Game:

Guilty Gear -STRIVE- (2021)

Duration: 29:51

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Before the year is at a close, we've got one more Strive character gracing us! The growing boy himself, Sin Kiske!

Sin is Ky and Dizzy's child, and due to his gear ancestry his birth was...weird. He's five by the way. Due to Ky's responsibilities as a king, Sol ended up raising him, though he kind of half-assed it and as a result Sin isn't the sharpest character. He wields a flag in battle after taking a sarcastic comment from Sol literally, alongside lightning magic he's inherited from both of his parents. Sin was introduced all the way back in Guilty Gear 2: Overture, but made his first playable appearance in Xrd.

Back in Xrd, players had to mange Sin's hunger meter As he performed certain specials, or cancelled out of them the meter would drain. Players had to balance eating to keep the meter filled, or risk overextending and leaving him with hunger pangs that left him vulnerable. Didn't stop him from being a good character though.

In Strive, Sin trades the hunger meter for a stamina meter, separated into thirds. Most of his special moves possess a follow-up attack, but doing so uses up a third of the stamina meter. Nothing bad happens if you're empty, but it does severely limit his combo potential. One of his specials, Gazelle Step, is a command dash that lets him close the gap after performing most specials as well, though that also costs stamina. His Overdrives ALSO have follow-ups, though they take no stamina. R.T.L. allows him to repeatedly dash in a number of directions, and if you hold down Heavy Slash, he'll release an explosion that drains any remaining meter. Though it's tricky to do so, getting all three hits on top of a 50 tension explosion can make for a TON of damage. Tyrant Barrel is Sin's attempt at Sol's Tyrant Rave. The initial hit isn't that great, but if you tap Punch with good timing he'll do a follow-up hit that can do more damage. Oddly enough, while Sin can still eat, it no longer affects stamina...instead it gives him random buffs that are also random in both strength and how long they last. He can heal, gain tension, get an attack boost, or faster movement speed in a given direction...but you can't plan for it at all and often times they don't last for more than a few seconds at most so uh...not sure how many people are going to get much out of it.

For such a straightforward character there's a surprising amount of complexity...let's see how well that works in some real matches!

Set 1: Ajatar Hunting Ground
Testament (KINGSCXRR) vs. Sin (me)

Sad to see I demoted this Testament. I'm still trying to get Sin down at this point...may as well say it now but there's a LOT of mirror matches in this video so enjoy the variety while it lasts.

Set 2: Lap of the Kami
Sin (6P/DP Society) vs. Sin (me)

The first of many mirrors. The biggest thing about FACING Sin is learning that he can mix you up high or low pretty well. He's got overhead and low-hitting specials that are decently fast so my bad reaction times make it difficult to defend properly. I often just guess. My opponent ate a lot here but...I don't really know how much that changed things. Feels like more of a taunt than anything else.

Set 3: Castle of the Silver Fleet
Sin (teriyakibebi) vs. Sin (me)

I was mostly in P2's slot the entire time and that does kinda hurt my inputs sometimes. For whatever reason I find DP inputs harder to do when I'm facing left. Sin's DP seems pretty good at continuing combos, though it's really tricky as a reversal. There's a decent gap between the first and second hit, so if you miss (or they block) you're a sitting duck. Seeing some nice combo extensions here...wish I could be the one DOING them but this is how we learn!

Set 4: Jellyfish Skynarium
Sin (me) vs. I-No (Mali_daOppressor)

I-No is so rare I feel, so it was nice to fight one...it also means they're pretty good if they're sticking it out with a "weaker" character. Then again, I have no idea what the tier lists are like at the moment. Man that choke at the end of the first match...yeesh. I think I did OK here, but I need to find ways to optimize damage to clinch out these wins. Good games though!

Set 5: Lap of the Kami
Sin (me) vs. Giovanna (17ShotsNo38)

Giovanna's another rushdown character and we both have similar gameplans. Basically, get in first and never let up on the opponent. This ends a bit anticlimactically though. At least I actually got off Tyrant Rave!

Set 6: Castle of the Silver Fleet
Sin (NSR_Velocity) vs. Sin (me)

Our final bout! This one comes down to the wire! Also the game's interface bugged out and listed my opponent's first win as two wins so that's funny.

I like Sin, though I don't think I like fighting AGAINST him all that much! I really do like this game, but the constant downtime with matchmaking sucks. Hope that can be changed someday.

Not sure when the next video will be from me, so take care until then! Happy Holidays if it gets to be that late!

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