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Azure Striker Gunvolt Discussion (Nintendo 3DS) [game]
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8.13/10 from 6 user ratings |
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Welcome to the official discussion thread for Azure Striker Gunvolt on the 3DS!
To start, please add this game to your log, add it to your collection (if applicable), and (when you are ready) rate it using the link above!
Anyone give this a shot yet? I've played for about an hour and a half, and I've cleared five stages. I think I'm just under halfway through the game. And it's good! It feels a lot like Mega Man Zero/ZX in movement, with a few exceptions: Gunvolt's dash is continuous and, while he can wall-kick, he doesn't slide down walls slowly, making wall scaling a bit treacherous. The tag-and-zap attacking style feels pretty fresh, too. Tag up to three enemies with the buster, then hold out an electrical field that saps away their health (and reduces Gunvolt's falling speed when in the air). This also plays into the game's combo/points system, which also has a risk/reward dynamic where you can keep building a combo throughout each stage, but you have to bank the points at a checkpoint (or by using a super attack) before you get hit or you'll lose them all. Other thoughts: - Stages are very linear and selected from a menu. Can't say I miss the open worlds from Mega Man Zero and ZX at all. - The sprites are fairly detailed while also being somewhat small. It can be a bit tough discern characters and objects when the game is moving quick. - The story is sort of thin, yet still feels overwrought somehow. And the tone of the game is kind of hard to pin down, but it's definitely not the cheerful fun of Mega Man. - It's also got a bit of customization, with EXP-based HP upgrades and equippable gear to craft that tweaks Gunvolt's movement. - Difficulty seems pretty forgiving so far, other than one stage where I was underwater for some time and I think that was slowly draining my health? I didn't quite figure that out. - Bosses are pretty good so far, they each have a unique feel to their attacks and patterns. URL to share (right click and copy)
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08/30/14, 06:26 Edited: 08/30/14, 06:45
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I'm enjoying Gunvolt a lot. It's a unique twist on Megaman X style gameplay. Playing this simultaneously with X3 has been interesting.
In both games, you have to damage enemies while carefully dodging their attacks. In X3 this is done by shooting enemies in-between evading their attacks. You have to move around in every direction to avoid taking damage, but you still have to match their vertical placement and turn and face them in order for your shots to hit and deal damage. This can be frustrating at times, because there are some scenarios where it feels like you have to bite the bullet and take a hit in order to land a good shot, otherwise you get caught in a cycle of dodging, shooting, and missing. Your focus on skillfully avoiding their attacks is interrupted by the need to deal damage. After all, if an enemy is standing on the ground and you want to shoot at them, you have to plant your feet, turn, and face them. This limits you movement to either standing still or moving towards the enemy. These are two things you don't want to do in a shootout. This is especially true in the boss fights. You get this graceful and rewarding cat and mouse chase by dodging the boss's attacks that is frequently interrupted by having to match the boss's vertical location and face him, which oftentimes causes you to get hit because you've now exited this state of graceful evasion. It make collecting the upgrades feel mandatory instead of voluntary. Once you expand your life bar or get the body armor, having to take damage in order to output damage is more bearable because you don't die so quickly.
In Gunvolt, you have to match the enemy's vertical placement and face them only once. After you tag that enemy, you can continuously damage them and can focus 100% on the fun of dodging enemy attacks. You don't have to worry about charging your gun like in the X series. Gunvolt's weapon fires rapidly and it only takes 3 tags to reach maximum damage, meaning that you can very quickly shift from worrying about a good shot to moving evasively. You don't have to worry about matching the enemy's vertical placement or halting your movement any more because you've already tagged them and can output damage almost passively. The scoring system is designed to encourage players to engage in skillful maneuvering. It emphasizes tagging multiple enemies and avoiding taking damage entirely. Again, this is doubly true for bosses. Because tagging is so quick and dealing damage isn't contingent on your location relative to the enemy's or the direction you are facing, bosses become a test of your ability to quickly move around the screen and predict and respond to their attacks. When bosses are nearly defeated they will execute attacks where there are so many bullets and lasers on screen that you can't possibly match their vertical location without taking damage. If you've already tagged that boss, you can place your focus entirely on evading their barrage of attacks while still damaging them and progressing the fight. It's no coincidence that the same ability that damages the enemy is the one that makes Gunvolt fall slower. This is done to make damaging the enemy also provide you an evasive boost.
That's not to say that I dislike X3. There are plenty of instances where what I've said about that game doesn't entirely apply. That is to say, there are some well designed and fun enemies and bosses in that game. As a whole, I like X3. And Gunvolt also isn't without its share of flaws either. This is simply a comparison of two approaches to enemy design. And in that regard, I feel that Gunvolt is superior. |
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Mighty Gunvolt is pretty neat. I'm pleasantly surprised, actually. It has five levels based on the games its three playable characters come from. So far, I've only beaten the game as Beck, who is functionally a clone of Mega Man. And, suitably so, the game feels very much like a Mega Man title. The music, level design, enemy attack patterns, and graphics would all feel right at home in a classic Mega Man game. It's way more polished and smooth than one might expect. I have yet to try the other two characters, but they should give this game some nice replay value. As a freebie included with a $15 dollar game, it's great. But as a standalone game for 4 or 5 bucks... it's still not bad. Like I said, there are only 5 levels, but there's a good chance you'll feel compelled to beat the game with all three of the different characters. If you're considering buying this game, I'd say go for it if you already have Gunman Clive and don't hate the idea of short games.
Or you could get it for free with Gunvolt. The final boss is a cool surprise for people who've played that game. |
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