Bridget is a trans girl, Y faulty gear effort It just set a new standard for diversity and representation in the fighting game scene.

Bridget has not appeared in a guilty mechanism game from Guilty Gear XX in 2002. Now, developer Arc System Works has revealed Bridget’s return to the guilty mechanism series with an introduction story in which she fully accepts her identity as a woman. Understandably, the trans community loves this for Bridget and the fighting game series in general. And while there will always be naysayers, this story makes perfect sense based on what we already know about Bridget’s past.

Bridget battles Goldlewis, Ky Kiske and others as she tries to come to terms with her gender in the new arcade setting. faulty gear effortArcade modes have multiple endings depending on the difficulty level and the outcome of the fight. In one of them, Bridget agrees to be a girl.

“If I keep pretending like this, I know I’ll regret it,” Bridget tells Goldlewis and Ky. “So from now on, whatever happens, I won’t lie to myself anymore.” She thanks them both.

Do not mention it. Happy trails, cowgirl,” Goldlewis replies. Oh, hey, cowboy?

“Cowgirl is okay because… I’m a girl!” she proudly declares.

It will be the same whichever version you choose, be it Japanese or English. I know enough Japanese to know that it’s not a localization issue, and commenters agree.

Bridget struggled with gender identity from birth. According to the official description of her, she was born as a younger male twin in a town that viewed twin sons as a bad omen. The younger twin was usually executed or exiled. Her parents chose to raise Bridget as a girl to protect her, but they felt conflicted about it. Bridget thought that if she earned enough money as a bounty hunter, she could uproot her superstitions and exist as a man. However, even after dispelling the superstition, she ended up struggling with what she really felt about her gender identity.

So this reveal is rooted in the identity that Arc System Works created for her in the past. Bridget was still accepting of her gender back then, she’s just dating now on Struggle.

as a fan said: “Guilty Gear is one of the few media that I have seen recently where [trans representation] It’s not just ‘oh, this character was trans all along,’ but also actively taking pre-existing characters and making them change and grow.”

Some players persist in confusing Bridget after hearing the revelation. Internet dissidents argue that the revelation speaks of a “leftist agenda” and that Bridget is a boy, even though she literally says, “I am a girl.” Their official description “she” is also used in the game. Other promotional materials avoid pronouns altogether.

LGBTQIA+ fans and allies were quick to congratulate Bridget on finally coming out. Many also shared how quickly they and their trans friends bought the game. There is also a lot of fan art and trans-flag colored skins for Bridget circulating on social media.

“The number of trans people I see saying ‘well I’ll buy Guilty Gear now’ (including myself) because they added one (1) trans woman along with the existing enby character is like the perfect little encapsulation of how the trans audience stories is HERE and READY”, a fan tweeted.

faulty gear effort has also made steps towards a more inclusive roster with Testament, a non-binary character. Bridget and Testament are a rare step forward for LGBTQIA+ representation in video games in general. Now, fans are waiting to see if other franchises, like Street Fighter, will follow suit.

Those who want to play Bridget can purchase her for $7 or as part of the faulty gear effort Season 2 Pass for $25, which includes the other DLC characters coming this season.

faulty gear effort is available for PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.