crusades began. In 2175, after a century of bloody battles, the Knights manage to seal Justice in a dimensional prison. It is important to note that, at that time, the commander of the Sacred Order of the Holy Knights was the young Ky Kiske, a talented and fair swordsman. He is the deuteragonist of Guilty Gear who constantly fights and has a heated rivalry with Sol. Guilty Gear (1998) Available modern platforms: PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam) The Story Five years after Justice's imprisonment, her seal is weakening and, strangely, the world's governments decide to hold a tournament for the most capable to be chosen to form a new generation of the Holy Knights. Sol defeats everyone and succeeds in killing a weakened version of Justice, reinforcing his personal crusade to kill all the Gears without knowing for sure that Justice is his beloved Aria. RELATED: Pick Your Street Fighter 6 Main Based on Your Taste in Anime The Gameplay According to an interview via Venturebeat , the first Guilty Gear game was born from the desire of its creative director, Daisuke Ishiwatari, to have a fighting game with more stylish characters than the series he was a fan of (such as Street Fighter and Fatal Fury ) as well as having fantasy elements similar to those seen in the Bastard!! manga that would appeal to both video game players and anime fans. Despite being developed by a group of people with almost no experience in creating games, and with a small cast of characters in the roster, the first Guilty Gear is overflowing with style. It has quite frenetic gameplay with each character having a very unique attack pattern. Guilty Gear matches tend to be full of situations that can change the pace of the fight at any moment, especially with the Instant Kill moves that can instantly kill the opponent with a single hit. Guilty Gear X (2000) Available modern platforms: N/A The Story Less than a year after Justice's death, news of a new sentient Gear begins to spread. Although it shows no hostility toward humans, the fear that this Gear may create another uprising like Justice and revive all the inert Gears causes people to hunt it incessantly. This new Gear is Dizzy, another very important character who’s the daughter of Justice/Aria. RELATED: Pick Your Next Anime Based on Your Mortal Kombat Style The Gameplay Guilty Gear X introduced several mechanics that would become standard in the series. This includes the Dust Attack (a command that launches the opponent into the air to start an aerial combo), and the famous Roman Cancel (which allows the player to cancel their attack course to return to a neutral state, further increasing the range of options and strategies involved in combat). The Instant Kill moves were reworked as well. This was also the first game in the series to receive the enhanced ports Guilty Gear is known for. This includes the release of Guilty Gear X Plus for PlayStation 2 (2001), Guilty Gear X Advance Edition for Game Boy Advance (2002) and Guilty Gear X ver 1.5 , which was exclusive to arcades in 2003. Guilty Gear XX: The Midnight Carnival (2002) Available modern platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam) The Story Also known as Guilty Gear X2 , the game's story takes place just two weeks after the events of Guilty Gear X . The story focuses on I-No, a mysterious woman who works for That Man and manipulates the rest of the characters in various ways. Among her actions is the kidnapping of Dizzy who, at the time, had joined the Jellyfish Pirates (a group of air pirates led by Johnny and whose crew is composed entirely of orphans). This leads to Sol falling into a trap to fight her, although this confrontation does not result in the death of either of them. In addition, Ky (now captain of the International Police) investigates the actions of an organization called the Post-War Administration Bureau. I-No would become a key character in the following games, especially in Guilty Gear Xrd and Guilty Gear -Strive- . RELATED: 7 of the Best Anime Based on Fighting Games The Gameplay Guilty Gear XX brought several new modes, some coming from revised versions of the previous game. It's Story Mode now featuring voice-acted dialogues and players could also try out Mission Mode or look at art in the Gallery. The biggest addition was the debut of the M.O.M (acronym for Medal of Millionaire) Mode where players go through a series of matches and, depending on their actions and combos, the player earns points that can be exchanged for healing items and other bonuses. Guilty Gear XX continued with the enhanced ports, perhaps the most in the entire franchise. This includes Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload (2003), Guilty Gear XX Slash (2005), Guilty Gear XX Λ Core (2006), Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus (2008) and finally Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus R (2012). Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- (2007) Available modern platforms: PC (Steam) The Story Five years after the events of the first Guilty Gear , the United Kingdom of Illyria, formed by three kingdoms that now organize what's left of a Europe devastated by the Crusades, is officially recognized by the United Nations. Ky Kiske is named as one of its kings. Speaking of the golden boy of the series, he and Dizzy would end up falling in love, but as friendly relations between humans and Gears were still seen as taboo, the relationship between the two was kept secret. Eventually they’d have a son named Sin. As Sin is part Gear, he grew up super-fast, just like his mother, and in a few years he already has the body of a man in his late 20s. Given his nature and how Gears were still oppressed and persecuted, Sin is left under the wings of Sol by Ky’s request, who currently acts as a mercenary. It is in this scenario that something unusual begins to occur: the dormant Gears in Illyria begin to disappear and Valentine appears, a mysterious woman who is a living clone of Aria Hale. Because of this, Valentine also has the same abilities as Justice to command Gears. And so, a new global crisis begins. RELATED: How to Play the Ys Series in Chronological Order The Gameplay Despite having “2” in the title, Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- is actually the 4th game in the main Guilty Gear series. A big change with this game is that it is not a traditional 2D fighting game like the previous Guilty Gears . Instead, it’s a 3D action game with Tower Defense elements, basically preceding the wave of MOBA games. Despite the abrupt changes, it is in this game that we have the introduction of the Backyard, a parallel world extremely loaded with information and where the laws that rule the world are located. There is also great emphasis on the events of the past as well as the introduction of Sin, one of the key characters in the GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS anime. Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- (2014) Available modern platforms: PS4, PC (Steam) The Story On October 21, 2187 (about a year after the events of Guilty Gear 2 ), Ramlethal Valentine appears and declares war on humanity. After a fierce battle with Sol, this new Valentine is defeated and taken into custody by Ky. However, her actions were merely a smokescreen to cover up the actions of the Conclave, an organization that operates behind the United Nations and secretly wishes to revive Justice. Despite that, their plans are thwarted, but not before the inert body of Justice and Elphelt Valentine — another Valentine and Ramlethal's "sister" — are abducted by the Universal Will, an entity originating from the Backyard that orchestrated the paths that humanity has followed in recent centuries. It was the Universal Will who caused that blackout in 1999 and gave rise to all the Valentines (whom she refers to as "Mother") and is the true puppet master who manipulated the Conclave's actions. RELATED: How to Play the Yakuza/Like a Dragon Games in Order The Gameplay Arc System Works brings Guilty Gear back to the world of fighting games with a huge revolution. Check out the announcement trailer and see for yourself. You swear you are seeing extremely well-drawn 2D sprites, but at 1:02 your head explodes when you realize that they are all 3D models that perfectly emulate anime-style characters that look like they have been hand-drawn. The series was already stylish, but Xrd took it a step further. There is not a single moment that you don't feel like you are watching a 2D anime, it is so well done. Mechanically speaking, the game was developed to be as accessible as possible to newcomers in Guilty Gear while maintaining the button system seen in the latest fighting games of the series. Changes were made to the Roman Cancel and Dust button systems along with the introduction of the Clash system when two players' attacks occur simultaneously. Here they can enter the so-called "Danger Zone" with everything becoming more frenetic and attacks doing 20 percent more damage. In terms of game modes, we have the return of classic modes such as Arcade and M.O.M. as well as an online mode with several options. Another important thing to point out is that its Story Mode has been completely reworked. There are several scenes done as if they were an animated light novel that are divided into chapters that the player can pause and resume. Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- (2015) Available modern platforms: PS4, PC (Steam) The Story A week after the events of Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- , Sol and his friends continue their search for Elphelt. This will lead them to finally confronting the one the Valentines call "Mother." The Universal Will has possessed Ariels, the supreme leader of the Sanctus Populi, which is the largest religious institution in the world based in the Vatican. Ariels would become the great villain of the Guilty Gear Xrd games. The epic story of this game serves as a closure for several loose ends in the series. It also gives the spotlight to several characters such as That Man (who finally lets his veil of mystery fall), Axl Low (who was present since the first Guilty Gear as a young Londoner who has the unfortunate curse of “sliding through time”), and I-No. In addition, we’re formally introduced to Jack O’ Valentine, an entity a little different from the other Valentines. Jack O’Valentine is basically half of what Aria Hale was and is a vessel to become complete with the rest of her that is found in Justice. RELATED: The 10 Best JRPGs of 2024 Worth Playing The Gameplay Gameplay wise, -Revelator- is virtually identical to -Sign- , with the main change being the introduction of Stylish Mode. Stylish Mode performs certain special moves automatically without having to perform traditional controls on the controller in addition to continuing with an auto-combo. In addition, specific changes to the mechanics of the fights were also made, such as Homing Dashes in the Dust moves and the Blitz Shield. The game's tutorial was also reworked, now being presented as a sequence of activities and mini-games made in a more playful way to teach each command in the game. -Revelator- received only one revised version called Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 , which came with all the previous DLCs plus two new fighters: the newcomer Answer and the veteran Baiken. It also came with three side stories that take place after the events of the main story. Guilty Gear -Strive- (2021) Available modern platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch The Story At the end of Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- we have That Man, whose real name is Asuka R. Kreutz, promising the long-awaited reckoning with Sol. -Strive- takes place three weeks after the previous game, with Asuka turning himself in to the American authorities for his crimes against humanity, but only if they let him participate in the G4 Summit. This summit would take place at the White House, and Asuka hoped to destroy the Tome of Origin — a book written by The Original philosopher himself. The Tome of Origin contains the essence of the Backyard, extremely coveted by the aforementioned Universal Will. Vernon, the current president of the United States, accepts the proposal, as long as Asuka is kept under heavy guard and participates in the event from a safe room. In the best style of the White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen movies, the headquarters of the American government is attacked and besieged by Happy Chaos, an enigmatic man who loves drama. I won't go into detail about how the story ends, but while -Revelator- tied up many loose ends in the story of the series, here we finally have the resolution of the big question that spins around Frederick (Sol Badguy), Aria Hale (who, despite being represented here by Jack O'Valentine, has her own arc of discovery about who she really is) and Asuka (That Man). We still have time to also close I-No's story and have more character development for Axl and other specific characters. RELATED: Guilty Gear -Strive- Hits 2.5 Million Players on Series' 25th Anniversary The Gameplay If we thought Guilty Gear couldn't get any more beautiful and visually stunning, Arc System Works has proven us wrong with an art direction that is both unique and feels like an evolution of the Xrd games. Mechanically, it maintains the series' standard, giving up certain systems like Blitz Shield and Danger Time from the previous game, but introducing the so-called Wall-Break. Now the stages have "walls" that can be broken, with players transitioning to other parts of the stages. It is also possible to make this transition with Dust attacks, with the difference that the opponent who launched the other can continue a series of aerial combos until they reach the new stage. GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS (2025) And so we arrive at the DUAL RULERS anime! After the events of -Strive- , Ky abdicates his title as the First King of Illyria to become the ruler of the newly founded Kingdom of Vialattea. With Queen Dizzy at his side, they plan to officially hold their wedding and publicly assume their marriage between a human and a Gear to the world. But there are people who do not look nicely on this relationship, especially newcomer Unika, who, for some unknown reason, wants to destroy all the Gears. What will happen to Ky and Dizzy's marriage? And who really is Unika? We’ll have to watch GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS to find out! To close, I recommend that you watch this official MV of “ Find Your One Way ,” Sol’s theme in Guilty Gear -Strive- . This MV features scenes that go through the entire story of the series’ protagonist and features animation done by Sanzigen, the studio that is working on the DUAL RULERS anime! Explore More Guides One Piece Arcs in Order Naruto Arcs in Order Dragon Ball Watch Order & Sagas List How to Watch Dr. STONE in Order How to Watch OVERLORD in Order How to Watch Fairy Tail in Order How to Watch Haikyu!! in Order How to Watch Black Butler in Order Bungo Stray Dogs Watch Order How to Watch My Hero Academia in Order (Plus Movies) How to Watch Monogatari in Order How to Watch KONOSUBA in Order
