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Azure Striker Gunvolt 2: Thoughts and Analysis


The DanMan
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So, after announcing the game about a year ago and showing off some gameplay at Magfest a few weeks ago, Gunvolt 2 was officially revealed to the public via yesterday's Nintendo Direct and trailer. Considering I'm a big fan of the first one (and as a way to channel my hype and demonstrate my member title), I've decided to make a thread to give my thoughts on what we've seen so far as well as analyze it.

Be warned, there will be spoilers for the first game. Also, I won't go over anything that the trailer or Inti Creates themselves have already covered in detail.

Now that's out of the way, let's begin.

Gunvolt's New Design

Gunvolt.png

This was first seen at Magfest, but there were no high-quality uploads of the artwork until yesterday. As you may see, there's some obvious differences:

-Outfit is navy blue mixed with black compared to the solid blues and teals of his original design.

-Midriff is still there (the US release of the first game covered it and suggested he was wearing a skintight black bodysuit underneath), but toned down.

-His braid transitions from blonde to violet to blue; whether this is an effect of Joule now residing within him or it's just part of aging for Azure Strikers (Asimov, the only other known one, had fully blue hair- though it was an icy teal) is unknown.

Copen's New Design (yes, it's my forum avatar)

gv2_copen.jpg

-His shield is completely absent (due to Asimov damaging it in this short story from Dengeki Nintendo: http://skybanesgunvault.blogspot.com/2015/12/acuras-story-from-dengeki-nintendo.html)

-He has ditched his revolver with Carrera's powers for a lazer pistol (may have also been damaged in fight with Asimov).

-His design in general is more sleek and aerodynamic- fitting with his more aerial playstyle.

-Has an AI-controlled drone named "LoLo" (can be seen floating around by him in the picture).

Gameplay:

Gunvolt

-Judging from the press kit (can be downloaded at the bottom of this page: http://inticreates.com/azure-striker-gunvolt-2-summer-2016-3ds/),"Sub-skills" are a new gameplay addition.

-The one demonstrated in the kit was shown in the off-screen Magfest footage (many thought it was just a normal offensive skill and that they simply hadn't had time to add the cut-in); GV summons a large lightning ball, and it stays in place for several seconds.

-Sub-skills do not seem to use up SP; judging from the Magfest footage, they appear to simply have a cool-down of some sort

-Spark Calibur/Luxcalibur is back, with an edgier design (literally); the cut-in image appears to be the exact same from the first game (uses original design), and not final.

Copen

-Can air-dash for some distance in various directions.

-Can hover in-place and slow his descent while still being able to attack (not unlike Model H from the Mega Man ZX games).

-At 1:10 in the trailer, his drone fires a large energy wave diagonally downwards; I believe that may be on of Copen's sub-skills.

-Blaster appears to do significantly more damage when a target is locked on to; the press kit shows an energy beam curve and widen towards it's target in the image "Copen Marking (4)", while the image right afterwards is entitled "Copen Normal Shot", and is much less impressive.

-He can use both Flashfield and Prevasion, though the former will likely only function as an AOE-DOT attack due to Copen lacking's GV's darts (it was revealed in text in the Japanese version and subsequently shown off in concept art included in the press kit that the darts fired by GV's guns contain strands of his hair, allowing him to zap enemies from a distance)

Bosses

-Two bosses have been shown.

-The first is female, and uses her hair to attack; she appeared in the Magfest footage, and has a cut-in shown in both the Magfest footage and official trailer.

-Copen also uses her an ability based off her in the trailer; two spikes- one on each side -that can either be aimed upwards, to the side, or downward (launching Copen into the air)

-The second is male, and appears to be a puppeteer of some sort (can be seen most clearly at 1:32 in the trailer)

Miscellaneous:

-The gunship shown throughout the trailer appeared in the booklet included with the OST release as concept art along with the other three mini-bosses from the 1st game (it had no orange on it and was an overall darker blue, but nearly identical besides that).

-Looking at 0:54 in the trailer, mid-stage dialogue will not be cut from the localized release; LoLo converses with Copen about the gunship as it chases after them.

-The kudos counter is less intrusive; slightly smaller numbers, and it's spaced so that it no longer effectively blocks off the whole upper-left corner of the screen alongside the player health bar.

"Cover"/Promotional Art

Azure-Striker-Gunvolt-2_2016_03-03-16_00

-Both GV and Copen are shown.

-Joule's new design is clearly shown; looks like her original one cosplaying as Lumen and is very adorable.

-Ouka and an unnamed blue-haired boy are shown to the right.

-To the right, three unidentified female characters are shown.

-The maid is likely to be Nuwa (Copen's family's head maid/his assistant, who appeared in the Dengeki Nintendo story).

-The young blonde-haired girl is likely Copen's younger sister (mentioned in passing in the same Dengeki Nintendo story, no name given).

-And rounding out the trio is... who? Seems to have Joule's face and hair, but a more developed body and different colored eyes (purple), as well as orange butterfly wings; due to being on what's seemingly Copen's side of the art and having seemingly mechanical parts (wings, headband), the prevailing theory is that it's LoLo projecting a physical avatar.

Bosses shown:

-All seven bosses and some one else are shown at the top.

-The upper-left side shows puppeteer dude and his golemn, while the upper-right side shows hairwoman.

-Below hairwoman, there's a blue/purple enemy with spiked knees and a facial structure similiar to Viper; my guess is his powers involve super speed.

-To speed demon's right, there's a green boss who has a crown with spikes, and a vine-like protuberance on his back; I believe he will have plant-like powers.

-Moving on, there's a light-blue enemy with two robot arms on top of his shoulders, with giant spikes on the end; can't guess what his power may be, though the look of determination on his face makes me wager that he'll be the closest thing to a leader within the seven.

-To his left, there's an androgynous figure that is covered quite a bit by the other thing in the art; I'll wager that it's "Darkness" or something similiar.

-And lastly, we have Splashman. Fins? Check. Trident? Check. Angular design and fish-like helmet? Check and check.

-Lastly, "Mysterious Feminine Face". They're at the very top and literally nothing else can be gleaned about them except that they have purple eyes and very feminine facial features.

Whew. That's a lot. I'm definitely excited for this game and very interested in seeing how many of my predictions turn out true. Thoughts?

Edited by The DanMan
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It certainly interests me, and thanks for putting in the time to clarify everything, however I still need to play the first game haha ^^;

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Nice analysis ^^

Good to know the game isn't too far away either--and this time, we (hopefully) won't get it several months later in Europe.

It's gonna be cool playing as Copen, but hopefully he's not too OP. Since he can borrow boss abilities, I figure Gunvolt needs a few extra aces of his own. Maybe powers from Joule?

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Nice analysis ^^

Good to know the game isn't too far away either--and this time, we (hopefully) won't get it several months later in Europe.

It's gonna be cool playing as Copen, but hopefully he's not too OP. Since he can borrow boss abilities, I figure Gunvolt needs a few extra aces of his own. Maybe powers from Joule?

I'm thinking sub skills may be all GV's thing (the official press release says that merging with Joule has greatly increased his powers), while copy abilities will be in-place of that for Copen.

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So that's why your avatar seemed so familar to me.

Y'know, to me Gunvolt look like a blue Zero and Copen a red X, even personality wise, it's funny. It was probably done in purpose ? It's somewhat bittersweet to see a sequel, not that I hate that, no, I'm very happy, and happy for the devs too. I just really, really enjoyed the ending.

So yeah, I'm very interested in it. I wonder how Copen will fit in, his gameplay style seems to be very dynamic, difficult and awesome to handle.... He is still a dick though.

It's gonna be cool playing as Copen, but hopefully he's not too OP. Since he can borrow boss abilities, I figure Gunvolt needs a few extra aces of his own. Maybe powers from Joule?

That's something that I'm curious about too, after all... spoiler alert yalala.

Isn't he supposed to be quasi-omnipotent thanks to Joule and stuff ? Heck, the only reason Asimov had a chance was because, one, he had a weapon specially for adepts, and two, because he was an older and more experimented Azure Striker.

... I somewhat question the need of my spoilers though. So yeah, what are they going to do ?

Edited by B.Leu
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holy hell I'm so hype for this game, I loved the hell out of the first one

loving both the redesigns and designs for new characters, I'll definitely get this as soon as possible

also HOLY HELL COPEN IS PLAYABLE, THE HYPE

Edited by Draco
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alright my first and foremost concern

can we not use ridiculous made up swears this time

the use of "gack" and "jitt" was so silly it made it impossible for me to take the game seriously at times

the first game was good this will probably be good too

playing as copen looks cool too, I like how they're basically going mega man with him (which is interesting, since while gunvolt's story wasn't... fantastic, I liked the idea of the rival character essentially using mega man type powers for his own not good intentions)

although his concept art looks like he's about to sneeze or something so I can't take that seriously either

anyway, the game looks like it's gonna be good, copen looks like he's gonna be fun to play as, more jpop etc.

It certainly interests me, and thanks for putting in the time to clarify everything, however I still need to play the first game haha ^^;

well it's on sale for like 3 months so definitely consider getting it

it's good

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So hyped for the sequel, I remember buying the first game on launch day in NA, and I've poured in over 35 hours into the game (I'm quite dedicated as you can tell). Copen looks interesting, was definitely not expecting his inclusion. The idea that he can use the bosses abilities after defeating them makes me so excited, as it would be an awesome throwback to Mega Man Classic.

Oh, and I hope Joule still has a major presence, other than just boosting Gunvolt's abilities.

Edited by DragonLord
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I'm thinking sub skills may be all GV's thing (the official press release says that merging with Joule has greatly increased his powers), while copy abilities will be in-place of that for Copen.

Copen's moveset is reminding me of Axl right now. Is there a release date yet?

Also, for those who have played Gunvolt recently, did they add the content that was omitted to the 3DS version?

Edited by Rapier
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That's something that I'm curious about too, after all... spoiler alert yalala.

Isn't he supposed to be quasi-omnipotent thanks to Joule and stuff ? Heck, the only reason Asimov had a chance was because, one, he had a weapon specially for adepts, and two, because he was an older and more experimented Azure Striker.

... I somewhat question the need of my spoilers though. So yeah, what are they going to do ?

Hehe, they'll find some excuse.

Maybe he just had a temporary surge of energy or something. Or he needs time to master it.

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Copen's moveset is reminding me of Axl right now. Is there a release date yet?

Also, for those who have played Gunvolt recently, did they add the content that was omitted to the 3DS version?

Copen is making me think of Axl a bit as well, what with the focus on aerial mobility.

And no, unfortunately, they haven't put out the "Japanese Voice Mode" patch for the 3DS version. Really, it's either never going to happen or happen very soon. I'm all out of f*cks to give at this point; I've read all the cut stage dialogue, Joule convos, and translations of Japanese exclusive material. As noted in my analysis, they're not cutting stage dialogue this time; I doubt the same mistakes will be made twice.

So that's why your avatar seemed so familar to me.

Y'know, to me Gunvolt look like a blue Zero and Copen a red X, even personality wise, it's funny. It was probably done in purpose ? It's somewhat bittersweet to see a sequel, not that I hate that, no, I'm very happy, and happy for the devs too. I just really, really enjoyed the ending.

So yeah, I'm very interested in it. I wonder how Copen will fit in, his gameplay style seems to be very dynamic, difficult and awesome to handle.... He is still a dick though.

That's something that I'm curious about too, after all... spoiler alert yalala.

Isn't he supposed to be quasi-omnipotent thanks to Joule and stuff ? Heck, the only reason Asimov had a chance was because, one, he had a weapon specially for adepts, and two, because he was an older and more experimented Azure Striker.

... I somewhat question the need of my spoilers though. So yeah, what are they going to do ?

Bolded:

You would probably be to if your father was doing human testing and then got killed by one of his subjects (who's implied to have been a young Asimov).

There's a lot of supplementary material; some translated, some not.

As for the second part of your post:

Asimov was still the more powerful of the two on paper without Copen's gun (one more mark against the royal f-up that was 8-4's original translation). Joule's anthem was acting as an energy drink; she can't keep it up forever, but GV was basically on an adrenaline high during the whole fight.

alright my first and foremost concern

can we not use ridiculous made up swears this time

the use of "gack" and "jitt" was so silly it made it impossible for me to take the game seriously at times

the first game was good this will probably be good too

playing as copen looks cool too, I like how they're basically going mega man with him (which is interesting, since while gunvolt's story wasn't... fantastic, I liked the idea of the rival character essentially using mega man type powers for his own not good intentions)

although his concept art looks like he's about to sneeze or something so I can't take that seriously either

anyway, the game looks like it's gonna be good, copen looks like he's gonna be fun to play as, more jpop etc.

The goofy not-swears were 8-4's own invention; they were removed in the retranslation featured in the Steam release, and are unlikely to be making a comeback.

Also, the "story" in and of itself isn't what got me attached to the game as much as worldbuilding and character development hints in the game that were followed up on in supplementary materials. For example, Shiden/Nova's actually a pretty decent guy who's trying to do what needs to be done; he personally detests the Muse Project, but knows that there's no other way to easily regulate Adepts. (His more directly antagonistic/hammy remarks? 8-4's fault. He's actually pretty calm and distant in the Japanese version.) And Viper was shunned by society due to his innately destructive powers, so he shunned it back.

Like with Mega Man Zero, it's the world and characters that are more captivating than the actual story; what you do and don't know about them.

Edited by The DanMan
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Bolded:

You would probably be to if your father was doing human testing and then got killed by one of his subjects (who's implied to have been a young Asimov).

There's a lot of supplementary material; some translated, some not.

As for the second part of your post:

Asimov was still the more powerful of the two on paper without Copen's gun (one more mark against the royal f-up that was 8-4's original translation). Joule's anthem was acting as an energy drink; she can't keep it up forever, but GV was basically on an adrenaline high during the whole fight.

Oh I know that already, but he's an extremist dick nonetheless. An awesome one though

So basically, GV was just on Super Sayain 3/4 with the X seconds limit, huh ? That's kind of dissapointing, I liked the though of him being godtier at the end.

The goofy not-swears were 8-4's own invention; they were removed in the retranslation featured in the Steam release, and are unlikely to be making a comeback.

Also, the "story" in and of itself isn't what got me attached to the game as much as worldbuilding and character development hints in the game that were followed up on in supplementary materials. For example, Shiden/Nova's actually a pretty decent guy who's trying to do what needs to be done; he personally detests the Muse Project, but knows that there's no other way to easily regulate Adepts. (His more directly antagonistic/hammy remarks? 8-4's fault. He's actually pretty calm and distant in the Japanese version.) And Viper was shunned by society due to his innately destructive powers, so he shunned it back.

Like with Mega Man Zero, it's the world and characters that are more captivating than the actual story; what you do and don't know about them.

Wisdom, in the bolded part there is. Agree with it all, I do.

Also, irritated as all hell to see bad translation.and lack of details, like most ASG players, I was too..

Man, Yoda speak is harder than I thought, but yeah, there is so much win in your post.

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Something really minor, but in the

you can briefly see

Lumen!Joule

in the dialogue between Gunvolt and Ouka.

Already saw that; didn't really make note of it in the OP because the view given by the "cover"/promotional art is much clearer.

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  • 4 months later...

Little something they are adding to Gunvolt 2

Also I'm in progress of playing the first 1, and I quite like the game so far.

Edited by Jedi
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Also, the "story" in and of itself isn't what got me attached to the game as much as worldbuilding and character development hints in the game that were followed up on in supplementary materials. For example, Shiden/Nova's actually a pretty decent guy who's trying to do what needs to be done; he personally detests the Muse Project, but knows that there's no other way to easily regulate Adepts. (His more directly antagonistic/hammy remarks? 8-4's fault. He's actually pretty calm and distant in the Japanese version.) And Viper was shunned by society due to his innately destructive powers, so he shunned it back.

Like with Mega Man Zero, it's the world and characters that are more captivating than the actual story; what you do and don't know about them.

I also think so, but on Megaman Zero's case, I think its story was actually good. A post-apocalyptical world (that originally happened after the Eurasia Space Colony fell to the Earth and wiped most of humanity and reploids) with one safe haven that's actually a dystopia ruled by a hero of old, who apparently went insane with his mission to protect humanity, abandoned his prior idealism to machiavelically deal with an energy crisis, started hunting his own kin and prosecuting his own citizens to postpone scarcity as much as he could to keep humanity from going extinct, even if at the expense of reploid lives. Mad Max meets Fascism meets I, Robot.

also, holy shit, how did an indie game get so recognized that it got a cameo?

Edited by Rapier
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