“Guilty Gear Strive” just received a significant update along with the release of “Jack-O Valentine.” Jack-O made her first appearance in the Guilty Gear series in “Guilty Gear XRD,” where she dominated as one of the best characters in the game. Jack-O has once again returned to the Guilty Gear series and seems to be affecting more than just the game.

Jack-O’s labeled in “Guilty Gear Strive” as a technical character which makes her more difficult to play than most of the roster. Jack-O’s biggest strengths lie in effectively using the minions that she can summon and give orders to. Her minions allow her to perform combos, setups and blocking pressure in ways that she wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.

Her two biggest drawbacks about the minions is that once summoned, they will despawn after a short period. The second drawback is that if your opponent hits her minions, they will despawn.

Even though the best way to work the character is to utilize her minions optimally, it is possible to get by without heavily relying on them. Jack-O has great normals that enable her to create space or close gaps whenever convenient. Some of her more unusual moves include her crouching attacks and air attacks.

Jack-O’s crouching attacks bring her low to the ground, making it harder to hit her. Meanwhile, the actual attack either stretches high up or far forward. This dramatically helps her overall because having moves like this allows her to play both in a reactive and aggressive way. While her crouching attacks enable her to attack quickly while remaining relatively safe, her air attacks will allow her to get excellent screen control and swiftly hit overhead.

Jack-O has strong overall air attacks that she can use in many different situations. Her jumping heavy slash hits on both sides with a big hitbox. Her jumping slash allows a sweep that hits far down and reaches behind her enough to act as a cross-up tool that is specially cancellable. Her jumping kick hits above her head and is great for trying to drag opponents into the air to the ground.

Jack-O’s jumping dust attack is unique because she fires a projectile instead of making a physical attack. The animation itself stalls Jack-O’s air time which is suitable for baiting spells out of your opponent. The significance of her jumping dust being a projectile is that since it has all the properties of a projectile, it will prevent it from being countered by anti-airs.

Overall, Jack-O is a powerful character who excels at all aspects of the game. The most significant challenge she faces is strategically getting her minions on the field and making full use of them.