The fifth installment in the hardcore anime styled fighting game franchise, Guilty Gear Xrd Sign, is now officially coming to North America on PS3 and PS4. Aksys will be publishing the Arc System Works developed title in the Fall of this year. Though Xrd retains the fast paced 2D fighting that the series is known for, this game is running on the Unreal Engine 3 and uses 3d models. This process is similar to the style of Street Fighter 4 and other recent 2d fighters, but with Xrd being cel-shaded, the character models have an uncanny resemblance to their classic sprite art, and without the camera movement made possible by the 3d plane, many wouldn’t know the game isn’t strictly 2D. Some character animations are even limited to make models even further resemble sprites. 13 popular characters from previous installments return in Xrd, with two new characters being introduced. There’s Bedman, and the boss character Ramlethal who was made playable with an update to the game. There’s no word on whether the roster will be expanded or not when it makes its way west for PlayStation consoles, but it’s entirely possible. If you can’t figure out who is who in the pictures, Bedman is the one…in the bed.

The trailer below will give you a sense of how great these cell shaded models capture the feel of Guilty Gear’s beautiful sprites of the past and how the action hasn’t slowed down one bit. Series creator and director Daisuke Ishiwatari worked on this game and it’s immediately evident when you hear the game’s soundtrack. He also composes for the series.

After years of spin-offs that did little to sate fans and a focus on Arc System Works’ other popular fighter BlazBlue, it is very exciting to see Guilty Gear return to form. Are you prepared for the newest entry in the craziest, metal-ist, most hardcore fighting series? Are you turned off by the highly technical fighting (one hit kill specials, Roman cancels, etc) featured in Guilty Gear? Who’s your favorite character? Heaven or hell? Let us know in the comments and get ready to rock.