Queen Dizzy from Guilty Gear Strive recently released, and I’ve got quite a few impressions on her after spending some time with her toolkit! Whether you’re here looking for a new character to learn or trying to see Queen Dizzy’s strengths and weaknesses, you’ve come to the right place.
Disclaimer: There will be notations used in this guide to describe certain attacks. If you find yourself confused at any of these points, use the guide below as guidance:
Struggles on Defense
Unfortunately, I think Dizzy struggles a bit on defense due to her not having a meterless reversal. The only reversal she has is “Imperial Ray”, and while it has great range, damage, and leaves the opponent knocked down for a long time, it takes a while for it to start up. This means that many safejab setups from other characters can work on “Imperial Ray”, making Dizzy have to play a bit more solid on defense.
While Guilty Gear Strive is filled with universal defensive options such as faultless defense, deflect shield, instant blocking, and yellow roman cancels, you could argue that her reliance on system mechanics and resources to get the opponent off of her is a weakness. Having said all of that, developing good defense with Dizzy requires the player to test how the opponent is reacting to their defense and adjust from there. If you plan on playing Dizzy, you will have to take many risks on defense if you don’t have the meter to use resources. Make sure to choose your choices wisely and have a layer 1 defensive gameplan.
Oppressive Neutral
On the bright side, though, her zoning is exceptional, allowing her mid-screen presence to dominate other characters. For starters, her mid-range normals, such as f.S, 5H, and 2D, are pretty safe and can counter opponents who like to approach from the ground. Additionally, “We talked a lot together” is one of her projectile tools that slowly travels on the screen. This special move is a huge part of this character because once it’s on the screen, Dizzy can continue to use her other zoning tools to control the screen.
“Michael Sword” one of her longest-reaching special moves, grants her the ability to whiff punish attacks from afar. When “We talked a lot together” is on the screen, you can use “Michael Sword” afterward to add additional zoning pressure. The other special move you can use after “We talked a lot together” is “I used this to catch fish”. This tool summons an ice pillar away from Dizzy that will put the opponent in a frozen state if they are hit. This is a great way to not only zone, but to confirm into a combo in case the opponent is frozen.
This isn’t the only strength of “I used this to catch fish”, though, as you can input 6S or 6H afterward to completely freeze the entire ground. Upon freezing the ground, the opponent’s movements become slippery and slow, Dizzy’s normals and specials have more range, and the opponent can be put into a hard knockdown with any attack. Overall, I think a lot of her tools function together seamlessly to create a good zoning gameplan. They also can work on offense as well!
Relentless Offense
Dizzy has a great way of keeping her opponents locked down on offense. One of her key special moves, “For roasting chestnuts”, gives her many plus frames if the opponent blocks it. She can keep doing it a lot mid-pressure to stay glued to her opponent. However, characters can mash on the move with specific attacks, so make sure to only use this move when the opponent least expects it. Having a layer 1 gameplan that sets up “For roasting chestnuts” is a great idea!
Moreover, “We talked a lot together” is not only good for neutral, but also for offense. After knocking the opponent down, you can use this move to force the opponent to block it on their wakeup. This allows you to make the most out of your post-knockdown situations, implementing strike/throw pressure and adding “For roasting chestnuts” alongside it. Just like her neutral, her offensive options synergize together very well.
Final Guilty Gear Strive Queen Dizzy Impressions:
In my opinion, the biggest strengths of Dizzy is her neutral and offense. Because her defense is a bit lackluster, you must make sure to play a solid neutral game to keep people away from you. As long as you improve your neutral with this character, you will go very far in the ranks!
Guilty Gear Strive is available now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Windows. Guilty Gear Strive is coming to Nintendo Switch on January 23, 2025.
