Guilty Gear Strive OST Reaction | Potemkin | Faust | Millia |Zato

[@joshspades3129]

I can’t wait for them to get to the songs: “Drift”, “Mirror of the World”, “Town inside me”, and “Circle”

[@angel__king]

Mirror of the world has such a great rhythm to it i love it. Personally not a fan of town inside me it feels too pop-y

[@qxpn9220]

the town inside what?! AYYOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@denzelherrman]

circle is my top 1

[@WillGlacier]

God I love drift and Circle. Drift just because how how bat shit insane Happy Chaos is and how his theme reflex on that by being all over the place. Circle just because of how morbid it is. Romeo (bedman) in the theme is literally screaming out to god why he can't see heaven since his soul is stuck in his bedframe. The only thing keeping his new body going is the one order it got "protect Delilah" (Romeo's younger sister)

[@joshspades3129]

@@qxpn9220 Bridget's theme

[@QtAsteri]

Zato-1 died once, he was revived at the cost of all his emotions thanks to Eddie reanimating him, Eddie is Zato's shadow (the funky little thing you called demon), Zato is also the leader of an Assassin organization called Assassin's Guild, Millia Rage was adopted into the life of the Assassin's Guild since she's an orphan, she's rather close to Zato, since their relationship evolved from savior to teacher and then to lover, though she did kill him once because she hated being part of the Assassin's Guild, but now that's sorted out. Her hair and Zato's shadow, Eddie, are a result of a pricey magic that can corrupt the users. I'm bad enough at explaining lore fully about every character, so I recommend GekkoSquirrel's "What Does Each Strive Character Theme Mean?" If you want a summary and a bit of backstory on the characters.

[@KingOfFools784]

Zato came back thanks to the conclave, who are also the same group that hired Zato to kill Faust which ended up in his patient being killed and Faust going mad thinking it was his fault. Eventually Faust got better, which is when he actually took up the Faust name in place of Dr. Baldhead as he was ashamed of his actions. Though in Strive Faust has kinda relapsed when saving Delilah (and it's kinda implied Faust is doing this to both make up for his lost patient and maybe die in the process?) from herself thanks to over exerting himself. Edit: When Eddie was in control he was just piloting Zato's corpse.

[@sev1120]

1 correction: Faust resurrected Zato

[@LoganJS22]

Faust was once a great doctor till a little girl died on his operation table. This drove him insane and went on a killing spree. He eventually found out that Zato=1 (The guy with the Shadow) was hired to kill the girl. He also regained his sanity and start helping people as a doctor without a medical license. That was until recently in Guilty Gear Strive he had to help another little girl, he succeeded but again lost his sanity. However he still seems to have a bit of humanity still with him

[@shadowdragon7347]

"Square one"

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

😯😨

[@fulsomerecord1o697]

Potemkin was a slave who fought in the coliseum but was saved by his now commander they changed that country into one where everyone was free. Zato and Millia were experiments and were told to use 1 of the six forbidden spell who summoned the demonic beasts Zato lost his EYES and the other demon beast lives in the hair of Millia they dated and left the facility and became part of the assassins' guild. Faust was a Doctor and the best doctor in the world he had a patient who was a child and had and incurable illness but the government didn't want that medicine to be known so they hired assassins'/Millia and Zato to kill the child Faust thought it was his fault and went mad. Millia didnt like that and broke up and left Zato Eddie aka The demonic beast corrupted Zato, killed him and took over his body for a while but realized that he was gonna die too if Zato is not in control of the body and so he revived him.

[@LeFisheboi]

Zato and millia were not experiments, they did it of their own greed for power And Millia had nothing to do with the faust incident, that was all Zato

[@Assassin21BEKA]

Its more about Eddie learning more and more about the world and understanding that he likes company if Zato, he likes having soneone close he can understand.

[@kingdomsoul8968]

Instead of Armor clad faith i Always hear " i am a Clown of fate". Which still kinda Sounds fitting

[@Matt16006]

Fun fact: Zato's theme is so long that the ending segment at 22:22 is almost impossible to hear in an actual match. The part that reveals his true feelings / desires is buried so deep that you have to TRY to hear it in actual gameplay. I think that's very fitting, intentional or not. Would love to see more song reactions. I recommend Bridget's, Nagoriyuki's and I-No's themes

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

Cool fun fact 🤩

[@senounatsuru6453]

It fits quite well thematically too. Because you're likely only going to hear this while training, it reflects something interesting. By giving Zato time alone, he comes to a firm conclusion on a path forward, rather than grasping at straws like he was throughout the song during the chaos of a fight.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Fun Fact: Faust originally was more zany and off-the-wall in most of the GG games. But they went here with the Dr Baldhead creep factor he was in the very first original game....while keeping the mask on.

[@kaialone]

Baldhead was a lot like Faust actually

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

@@kaialone Yeah although that tongue still makes him freaky creep. Plus the whole murder thing. Plus May hates him even with the mask. XD

[@TheGohanSkywalker]

I believe there's a lore reason for that. I think he sacrificed his life-force (and the Faust persona) to stop some powerful force, meaning he reverted to a...slightly more noble version of Baldhead.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

@@TheGohanSkywalker RIP Old Post-Murder Phase Faust! We'll miss you! 🫡

[@kaialone]

@@v.emiltheii-nd.8094 I guess the main difference really was the lucidity in Faust, because Faust too was struggling with murderous impulses, and admitted on several occasions that he does enjoy killing still. And yeah, May can sense his baldness and she hates that, but she seems to warm up to him in XX, and since Xrd he's also treating her "disease" and all, so they seem chill.

[@coffeegeck]

So happy that you two did not only Millia's and Zato's themes, but both back-to-back! Millia and Zato are actually a couple (well, they would say that, but the journey to be together has been plagued with a lotta issues. For example, although Millia worked for Zato, who was the head of the Assassin's Guild and extremely powerful due to removing his eyesight to control Eddie (that's the black shadow monster that follows him around), Millia was once captured by enemies and, upon Zato freeing her, she stabbed him and fled. Later on, after Zato forgave and forgot, Millia sells Zato and the Guild out to Interpol, and Zato is subsequently killed. Despite this, Zato is eventually revived as a husk of the man he once was by a group called the Conclave, removing all of his emotion. Millia eventually returns to his side after realizing her life away from Zato was depressing and loathsome, and Zato accept her again with open arms - this leads to one of the most adorable events in Guilty Gear, where Zato learns he can only feel ONE emotion, and he can't explain it to anybody, but... he only feels it when he's with Millia. Eventually, the Guild disbanded and Zato brought the remaining members to the Post-War Administration Bureau, where they essentially work as information scouts for the higher powers. Plus, Zato and Millia can finally work together in a safe environment. P.S. in the chorus of Millia's song, you can hear a male voice in the background, which is Zato affirming her words. Moreover, the "sweetheart" and the "light" Zato mentions in his theme are other names for Millia.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

Thanks for giving us the history of Zato and Millia 😀

[@simplysoanso8503]

getting teary eyed at the end of Zato’s theme is like a rite of passage

[@Wraithlight]

You missed it, but a the end of Zato's theme the last words you hear are echoes from Milia, much like how Zato's screaming voice is present in her theme, and it's when the song says "with you" as a nice ode to some romantic history between the two characters.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

Ah okay. Nice subtle touches there 🙂

[@Autechltd]

Potemkin also means a 'fake facade', from the term 'Potemkin Village'. Despite looking the most aggressive of the entire cast, he's probably by far one of the kindest and most emphatic. Of course that doesn't mean much with a grip strength measured in the hundreds of tons and being able to swat aside skyscrapers.

[@keiyousu7454]

The double entendres in Millia's theme impress me. We know the song as a story of someone who tries to move on. We hear the main and inner voices talk to each other: -"How do we look?" as if looking in the mirror -"Not cute" as in "unimpressive" -"Let down", like letting one's hair down or "disappointing" In my opinion, it helps drive the self-deprecating tone of the song.

[@big_dilf_boy1616]

Woolie Versus does the entire lore of Guilty Gear broken up into different videos. It's in the style like the Elden Ring/Blooborn lore videos you've two been watching. Recommend it sometime in the future.

[@chrislopez3772]

Yes yes yes I really hope they get to watching this series at some point! The songs do give hints into how the character feels and their backstory but it’s much more clear when given the context which Woolie’s series achieves that with flying colors, although a notepad may be helpful to keep track of stuff

[@jamcalx]

A FGC youtuber called GekkoSquirrel has to videos about Strive Song Meanings that I recommend after you finish listening to the all the songs.

[@Unotuchable]

Faust's story is actually very sad. He was originally a genius doctor who could cure anything until one day young girl died on the operating table when he had promised her that she would be okay. He ended up going crazy and becoming the serial killer Dr. Baldhead. He ended up regaining his sanity and was about to take his own life before finding out that someone else had been responsible for her death. So he's still crazy and is capable of warping reality with magic but he's a good man that wants to cure people. The reason why he has become like a zombie is actually in the additional story that came out at the end of the first wave of DLC called Another Story. In it a young girl is losing control of her incredible powers and he is able to save her life using his power at the expense of draining everything from his body. So he's essentially an empty shell kept functioning purely on his sheer force of will to save people, Another Story is really quite sad although you'll want to save checking it out until after you finish the videos.

[@dogzilla0578]

Despite his creepy demeanor, Faust is possibly the nicest, most caring person in the story of Guilty Gear Strive. I even see him as a representation of my own mental disability. And his song, despite at first listen sounding like a jumbled mess, really represents my mental struggles with lyrics like: -Messiah Will Not Come -Joy, Grief, Fun, Paranoia -Your Soul Dissipates -We've Got Only One Sky

[@gatr2897]

I'm so glad you're going through all of these they're all such amazing songs I love how much of the characters they fit into the lyrics. Here's some info on these guys. So I said this in a comment on the last Guilty Gear video but so far all of the characters whose themes you've listened to have a connecting thread between them, which is that they were all in the first game in the series, they all took part in an event called the 2nd holy order selection tournament, and they're all mainstays of the series and appear in basically every game. With these 4 you've officially seen all of them, every character from now on is from later installments in the series, with the exception of Baiken and Testament who were in the first game but weren't competitors in the tournament. Potemkin spent most of his life as a slave to the nation of Zepp, a nation that still favors old technology as opposed to modern magic, and Zepp itself is actually just a giant airship. One day a military officer named Gabriel planned to overthrow the government and asked for Potemkins help. They succeeded and turned Zepp into a democracy and Gabriel is president, and they eliminated slavery. Potemkin still works under Gabriel and they are very close. Potemkins appearance is due to a genetic disorder that causes his muscles to grow infinitely. He's so strong that he actually has to wear limiters because if he didn't he could cause immeasurable harm by accident. Despite his appearance he's quite emotionally intelligent and only fights for the sake of improving the state of the world. He's a massive sweetheart in reality. Faust was once the most amazing and talented doctor in the entire world, known by the name Dr Baldhead (lol), until one day a young girl he was trying to save died on his operating table. He was so shaken by the incident that he went insane, and went on a killing spree until he was caught and thrown in jail, only to be let out to compete in the tournament. By the end of the first game, the voices of people cheering him on during the competition snaps him out of his murderous rage and he realizes what he's done, and vows to travel the world offering his services for free to anyone in need in order to atone. Eventually he learns that the young girl who died in his care did not actually die from any negligence on his part, it was actually a cover up because he would have ended up discovering the secret of ressurection during the operation, so he vows to also seek out the people who did it. During Strives story he's given the chance to save a different young girl and goes all out with his magical skills to do so, but in the process he goes too far and goes back to "square one" as he called it. Now he is a shell of his former self, barely able to string sentences together. Despite that though the caring soul who seeks to help those in need still exists inside him, but if he wants to return to normal he may have to rely on the help of others for a change. His story arc is still ongoing. Millia and Zato will take a lot of explaining so I'm gonna post this comment and then edit it adding in their stories cuz I've already typed so much lmao. Edit: Ok, so in some point in the past, a chivalrous vampire named Slayer began an organization known as the assassin's guild with the intention of using it to topple corrupt governments by assassinating their tyrannical leaders, thus liberating the people they control. Eventually though the guild became nothing more than a business of blood money, so Slayer decided to leave the guild in disgust. The guild was left in the hands of a man named Zato. Zato is an evil man. He's actually the one personally responsible for the death of Fausts patient. He was sent to do it by an organization known as the conclave in order to keep ressurection a secret. His eventual relationship with Millia, a member of the assassins guild who joined during Zatos leadership, is a very complicated and at times toxic one. He's very possessive over her and he's the one who turned her into the cold killed assassin she is, which she came to hate herself for. Zato eventually made a pact with a being known as a forbidden beast, an organism with an inexplicable rivalry to Gears. His beasts name is Eddie and it's that shadow monster that you see him fight with. Eddie is extremely violent and is often at odds with Zato, going so far as to eventually KILL Zato and use his body as a puppet until they were both finally killed "for good" by Millia. Millia herself also has a forbidden beast, her hair, although hers doesn't seem to have a will of its own so she doesn't have any problems with it like that. Back to Zato, eventually he was actually resurrected by the conclave in an experiment to test their theories on ressurection. He was nothing more than a guinea pig. One caveat of his ressurection is that even though he retained all of his memories as well as his pact with Eddie, who was also brought back, he doesn't have any emotions to attach to them. He doesn't feel anything. Except for, when he's around Millia. When he's with her he begins to feel again. His love for her still exists, as twisted as it may be, so he resolves to protect and serve her in her new benevolent goals. He will carve her way. Millia, having mostly moved on from her dark past, can move forward once again with her humanity intact. These characters are super deep and complex in their stories but at their core they're about the human condition and different walks of life. The stories of Guilty Gear are stories I'll carry with me forever because they're all so meaningful to me.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

Love the lore drop and learning about the vampire named Slayer 😁

[@gatr2897]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames yeah! Slayer is freaking awesome. He's been playable in every main game except for the first, but he's not actually playable in Strive yet, I hope he gets in via DLC soon.

[@Unotuchable]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames Slayer also invented dandyism in the Guilty Gear universe so he's very much an upper class gentleman that loves tea, poetry and his immortal wife whose blood he drinks.

[@Vivi-te5qj]

There's actually really good application of music theory and stylistic choices. The male singer is obviously not a native English singer which is unfortunate cause his range and pitch were all fantastic. I'm actually curious to know if their are Japanese versions of the songs cause this honestly took me by surprise for fighting game music.

[@SyxxPunk]

There aren't. This is probably the most advanced version of Guilty Gear music, but it's always been like this. The main composer is also the one that wrote the characters.

[@Unotuchable]

There aren't actually any originally Japanese songs. The only song where he gets to sing in Japanese on is Baiken's song because it has a Buddhist mantra throughout it.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

Yeah the music in this game we heard was pretty unique which is why we’ve been checking it out 😅

[@springthepirate3097]

If you guys get the chance, some I would recommend would be perfection can’t please me, drift and just lean which is from the newest character Johnny who may is in love with…it’s already building up to be like my second favorite song in the game

[@julianturner7244]

Great job you two! I feel like Zato's theme could be both referring to his relationship with Millia and also his relationship with Eddie his little shadow guy. Also Bethany's face in the thumbnail is priceless!

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

Haha yeah she was mimicking the ginger bread guy in fire in Fausts video 😂🤗

[@yourkingreturns]

IM A FOOL, I KNOW NOTHING I MAY SOUND LIKE A SILLY CLOOOWNNN

[@PurpleShadow108]

BUT I WON'T TURN MY BACK ON LIIIIIIFE...

[@ZONECOMPLETE]

Milia's hair is very much a living creature. It's a "Forbidden Beast" and she has a similar relationship to it that Eddie and Zato-1 do. It's my hunch that her forbidden beast is the secondary voice in her theme.

[@shadowdragon7347]

Ive heard some people say its zato as well

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

😯

[@georgedigby6277]

Hey! Very minor lore nitpick, Nowhere is it confirmed that the hair is a forbidden beast, that is a mistranslation of one of nagos lines, Angra was the fifth of the 6 outlawed spells, but the only one of those spells confirmed to involve summoning and binding a forbidden beast was the 6th one, that zato used. Angra might involve that, but it has never been confirmed in lore. I personally don't think it is a forbidden beast, but along with Rei and Paracelsus, it is possible that it is a forbidden beast. However I think that for both Paracelsus and Angra, if they were forbidden beasts, it would have been confirmed by now.

[@ThorgisArcade]

The short answer to the Millia and Zato story is that they worked together, Zato died but then was resurrected but now he couldn't feel emotions anymore, except he still has feelings for Millia so he's still working with Millia to figure out why he feels something for her.

[@Ichigorojas13]

The voice underneath is Angra, basically it'd a Demon that possessed her hair and it's why she can manipulate her hair

[@Galavantworks]

So the social commentary on Potemkin’s theme is based on that fact that he was former slave in his country’s underclass until helped staged a political coup that ultimately resulted in his freedom. But with said freedom he now acts a political dignitary/soldier to his new government. Even though he is free his theme laments that he is still just a cog in a different machine. A role he would submit himself to on the hope that it would lead to a better society.

[@sonomni]

I’d suggest listening to the Sonic Frontiers and Killer Instinct soundtracks

[@_YESIMHIGH]

Heyyy I was just about to come and say killer instinct would be dope!!! The new one and classic ones would be cool separate videos I could see get added to their killer instinct playlist reactions

[@WillGlacier]

Zato's demon is a "forbidden beast" whos named . . . Eddie. I know weird name for a shadow monster but also he MIGHT have been named after Eddie Brock aka dude in Spiderman who had the venom symbiote. Kind of like how Zato has Eddie as a "symbiote" except he had to summon him and give his sight to have Eddie inhabit his shadow but still, pretty cool

[@WillGlacier]

Really happy we got both Millia and Zato in the same video since Zato is the "shadow, always with you (Millia)" and because I THINK the screaming voice in her theme might be Zato, since again even if she doesn't know it he's watching over her (they used to be lovers until she betrayed him since she wanted a way out of her life as an assassin and he was the boss of the group)

[@TwoSevenX]

best thumbnail ever. the subhuman doesn't refer to loathing, though a lot of the Gears definitely fall into that category, it refers to getting the id and the ego to play nice with each other despite having extreme doubts about what's going on (millia is an assassin, so conflicting morals pulls is kind of a daily thing for her) Zato died and also lost his emotions and is now bound to Eddie (the demon) so y'alls take tracks pretty well. Having lost his emotions, he's pretty zen about the situation though, and Eddie loves a good joke, even in the middle of a fight to the death.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

Haha, yeah the thumbnail for this is one of our favorites 😂

[@dwarfminerwillie]

@fulsomerecord1o697 already explained potemkin's history but they didn't go into the songs story/meaning which most characters in guilty gear have in their song, Potemkin's song is referring to his current situation. He only knows how to fight it is all he can really do and even after being freed and helping his commander take over his country to make it more free he still sees so many injustices under their rule and theres nothing he can do about it, his only hope is that his actions now even if their despicable have a positive long lasting effect on society and that is why he doesn't "turn his back on life" and "I'm a fool, I know nothing" it really is a terribly sad thing.

[@fhunnyjoker]

Zatos theme is insanely good to me as it addresses Millia of course, but could also be seen as Eddy (zatos shadow monster) talking to zato

[@itsturniptime3699]

Random Faust Fact He has a move where he gives the opponent an Afro to make their character larger and therefor easier to hit

[@Spectre_Objector]

and with this we learn Nagoriyuki used to have an Afro

[@thiaralovesu]

​@@Spectre_Objectori-no too!

[@ИгорьГорелов-ы4п]

So, a bit of understanding of those themes. Potemkin: track is most likely tells about his past as a slave in oppressive state of Zepp. He was one of the resistance leaders there which was successful. But I guess he still doubts if he's made any change, was all he fought for worth anything at all. But he's still believe that he should fight for better tomorrow for his country. Faust: I believe song is little bit of fight between his optimistic and pessimistic sides. The guy wants to help as many people as he can, to redeem himself (he was at some point a serial killer after one of his patients died), but there's also understanding that he can't save everyone. Millia: she lived her live as an Assasin and was given a demon (those hair powers) at a terrible cost of not being able to have children. She basically tries to accept herself, to love herself and to move on from that life. ZATO=1: He was the leader of the Assassin Guild and brought Millia into this life as well as gave her demon (and have one as well (Eddie, this shadow) in exchange for his eyes), but also he loved Millia and they had a relationship that ended in ZATO's death. He was revived later, but he wasn't able to feel any emotion. Except for his love for Millia. This song actually shows that - the guy can't find purpose in life without emotions, but Millia makes him feel alive and gives his life a purpose.

[@catrianheir]

"he sounds trapped." Holy crap you caught that almost immediately. After you guys react to all the themes I'd recommend checking out gekko squirrels each song meaning video. I want to see y'all's take on it without his influence on what you come up with first. Though disclaimer he of course isn't the guilty gear guru or something so there are some of the songs that even he doesn't get such as Jakko's. Funny enough i actually got it literally in the moment while i was watching his video and hearing it. I was like "haha yeah jakko you so silly.... Oh wait a minute."

[@LeFisheboi]

Speaking of guilty gear Since last time, there are 5 new characters that have been added With Season 2 + Johnny

[@Adagm]

the only one that matters...... my boy john-AY

[@LeFisheboi]

@@Adagm I wanna see their reactions to Asuka and the furniture

[@Deedo_67]

Oh damn, it’s time for the Faust ost 😳

[@hmmmmmmhm]

My boy Faust went from psycho in the first game, to comic relief doctor in the proceeding games, to then depressed horror movie creature in Strive.

[@kaialone]

Oh boy, I've been so looking forward to these characters in particular! Potemkin is a former slave from a former authoritan nation, where he was used as a human weapon against his will. This nation is the last one in Guilty Gear's era where people still use technology as we know it, rather than magic. Which is indirectly why it became a dictatorship, cause they isolated themselves from the rest of the world. After the first game, Potemkin ended up helping a noble-minded general in overthrowing the dictatorship, and is now a high-ranking soldier himself, with the general becoming the new president. He continues to work hard to help his country reform and gain a better reputation among the other nations of the world - but as his theme shows, he still holds a lot of doubts about himself and the state of the world. Still he wants to believe in the country that he helped rebuilt, as well as the man who freed him from slavery in the first place. Also in constrast to his appearance, he has a gentle nature outside of combat, and is actually a hobby artist! He also happens to be of Indian descent, which is reflected in this theme a bit, too. *Faust* is my personal favorite character in the series! (so this will probably be the longest) There's three main "personas" he adopts across the story, (and what I love about his Strive theme is that all three of them are represented in it in some form! You kinda picked up on this, but lacked the context to know what it meant) Originally known as "Dr. Baldhead", he was considered one of the best (and only) doctors in the world, but after an apparent mistake on his part led to a patient of his, a little girl, dying mid-operation, he suffered a mental breakdown. He ended up becoming a serial killer, murdering people while hallucinating that they were just patients that he was operating on. This is the version of him that appeared in the very first game. The events of the first game end up triggering a flashback for him that ends up returning him to a lucid state, and he realizes he's been killing people. Unable to bear the guilt, he attempts to take his own life, but suddenly has an epiphany that makes him realize that initial patient's death was not an accident after all. So, he adopts the persona of Faust", to go on a journey to find the one who was truly responsible, and save as many lives as he can in the process, to atone for his sins. This is the version of him that appeared in X to Xrd. *(warning: Strive spoilers coming up, since its the latest game in the series and all)* Several years later, he takes on the current Faust persona in Strive. At this point, he had finally managed to track down every person he could reasonably blame for that one girl's death, but for various reasons, he finds himself unable to take revenge on any of them. Struggling to keep on living with his purpose in flux, still overcome with both murderous and suicidal urges (all while keeping on a happy facade like nothing is wrong), a certain event leads to him realizing that he will need to value and preserve his own life just as much as those of others if he wishes to *truly* help other people. He ends up saving another little girl's life, but rather than sacrifice his own life in the process as he had intended to, he manages to barely cling to life himself, albeit severaly drained in the process. *(direct Strive spoilers end)* Faust's Strive theme to me kinda represents all three versions of him singing together, particularly around the chorus. Each verse also seems to be one of them, too. -First verse, hushed, ominous, "informed consent" (Dr. Baldhead, serial killer who believes he is helping people) -Second verse, high energy, pompous, "tower of babel" (Faust X-Xrd, puts on a cheerful facade around others usually, is known as a miracle healer, calls himself "god's gift to humanity") -Third verse, low energy and somber, but ultimately hopeful for the future, despite the issues at hand (Strive Faust) I don't know, I think it's really cool... Lastly, Milia and Zato's (and Eddie's!) stories are directly connected. Zato was a war orphan (like most of the cast) who was taken in by a group known as the Assassin's Guild. The guild was once a noble organization that would "punish those who the law could not", but it had since fallen from grace and was mostly greedy mercenaries. Still, Zato saw it as his home, and hoped to restore it to its former glory. However, he was physically frail, and thus couldn't climb up the ranks. He ended up a forbidden spell that took his eyes, but gave him the power to control his own shadow. With that power, he quickly became the Guild's leader and worked on his plans from there. At this point, Millia was taken into the Guild, being a war orphan herself. She trained under Zato, and following his example, she also used a forbidden spell that allowed her to control her own hair like a weapon. Millia saw Zato as her savior and mentor, and after a bit the two became lovers as well. However, Zato slowly became consumed power, and ended up becoming just as greedy of a leader as those he'd wishes to overthrow. Millia grew depressed and suicidal (!) under his leadership, unwilling to commit the kind of killings that were being asked of her, desperate to seek any way out of this life, even as her relationship with Zato made her feel conflicted. At some point, it was actually Zato who killed Dr. Baldhead's patient (full circle!), on the behalf of someone who paid him to do it. It was around this time that Millia decided to leave the guild for good, but we don't know if that was her last straw. She ended up betraying Zato during a mission and defected, leading to Zato's temporary imprisonment by the authorities. During the first game, Zato and Millia end up clashing again for the first time in years, with Zato now being overcome with hatred for her. It's at this point that Zato's greed and vanity reach their maximum, which, to his shock and horror, results in his shadow becoming independant and taking over his body. The shadow reveals that it is in fact, a sentient being, and that monsters like it will take over the bodies of their hosts if they are too weak-minded, which Zato had become as he betrayed his original noble spirit. From this point on, the shadow (who gives himself the name "Eddie") are stuck in a struggle over control for the body for over a year or so, with Millia both wishing to just get away and live her own life, while also feeling a kind of pity for Zato. Still Zato ends up perishing, leaving Eddie to only move about his lifeless corpse. At first, Eddie rejoices over finally getting to exist as his own person, but he soon realizes that with Zato dead, *he* will die as well, and he panicks, desperately trying to find a new body. In the stories around that era, he'd often hunt down Millia for example, hoping to take her body, as her hair shows her body can handle a parasite like him. But, Eddie ends up slowly perishing as well, never finding another host. After Zato and Eddie's demise, Millia is finally left without any pursuers, and attempts a regular life for a couple of years. But to her dismay, she finds it unfulfilling. Eventually, Zato and Eddie are resurrected by one of Zato's former clients as part of a mostly unrelated experiment, and are discarded like trash. Eddie, humbled by the events surrounding their deaths, now yearns for friendship and cooperation with Zato, existing peacefully in his body as a sort of symbiotic relationship. But, Zato is no longer the same, as he now lacks any emotion, except for a faint hint of his love for Millia. Driven by this impulse, he seeks her out once more, vowing to live solely to protect her. With Zato returning into her life as a changed man, Millia now reflects upon her past and present, and comes to realize that a peaceful civilian life was never going to work for her. She is a killer and a living weapon- and she hated that life because of Zato, but with him no longer being the monster he once was... perhaps they could start over together, and truly reform the Assassin's Guild that they both considered they only real home- just as the young Zato had intended all those years ago. Given their stories, I feel Zato's Strive theme represents both Zato and Eddie's regrets over their past actions, how they both lost things and hurt people who are actually precious to them as a result of their greed. I love how you picked up on the shadow/Eddie side to the song also, because I feel he often gets overlooked next to Zato! Millia's theme is about her accepting her "sub-human self", how she will never be a "normal" woman, and her existence as an assassin, and how this does not have to be a bad thing. Plus of course, accepting Zato back into her life, accepting her love for the good aspects of him, even with the state he is in now. It's a bit bittersweet, because all of Zato's "bad aspects" have been almost conventiently stripped of him, but of course there is little carthasis in that, and he has been left almost a walking corpse in the process. But still, the two (three) of them will keep on living.

[@having765]

Cant wait till yall do “Drift”-Happy Chaos Theme

[@FaceD0wnDagon]

But yeah, in Guilty Gear, you can come back from the dead...but every time we've seen it happen, the person who came back is a husk of their former self, reduced to one single aspect or obsession. Zato-1 died once. Millia killed him. They were lovers once, too...they have a very complicated relationship. Regarding my original point, Zato-1 has been brought back now, and the only thing that's able to bring him some sense of humanity and emotion now is Millia. Both Millia and Zato-1 host some sort of powerful parasitic magical entities. Starting the bond with such an entity requires a sacrifice; Zato-1 sacrificed his eyes, which is why he's always blindfolded. Zato-1 hosts Eddie, who is clearly visible and who we understand slightly more. While Zato-1 was alive, Eddie ate away at him quite a bit and struggled for control. While dead, Eddie tried to use Zato-1's corpse as a puppet to stay stable in the material world. But post-resurrection, the two have more or less reached a mutual understanding, as Eddie has lived through being without Zato-1 and recognizes how dependent he is. Millia's "forbidden beast" bonded entity is named Angra, and we know MUCH less about Angra. Angra gives her the hair-control powers, but we aren't sure what Millia sacrificed to Angra, or what Angra looks like, or if Angra has a personality like Eddie, etc... It's possible that whatever she sacrificed is why she refers to herself as sub-human, and there are theories, but I don't think any of them have been confirmed for sure. One I've heard is that she's sterile because of it, but again, we don't know.

[@TurokRevolution]

Listen to Drift (Happy Chaos), Mirror of the World (Baiken) and The Circle (Bedman?) next! And if you listen to Baiken's Theme, then also listen to Rock Parade (Anji's theme). They fit together.

[@daysand123]

Youll love the themesong of Happy Chaos. His music turns from rock ballad to "im a disney princess and this is my moment" for the villain of the Strive storyline

[@ShatteredReal1ty]

They legit just did a playlist of some of the peakest songs fr fr

[@schmogli110]

If you feel like it, there is a KZbin video where someone explains the lyrics. Guilty Gear lore goes very deep sometimes :P

[@andrewsmith4696]

I’m a simple man,I see guilty gear ost reactions I watch

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

🤗

[@DaMaddness]

If youre interested in learning more about the Guilty Universe and characters, You might be interested in the Guilty Gear Lore: Heaven or Hell series by WoolieVersus. It's several videos, and goes through the timeline of all the GG games as well as backstory stuff. Might be worth a watchthrough

[@i.m.r.4655]

Loved the fact that the guy was just vibin during the end section of zato then it hits how sad is the lyrics hahahaha😅

[@MagicBapples]

I can’t wait till you guys get to Bridget and Jack O’s theme (my personal favorites)

[@jorge2555]

If you guys want more insight into some of the guilty gear characters I recommend watching a video from the channel Toxic Pyro, about why Faust is his favorite fictional character of all time. He goes into the character and what is great about him. He also did a shorter video on another character called Bedman also from guilty gear.

[@IchigoKurosakitheSalvation]

Ayyy more GG love, noice. It really does have a great soundtrack

[@johnhalo8726]

I cant wait for Mirror of the World and Circle

[@new87hq40]

When I first found out about the series and heard the music... GOD DAMN was I hooked. I can't remember what track it was unfortunately.

[@midnightcarnivalmember]

Dr. Baldhead (Faust's real name. No seriously that is his actual name) gimmick is cartoonish but effective attacks, in previous versions of the game one trick many players abused was him disappearing under a tarp and appearing via door, the name of the Mother of all Scalpels is named "Margarita". When Faust regained his sanity, he sought redemption for his actions but knew that he would be to recognizable because of his actions, he came across a paper bag with a hole in it. Thus his appearance.

[@skyram7072]

FINALLY YOUR REACTING TO MORE IVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG

[@ksebala1]

Definitely would like to see you watch the heaven or hell guilty gear lore videos by woolievs or the guilty gear lore in 14minutes video by staiven

[@superserg4763]

Congrats on the Sponsership! That's pretty radical

[@xeronh9514]

Faust has such interesting lore. He was an extremely talented doctor who helped many of people but one day one of his patients died and it seriously messed him up turning him into a murderer for a while. After time he found out it was a set up and he began to make it his whole goal to help many of people. He helped many and learned different kinds of magic along the way. He eventually became corrupt again and that's why his theme has the back and forths of cheery and dark.

[@QuiksilverX7]

This is awesome! Please keep doing these GG Strive music reactions❤

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

We will 🙂

[@IronMarioTopVideos]

Zato at the beginning of his song (The part u usally hear when playing): I am a rude and emotionless being, prepare to die and vanish to the dark! Zato at the end of his song (the part most players never get to hear): I am actually someone emotional and I have suffered a lot, I still love her despite what she did to me and I will always follow her like a shadow.

[@devondavis5119]

Lol the beginning 😂😂😂 but nice trailer

[@mirage8788]

These are my favorite character themes. SO CARRYYYY OOOON LOVE THE SUBHUMAN SELF

[@riastradh]

Love the Subhuman Self is top 5 songs in the game easy. Zato and Milia used to be in love. And then she betrayed him a few times cause she didn’t want to be an assassin anymore and he died. Now that he’s revived, he’s lost all feeling and memory of what was before, all he really can recall is how he felt about her. So he’s singing to Milia. Parts of it could be the little demon named Eddie talking to him but it’s mostly Zato to Milia. Eddie isn’t Zato (but he did pilot his corpse for a while). He’s actually a lot like Milia’s hair. They both sacrificed something to get sick ass fight powers, Zato with his eyes and Milia with her hair I won’t claim to know what the hell Faust’s theme is supposed to be about but I love the chorus. We all only have the one sky. But what’s it look like to YOU? You’re the only one who can see the colors so what do YOU see?

[@deddrz2549]

When zato song says 'im your shadow' it is talking metaphorically about how zato will always be with Millia, while using the sort of visualization of his character design, which literally has a shadow demon thats always with him. Also he was once dead and puppeted by the shadow, but now hes back from the dead but still has a piece of his humanity gone

[@nendra4829]

Hopefully you guys watch the OST Explanation from GekkoSquirrel. It will explain everything with small given lore

[@superserg4763]

I recommend the Guilty Gear Xrd story. They are basically long Movies. It might be confusing since you need the older games to understand most of the lore. But idk, I drank a few swigs and enjoyed Revalator, Xrd, and Strive's story modes

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

We could get into it. Maybe we do a lore video before hand and then dive into the story modes 🤔

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Tbh Guilty Gear OST came out HARD since original until Accent Core, kinda missed its footing in Xrd + Rev (only songs I liked in it was Jack A Dandy and Juno) and came back with a vengeance.

[@SilverCity-lr5ru]

Armor Clad Faith! Zato One and Millia were former lovers and assassins. Zato sacrificed his eyes for power, his came in the form of Eddie a shadow demon from the backyard. Millia sacrificed her ability to have kids for hair powers, but once she realizes what she lost she killed Zato let the assassins and Eddie took over Zato's body for a while. This was because Zato's real life voice actor died shortly after the very first Guilty Gear game and they didn't esnt to replace him so they named Zato Eddie for a while.

[@godzillahunter721]

I’m looking forward to more GG Strive, keep up the good work guys!

[@cookielab3337]

the entirety of the Pot OST I was just waiting for the honorary POTEMKIN BUSTER

[@weismanwriter9426]

You can really rely on the passionate GG fans to summarize the story in the comment section of these reactions lol

[@ayanleman]

the game's director, Daisuke Ishiwatari, is a musician/composer himself, which is why the game's soundtrack slaps so damn hard. The soundtrack's coming from the same creative source as the overall big picture y'know

[@FaceD0wnDagon]

Oh dang, this is laid dense with some of the nuttiest songs on the OST. (...but even then not all of them!)

[@santarow4206]

Guilty gear's soundtrack is just so good🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@MaoriGamerDood]

ARMOURED-CLAD FAITH BABY! DAMN I LOVE THAT SONG! Definitely has faith made of Armoured Givin that he use to be a Slave and id one of the few true remaining Indians in the Guilty Gear universe. Nagoryuki: This world cannot change easily. Potemkin: It may not be easy, but it can change. 💪

[@Ace-it7es]

you guys gotta listen to Crawl, The Circle, and The Gravity. Nagoriyuki's, Bedman'?s, and Asuka's themes respectively are really good, don't bother trying to figure out Bedman?'s lore though, it's... confusing to say the least... (yes the "?" is a genuine part of his name.)

[@DissedRedEngie]

ok, these lyrics videos. They are fan made, plenty of the lyrics are wrong and as with the last part of 'Let Me Carve Your Way' the visual narrative leans into their own interpretation of the song. Not to put down the original creator, these are fantastic outside of mishearing lyrics and just that one song leaning towards an interpretation that doesn't really work. (Plus, I don't know how you can visually show that last part without going outside the raw gameplay footage) But 'Let Me Carve Your Way' is purely from Zato's perspective. Zato is an assassin who made a contract with Eddie, a forbidden shadow creature who took Zato's eye sight as tribute. Cutting forward, he and Milia were lovers, but Milia ended up killing Zato. Eddie then used Zato's body as a puppet to live, but eventually Zato's body would die. Unless he was brought back to life, which happened. Zato was alive again, but he lost all his emotions due to his death and time in hell. The 'Drowned in pain' part being his existence in hell and even outside hell. The only thing that makes him feel anything is love for Milia, so he just hangs around her all the time to just feel anything. He is a shadow always with Milia.

[@jazminnette8578]

That one section of Alone Infection was inspired by Radiohead lol

[@JakeInTheUK]

Congrats on getting a sponsor!

[@pure8211]

Can’t wait to react to more guilt gear strive themes

[@angel__king]

HECK YEAH I’m kinda meh on Fausts theme but Potemkin, Zato and Millias theme are all stuff I blast in the car when i go anywhere. They’re just such bops Also if I remember correctly Zato used to be a villain in the previous game before being betrayed by Millia and after being resurrected he lost all of his emotions and is more of a neutral character now trying to feel something again

[@redica_val8805]

You should definitely watch the lore series made by Woolievs

[@matthewbrown3194]

Suggestion of guilty gear strive history on some of the characters

[@Aeternitas_Irae]

I was NOT expecting to be blasted by Beth. XD how am I supposed to react to that?

[@digitalfreak8280]

I really want to see them hear aba's theme

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Day 215 of asking for Ghost Trick trailer reaction. Plus the Eggman vs Wily, Megaman Battle Royale Death Battle Episodes.

[@AzuraRaijin]

That thumbnail tho

[@AtlasAmongStars]

ALONE INFECTION ON TOP!!! FAUST MY GOAT!

[@kiraexe.7856]

So for zato’s relationship to millia let’s just say he did good and horrible things to her , making them have a strange relationship to say the best they both love each other both are fighting their inner demons and millia still has disdain for zato. Ps every time I listen to let me carve your way I wish I was hearing it for the first time the end is beautiful.

[@skyram7072]

You need to do circle

[@johanstenfelt1206]

Huh, you do Themes? I didn’t know that. Could you do BlazBlue Themes at some point?

[@NikeBall-fh1jw]

Nice link

[@coreyharris6998]

Top 5 best Tracks in GG Strive is… 1. Find your one way 2. Smell of the game 3. Requiem 4. Town inside me 5. The Disaster of Passion

[@youngprince7820]

🔥🔥🔥

[@mimi-rf4yn]

Um language beth 😅

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitiveGames]

🤗

[@johanstenfelt1206]

Millia’s Theme reminded me of RWBY a little?

[@LoneShin0bi]

TOTAL WAR WARHAMMER 2 MALUS DARKBLADE TRAILER

[@ThatSamoanGuy]

I've been re-mixing the character trailers for this game, using real licensed metal in place of the character music. It's easy to forget how fun some of them are, lol

[@TVkid638]

Day 5 of asking for the lock down buddy

[@MKF30]

Wow Beth said the F word 😅😮 I always thought she was this little innocent angel 😇 😂 haha Great reaction!

[@Nelson_Win]

Bring back METAL! 💖💖

[@HexxKnight]

so faust is alluded to be guilty gears god. also love the trapped comment ....ur on to something