How nice to see that the fighting genre is still alive today! Y no me refiero a los títulos que se enfocan casi exclusivamente en los esos sino a esos juegos que aún invite a disfrutar en un modo historia de un solo jugador, o con un colega disfrutando de unas buenas anecdotes en algún sillón stratégicamente ubicado en somewhere.
Verdict Guilty is a clear example of the latter, a title created by Retro Army Limited live from the UK, which pays a pure and hard tribute to Street Fighter 2 in its most classic edition, the one called The World Warrior, but with an aesthetic between 8 and 16 bits that creates a particular atmosphere for a story of cops and robbers which takes place in Neo Seoul, South Korea and which feeds on several nods to the Capcom and SNK franchises, quite unexpected in some cases.
In this analysis we are going to enter the criminal world of a very particular city in which we will be able to control yakuza, bank robbers, law enforcement agents, terrorists and even men in black. A terrific combo for a title that aims to hit the happy medium of nostalgia. Prepare to fight.
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technical part
Graphically, the title uses elf very well done in pixel art with an aesthetic marked by the 16-bit era, although if we look at the scenarios we could speak of something closer to 8-bit in some cases, a somewhat unusual mix but not unpleasant to look. what maybe it won’t be for everyone it’s the choice of the color palette, with exaggerations in the use of bluish colors which, on many occasions, do not highlight the backgrounds. Interestingly, this detail works in the long run, but it can be a low point early in the first few games.
Music also rhymes with nostalgia with chip tunes modern ones that repeat in the dialogue scenes between battles but feel fresh in each of the different character locations to face. In terms of sound effects, while there’s nothing that particularly blew me away, I think they do very well to accompany the on-screen action.
The title is entirely in English and has not been localized into any other language yet.
gameplay
I think one of the best things about Guilty Verdict is its simplicity, which retains that of a bygone era where we could sit back and enjoy a game without having to spend 40 hours on a tutorial, read 7 guides and pray before playing a meager hour. The title characters have simple special moves to perform, those typical that we have seen in the genre since time immemorial in the aforementioned Street Fighter 2. In terms of controls, the scheme also drinks a lot from this Capcom structure with two buttons dedicated to high and low punches and two dedicated to kicks of the same type. Added to this is a hold button which will have a different effect depending on the “class” of fighter with which it is used.
In controls it’s appreciated the main feature that differentiates Verdict Guilty from other similar titles and it’s their cops and robbers theme. Law enforcement officers can handcuff their rivals, if this happens during the fight, the shrunken wrestler will be unable to use their hands for a while, while if the move is executed as a knockout blow, the opponent will be handcuffed to the ground and change the victory message. On the other hand, if this movement is made by criminals, depending on the character we will obtain different effects, such as placing a time bomb on the rival which, when it explodes, reverses the controls momentarily and also modifies the message of victory if executed as a final move. A point to improve are the jumps on the sides, which in some cases do not respond correctly.
The fighter squad consists of 8 characters. Hyuk, is a bank robber who seeks to help his mother, Yohan is a terrorist, Minso is a freight forwarder who is accompanied by his faithful canine companion, Si’u works in the subway and in addition to his weapon he has a bird like a form attack, Reese is a man in black investigating a UFO incident, Jae is a dancing Yakuza, Gun an escaped convict seeking to clear his name, while Gyeon is the traumatized detective seeking revenge. Each character doesn’t have a clone with a different skin color but a different character that uses their moves, much like what happened in Breakers and Breakers Revenge. This is not the only coincidence between the games since Sho, Tia and Saizo (the protagonists of Breakers) appear as bosses in And crossing strange but excellent.
Initial game modes Arcade, Story, Survival and Training. To start, I advise going directly to the story mode which, in addition to serving as a tutorial, offers the player to take up certain challenges in order to complete the duel, which becomes very interesting. Curiously, the map where our characters evolve is that of Metro City in Capcom’s Beloved Final Fighta truly Easter Egg. This mode has no credit limit to continue, so players will be able to see all endings with just a bit of perseverance and a bit of skill.
Arcade mode is the traditional one-life mode with the added bonus that defeating the final boss with each character gives you the chance to unlock the alternate version of each fighter. On this occasion, the suites are not unlimited and will be limited to 3 credits. Completing the mode activates the Dueling option which boils down to one-hit fights, the first strike wins. Once this instance is completed, Turbo Mode will be activated, which, as the name suggests, speeds up the pace of battles. The “Survival” option invites the player to defeat all rivals with a single energy bar that refills sparingly between fights.
The versus mode allows you to play games with friends locally only with the particularity that whoever wins must get 3 rounds instead of two.
Duration
Completing the story mode can take around 25 minutes per fighter, but with that comes the ability to unlock alternate versions of fighters, new modes, and other details that keep fans of the genre hooked on the title without any prior effort. even if they don’t necessarily spend many hours beside the game at one time.
conclusion
Verdict Guilty is the quintessential classic fighting game with some of its own trademark touches and a clear homage to the big names in the industry and genre. To enter Neo Seoul is to relive another era, to have fun and entertainment in a simple, fast and, of course, fun way. The price of this production is shockingly cheap, and if you’re a fan of fighting games, for what it costs, it’s almost the best gift you’ll give yourself this year, don’t let go and tell me more later how much You enjoyed it.
Gabriel Ignacio Fuentes
Good
- Nods to other franchises and the incorporation of fighters from other IPs
- The mechanics of police and criminals
- The simplicity of its controls
The bad
- Color palette can be unattractive
- The jumps, sometimes, have errors
- It is not localized in Spanish
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