Keiji Inafune strikes again with Azure Striker Gunvolt | 3DS eShop

[PSI Wind]

To be fair, I heard the localization for this game was godawful.

[Sean]

Game wasn't that good. Surprised to hear they made a Steam port and with the localized story that the 3DS version didn't get. Thanks, Inti.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Game wasn't that good.

I beg to differ on that account; game was actually rather a fun rewarding experience for me and company. Not for everyone, of course but definitely still deserving of that upcoming sequel in development.

Surprised to hear they made a Steam port and with the localized story that the 3DS version didn't get. Thanks, Inti.

Woah, now! Hold the horses pulling that "Inti Creates" sarcasm-attack wagon there. It's coming to 3ds as well.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Jovahexeon Joranvexeon

[Sean]

Your post didn't mention the 3DS version getting these updates so I didn't know. Considering how long the game has been out this update is way too little way too late, I'm certainly not going to replay it just to listen to some in-level banter

And I disliked the game because it was trying to be a MMZ successor, but it blatantly changed some things for the sake of change and nothing about it felt like a natural evolution of its source of inspiration. Killing enemies didn't feel good at all, it always required a set-up and it heavily contrasts how the action in MMZ would always bring me instant, satisfying results. I didn't even shoot for the good ending; the requirements were stupid, and the boss difficulty was fucking obnoxious. They don't give you enough time to learn attack patterns without suffering heavy, repeated damage in the process. I don't recall any bosses in MMZ being that frantic.

It's a really mediocre game and I would rather just replay MMZ2 or 3 because there isn't anything Gunvolt does that's better than what MMZ did. I had fun with it for a couple of levels and everything afterwards felt like a chore.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

And so came forth, video footage of the sequel:

https://youtu.be/aGe_hUi9ZAk

 

 

[MegasonicZX]

I hope the god they add some kind of melee weapon to this, its pretty much my only issue with the game (on a personal level anyway since I prefer close range combat).

Also, Inafune? WHATS GOING ON WITH MN9? 

[Sean]

So did that 3DS update with the Japanese voices come out already

[Pompadour]

Not yet. Not sure when it'll happen either or if it ever will. I'm glad they at least got it to steam though. The voice acting and extra dialogue were nice and did provide some new insight on the characters... though I still wish it wasn't so distracting to play. I personally stopped being interested the 3DS getting the voice acting, but I really hope they do a better job with the sequel's localization this time.

And speaking of GV2, here's GV's new design.



Going by the trailer, GV2 looks fine. Doesn't seem to stray too far from the first game, and I don't find that to be a big issue. I really liked the first game even though the gameplay itself wasn't anything special. I do hope they make obtainable weapons actually worthwhile to use, or at least provide a close ranged weapon. While I couldn't care less for the j-pop stuff I'm really interested in seeing Gunvolt and Lumen's new dynamic and how it'll come to play too, because it looks like GV's powers have changed a little because of it.

What I'm most excited for though, are the bosses. The Sumeragi Adepts were my favorite things about the first game, and I hope they can provide new ones that are just as colorful and comical. The girl with the hair powers already looks pretty interesting, so I hope we'll learn more about her soon.

And... Inafune, please don't have a bigger role in this game's development. You barely had anything to do with the first game to begin with, but still made sure everyone connected the game to you. Just... go back to finishing MN9 and leave inti to their own game. :X

[Pompadour]

Inti Creates was at Anime Expo 2016 and released more info about ASG2, as well one other special announcement for our dear Other Bootleg Megaman



The Gunvolt Striker Pack contains both the first Gunvolt and Gunvolt 2 as a physical copy rather than a digital release. It's set for release in the US by September 30th and will be published by Yacht Club Games for the price of $30.00. Going by the Pack's trailer, it appears they finally were able to re-add the cut content from the original game... though I still don't know what that means for the digital version.

Personally this sounds pretty good, and I might consider it once the game's out. I would greatly prefer owning a physical copy instead of digital, and I like this series enough that I wouldn't mind buying the first game again in one convenient cartridge.

There's no official release date yet for EU, but Australia recently rated the Pack, which means a EU release is highly possible.

And now for the news that tickled my fancy the most...

The Azure Striker Gunvolt OVA
 

It's a short teaser, but I get some serious MegaMan Zero Commercial vibes watching this. I didn't expect GV to be popular enough to warrant an OVA, but I'm pretty happy.

Instead of airing on television, the OVA will be released via streaming services sometime Winter 2016. Which streaming services? I'm not sure yet. But I hope it's somewhere easily accessible, like netflix or something.

I hate to say this after what happened to that certain Mighty Game, but it's nice how things seem to be going good for Gunvolt so far. Sure it had a kinda weird start with clumsy localization, the delayed fixing of said localization, and a rocky steam port (at first), but I'm glad the game has still found a good deal of success. The first game was still pretty good, and GV2 has shown a lot of potential so improve the first game's shortcomings. Here's hoping GV's success and improvements can continue. It's certainly one of the few franchises that've quenched my Megaman thirst in the past few years.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

In addition to Yacht Club Games publishing,  Shovel Knight shall be making quite the appearance as well. 

 

[Agie]

Dunno if I have what it takes to beat the guy who was able to beat Kratos, the God of War, and the Battletoads with but a shovel.

Nonetheless, it's kind of exciting, actually.

[Pompadour]

So GV2's been out for almost a week now, and Striker Pack hit shelves just yesterday. The game's gotten about the same reception as the first game, which is to say it's "pretty good". And after blasting through both campaigns, I definitely agree. It's still a bit early to tell for me, but so far I like it more than the first game. It's still not gonna blow anyone away, but it feels like a proper sequel, and I'm satisfied with it.

The story itself loosely continues after the first game... a bit more loose than I wanted, but I do enjoy the new threat and also some of the new characters. I'm glad that a certain character the first game shoved aside wasn't entirely forgotten... though I gotta say, some of the story elements are definitely... weird. I'm not sure if I still understand them all, myself. I mean sure the story was still a fun cheesy ride, but some of the stuff shoved in there is definitely a lot to take in.

Short mention of the endings below.

Spoiler

GV can never catch a break, can he? Please just let GV be happy at some point. He deserve it. : (

... not Copen, though. He doesn't deserve happy, because he willingly chose a miserable life at the end. Can someone just knock some sense into that kid? Just... stay with your sister and be content, dude. Sheesh...

My fave inclusion is definitely Copen's campaign tho. His gameplay is SO much fun. His souped up dashes (and his dash-based targeting gimmick) and boss-copying weapons remind me of Axl from MMX8 some, except faster and alot more vicious. Unlike Axl though, almost all of Copen's boss weapons are useful in any situation, with some providing more help than others depending on the stage. It's definitely a lot of fun swapping around picking a favorite while decimating everything around you.

As for GV himself, GV's about the same. He plays fine. I should mention too that both characters have a nice quirk now where they can take more hits before losing their Kudos... which to me is great. I was awful at stacking up my kudos points. So yeah, not much to say about him. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", as they say.

My biggest complaint is ironically the in-stage dialogue. You know... the stuff we all wanted in the first game after they removed it. It's incredibly distracting, intrusive, and you can't really get a feel of the stage or boss fights while characters babble corny dialogue at eachother... and it's a shame, cuz you really DO learn some neat information this way. I'm just glad they provide an easy mute button so you don't have to endure it. The only time I'd even suggest turning on the dialogue is when you've played the stage at least once, so you're familiar enough not to mess yourself up when the dialogue box covers half the screen.

I'm also pretty sure the game is actually shorter than the first one if you only go by each campaign. I get that they want you to play as both just to play all the stages, but if you greatly prefer one character over the other, I would think it'd be a little disappointing. That said I know there's more extra stuff to do at least, and I haven't checked out the challenges yet.

Those complaints aside though, I feel the game's worth the 15 bucks. If you liked GV1 to any degree, you'll no doubt find something to like in GV2. It's gonna be a game I'll be going back to for a while, for sure.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

4 minutes ago, Pompadour said:

So GV2's been out for almost a week now, and Striker Pack hit shelves just yesterday. The game's gotten about the same reception as the first game, which is to say it's "pretty good". And after blasting through both campaigns, I definitely agree. It's still a bit early to tell for me, but so far I like it more than the first game. It's still not gonna blow anyone away, but it feels like a proper sequel, and I'm satisfied with it.

The story itself loosely continues after the first game... a bit more loose than I wanted, but I do enjoy the new threat and also some of the new characters. I'm glad that a certain character the first game shoved aside wasn't entirely forgotten... though I gotta say, some of the story elements are definitely... weird. I'm not sure if I still understand them all, myself. I mean sure the story was still a fun cheesy ride, but some of the stuff shoved in there is definitely a lot to take in.

Short mention of the endings below.

  Reveal hidden contents

GV can never catch a break, can he? Please just let GV be happy at some point. He deserve it. : (

... not Copen, though. He doesn't deserve happy, because he willingly chose a miserable life at the end. Can someone just knock some sense into that kid? Just... stay with your sister and be content, dude. Sheesh...

My fave inclusion is definitely Copen's campaign tho. His gameplay is SO much fun. His souped up dashes (and his dash-based targeting gimmick) and boss-copying weapons remind me of Axl from MMX8 some, except faster and alot more vicious. Unlike Axl though, almost all of Copen's boss weapons are useful in any situation, with some providing more help than others depending on the stage. It's definitely a lot of fun swapping around picking a favorite while decimating everything around you.

As for GV himself, GV's about the same. He plays fine. I should mention too that both characters have a nice quirk now where they can take more hits before losing their Kudos... which to me is great. I was awful at stacking up my kudos points. So yeah, not much to say about him. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", as they say.

My biggest complaint is ironically the in-game dialogue. You know... the stuff we all wanted in the first game after they removed it. It's incredibly distracting, intrusive, and you can't really get a feel of the stage or boss fights while characters babble corny dialogue at eachother... and it's a shame, cuz you really DO learn some neat information this way. I'm just glad they provide an easy mute button so you don't have to endure it. The only time I'd even suggest turning on the dialogue is when you've played the stage at least once, so you're familiar enough not to mess yourself up when the dialogue box covers half the screen.

I'm also pretty sure the game is actually shorter than the first one if you only go by each campaign. I get that they want you to play as both just to play all the stages, but if you greatly prefer one character over the other, I would think it'd be a little disappointing. That said I know there's more extra stuff to do at least, and I haven't checked out the challenges yet.

Those complaints aside though, I feel the game's worth the 15 bucks, for sure. If you liked GV1 to any degree, you'll no doubt find something to like in GV2. It's gonna be a game I'll be going back to for a while, for sure.

By the way,  which script for Azure Striker Gunvolt 1 do they use? The original English script or the other one that even translates in-game/stage dialogue.

IIRC, that one also translated what bosses said during their fights didn't it?

[Pompadour]

6 minutes ago, Jovahexeon Undyne Phoenix said:

By the way,  which script for Azure Striker Gunvolt 1 do they use? The original English script or the other one that even translates in-game/stage dialogue.

IIRC, that one also translated what bosses said during their fights didn't it?

If I understood your last question right, the original translation cut the dialogue during boss fights, so translators had to basically condense what was said during the fight into the boss's introductions. But yeah the updated translation has all the cut dialogue in-tact and is more true to the JP version.

As for your first question, I just checked the Striker Pack, and GV1 gives you both options. So either you can go with the original English script ("Original mode"), or you can play the updated english script with the in-stage/boss dialogue ("Japanese Voice mode"). As far as I know, it's the same translation as the Steam version.

I think it's nice of them to keep both, because while I didn't appreciate the fact we got a "neutered" game when it first came out, I still think the original translation had the more memorable dialogue. So if anyone preferred one over the other, well hey, there they go.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

That's excellent news and all more reason for me to get that physical pack it seems. 

So, @Pompadour, is it the same deal with the sequel?

[Pompadour]

ASG2 only has one translation, but they keep the dialogue and voices intact.

Be prepared for some exceptionally corny dialogue though. I'm pretty sure the translators didn't deviate from the story itself, but they definitely took some liberties by adding in some wacky self-aware dialogue to a few characters. Thankfully though I don't recall seeing a "swooce right in" joke this go round :V I still can't believe they added that in the steam version of GV1

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

5 hours ago, Pompadour said:

ASG2 only has one translation, but they keep the dialogue and voices intact.

Be prepared for some exceptionally corny dialogue though. I'm pretty sure the translators didn't deviate from the story itself, but they definitely took some liberties by adding in some wacky self-aware dialogue to a few characters. Thankfully though I don't recall seeing a "swooce right in" joke this go round :V I still can't believe they added that in the steam version of GV1

Ooh, sounds like the best of both worlds. The original script's nice hamminess along with dialogue everywhere and uncut. 

[Mystwalker]

In-stage dialogue wasn't much of a problem to me until the boss fights. In some of them the boss would linger around on the left corner, which is often covered up by the dialogue box's character portrait, making it harder to get a better read on your opponent... Other than that it was nice to have around, even took my 1st playthrough slow just to enjoy the banter. Still, the option of turning it off is super nice for subsequent playthroughs, as even though I didn't mind it I can see it being a nuisance over time.

It was also something I felt the first Gunvolt game lacked, as I felt I was barely immersed into the game by the end of it until I came across a script translation on GameFAQs and realized the game I played was stripped bare of it's story (the Talk with Joule option, or hell, even Joule herself, felt like they were just... there). That was for the 3DS game back when it was released (don't have Steam version, though I definitely wouldn't mind a PC copy in the future), so yeah, hoping for that translation patch to hit the 3DS game sometime soon!

 

About the 2nd game, it definitely feels like it's a little bit on the shorter end, what with the game having 2 playable characters and a few reused stages among the two, but at the end I'd say it's about the same length as GV1. The level design felt a bit less memorable, but that might be just me (the sewer and cyberworld levels seem to stand out the most here, while in GV1 I could list a couple more, like that one windy death pit in the rainy intermission stage I somehow stumped on, for instance xD). Getting an higher rank also seems easier in GV2 too, mostly thanks to the ability to set a difficulty setting for the Kudos (combo) scoring system, a change I appreciate as I had real trouble getting close to 1000 Kudos in the first game to get to hear the muse's songs. x_x

And speaking of songs, I can't help but mention this one from Copen's campaign:

Admittedly I didn't came across this song in my playthrough since Copen feels like a powerhouse to play with (it plays on the same situation as Reincarnation does to Gunvolt), but dang, the energy in this song kinda threw Reincarnation off it's spot for me.

For non-muse themes, the Character Select theme sounds super catchy too. It somehow screams Mega Man X to me, even though I never played the X games up until now.

Oh, and speaking of Copen, while at first I wasn't keen on the idea of playing as him (his personality is, well, eh), his air dash tag mechanic made traversing the stage and figuring out combos a lot more fun. Gunvolt's gameplay is still OK (pretty much the same as GV1), but having to refrain yourself for a few seconds to set up a good Double or Triple combo feels like it breaks the pacing a bit (especially given how easy it is to demolish enemies without wanting to, breaking that set up, but that might just be me being trigger-happy with GV's gun).

 

Dunno why, there's just something about the Azure Striker Gunvolt universe that appeals greatly to me. Here's hoping for a 3rd game!

Spoiler

Assuming that extra secret ending regarding Xiao and Nori that popped up on some boards is some hint of what in store for Gunvolt's world in the near future, that is.

 

[Salamander]

I just finished the second game myself.  I'm never quite sure if I actually think the gameplay is good, exactly.  Certainly I find it fun, and one thing I like about both GV and Copen's gameplay is that there are solid ideas behind them, where Mighty No. 9 didn't really seem to be doing anything that radically different - but the stages often feel like rather similar sets of corridors, and there are rarely any combinations of enemies and set-pieces that require a great deal of thought.  The "slow and steady wins the race" approach to getting the higher ranks kind of sucks a bit of the joy out of it.  With that said, the addition of a three-strike rule to Kudos loss (I think that's new, anyway) is much welcome, as the original game's demand of total perfection was just too much, really.  It's more comfortable this time around, and I felt like I actually understood the game better because of it.

There are some quibbles.  The way you can't get rewarded for completing a mission that's not unlocked yet often leads to a certain amount of repetition in replaying levels, and in particular it's just silly that the "defeat a level three times" missions technically require you to beat a stage four times (the first time to unlock the mission, then the required three times).  And in-stage dialogue can make it harder to tell what's going on during bosses - and while some levels were stuffed with dialogue, others seemed to lack it, to a point where I sometimes wondered if I'd somehow turned off the conversations by mistake.  The dialogue does make the game quite a bit richer, though, even if it can be either distracting or hard to pay full attention to.  The bosses, while fun, have the general problem of Mega Man bosses of often not feeling particularly connected to the plot, though - but there are some great characters in this game, with the choice of main villain a particularly wild choice.

Is the second game shorter?  I feel like it's probably about the same length as the original for the simple reason that playing both campaigns is totally obligatory; if you folded both campaigns together and eliminated repeated stages - which is padding, but I don't see how they could avoid some of it - then it'd probably be about the original's length, I assume.  Okay, so maybe I haven't actually checked, but the game felt long enough, at least.  I didn't complete all the challenges, but I completed enough to get the secret ending on both campaigns, and that's really enough for me.  I look forward to any third game they may create.

[PC the Hedgehog]

Just finished Gunvolt 2 the other night. In typical IntiCreates fashion, the game was basically more of the same (at least as far as GV's campaign was concerned), but concerning the quality of the first game, that's not really a bad thing. I appreciated the in-level dialogue, which makes the story feel more immersive, though I echo the opinions of those who find it distracting. How am I supposed to blast thorough a level and read dialogue at the same time? If the actual spoken dialogue was dubbed, it wouldn't be nearly as much a problem. This is especially true for boss battles; I wanted to read the text during the fight, but I simply couldn't do that and play the game, so I turned it off.

The story was pretty par for the course, expanding the GV world and deepening the relationships between the characters. Kinda sad to see all the characters from the first game aside from GV and Copen were pretty much abandoned, but the new characters are fun in their own way. An aspect I really liked from the first game was the ability to talk to Joule between missions, so to see they expanded that was a pleasant surprise. Every post-mission break was jam-packed with amusing interactions between GV/Copen and their companions. I loved taking a breather between levels to see what wacky antics the characters were up to; it really humanized them and made you care more about their contributions to the story.

It's obvious from the secret ending that Inti plans to churn out at least one more game, and I'm all for it. It's not a groundbreaking series by any means, but the gameplay is still just as fun as ever and the ongoing story continues to engage. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what they have planned next for GV.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Figured I’d bump this topic in the wake of Luminous Avenger Ix.

I’m just gonna say one thing for any fellow major fan of this series without spoiling: if you thought the past two games were bittersweet, this game is heartbreaking. It outdoes the Zero series in terms of tone, which is saying a lot.

Gameplay-wise: Holy Fuck this game is FUN!!!!!

[Pompadour]

Oh here's the thread! Thanks for bringing it back.

I finished my first full playthrough the day it came out, so I've had time to let it stew in my head for a bit.

The gameplay's exactly what you'd expect if you've played GV2.  Gotta say, Copen's so much fun, it might be a little hard to go back to Gunvolt once GV3 happens, haha ( well, IF it happens...). His dash mechanic is satisfying every time, and the EX Weapons are once again strong and useful in every stage. (though some are more useful than others... man, those gravity blades are like easy mode, I love them). If there's one thing I could nitpick about, it's that my inner MMZ fanatic wishes there could be just a -little- more exploration involved... but copen's gameplay isn't really built around that, so I can't really fault it this time. It's still a blast, and provides alot of replayability.

As for the Story... I'm gonna nose dive into some spoilers, so please be wary.
 

Spoiler

So from what I've heard, this is an Alternate Timeline, which is a hint I apparently missed in my initial playthrough. If that's true, then that does help improve my opinion on the overall story... because BOY once that last quarter happened, I didn't know what to think. It just upset me they'd undo everything built up in GV2 (COPEN'S SISTER WHAT), and the 100 year time skip didn't make me feel better. But if this really was a world that happened if Asimov's plans in GV1 succeeded (and not Asimov coming back because they needed a villain), then I can let it slide I think.

But I do appreciate the game's bleak atmosphere. The world really does feel desolate and depressing, with the story about the orphaned children and what we learn about the bosses. Even though I wish they could've gotten more story, I just feel for the bosses and it makes me wish we could get a "rescue" option somehow in future games... pls Inti, it's torture. At least let me save the Sheep and the Tall Robot Man =(

All in all though, iX was alot of fun and I'll be replaying it for a while. Although it's a shame GV3 hasn't started development yet, iX definitely scratched that GV itch for me well enough, so the wait won't be too bad. Here's hoping they'll be able to figure out what to do next!

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

On 10/2/2019 at 8:31 PM, Conquering Storm’s Servant said:

Figured I’d bump this topic in the wake of Luminous Avenger Ix.

I’m just gonna day one thing for any fellow major fan of this series without spoiling: if you thought the past two games were bittersweet, this game is heartbreaking. It outdoes the Zero series in terms of tone, which is saying a lot.

Gameplay-wise: Holy Fuck this game is FUN!!!!!

Is it available physically like its brethren?

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

9 hours ago, Nina Cortex Spookhexeon said:

Is it available physically like its brethren?

I think it depends. I know they have physical copies, but I couldn’t find them in any store I went to, so I downloaded it instead.

Honestly worth playing regardless, so I say it’s worth downloading otherwise.

[Pompadour]

22 hours ago, Nina Cortex Spookhexeon said:

Is it available physically like its brethren?

 

13 hours ago, Conquering Storm’s Servant said:

I think it depends. I know they have physical copies, but I couldn’t find them in any store I went to, so I downloaded it instead.

Honestly worth playing regardless, so I say it’s worth downloading otherwise.

Unlike the Striker Pack, physical copies are only available through Limited Run games this time, and last I checked they're still in production. They say they'll be available sometime this month, but I haven't heard about a release date yet, or if folks who never preordered can still get it.

This is just my opinion, but you might be best just getting the digital version if possible. The physical copy costs $35 (more than double the digital version) and as far as I know  iX's physical copy won't have any bonus content added to it. The Striker Pack also cost that much, but at least you got two games in one cart to make up for it. Definitely a good 15 dollar game, but I'm not sure if I'd go too much higher.