Guilty Gear X2

The fighting system works around a five attack button configuration, including a new Dust button. Additional buttons allow the player to perform taunts, and throw enemies in the air. When a character causes damage or moves toward its adversary, a tension gauge charges. However, when a character moves backwards or uses defensive moves often, its tension gauge is reduced. Once a character's gauge is filled super moves called Overdrive Attacks, or a variety of special techniques—"Instant Kill", "Faultless Defense," "Dead Angle Attacks" or "Roman Cancels"—can be performed.

Guilty Gear X2 adds a new feature to the series: a burst gauge, which is filled as the player causes or receives damage. This allows access to the Psyche Burst, an attack that can be performed even while the character is reeling from the enemy's strikes. It allows the player to break combinations and super moves in the middle of the opponent's offensive. Also, when used under specific conditions, if the blast hits the adversary, the tension gauge is filled to its maximum capacity immediately.

The story picks up approximately two weeks after the events of Guilty Gear X. In the time following Dizzy's disappearance, the mysterious Post-War Administration Bureau begins secretly investigating the Gears and fighters from previous tournaments for their own needs and ambitions. To achieve their goals the organization has created several mechanical copies of Ky Kiske, the “Robo-Kys”. In addition, fighters find themselves in a reality beyond their control, most notably in the manipulative hands of the villainess I-No, who is revealed to be a servant of “That Man”, the creator of the Gears. Each character provides a different ending to Guilty Gear X2.

Guilty Gear X2 features twenty-three playable characters; twenty of them are available from outset, with Justice, Kliff Undersn, and Robo-Ky as unlockable secret characters. In addition to the return of all Guilty Gear X's roster—Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, Johnny, May, Chipp Zanuff, Potemkin, Baiken, Axl Low, Faust, Anji Mito, Jam Kuradoberi, Dizzy, Testament, Zato-1, Millia Rage, Venom—there are four new characters: Bridget, Zappa, Slayer, and the aforementioned I-No.

In January 2002, Sammy Studios had announced that a Guilty Gear X spin-off, titled Guilty Gear XX, would be released in arcades on the Sega NAOMI system in the spring of that year; it was released on May 23, 2002. Its porting to the PlayStation 2 was speculated in late August, with release date set to autumn in Japan, which was later confirmed by Sammy in the same month. In the following month it was shown at Tokyo Game Show, and it was published on December 12, 2002, in Japan. In October, the game North American release was set to happen in the first quarter of 2003; it was retitled Guilty Gear X2.

An announcement in November confirmed its release date as February 4, 2003; in January 2003, Sammy created a website to promote its release. The European branch of Sammy released the game on March 7, 2003. On February 26, 2004, it was rereleased in Japan under the low-budget label "PlayStation2 the Best".

Guilty Gear X2 was the 117th best-selling title in Japan in 2002, with 112,520 copies sold as of December 31, 2002. In 2003, it sold 34,294 more copies, amounting a total of 146,814 copies sold since its release on PlayStation 2 (PS2). Reviews were generally positive, with aggregate scores of 86.14% from GameRankings, and 87/100 from Metacritic. On release, Famitsu magazine scored the PS2 version of the game a 33 out of 40. The game received the maximum score from Cincinnati Enquirer, G4 TV, and Gaming Age.

Jeremy Dunham of IGN, GameZone's Michael Knutson and 1UP.com staff praised the multitude of moves; Knutson, however, said that it was difficult performing special moves, and 1UP.com affirmed "The real improvement, though, is the addition of more life-destroying options, like the hyper-addictive Challenge mode." Dunham accuse the fighting engine of being "too advanced for the casual fighting fan", also criticizing its "sucker" control scheme. Conversely, GamePro thought it "can be enjoyed by novices and veterans alike", and Matt Keil of G4 said it "is surprisingly accessible" to all gamers. Dunham cited how the "two-player mode allows for near-infinite possibilities and all the extra options are just icing on the cake." In contrast Kasavin criticized the other modes for not being as engaging as the two-player mode.