This is a list of characters from the Guilty Gear fighting game series.
Creation and influences
Daisuke Ishiwatari has cited Kazushi Hagiwara's manga Bastard!!, and the fighting game Street Fighter II as influence to the Guilty Gear series. Translation. However, he noted that the majority of other fighting games were just recycling the character's same skins or style, and so he wanted every character "to be unique in their own way." Kazuhiko Shimamoto's characters were also noted as an inspiration for the male characters, with Ishiwatari saying they needed to be "chivalrous person-like characters", and citing Anji Mito "the most closest to this type". The female ones, on the other hand, have not followed a standard, with Ishiwatari only remarking that they needed to look like real women.
There are many musical references in the Guilty Gear series, including various characters' names and moves, which were inspired by rock and heavy metal bands like Queen, Guns N' Roses, and Metallica. For instance, the main character, Sol Badguy, was named after Queen's lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury. Both his real name, Frederick, and his last name were influenced by the singer, whose nickname was "Mr. Badguy".
Introduced in Guilty Gear
Sol Badguy Voiced by (English): David Forseth (Guilty Gear Xrd – present) Voiced by (Japanese): Daisuke Ishiwatari (Guilty Gear, X and XX), Hikaru Hanada (Guilty Gear XX Series (story mode only)), Jouji Nakata (Guilty Gear 2 Overture (story mode & alternative voice in Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus only) – present) Introduced in the first installment of the series (1998), Frederick Bulsara was one of the lead scientists of the Gear project, as well as being the prototypical Gear, dating from over a hundred years before the events of the Guilty Gear games. As a prototype, he is immune to the orders of Commander Gears. He was personally acquainted with Asuka R. Kreutz (typically known as That Man) prior to the Crusades. As Frederick, Sol created the "Outrage", which he called a supreme Anti-Gear weapon. The Outrage has eight components called "Jinki" (Godlike Weapons), which greatly amplify their wielders' magical ability. Later, he was himself recruited into the order, as a bounty hunter named Sol Badguy. Sol took part in the Crusades, during which he was a member of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights (Seikishidan), acquiring the nickname . However, he later became disenchanted with the methods of the Sacred Order, and fled the order, taking with him the . The theft earned him the enmity of Ky Kiske.
In 2175, Sol faced Justice directly. During the fight, which Justice won, she discovered that Sol was a Gear. Justice attempted to assert her power as a Commander Gear to control Sol, but was unable to do so. Exploiting her confusion and weakness from the fight, the Holy Order, led by Ky, sealed Justice away, bringing the war to an end. However, a Gear named Testament began a plan to free Justice, and to stop it, the Union of Nations held a tournament. The canon stated that Sol was the winner of the Tournament, which also resulted in Justice discovering that Sol was, in fact, Frederick. Justice, in her dying words, commented that she wished that "...the three of us..." could talk one last time, and Sol swore to kill Asuka.
In Guilty Gear X (2000), Sol has three endings, all of which involve a fight against Dizzy, who has a half-million dollar bounty on her head. However, he spares her life in all of them, losing against her in his second ending, and judging that she is not a threat to the world in the other two.
In the subsequent game, Guilty Gear X2 (2002), his story-line involved chasing down I-No. In his first ending, his defeat of I-No led to a direct confrontation with Asuka, who casually deflected all of Sol's attacks, saying that Sol was needed because soon a greater battle than the Crusades will occur. In Sol's second ending, Slayer informed him of the Post-War Administration Bureau's interest in Dizzy. In the third ending, he fought Dizzy, who had been possessed by Necro, after I-No knocked her off the Mayship, and sent Dizzy on her way to meet Johnny and May.
In Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus (2008), Sol had two endings. In one, I-No threw him back in time to fight his past self, Order-Sol. After both are weakened from the battle, I-No reappeared to murder Order-Sol, which, in turn, caused Sol's present form to cease existing. In his other ending, the same set of events played out, but Sol's present form, strangely, is unaffected by his past self's death. After escaping the time rift, Ky confronted and engaged him in battle. After the fight, Sol and Ky finally settled their differences and went their separate ways, with Ky asking Sol to promise that they will meet again. Though it was referenced in both Sol and Ky's endings, only Sol's told the events directly after the battle, which implied that Sol was the victor.
In Guilty Gear 2: Overture (2007), Sol Badguy took in a young man named Sin as his apprentice, and traveled the world with him as bounty hunters. During their journey, he met Izuna who told him that a man called Vizel was seeking out and destroying Gears by order of Valentine, and that his next target was the kingdom of Illyria. Sol, Sin, and Izuna go to Illyria and find Ky Kiske trapped with a binding spell. With Dr. Paradigm's help they were able to release him. Eventually, they captured Valentine who transformed herself into a monster. Sol fought her, and after the fight, he found himself in a white space, unable to return. However, he was confronted by That Man, who confirmed that Valentine was a copy of Aria, Sol's former lover. Sol was returned to the real world, where he reunited with his allies.
In Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- (2014), Sol continued his journeys with Sin when Ramlethal Valentine declared war on humanity. Working alongside Ky, Sin, Leo Whitefang, and Elphelt Valentine, Sol fought to stop the Conclave from using the Cradle to resurrect Justice and destroy humanity. In the end, Sol and his allies were able to stop Justice from reviving, but Elphelt betrayed them and tried to kill them. She was eventually taken to the Backyard, and Sol, Sin and Ramlethal set out to find her.
In Xrd -REVELATOR- (2016), Sol was confronted by Raven, who told him that That Man needed his help in preventing Elphelt from merging with Justice. Before the final battle against Ariels, Sol attempted to claim he is not related to Dizzy, due to her mother being Justice, who was once Aria. His allies began to theorize his connection with the two female Gears, which caused Ky—Dizzy's husband—and Sol to scream out in horror at the supposed revelation that the two rivals are in-laws. After Ariels' defeat, Jack-O took Elphelt's place and fused with Justice, becoming a reincarnated Aria, and Sol revealed to his allies That Man's true identity—Asuka R. Kreutz.
In the epilogue storyline added in Xrd REV 2 (2017), Sol visited Ky's manor, where he challenged Ky to a duel. As Ky noticed Sol's fighting intent, they took their discussion outside the manor to speak privately. While recalling their days as members of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights, Sol mocked Ky, claiming that he held back every time they fought, despite him not doing so when he battled Gears. He further remarked that Dizzy was a "monster", just like himself, angering Ky, who then entered a frenzied rage and managed to overpower Sol in combat. As Sol lied in a newly-formed crater, Sol explained that he had a score to settle with Asuka, with Ky asking him about it. Unbeknownst to them, at the same time they spoke, Asuka turned himself in to the United States government.
Sol returns as a main protagonist in Guilty Gear -STRIVE- (2021). Despite becoming a legendary hero since the previous event, Sol remains a bounty hunter, now accompanied by a fully recovered Jack-O, and the nation often goes to Ky to message Sol for urgent matters. Having taken a request from a weakened Ariels to stop I-No, Sol realizes that Happy Chaos, a demon-like sorcerer formerly Asuka's mentor known as The Original, possessed Ariels body and had been manipulating events alongside I-No herself. Sol's healing power as a Gear becomes slower, due to being shot by Chaos with the same material which created Nagoriyuki's katanas. He arrives at Washington as guest of the White House during a peace meeting with Asuka, where the Gear Maker is targeted by Chaos and I-No for the possession of the Tome of Origin. Sol's story concludes as he lets Asuka remove the Flame of Corruption from him to restore his humanity. Despite the Flame of Corruption's removal being on a bad timing when Chaos fused with I-No into a godlike being, Sol manages to kill a godlike I-No, with the help of Ky, Axl, and a redeemed Nightless samurai Nagoriyuki. He also saves Jack-O from sacrificing herself to stop I-No, declaring his love for her as Jack-O, not as Aria. With I-No's demise, Sol is officially declared dead by the U.S. government and is given a hero's burial. Now going by his original name, Frederick goes off the grid and opens a shop with Jack-O at the abandoned space station Iseo. However in a midquel season-based anime between third and fourth seasons, Dual Rulers, Sol returns to battle once again where he learn Unika's exact nature as his alternate future granddaughter, then properly comes in term with his past and presents himself at an official wedding of his daughter, Dizzy, thanks to Vernon's encouragement.
He was also a playable character in the spin-off games Guilty Gear Petit (2001), Isuka (2003), Dust Strikers (2006), and Judgment (2006). Along with Ky Kiske, he is one of the only characters to appear in every Guilty Gear game.
Ky Kiske Voiced by (English): Sam Riegel (Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-), Sean Chiplock (Guilty Gear Strive) Voiced by (Japanese): Takeshi Kusao Orphaned at the age of 10 during the Holy War, a 100-year-war between mankind and bio-organic weapons called "Gears", he met the then-commander of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights (Seikishidan), Kliff Undersn. Ky was told to come back after five years of training if he really wanted to fight, and it was what he did. Due to the Undersn's retirement, the 16-year-old Ky Kiske was named the new chief of the Order. With the appointment, he was given the , one of the Order's holiest treasures and a weapon that allows the wielder to manipulate lightning. He led them to win, ending the war, and with its aim reached the Order was disbanded. Five years later, Ky entered the International Police Force, where he is the captain.
Ky enters a tournament that will select members for a second Sacred Order of Holy Knights at the start of Guilty Gear (1998) after hearing rumors of the possible resurrection of Justice, a Commander Gear who was in the leadership of the Gears during the Holy War. In Guilty Gear X (2000), Ky hears more rumors of a new Commander Gear that does not wish to harm humans—Dizzy. He sets out to find the flaws of his own concept of justice. In Guilty Gear X2 (2002), he returns to his normal duties as a captain of the IPF after rescuing a beaten Dizzy and entrusting her to Johnny's care. When he returns to work, Ky is thrust into a new conspiracy which includes robot clones of himself—called —, a secret organization, I-No, and his rival, Sol Badguy. In its sequel, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus (2008), after discovering Post-War Administration Bureau's interest in Dizzy, Ky abandons his post in the police force to protect Dizzy and help her to control her power, the two of them eventually entering into a romantic relationship.