There are all kinds of video game mods, but very rarely do they strive to make a political statement. Maybe that’s why I like this particular Guilty Gear Strive modification so much: It gives vampire badass Nagoriyuki an outfit that promotes the Black Lives Matter movement. Pretty minor as far as game mods go, but a great statement nonetheless.
The mod in question updates Nagoriyuki’s tenth outfit with a neat black-and-yellow colour scheme, but the biggest change comes in the addition of the words “Black Lives Matter” to his knuckles and belt as well as “No Justice No Peace” emblazoned large on the back of his jacket. Its creator, a Guilty Gear player named Lingo Starr, wrote on Twitter that it took them two days to complete.
I love the way the colours look on Nagoriyuki’s outfit, and even the text font fits Strive’s unique aesthetics.
Nagoriyuki is a Guilty Gear newcomer who made his debut in Strive. He made a splash in the competitive fighting game community when he was revealed alongside the game itself, and it’s easy to see why. He’s a vampire based on the story Yasuke, a real-life African immigrant to Japan who became a samurai during the Sengoku period. Oh, and he has a mechanical facemask that makes him look like a demon. Nagoriyuki is cool as fuck, full stop.
Black Lives Matter has become a rallying cry over the last eight years as a response to the constant, pervasive killings of Black people by police officers in the United States. While Guilty Gear takes place in a far-future version of our world, it’s not a stretch to think Nagoriyuki, one of the few Black characters in the series, would rep the movement.
Sadly, as with most mods, the updated visuals only appear for the player who’s using it, but I applaud Lingo Starr for their wonderful work.
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