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Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 Review


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5894ae7face7e_AzureStrikerGunvolt2logo.jpeg.b577e152bd1be2b2cd09862f0ba81ad6.jpegInti Creates delivers a sequel to their 2014 side-scroller with Azure Striker Gunvolt 2. Like the first game this is a fast-paced action game in the style of games like Mega Man Zero, with a particular emphasis on not just surviving a level but playing well to earn a high score. Although the game plays it safe by changing little from the first game, the addition of a new playable character helps spice up the action.
 
ASG2 directly follows the events of the first game. Gunvolt successfully defeated the Sumeragi group and broke away from the resistance group QUILL, but continues to work with Joule to maintain peace. A new threat arises though, one that again seeks to control adepts like Gunvolt and destroy humanity. Several characters from the first game return including Copen, a human with a grudge against adepts, along with a few new characters. It's a real struggle to find yourself caring about any of them, though. ASG2 has a soap opera vibe, where every interaction has the characters' emotions raised to eleven, but it's hard to feel connected to any of them. It doesn't help that the game throws so much information at you at the beginning of the game that it's overwhelming to try to make sense of it. In the end you aren't missing anything valuable if you skip through every cutscene you can.
 
5894ae802a050_AzureStrikerGunvolt2Copen.jpeg.17e0819d6e5f5e63a595775ebad3b58f.jpegIn the first game you played only as Gunvolt, but ASG2 adds a new layer to the gameplay by giving Copen an entire storyline as well. While Gunvolt has all the same moves as the first game, Copen offers an entirely different playstyle, which is refreshing. Gunvolt still uses the unique tagging/lightning attack system which requires you to balance your offense and defense at any given moment. Copen, meanwhile, is far more mobile and doesn't sacrifice defense in order to attack. Copen can dash into enemies to lock onto them then fire his gun from any angle. This gives his storyline an even more fast and fluid sense of action than Gunvolt, who is already pretty quick on his feet. Additionally, Copen takes a page out of Mega Man's handbook by gaining the power of defeated bosses. In this case boss weapons act as sub-weapons, so you never have to stop dashing about to switch to these attacks. In a way it does seem more old-fashioned since it's similar to Mega Man, but it also offers a lot of variety in terms of attacks, even more than Gunvolt. Copen may be an obnoxious character in the story but his gameplay is an excellent addition to ASG2.
Like the first game there is more of an emphasis on playing well than just surviving to the end of the stage. There are hazards and challenges certainly but both Gunvolt and Copen have auto-dodge abilities so you can focus more on earning a high score than surmounting obstacles. In addition the stage design itself is not wildly complex or challenging, but maintaining a score multiplier makes the game more interesting.

Synthesizing equipment is also carried over from the first game, and once again the game expects you to replay levels repeatedly in order to collect the necessary materials. Equipment is definitely useful to have but the repetition feels a bit unnecessary. At the very least each stage is fairly short, though. And in the same vein there are challenges that you can complete to earn more equipment, but these also require replaying each stage. The worst part though is that they don't stack and only unlock one at a time, i.e. there might be a challenge to complete a stage in under 11 minutes and completing it unlocks a new challenge to complete a stage in under 7 minutes. Even if you were under 7 minutes the first time you have to replay the stage again to make it count. It's nice that there are replay incentives in ASG2 but this is excessive, and seems to be trying to cover the fact that the game is a little light on content.
 
5894ae809c910_AzureStrikerGunvolt2Gunvolt.jpeg.1ea12334c2cf5db99f7facc638f11f83.jpegThe controls are pretty basic, even given Gunvolt's unusual combat style. It's not hard to pick up the game and jump straight into the action. Copen feels a tiny bit more clumsy only due to his diagonal dashes which sometimes feel inconsistent, but it's rarely a problem. Both characters have some touch screen use as well to activate skills or sub-weapons, and N3DS owners can just use ZL and ZR to switch Copen's sub-weapons which is handy.

ASG2's presentation is very much the same as its predecessor. The sprite artwork is nice and the environments have a classic side-scroller feel to them but at the same time they are completely unmemorable. The basic enemies are fairly bland as well, and although the bosses have more interesting and unique designs they also lack that spark of style that makes character designs memorable in other games. The music is in the same boat: serviceable, but nothing stands out about it. And although ASG2 includes voice acting it's only in Japanese, so for most players it won't be that helpful especially during gameplay when you can't really spare the time to read dialogue boxes and attack enemies. Somewhat nonsensically these dialogue box portraits cover part of the screen, so you might lose track of enemies while characters are talking. Thankfully this can be turned off, which is massively helpful during boss fights when the screen is static.
 
This game is roughly the same length as the first: five hours or so will see you through both Gunvolt and Copen's stories. Technically that makes the game shorter though, since both characters play through some of the same levels, but regardless you're getting about the same amount of content. ASG2 also includes a score attack mode with an online leaderboard to further emphasize its focus on high scores, if the high score trackers within the main game aren't enough for you. ASG2 even has amiibo support for Shovel Knight, whom you can fight with both characters to unlock bonus equipment. It's always fun to see Shovel Knight pop up in another game and the amiibo use here feels appropriate–it's a nice bonus but not so critical that it punishes players without the amiibo.
 
Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 is everything its predecessor was and only a bit more. Copen does offer a fresh way to play and can be more fun to play as at times thanks to his emphasis on mobility, but the core of this game is really just another Azure Striker Gunvolt experience. That's great if you already loved the first game's side-scrolling action, but if you were on the fence this game won't really change anything significant.
 
Rating: 7 out of 10 Stars
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One of my favorite things about the first game, oddly enough, wasn't even the game: it was Mighty Gunvolt. It was the old school take on the game, with retro-inspired graphics. The Dark Void Zero to Dark Void, if you will. I'd totally play a Mighty Gunvolt 2, if they decide to revisit that style.

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