TMMN Reviews: Azure Striker Gunvolt 3

Has it really been six years since Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 came out? Gosh, it feels like it’s only been a couple of months since the last one.

Oh yeah… right. Yeah, I guess there was that.

Well, anyway, there’s a new entry that’s out now on certain platforms, and coming to the rest in due time. So let’s dig in to this one, shall we?

“Yes, friends, the new Turbo Ginsu! It dices, it slices, and yet makes French fries in three different–“

If there’s one thing about Azure Strike Gunvolt 3 I’m uncertain about, it’s whether it should be Azure Striker Gunvolt 3.

Without getting too into the weeds with spoilers, it really feels like it could be the start to its own new series. Maybe another Gunvolt Chronicles series or something. But at the same time, a lot of it potentially makes sense. It kind of depends on how things play out in the future.

Gunvolt 3 is different. You play as a new character, Kirin, a battle priestess of Shadow Yakumo (and reminds people of this frequently), who basically moves the story along in a setting which takes place hundreds of years after the previous titles. Gunvolt is there, too, but because he’s become so powerful, he has to be kept in check, and follows you around as an electric dog-like creature. His presence is felt strongly throughout, however, as Kirin and Gunvolt talk to each other. A lot. And in English this time! If it bothers you, though then at least there are settings so you can turn off “Story Mode+,” which is where the banter plays out throughout the stage, as well as adjust other elements of its presentation if you keep it on.

“And if you don’t win at the dog show, you can zap all the judges!”

Much as I liked the previous two Azure Striker Gunvolt titles and recognized their quality, I have to admit: Gunvolt’s style of play never quite 100 percent clicked with me. This would be solved by his rival, Copen, who would go on to have his own series that I’m quite fond of. And now, Kirin brings a new style to the mix that seems to combine the best of Gunvolt and Copen. Admittedly, though, it took me a while to latch on to this.

In the previous entries, your basic attack with the face button most Mega Man fans would associate with basic attacks would fire metal projectiles into enemies that Gunvolt could then electrify with his Flashfield attack, activated with a press of the right shoulder button/trigger. In Gunvolt 3, Kirin uses talisman fetters in the place of the projectiles, which make enemies more vulnerable to her attacks. As before, you can follow up by pressing the right shoulder button/trigger, but instead of a homing attack like the Flashfield, she attacks with her sword.

I’m not going to lie, it felt weird to perform sword attacks using the shoulder button, at least initially. But I got used to it, and as the game progressed, Kirin gained additional sword attacks in a style that Zero would surely approve of. And for a time, I thought this was basically how things were done, and wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it.

Spoiler: It’s Kirin who’s boss.

Turns out I was doing it wrong. I mean, kind of. You can do it however you want, but for me, it was doing it wrong.

A stage or two into the game, you get a new ability: Arc Chain. And let me tell you, this made all the difference for me. Initially, I thought it was just something to get around the stages with, but oh no. The Arc Chain is so much more. To me, the Arc Chain became the game.

See, tagging enemies with fetters does make them more vulnerable to your sword, but it also marks them as a striking point for the Arc Chain, which sees Kirin move as quick as a flash to their position and strike. Tag multiple enemies, and she basically bounces from one to the next, striking them down in succession, and gaining extra mid-air jumps in the process.

You see the way some people are able to handle it, and the potential is just awe-inspiring.

I love Kirin so much #gunvolt #gunvolt3 #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/IVhh3HILOA

— Gir0 ? (@TakamishiGiro) September 8, 2022

I’m nowhere near that good — I finished most stages with a B rank early on, and moved up to A ranks by the end — but I still caught on well enough to have a blast just moving around. Once I figured out that the Arc Chain should be your main attack, rather than your sword, everything clicked and it became a whole new game to me.

Not even gonna touch this one. You’re on your own, GV.

If you choose, you can play as Gunvolt as well, in his old human form. However, his time is limited, though it can be extended to a degree. But there’s pretty much a good reason for that.

Gunvolt is god mode.

Remember how cool it felt to switch from X in his default form to the beefy tank that was Zero in Mega Man X3? Using Gunvolt here is like that, times a hundred-thousand.

He has no life or energy gauge, other than the fetter gauge which limits how long you can remain as him. His attack powers are immense, and he possesses infinite jumping ability in the air — he can basically fly, for all intents and purposes.

I mean, we could try waiting for the lights to turn green. Didja ever think of that? No. Because you’re a dog.

The story and characters really endeared themselves to me here as well. Basically, adepts have begun losing control of their powers and become “Primal Dragons,” and it’s your job to track them down and put a stop to their trouble making ways. And to be honest, I found more of these boss characters here more endearing than a lot of the ones in previous titles. Between this and Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2, I don’t know if there’s been a shift in how Inti handles these guys, but I’m liking it.

Which is good, because a number of them join your side in the early part of the game! They want to atone for their misdeeds, and basically go to work for Kirin. There’s a little kid gamer who wants to be a manly man and says “Hell yeah!” a lot, a kind of goofy slacker who you can still count on when needed, a guy who is really into office etiquette and worker’s rights, and a kind of meathead jock with a heart of gold. The descriptions here really don’t do them justice; they all have their foibles, sure, but they’re good people deep down.

And the actual villains of the story… well, I don’t want to give too much away, but I liked them by the end as well.

What makes it even cooler is that your allies in the “Dragon Saviors” take one of the better pages from Mighty No. 9‘s book, and show up to help you in different ways during stages. Honestly, the way they’re set up, I really wish that the other Saviors were playable characters, but alas — nothing in the core game, and by the look of things, that’s not on Inti’s update roadmap.

“In the name of the Moon, I will cleave you in two! –what, whaddaya mean that’s not how it goes?!”

As much new as there is going on, there’s some old and familiar stuff, too. Graphics are basically what you’ve come to expect from the series, as is the sound, albeit now with the addition of English language voices, which I thought were pretty good. Kudos are a thing to collect for a higher score and ranking, and getting enough in a row brings Lumen out to supercharge you as you keep going. And I’m happy to say that I think she showed up more from that than me falling into a pit or dying in this one, too!

Image Pulses replace the equipment and skills from previous games, and are kind of gacha-based here. You basically gather the Image Chips found in a stage and complete the mission, Gunvolt remembers someone random from his past or present for each one you get (from a select pool based on different factors, such as stage and difficulty level), and they’re either added to your inventory or swapped for credits that can be used to power certain ones up. Additional Image Chips can be earned through other methods as well.

Skills call in the character of choice for a quick attack, buff, or other maneuver (Black Badge’s flying across the top of the screen and dropping items is very reminiscent of the Rush Charger from Mega Man 8). Passive Image Pulses tend to enhance your stats, such as higher jumping or experience boosts, and Song Image Pulses are different songs Lumen will perform when she comes out with enough Kudos.

That’s not how you dab with one arm, Kirin.

I’m not sure what else to say about the game at this point, at least without breaking things down on a more specific level and taking away some of the surprise and pleasure of playing it yourself. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I really enjoyed the whole experience here, and while I’ve finished the game, I’ve by no means done everything, so there’s still plenty left to do for those who want it.

I mentioned at the top of this review not being sure whether this game should bear the number “3” in its title, but quality has nothing to do with that. In my personal opinion, it meets and even exceeds the quality of what came before it, making it not only worthy of bearing the number, but perhaps even warranting its own series.

Oh, and if you’re new to the whole Gunvolt experience, or maybe earlier entries weren’t quite doing it for you? This honestly is not a bad jumping-on point. In fact, it’s a pretty damn good one, at that.

If you’re still uncertain and would like a second opinion, then ShadowRock ZX has a video review of his own, and you can find that here. And for more information, you can always check out the official website.

Thanks for reading!

Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 is available now on the Nintendo Switch (version reviewed), Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X for a price of $29.99 USD, with PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 coming on December 15th, 2022 and and Steam on PC sometime in Winter 2022. A review code was provided by Inti Creates.