Azure Striker Gunvolt made its North American 3DS debut last week. Being the next handheld title from Inti Creates, I expected Gunvolt to act as a spiritual successor to Mega Man Zero- I was wrong, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Azure Striker Gunvolt comes from Japanese development studio Inti Creates, the same team behind the Mega Man Zero series and the PS3 light-shooter Gal Gun (also seen as “Galgun”). Backed with support from legendary game designer Keiji Inafune, Gunvolt is a 2D side-scrolling action game, drawing from the Mega Man [Zero] titles and other classic titles. While some of the character design and and stages may be reminiscent of Inti’s previous games, Gunvolt’s gameplay and story are a completely different breed of animal.
The world of Gunvolt is home to Adepts- individuals who possess psychic abilities. The Sumeragi Group conglomerate rose to power with the promise bringing peace and order by “supervising” all Adepts within Sumeragi’s own shelters…with “shelters” actually being concentration camps and laboratories for cruel experimentation. The pro-Adept group QUILL was created as an armed resistance to protect and liberate captured psychics from Sumeragi’s control. After a particular mission went sour, one of QUILL’s operatives- Gunvolt- left the resistance in order to pursue Sumeragi on his own terms.
Even after watching the gameplay preview videos featuring Inafune, I went into Azure Striker Gunvolt thinking it would play somewhat like Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero or Mega Man ZX….While the spirit is there, Gunvolt isn’t your typical run-to-the-right-and-shoot-stuff game. The first thing that I noticed was that my gun did very little damage against enemies…then again, that’s not its true purpose. It took me a while to put two-and-two together, but Gunvolt’s…uh, guns, are for tagging enemies and objects on the screen, not destroying them. His true ability is the Azure Striker, a sphere of lightning and psionic energy. Once the Azure Striker is used, lighting will simultaneously hit all objects and enemies on the screen. This sounds like an overpowered technique, but it operates on cool-down; the Azure Striker can be used for approximately 5 sec. before Gunvolt overheats. In my quest to find secrets in the latter stages, I discovered that the Azure Striker has another ability not explained in the game itself; using Gunvolt’s psychic ability in the air will slow his descent. In doing this, I was able to avoid long strings of lasers and bullets (a crucial tactic) and cross longer gaps that can’t be cleared with a normal jump or dash-jump.
Unless there were some hidden requirements that I didn’t meet, Gunvolt doesn’t receive a new weapon after defeating each Sumeragi Adept. During the course of my playthrough, I obtained 5 different functions for my gun, with the Orochi being the win-cannon. After leveling up a few times, I gained new psionic abilities, including the insanely powerful Luxcalibur sword, and the super-charged electrical Astrasphere, and a few others that allowed me to recover health and energy for the Azure Striker. Gunvolt himself has a few customization options, as upgrade items can be crafted from parts found within each stage, or won in the post-level Bonus Chance mini-game. These included the likes of a double and triple jump, a faster energy recharge, and the ability to attract items from around the stage.
There’s no denying that Azure Striker Gunvolt is hard- outright sadistic towards the end. An Adept that Gunvolt befriends at the start of the game, [which ultimately sets the plot into motion,] can manifest her psychic energy into a muse- Lumen. Upon death, Lumen’s song- “Reincarnation“- will bring Gunvolt back to life, complete with an infinite Azure Striker, and an infinite jump. This mode lasts until the stage is completed, or Gunvolt is defeated a second time. While I thought this felt somewhat “broken”, as it negates many of the difficulties of each stage (i.e. you can essentially skip entire segments just by infinitely jumping), Lumen’s song only activated twice during my run. Of the many deaths that I endured, Lumen brought me back to life at the end of the first Sumeragi level, and during the final boss…which given the situation, didn’t make much sense. Regardless, it’s an interesting game-changer, much like a player-controlled version of the Super Guide from Donkey Kong Country Returns.
Gunvolt’s character designs are fantastic, especially those of the Sumeragi Adepts. Strangely, for a game that has so many story elements, the Sumeragi agents have very little screen-time or presence in the overall story. It’s a shame, because a ton of thought clearly went into each individual boss- from the commanding Carrera and his soldier-like posture, to the seemingly helpless Elise and her maniacal alternate form. Even Gunvolt’s rival is designed to clash with the protagonist (Gunvolt is blue and black, Copen is white and red), but his role and complete motives are only hinted at briefly in the game. Copen is a rogue hunter of all Adepts, and possesses the ability to replicate psychic abilities from stolen Adept DNA samples. He’s a powerful force, but considering how much effort went into fleshing out Gunvolt, Copen only serves as a washed-out version of Proto Man.
Azure Striker Gunvolt is a fantastic title, let alone a fantastic digital title. My beef with Inti’s new game resides within character development: With the Mega Man titles, a scientist creates a series of robots who either help or completely loathe humanity; with Gunvolt, we have an established world where individuals possess supernatural abilities, only to find themselves imprisoned by a menacing corporation. With Mega Man, we have “robot saves humanity by defeating other robots”; Gunvolt is “superhuman individual takes on an entire conglomerate, while dealing with the questionable ethics and politics of society”. There is plenty of room to flesh out the other characters, especially the Sumeragi Group Adepts. Why did they join? What are their personal motives? Why favor “order” over “freedom”? So much more can be done with this title, and I believe Inti Creates sees the potential of this IP.
Azure Striker Gunvolt is an excellent new take on the side-scrolling genre. I only hope that it’s not a closed title, but the opening of a brand new adventure from Inti Creates.
