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I would like to credit and thank the following people whose resources I heavily referenced in the process of making this guide.

• ssrprotege for penning the definitive guide for the story mode of Accent Core Plus for the PlayStation 2. His guide is hosted here[gamefaqs.gamespot.com] at GameFAQs. The idea of using flowcharts for the individual story paths comes from ssrprotege's guide.
  
• The community at the GGXX/Xrd Wiki for making a list of conditions required to reach each story path ending for each character. The wiki is hosted at seesaawiki.jp and the page referenced for this guide in particular is here[seesaawiki.jp].
  
• The clean sprites at the dustloop wiki[www.dustloop.com] are used to make many of the images in this guide.

Last but not least, I would like to thank Arc System Works for bringing one of the best fighting games to Steam!

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I am not a skilled player by any measure and am unable to provide any useful gameplay advice for any of the difficult fights in story mode. This guide was created while running through story mode on Beginner difficulty.

If you need any gameplay advice for any of the characters, the Guilty Bits series on YouTube by novriltataki and the abovementioned dustloop wiki are good places to start.

While best efforts have been made, this guide is not complete by any means, especially as certain time-based win conditions are extremely tedious to verify. If you find any inaccuracies in the guide based on your own personal playing experience, please feel free to comment and I will update the guide.

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This guide is generally spoiler-free and there is very minimal mention or reference to any part of the story and plot. However, this guide will reveal the order of opponents that you will be fighting for each character's story path, and provide information on some of the tougher fights in story mode. If you wish to get a vanilla experience, simply dive headlong into story mode and do not look at the story path sections of this guide.

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2021/07/10 - Story path info for Jam Kuradoberi updated, courtesy of a commenter.

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Story mode is a unique game mode in Accent Core Plus R that brings you through the story events through the perspective of your chosen character.

                      An example of the narration phase in story mode.

Story mode plays very much like a modern day sound novel with fully voiced narration and fights are framed as encounters in the course of the characters' travels.

The story of Accent Core Plus R follows the events of the story mode in Guilty Gear XX #Reload and Guilty Gear XX Slash. That said though, it is still possible to enjoy the story if you have not played the prequels as the depth of the story is rather light. If Accent Core Plus R is your first foray into the Guilty Gear universe, the story mode will give you a decent idea of the background, personalities, and motivations behind each character.

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Default Character Selection - You can only play the default version of a character with its default colour scheme. You are unable to change the character's colour scheme or use any other special versions of the character while in story mode.

Difficulty - Unlike certain game modes in Accent Core Plus R, the difficulty of story mode fights is directly affected by the difficulty setting in the Help & Options menu. If you encounter tough fights in the course of story mode that you have trouble winning, you may want to tone down the difficulty settings and restart your run.

Non-Linear Story Paths - Story progression is generally non-linear and a character's story path may diverge depending on how you win your fights as well as the choices made during the narration phase. For most characters, there are two possible endings.

Narration Choices - With the exception of a few characters, you will be prompted to make a choice on how to progress the story at certain stages during the narration phase. During these situations, you will be given 2 options to choose from.

Single Round Battles - All battles in story mode are single round by default, no matter the configuration in the Help & Options menu.

Infinite Retries - If you are defeated in a fight, you can retry the same fight as many times as you want without needing to restart the entire run. Although you may be required to retry a fight at least once to progress towards a desired ending for some characters, ultimately, you must still win the fight to progress the story.

Pre-Fight Happenings - Before a fight officially begins, the characters may exchange some lines (usually their taunt or respect lines), or throw a few moves at each other that often results in a small amount of health damage, slight tension gauge gains, or changes to the characters' starting positions. These actions are scripted and they add a layer of flavour to the fights that is not found in the other game modes.

Gimmick Fights - You will encounter what I like to call "gimmick fights" over the course of story mode, which are fights where the characters are given special advantages (usually the AI) or have special restrictions placed (usually on your character) to make the fight more difficult. The special conditions are almost always linked to the plot of the story and are often referenced by the narration immediately before the fight begins. More on these gimmick fights in a later section of this guide.

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Progression in story mode is tracked automatically in the game and do not require you to keep separate notes. Once you reach the scrolling credits after a single play-through, your character selection screen will be updated to show the story path that you have completed.



Once you have completed all the available story paths for a character, you will see an additional "ALL CLEAR" indicator.

                     

Enjoying a piece of the Guilty Gear lore is a big part of playing story mode and fully completing it will also net you the following rewards.

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You will automatically obtain the following achievements in the course of completing story mode.


Our story has yet to come
Obtained after getting to one of the endings of any character.


And to the introduction
Obtained after seeing all endings of every character.


There is no song
Obtained after destroying any character.


In all likelihood, you will also unlock the following achievements on your way to completing story mode.


Accident core
Achieve a comeback win from very low health.


A slimy magician appears
Escape from a throw attempt.

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Once you complete all the story paths (i.e. seen all the endings) of a single character, you will unlock alternate playable versions of that character. There are 3 main types of alternate versions to look out for.

EX Characters
EX versions of characters have alternate move sets from the original with different control inputs. Certain moves may also behave differently on an EX version of a character, making EX characters, in general, an entirely new playing experience.

BLACK Characters
BLACK versions of characters are named so for their black colour palette. BLACK versions of characters have the same move sets and control inputs as the original characters but they have an infinite tension gauge.

GOLD Characters
GOLD versions of characters are named so for their bright yellow colour palette. GOLD versions of characters are essentially powered up versions of the original that moves faster, jumps higher, does more damage, and takes reduced damage. GOLD characters also have souped up versions of certain special moves and a small number of GOLD characters have special passive abilities that makes them even more imbalanced than they already are.

You can select BLACK and GOLD versions of the EX version of characters.

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Once you have unlocked the EX and GOLD versions of all characters as part of the rewards of completing story mode, you will gain access to the following game modes.

EX Arcade & M.O.M Modes
You fight EX versions of the characters by default.

GOLD Arcade & M.O.M Modes
You fight GOLD versions of the characters by default.

GOLD EX Arcade & M.O.M Modes
You fight GOLD versions of the EX versions of the characters by default.

How to Access
To access these game modes, at the main menu screen, move over to the respective game modes and do the following.

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You will unlock all the alternative variants of stages that are associated with a character once you complete all the character's story paths. These stages are different renditions used in previous titles Guilty Gear XX #Reload and Guilty Gear XX Slash.

Completing the entire story mode will gain you access to all the hidden stages to give you a grand total of 50 stages. This will give you the necessary resources to obtain the following achievement.


Travel the entire world on foot
Fight on all stages at least once.

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You will unlock the following illustrations in the gallery after completing story mode.

Story Mode
A total of 47 illustrations, one for each possible ending.

Special Illustration
You will obtain 2 special illustrations as an indirect result of unlocking other rewards when story mode is completed.


Secret Voices
As you progress through story mode, you will gradually unlock secret voices, which are short 5~10-minute bonus audio clips featuring a number of the Japanese voice actors/actresses who worked on the game. The secret voice unlocks also come with an illustration each. Unfortunately, there is no English transcription for the audio clips to date.

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The special Extra Menu in the Help & Options menu will be available to you after completing story mode.

In this guide, the possible story paths for each character are represented in a flowchart, read from top to bottom.

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The following is an explanation of the graphic elements used in the story path flowcharts.

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For many characters, playing their story modes normally will naturally lead you to only one of their endings. In order to reach a different ending, you will either have to make a different choice on how the character responds during the narration phase, or defeat certain opponents in specific ways.

The following is a list of win conditions commonly found in story mode that when fulfilled, allows you to change the course of your character's story path.

Win By Instant Kill
You need to land an instant kill move on the opponent. All characters have an instant kill move except for Order-Sol, and with the exception of May and Dizzy, the instant kill input for all characters is identical. The range and hit detection of instant kill moves differ for each character so it is always a good idea to test this in training mode if you are unsure.

Win By Overdrive
This win condition requires you to drop the opponent's health gauge to zero with an overdrive move. Overdrive moves are moves that are highlighted in green in the in-game Commands List. To perform an overdrive move, you must first raise your tension gauge to at least 50%.

Win By Timeout
You must allow the timer to reach zero and win by having more health remaining than your opponent. This is very challenging on higher difficulty levels where the AI is considerably more aggressive.

Win With >N Seconds Remaining
You must win the round within a certain time limit. For this guide, the number of seconds remaining refer to the digits shown on the timer.

For example, if a win condition states that a win with more than 74 seconds remaining is required, you must win the round before the timer reaches 74 seconds. Since the timer starts at 99 seconds, you need to win within 25 seconds.

Win With Over N% Health Remaining
You have to win the fight with a certain amount of your health remaining.

No Retries Up Till This Point
You must win all the fights in a single try, including and until the opponent where this condition is called for. Any retries along the way will cause you to fail this condition. This can be challenging if there are several unavoidable gimmick fights earlier in the story path.

Failure To Complete Character's Path
Not exactly a win condition but for a a small number of characters, one of their endings will be sealed off until you have completed a particular story path of another character. If you did not complete the required story path, you will always reach the same ending no matter what you try.

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Gimmick fights in story mode usually restrict your character in certain ways or force you to fight an overpowered character, giving the AI an unfair advantage over you. However, there are also gimmick fights where both you and your opponent are given similar advantages, and a small number where the reverse happens and your opponent is disadvantaged.

The following is a list of gimmicks used in these fights.

Player Only Disadvantages
Jump Restriction - Your character is unable to jump for the entirety of the match and this is usually indicated by your character sprite flashing blue. You can still do special moves that launch your character into the air from the ground but your character will go into free fall after that.

Normal Moves Only - Your character is only restricted to basic attacks and is unable to use special moves or any moves that require the use of the tension gauge.

Player / Opponent Disadvantages
Low Health - A character may start off with low amounts of health. Fights where your character start with half health or less are challenging at higher difficulty levels.

Poisoned - The afflicted character's health decreases continuously and is usually indicated by the character sprite flashing pink/purple. Given time, this will drain the entire health gauge and your character will be defeated if any slight damage is taken.

Player / Opponent Advantages
Infinite Tension - The character starts with a full tension gauge and the gauge is maintained at maximum level throughout the entire round. With an infinite tension gauge, the character will be able to use force breaks, overdrives, and other tension gauge moves with impunity. In many gimmick battles, you are given this advantage as well.

Opponent Only Advantages
GOLD Characters - The opponent is essentially a GOLD version of the character but retains the default colour palette. In general, GOLD characters move faster, gains tension at a much faster rate, takes less damage and deals a lot more damage than the normal version of the character.

Regenerating Health - The opponent's health is constantly regenerating. There is usually a scripted event before the fight where your character deals some damage to the opponent in order to make it clear to you that your opponent's health is regenerating.

Basic Attack Immunity - The opponent can only be damaged by special moves, force breaks, overdrives, and instant kill moves.

 
 

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• Choices made during the narration phase change the opponents A.B.A face but all routes will ultimately converge at Slayer.
  
• Reaching Robo-Ky and defeating him with no retries along the entire journey brings A.B.A to Path 2 ending.
  
• Failing that, A.B.A will be directed to the Path 1 ending.

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• Defeating Justice within 25 seconds sends Anji Mito down an easier route where he only has to fight I-No once.
  
• Failing that, Anji Mito will be forced to fight I-No twice, and is unable to jump during the first encounter.
  
• Narration choices on either routes offer Anji Mito an opportunity to cross over and reach a different ending.

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• The narration choices after the fight with Anji Mito determine the ending for Axl Low.
  
• Scoring instant kills on I-No, Sol Badguy, or Slayer will bring Axl Low to fight a different set of opponents before converging at Anji Mito.
  
• Holds the story mode record for the shortest possible route to an ending.
  
• This is the only character story mode to feature a mirror match.
  
• This is the only character story mode to feature an inconsequential narration choice.

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• The one and only narration choice plays a large part to determine which ending Baiken will arrive at.
  
• Successfully executing an instant kill move on the I-No fight right before Anji Mito will divert Baiken immediately to the Path 2 ending.
  
• The only way to cross over from Path 2 route to the Path 1 route is to defeat Venom by timeout, and then defeating Faust after at least 50 seconds have elapsed to reach Eddie.

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There are none!

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• The only way to reach Bridget's Path 1 ending is to win the Zappa fight with more than 50% of her health gauge intact.
  
• A narration choice after fighting Anji Mito allows Bridget to cross over and reach Path 2 ending.

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• The ending Chipp Zanuff arrives at is entirely determined by the narration choices made along the way.

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• The result of the fight with May determines the ending that Dizzy will arrive at. May must be defeated within 25 seconds to reach Path 2 ending.

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• Eddie's starting health gradually reduces after his fight with May and drops to less than 50% towards the end of his story paths, making later fights increasingly difficult.
  
• The one and only narration choice largely determines which ending Eddie will arrive at.
  
• Sol Badguy must be defeated by instant kill to reach Path 1 ending. Failing to do so, Eddie will be redirected to the route leading to the Path 2 ending.

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• Access to Faust's Path 1 ending is blocked until Zappa's Path 2 is completed.
  
• Attempting to take the route leading to Path 1 ending without completing Zappa's Path 2 will cause Faust to be redirected to the other route after the fight with Jam Kuradoberi.
  
• Even after completing the prerequisite mentioned above, Faust will still be directed to his Path 2 ending if Jam Kuradoberi is defeated by an instant kill move.

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• I-No's Path 2 ending is blocked from access until Baiken's Path 2 is completed. The narration choice after the Faust fight will not appear and instant killing A.B.A will not lead I-No to Zappa.
  
• Millia Rage has to be defeated in 35 seconds or less to go down the main route to Path 1 ending.
  
• Once Baiken's Path 2 is cleared, narration choices at later parts of both routes open paths for I-No to arrive at either ending regardless of the fight result with Millia.

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• The first half of Jam Kuradoberi's story paths converges at Faust, regardless of the narration choice made.
  
• Defeat Justice by an instant kill move to reach Path 2 ending.

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• The result of the fight with Testament will largely determine which ending Johnny will arrive at.
  
• Instant killing Ky Kiske at the later half of the route to Path 2 ending will open up a path to cross over to the route leading to Path 1 ending.

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• A straight line path to the only ending for Justice's story path.

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• A straight line path to the only ending for Kliff Undersn's story path.

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• The first half of Ky Kiske's story paths will converge at Testament regardless of the narration choices made.
  
• Defeat Dizzy with an instant kill move to arrive at Path 1 ending.

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• May's Path 1 ending is gated by a difficult I-No fight. In order to reach Path 1 ending, May has to reach the second I-No fight and win without any retries up till that point, including the first I-No fight where May is unable to jump.
  
• A more easier approach is to win the first I-No fight with an instant kill move. This allows May to skip the second I-No fight. There is no retry penalty if this route is chosen.

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• The first half of Millia Rage's story paths will converge at A.B.A regardless of the narration choice made.
  
• The fight with Venom determines the ending Millia Rage will arrive at.
  
• To reach Path 2 ending, Venom must be defeated by timeout.

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• A straight line path to the only ending for Order-Sol's story path.

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• The only narration choice will largely determine the ending Potemkin will arrive at.
  
• Chipp Zanuff must be defeated by an instant kill move to reach Path 1 ending. Otherwise, Potemkin will be redirected immediately to Path 2 ending.

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• The ending Robo-Ky arrives at is entirely determined by the narration choices made along the way.

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• Defeating Sol Badguy and Venom by instant kill, or overdrive for the latter, will lead Slayer towards the Path 2 ending.
  
• The narration choice late into the Path 2 ending route allows Slayer to cross over to the route leading to Path 1 ending.

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• Sol Badguy must win the Order-Sol fight that comes after Justice with no retries along the way in order to arrive at Path 1 ending. Depending on the route taken, this can either be moderately difficult, or tediously difficult.
  
• Ending the easier Slayer fight within 50 seconds sends Sol Badguy down a variation of the I-No and Order-Sol fights that terminates at Path 2 ending.
  
• This is the only character story mode that lines up one narration choice immediately after another.

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• To reach Path 1 ending, Testament must reach and defeat Sol Badguy without any retries along the way.
  
• Before that, Dizzy must be defeated within 50 seconds to move Testament down the route towards Sol Badguy.
  
• Taking more than 50 seconds with the Dizzy fight will divert Testament towards the route leading to Path 2 ending.

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• The only narration choice changes the opponents Venom will face but either choice will eventually converge at Millia Rage.
  
• Defeating Millia Rage with an instant kill move sends Venom towards the Path 1 ending. Otherwise, Venom will be directed towards the Path 2 ending.

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• Access to Zappa's Path 1 ending is blocked until Faust's Path 2 is completed.
  
• Attempting to take the route leading to Path 1 ending without completing Faust's Path 2 will cause Zappa to be redirected to the other route after the fight with Johnny.
  
• Once the prerequisite is cleared, the only narration choice available will ultimately decide the ending for Zappa.

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