Original Times Square

Original Times Square is a major city in the United States of America that serves as the default stage of Giovanna and Elphelt Valentine in Guilty Gear -Strive-. Based on the original New York City that was destroyed during the Crusades, the city has a replica of its famous commercial intersection.

Story

After the city of New York was completely destroyed during the Crusades, the U.S. government built a new port city on the northerneast coast. It was intended to recall the glory of the old New York, and even included the Statue of Liberty, but progress stalled as funds were diverted elsewhere, and was somewhat deserted^[1]. However, by the time of -Strive-, the city has been rebuilt and is once again a bustling urban center of the United States^[2].

Design

Original Times Square is a follow up to the Neo New York stage found in Guilty Gear Xrd. It sees the once deserted area be completely rebuilt to the city's former glory. The stage follows the typical format of -Strive- stages, consisting of three "areas" that are traveled between whenever a Wall-Break or charged follow up occurs.

The starting area places the characters on a street corner just outside of an underground subway entrance as it gently rains. This stage features a large amount of people to make it feel like a well-populated city. These NPCs will react to the fight the players are having every time a move that inflicts a Hard-Knockdown is hit. The city is littered with signs and advertisements for many fictional brands, far too many to list all, however some highlights include: ads for the brand of clothing that Sol Badguy wears named "RIOT," an animated ad on a holographic billboard advertising G4, ads on the far left of the stage only briefly visible during some character's opening cinematics advertising Zilpods, along with an ad showing a "zil-cola", an ad reading "PIZZA INSTALL" referencing Dragon Install, and the subway entrance reading "Neo Times Square IV Street Station" with circles that read "X," "X2," "2," "S," and "R" which reference the past Guilty Gear games Guilty Gear X, Guilty Gear X2, Guilty Gear 2 -Overture-, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, and Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator-. Large statues seen holding the American flag over the street as cars drive by are visible. On the right of this area, a stand for Danny Missiles (mispelled as "Dunny Missiles") is seen selling burgers in exchange for W$. Behind the stand, we can see a store named "Dr. Sensei" displaying paper bags based on the likeness of Faust. On the ground of the right side, the engravements in the pavement read various text. By performing a Wall-Break on this side and pausing at the right time, we can see the final part of the engravements reads "The Nature of the Chimaki."

The area to the right takes us to "Polar Star Coffee," which the Guilty Gear -Strive- 2022 Scenic Calendar describes as "a Seattle-style coffee shop popular among the fashion-conscious youth."^[2] The ground that's not covered by carpet shows a compass. This store features a holographic^[2] polar bear mascot that can be viewed waving from out the window. A smaller version of the bear can be seen sitting on the bench under the sign displaying the name of the cafe. The bear remains motionless, unless a move that inflicts a Hard-Knockdown is used, in which case it will react in shock along with the rest of the customers. A cardboard cut out of a man in a suit can be seen behind the polar bear, and a man that resembles the cutout can be seen standing next to a large brewing station. A bookshelf can be seen on the left of the stage, along with a customer on the table behind it reading a book. Customers all throughout the store can be seen drinking coffee or reading books. Tubes can be seen pumping a blue liquid upwards, with floating multicolored hearts floating to the top. On the right, a sign reading "Daily Offerings" is advertising "Infinite Cream Latte" with the tagline at the bottom reading "Infinite Mildness."

The final area takes the players to a much quieter part of the city, a small sidewalk next to a pond with street lamps rising above the water. People can be seen on the other side of the pond as cars and trucks slowly drive by. A singular black cat can be seen walking back and forth and sitting on the railing. On the far left side, a set of trash cans be seen clearly that read "Recycables" and "Magical."

Trivia

In the second area, Polar Star Coffee is a mix parody between Shirokuma Cafe and Starbucks Coffee.^{[source needed]}
This is the only stage to get two entries on the Guilty Gear -Strive- 2022 Scenic Calendar. January shows off the opening area, and December focuses on the Polar Star Cafe.^[2]

Gallery

Original Times Square area 1.
Original Times Square area 2.
Original Times Square area 3.
Subway entrance referencing previous games
Billboard texture
Billboard texture advertising G4
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture advertising RIOT
Billboard texture advertising RIOT
Billboard texture
Billboard texture. The backwards text reads "The king of construction has sublimated the amazing tower apartment in the center of Otaru town"
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture referencing Dragon Install with "Pizza Install"
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture advertising Zilpods
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Billboard texture
Engraved pavement texture that references Chimaki
Texture
Texture showing Danny Missiles
Texture showing Danny Missiles' menu
Drink advertisement texture
"Daily Offerings" texture
"Daily Offerings" texture