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This page will go over the general controls over the Guilty Gear series.
Overview
General
Movement
Main article: Movement
All characters can move in the below ways:
- Walking - holding
to walk forwards, and holding 
to walk backwards. - Dashing & running - quickly inputting to do a dash; holding keeps the character running in a straight line.
- Backstep - quickly inputting to hop backwards. While it travels less distance than a forward dash, it can get out of the way of throws and wakeup attacks.
- Air Dashing - quickly inputting in the air to do an air dash, blasting the player forwards.
- Backstep - quickly inputting
- Jumping - pressing
to jump vertically, 
to jump forwards, and 
to jump backwards.
- Double Jump - pressing // to jump a second time.
- Double Jump - pressing
- Crouching - holding
to duck down.
Offense
Main article: Offense
In all main games, characters have 4 main attack buttons that can be used while standing, crouching or in the air:
- Punch (
) - a quick punch that deals low damage. - Kick (
) - a quick kick that deals low damage. - Slash (
) - a relatively quick attack using the character's weapon (if applicable). - Heavy Slash (
) - a strong attack using the character's weapon, though it has a long recovery time.
Between Guilty Gear & X Plus, pressing 
would launch the opponent to the top of the screen; then, pressing 
would make the player chase the opponent to do a guaranteed aerial combo. In Guilty Gear XX, this would be allocated to its own special button: Dust (
). Additionally, can be used in the air for an overhead attack, or as a sweep while crouching.
- Fierce Strikes
In all main games, characters can use 
+ 
for a quick anti-air, or for an overhead attack. Some characters have alternate Fierce Strikes that use other inputs (i.e. + , 
+ , 
+ 
in the air etc.)
- Special Attack
Main article: Special Attack
Special Attacks are a staple of any fighting game, and Guilty Gear is no exception.
Special Attacks require special inputs (e.g. + for Sol's Gun Flame), which differ from character to character, ranging from projectiles and physical attacks, to counterattacks and situational traps.
- Overdrive Attack
Main article: Overdrive Attack
Akin to Special Attacks, Overdrive Attacks (originally known as Chaos Attacks in Guilty Gear) require unique inputs (i.e. 
+ for Sol's Tyrant Rave), as well as a maxed-out Chaos Gauge (only in GG), or 50% of the Tension Gauge in later titles.
- Instant Kill
Main article: Instant Kill
Introduced in the original Guilty Gear under the name Morbid World, Instant Kills were attacks that could end the match if they connected. In their original appearance, the attacker would initiate the state by pressing near the opponent - if it connected, the background would turn red. During this time, inputting + /// would activate the Instant Kill, wiping out the opponent's entire health bar and end the entire match; the other player would have to input + /// to counteract the attack.
In Guilty Gear X up until Xrd Rev 2, pressing would activate the Instant Kill state, gradually lowering their Tension gauge. In the vast majority of cases, inputting + initiates the Instant Kill. Rather than ending the entire match, only the current round ends - regardless of whether the attack connects or not, the player that used their Instant Kill will no longer have a Tension Gauge for the rest of the match.
Instant Kills would not make appearances in Guilty Gear 2 & -Strive-.
Defense
- Guard
Main article: Guard
To be added...
Guilty Gear
- Charge Attacks
Only in the original Guilty Gear, all the playable characters (with the exceptions of Axl Low, Testament & Justice) were able to charge a specific Special Attack in their arsenal by holding the 
button instead of their respective normal button (e.g. the Charge input for Sol's Volcanic Viper would be + instead of or ).
Charging Special Attacks alter the properties of the attack, from dealing extra damage to increasing range by up to 3 stages, as shown below:
| Character | Attack | Input |
|---|---|---|
| + | ||
| + | ||
| or + | ||
| + | ||
| + | ||
| + | ||
| + | ||
| + | ||
| + | ||
| + |
This feature would be pseudo-reintroduced in the Guilty Gear XX sub-series in the form of Order-Sol's Charge, which has the same effects, albeit for all of his Special Attacks, as well as his other Overdrives.
Guilty Gear X & XX
- Roman Cancel
Main article: Roman Cancel
Roman Cancels were introduced in Guilty Gear X, which would go on to be a staple mechanic of the Guilty Gear series onwards.
By pressing any 2 attack buttons (excluding ) while using any non-Instant Kill attack immediately puts the player back into a neutral state, allowing them to either continue a combo or quickly stop what they're doing to go on the defensive - though, this does burn 50% of the player's Tension meter.
Between Guilty Gear X & ACPR, the player will immediately go back into neutral, indicated by a very brief red flash on the character's middle; in Guilty Gear Xrd, an animation would play to show that a Roman Cancel was used, giving the player more time to react to what they did - additionally, new colors of Roman Cancel would be introduced:
- Red - Used during an attack.
- Yellow - Used before the active attack connects.
- Purple - Used just after the active attack connects.
- Blue - Used without attacking. Introduced in -Strive-.
In Guilty Gear -Strive-, Roman Cancels would also gain the added feature of being able to dashed into, which if used next to an opponent, they will get hit by the shockwave.
Guilty Gear 2
To be added...
Guilty Gear Xrd
To be added...
Guilty Gear -Strive-
To be added...