Babylon
Babylon is a recurring location in the Guilty Gear series, appearing as I-No's stage in Guilty Gear XX through Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2.
Design
Babylon is built in the image of the ancient city of Babylon.[1]
In the XX games, the stage takes place on the rooftop of the partially-underwater city. Though ornate, much of the city's architecture is crumbling and appears to be falling to ruin. In the foreground, a tattered flag on a bent and useless flagpole lies flat on a cracked tile roof. In the background, a number of buildings can be seen: on the far left is a listing clocktower connected to an arcing, abstract sculpture, with a smaller building next to it completely submerged in water. In the center is a large, elaborate building, decorated with a clock face and engravings of birds as well as a spire topped with a now-headless statue of an angel. On the right is a building in an advanced stage of ruin, as well as the head of a massive statue staring up at the sky. The statue's cheek is heavily damaged and crumbling away.
In Guilty Gear XX Slash, the stage is set at midday, with two suns visible in the sky. In Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload the stage is set at either morning or evening and has a much more orange-tinged palette, and the Accent Core version once again takes place at dawn or dusk but with a largely purple palette.
In the Xrd games, the Babylon stage instead depicts a different area of the city, a seaside street lined with palm trees. In the foreground is an open air cafe called Lotus Cafe on the left and a building seemingly constructed from a ship on right. The street stretches into the stage's background, with a number of tall buildings alongside it. In Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign-, the "Babylon in five years" variant of the stage depicts the city five years after the Cradle Incident. The area has been left abandoned and reclaimed by nature, with overturned vehicles left to fall apart in the streets and Zeal lamps still glowing. A pack of wolves roams the ruins. The Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- version of the stage shows the same area in the immediate aftermath of the Cradle's attack. A number of Illyrian soldiers have gathered on the city's streets, examining the large mounds of dust left behind by the destruction of the city's living beings.
Story
Babylon is a city in the Mesopotamian region of the United Kingdoms of Illyria. Prior to its destruction, it was an important trade hub between Illyria and the Federation of China.[1]
The city is the first place to be attacked by the Conclave during the opening moments of the Cradle Incident. The information flare caused by the Cradle's movement into the real world and then back into the Backyard overwhelms all living creatures within the city with a burst of pure high-density information, killing and vaporizing them instantly but leaving the city's structures intact.[2] The remains of the city's people continue to fall from the sky in the form of a gray ash for at least a day after the event.[3]
In the immediate aftermath of the event, news reporters and Illyrian soldiers congregate on the area in attempt to understand the cause of the disaster.[3] Initially, the composition of the ash falling on the city is unknown, and the city's residents are assumed by reporters to be disappeared rather than dead. However, Dr. Paradigm, an expert in the Backyard, is able to determine the Cradle's method of attack and the ultimate fate of Babylon's people, and shares this information with Colin Vernon and Leo Whitefang.[4]
Trivia
- The portion of the city depicted in the stage's XX and Λ Core appearances can be seen far in the background of the Xrd version of the stage, past the water on the stage's right edge.
Gallery
Guilty Gear XX Slash.
Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus.
Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign-.
Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator-.
