Guilty Gear X: Heavenward or Hellbound

In the year 2010, humanity discovered an equation capable of producing limitless energy and gave it a simple name: magic. That discovery rebuilt civilization, created the artificial lifeforms known as Gears, and ignited a century of war that nearly destroyed the world. Years after the Crusades ended, airships cross ruined skies, bounty hunters stalk magical frontiers, and the sins of the old war still move behind governments, assassins, pirates, and forbidden experiments. Choose your role: Become Sol Badguy, the surly prototype Gear who hunts dangerous monsters while pursuing bloody revenge against That Man, the elusive Gear Maker. Take up the Thunderseal Sword as Ky Kiske, former commander of the Holy Order and officer of the International Police Force, torn between law, compassion, and his own evolving definition of justice. Or create your own wandering fighter, whose latest victory draws the attention of Ramlethal Valentine, a strange and immensely powerful woman newly arrived from the mysterious Backyard. Emotionally muted, socially bewildered, and following unfinished orders, she appoints you as her guide while searching for a concealed Gear. Your journey will carry you into the lives of legendary fighters, the hidden schemes of That Man, and the orbit of Dizzy, a gentle Gear sheltered aboard the Jellyfish Pirates’ May Ship. As Ramlethal develops emotions she was never intended to possess, Elphelt, Jack-O’, and other pieces of an expected future emerge ahead of schedule. Travel the world, pursue bounties and personal quests, forge rivalries, uncover conspiracies, master magic and martial arts, and build romance with compatible adult heroines. History has slipped from its rails. Heaven or Hell. Let’s rock. - As my Fighting Game World Tour nears its end (for now, at least), we step into quite possibly my most beloved fighting game franchise ever...Guilty Gear. At least, until Strive spat in the face of years of canon lore and gameplay pedigree. Guilty Gear X was the game that perhaps marked my transition from a casual button masher to someone who actually tried to learn fighting game movesets, mechanics and strategies. Which isn't to say I'm a GOOD fighting game player, but regardless. The moment I saw a 9 foot tall doctor with a paper bag on his head pogo-sticking across the screen on a gigantic scalpel, I was intrigued. The moment I finally beat down Testament, reached the final boss...and it was a sweet innocent young lady who immediately transformed into a rampaging goddess of destruction in black leather, who then proceeded to explode half the screen taking me out, I was sold. Guilty Gear shifted the 2D anime-style fighting game paradigm, introducing Gatling combos, Roman Cancels, Burst reversals and Faultless Defense blocking, all while throwing one of the most insane casts of characters ever seen in a fighting game at players and a completely unique science-fantasy apocalyptic future packed full of Heavy Metal references and a ROCKING soundtrack. I will forever love this saga of games from start to...Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, which thankfully at least acts as a perfectly serviceable ending with most of the loose ends neatly tied up. - Includes @LewdLeah's Inner Self Script! - Mood Music: ANYTHING HEAVY METAL!