Guilty Gear Strive is bringing Bridget back for Season 2

Guilty Gear strutsThe second season of characters kicked off Monday with the release of Bridget, the yo-yo-swinging, habit-wearing fighter who first joined the series in 2002 Guilty Gear X2. Three more characters are planned Guilty Gear struts‘s Season 2 Pass, which runs through 2023.

For players looking to jump into Guilty Gear, developer Arc System Works describes Bridget as an “easy-to-learn base character” with solid long-range attacks and…a teddy bear. Bridget is available as part of the season pass for $24.99 and individually for $6.99. The developer also released a Introductory video for Bridget

Bridget’s arrival Guilty Gear struts is not only significant for the launch of a second DLC season, but also confirms that the character is a trans woman. Bridget’s lore and history is complicated, and in previous entries in the Guilty Gear series, her sexuality and a lack of clarity about her gender identity have been at times played for dramatic effect or comedic purposes. But in EndeavorBridget definitely comes out as transgender, as seen in this cutscene showing an interaction between Bridget, Ky Kiske, and relative newcomer Goldlewis Dickinson.

Previous Guilty Gear games identified Bridget as male, and other characters referred to Bridget using masculine and feminine pronouns. according to her official backstory (referring to her gender-neutral), Bridget had a twin brother, and according to local superstition, having twins of the same sex is a bad omen. Bridget’s wealthy parents therefore raised her as a girl to protect her from harm, but she later sets out on her career as a bounty hunter in order to both succeed — and thereby prove superstitions wrong — and “behave.”[e] like a man” in the fight against the Guilty Gear list.

Bridget has spawned a legion of fans, particularly cosplayers, who have fallen in love with the character over the past 20 years, despite the occasional weary joke about her sexuality and gender identity. Those same tropes made their return to the Guilty Gear franchise uncertain, but it seems Arc System Works is fully embracing their trans identity — no longer as fodder for storytelling tropes, but as part of an ever-diversifying roster for Guilty Gear struts.