Whereas the latest installments of XX were repeating itself a little too hard, Xrd takes the right bit from the older series and refines itself into a powerful new generation.

Continuing the story from Guilty Gear 2: Overture, another Valentine has been created and declares war on the world. There are things bigger than the Post-War Administration Bureau, and the gang is at it again! Premise aside, there's now an arcade mode and a full on cutscene only story segment. This is a big departure from the choose-your-own-adventure storylines of Accent Core but has a meaty and engaging enough story as is.

The gameplay and visuals are the real meat of the action. Adopting what seems like the best cel-shading we've ever seen, the 3D sprites make for some incredible 2D action and makes for finer 3D anime than actual 3D anime series. The music continues with all new tracks that continue to be as rockin' and impressive as previous installments, and the stages are wild and filled with detail.

As for gameplay, this is even more impressive than the visuals. The gameplay, instead of getting more and more unnecessary and difficult to approach refinements takes a step back and remakes some of its more obscure elements into a better system. Instead of Force Roman Cancels, there are now a group of Roman cancels that depend on timing and aren't restricted to a few frames, making it so that most people can manage and strategize around them. Slash Backs have also been improved so that they're easier to use, along with the ability to Slash Back a Slash Back. All of this gets a tutorial as icing on the cake - Xrd is probably one of the best games to teach people how to actually play fighting games, even teaching me a thing or two and easing people into things like a proper dragon punch movement that most games think themselves too high up to teach.

SIGN may be the first of things to come, but it starts off with a bang in what is likely the strongest iteration of Guilty Gear to date, making a gorgeous and approachable new step without sacrificing its depth and difficulty.