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Azure Striker Gunvolt |OT| thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
You can keep going into the boss fight as well and use a super move for the final blow to cash in as late as possible.
Oh wow, I didn't know that. I just figured it'd count your score once you finished the stage. I'll have to remember this. I assume this is how you get a S+ rank?
 
Game's hot!
Forgot to re-activate the S+ Rank Target Challenge...lol

You... do know there's one more ranking (SS) that you need to achieve, right? Tissues are to the left, next to the security blankets that you might also want. But seriously, good job.

I'm almost through the game and I'm really digging it. I was a bit concerned with the word of mouth it was getting, but I'm glad I took the risk. I just kinda wish I invested in a 3DS XL since mashing L to sprint on the Vanilla 3DS is re-opening some of the Kid Icarus: Uprising trauma from long ago.

On the surface it seems like a pretty good Mega Man-esque spinoff but it turns brilliant once you realize that the game's philosophy is based off of all those Mega Man X/Zero no-hit speed runs. The levels themselves are really tight and the enemy placement really takes advantage of the little tricks the Kudos system has you learn in order to maximize your score. Enemy design also takes a cue from this as you never really face too huge a variety of enemies, but they're all predictable, easily recognizable, and completely prepared to slap you on the ass once you get too complacent and stop focusing on what you're doing. Bosses are the same, where they have really flashy moves that have noticeable tells and are countered in very specific - but easily repeatable - ways. It kinda makes me think this is what a 2-D Platinum game would be like, where the real meat of the game comes from replaying the stages in order to improve your mastery of the mechanics, level and enemy design.

I'm a little disappointed with the weapon variety, though. There really only seems to be two weapons worth using since every other weapon either doesn't have enough lock-ons to make them work well or the disadvantages are so harsh that it isn't worth using over the easier guns. Hopefully they go back and tweak some of the weapons, since I really dig the underlying idea of being able to significantly change your playstyle to suit the level.

Also, what do you guys believe are the most useful accessories to use? I haven't really been paying attention to them outside of the odd "Conserve EP" contact lenses and I'd like to see if tweaking my loadout would help with getting higher ranks.
 
I've been double tapping to dash specifically because I ruined a DS Lite's L button using it to dash constantly in the MMZ collection, and considering how often I dash, I don't want to take any chances.
 
Damnit, i clicked past the sales receipt in excitement and missed the download option for mighty gunvolt, anyone know how to download it?

EDIT: Found it, can view receipts under account activity.
 

NolbertoS

Member
Loving. the game. Plays exactly like Megaman ZX, which I shouldn't be surprised. Beat 4 bosses on my first try so far. Thought they would be harder, but I guess, playing Megaman ZX, the boss fights are a piece of cake :p. i also missed downloading mighty gunvolt, will have to go back and download that too.
 

Gu4n

Member
Not sure whether the game is just accessible, or easy because its difficulty pales in comparison to Mega Man's, but it's tons of fun. The soundtrack is rather bland, though.
 

PsionBolt

Member
So there's an attack that the final boss does that can only be dodged by double jumping. This is dumb because it is entirely possible to get to that point without the double jump, which is locked behind the chance based crafting system. So I had to just tank the attack with the auto-dodge accessory you start with, which is incredibly unsatisfying.

All of Nova's attacks can be dodged without using a double jump or prevasion. I just did it. Took me a few goes, but I managed eventually.
 

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
Wait, there's a way to avoid those portal traps in the blue stage? & ugh, that rising water part...
 

Yuterald

Member
You... do know there's one more ranking (SS) that you need to achieve, right? Tissues are to the left, next to the security blankets that you might also want. But seriously, good job.

You sure there's something higher than S+? No other challenge unlocked after earning the S+ one. Also, not sure if what I was reading on GameFaqs was true, but I believe they changed the SS rank to S+ in the NA version. I guess we need some clarification.
 
So there's an attack that the final boss does that can only be dodged by double jumping. This is dumb because it is entirely possible to get to that point without the double jump, which is locked behind the chance based crafting system. So I had to just tank the attack with the auto-dodge accessory you start with, which is incredibly unsatisfying.

all attacks from final boss are dodge-able without specific equipments though. You may want to pay some attention to the sound he makes before launching his attack. they are unique so its pretty much easy to tell which attack hes going to do next
 

Videoneon

Member
Not sure whether the game is just accessible, or easy because its difficulty pales in comparison to Mega Man's, but it's tons of fun. The soundtrack is rather bland, though.

Music wise, the standouts are Sinner's Row and Subaquatic Base IMO. I want to say the Catacombs had good music too but I can't remember the main melody, so =\

edit: beat fortress level 2 a while ago, that had good music

also,
copen and nova first form had good music
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Spoiler question about ending content:

Can any explain what the 4 post game stages are after the true ending? Are they actually new, or have bosses?
 
Spoiler question about ending content:

Can any explain what the 4 post game stages are after the true ending? Are they actually new, or have bosses?

Map layout is like the combination of several stages. You will re-fight old bosses at the end. Overall nothing completely new except that enemies placement is different and there is no check point
 
all attacks from final boss are dodge-able without specific equipments though. You may want to pay some attention to the sound he makes before launching his attack. they are unique so its pretty much easy to tell which attack hes going to do next

Including the black wave that's higher than you can jump?
 
You sure there's something higher than S+? No other challenge unlocked after earning the S+ one. Also, not sure if what I was reading on GameFaqs was true, but I believe they changed the SS rank to S+ in the NA version. I guess we need some clarification.

Yeah, I dunno either. I thought there was an SS rank since the challenge thing says "S+ rank or higher" but after sifting through GameFAQs for a bit I'm starting to doubt myself. Ah well, it's not like we need more ranks anyways.

A question though (SPOILERS):
Does anyone know how to beat those red walker-robots that you fight in the final stages without getting hit? The fact that their missiles shoot beams when you destroy them is already kind of bull, but the hopping along with its gatling/beam combo is just too nuts for me to wrap my head around. S-ranking those stages seems like a pipe dream.
 
Including the black wave that's higher than you can jump?

That's why I said you need to pay attention to the what's the boss saying before launching the attack (although it's in Japanese but it's still easy to recognize anyway). If you are on the left side, just do a normal jump. If you are on the middle or the right, quickly do dash jump to the left. The key is to get moving before the black wave shows up and rises higher than your normal jump.
 
Yeah, I dunno either. I thought there was an SS rank since the challenge thing says "S+ rank or higher" but after sifting through GameFAQs for a bit I'm starting to doubt myself. Ah well, it's not like we need more ranks anyways.

A question though (SPOILERS):
Does anyone know how to beat those red walker-robots that you fight in the final stages without getting hit? The fact that their missiles shoot beams when you destroy them is already kind of bull, but the hopping along with its gatling/beam combo is just too nuts for me to wrap my head around. S-ranking those stages seems like a pipe dream.

I didn't bother trying for s rank, but here what I did to get no hit:
The key is staying right besides it.
1. When it starts firing these homing missile, just slowly walk away to the left and jump at the end to completely avoid the missiles - I would recommend using double jump in case you don't bother trying to get the timing right
2.for the gatling & beam combo,when you see he put his gun down, just do a normal jump, avoid using flashfield during the jump as it will get you stay in the air a bit longer and you will get hit by the beam for sure
 

Videoneon

Member
Viper was the hardest boss by far.

My personal ranking of boss difficulty, from easiest to most difficult (by color, the names escape me):

Blue -> Purple -> Green -> Orange -> Yellow -> Red

I just took care of Orange/Carrera earlier. I thought he was easy. Straightforward attacks, easy to understand pattern, doesn't take up space.

Basically I would rank the difficulty similar to how the stage select is shown in-game. The bosses towards the top are easy (Blue and Orange), while the ones towards the bottom are harder or weird to fight (Red and Yellow). Green and Purple are sort of moderate for me in comparison, they take up space in a way that can be irritating. Jota is a straightforward boss, but he is fast and has fast attacks, generally he can be overwhelming more than some of the other bosses

I would rank it:

Carrera > Merak > Elise > Jota
Stratos > Viper (the pillars make this fight more demanding)

Also, I like the stage gimmicks in this game. The only not memorable one was the Media Tower stage, and a little bit of the same applies to the Biochem Plant
 
I didn't bother trying for s rank, but here what I did to get no hit:
The key is staying right besides it.
1. When it starts firing these homing missile, just slowly walk away to the left and jump at the end to completely avoid the missiles - I would recommend using double jump in case you don't bother trying to get the timing right
2.for the gatling & beam combo,when you see he put his gun down, just do a normal jump, avoid using flashfield during the jump as it will get you stay in the air a bit longer and you will get hit by the beam for sure

Thanks for the tips. I'm more concerned with getting things done in the other stages at the moment, but I'll keep what you recommended in mind when I try that stage again. Thanks dude!
 

Canon

Banned
I like this more than any Mega Man.

I also liked Gunman Clive and Shovel Knight more than any Mega Man. They're a bit more forgiving.
 

Videoneon

Member
Does anyone has any tips for the boss
with the Hoodie?

I just want to say that the battle isn't so demanding that you have to follow everything I"m about to write, but I want to give you as many tips as possible. Anyway.

Start the battle by tagging him immediately.

He always does this:

Start walking forward slowly, shooting his pistol
then
one or two
copied techniques
then pistol.

The pistol shots, I believe if you jump towards the boss before one shot hits you, you can time it so that you'll jump over two shots, and then repeat this again immediately two more times because he fires six shots. The timing for this is tight but can be easily committed to memory. You may elect to just jump behind him once he starts firing his pistol. if you do not jump behind him, he walks towards the center of the screen and you have to deal with what I mentioned earlier. If you do jump behind him, he'll turn around. Once he either turns around or reaches the center of the screen, he'll usually dash into you. It's preferable that you don't jump behind him because you get slightly more mileage for your Flashfield, but if you want to play it safe and not deal with the timing of the pistol, just jump behind him.

The attacks he performs next vary
based on who you've fought

Merak: A really baby version of Lazy Lazer. Easy to dodge. If your tag is still active, this is an opportune time to Flashfield him, as you don't have an opportunity to tag him while he's using this attack.

Carrera: Fires three magnetic shot things at a time, pauses for a bit, then fires another volley of three. DO NOT GET HIT. It will disable your Flashfield. You can dash jump over each set of three. You can tag him while he's doing this attack I think.

Jota: I kinda forget, I think he sends out one laser drone that shoots low to the ground (don't bother attacking it, just watch where it points and evade) and then sounds out one of those light drills. Use the Flashfield to derail the green light drill thing. Somewhere in this set of attacks, you may get rushed by the boss - either before or after the drill. Anyway, focus on evasion to be safe.

Elise: The petrification stare. Just look in the opposite direction of the boss. You can get away with tagging and damage.

Viper: Fires three Angry Bombs straight. They don't always start to explode in the same place, but they always explode in even distance intervals. This is a short attack so even if you try to Flashfield you won't get too much damage in, but if you're feeling confident go for it.

Stratos: Bees. Flashfield. This is very straightforward but will screw you over if you don't have enough charge, so you may want to charge really fast before he uses this attack. If you don't have enough charge, run to opposite side of the screen and recharge

Once you're more confident in the battle, be more aggressive with your tagging, I can't remember offhand when all of the tagging opportunities are available. His pattern is pretty rigid once you become more comfortable, but at first when you're fighting him it's tempting to just go aggro mode.

At least that was the case when I fought him at first. I used to get hit too often and/or get my Azure Striker disabled, then I wouldn't get the opportunities I wanted to study his pattern (like the pistol), so I just did whatever and got frustrated

Good luck!
 

zroid

Banned
Just tried the first mission and the game is such a blast to play. Seems like something you would want to keep retrying over and over just because it feels so good.
 

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
Huh, so if you open the hatch up in Pharma Lab & use the Mizuchi weapon to fire down the center of the hole 5 times, you get some kind of item that instantly raises your Kudos to 1,000.
 

Videoneon

Member
Huh, so if you open the hatch up in Pharma Lab & use the Mizuchi weapon to fire down the center of the hole 5 times, you get some kind of item that instantly raises your Kudos to 1,000.

I got something similar in the Stratocombs (instant 1000 kudos) but I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I think I destroyed one of the guiding light robots about midway into the stage or something. I still have no clue, I'll have to replay the stage.
 
So what exactly ended up being all the changes/cut content in the English version?

Altered MC design, no voice acting, and no text dialogue during stages? Is that correct?
 

Vamphuntr

Member
I beat the game in 3 hours and half and got all the jewels. I didn't like it much, I wanted more a MM game than what I paid for. The sprites are beautiful and the backgrounds of the stages are really good. Animations are really nice too. The only good part of the soundtrack is the songs you get when you reach 1000 kudos;

I felt the levels overstayed their welcome and were way too long. They are long and mostly without challenge so they feel boring. The game is really easy too. Outside of the final boss most of the stages and bosses aren't really difficult.

I guess like people said before that it's a great game if you enjoy beating your high score and such but for a simple action game play through it was really boring to me and I'm not a fan of score/time attack game.
 

tm24

Member
I got something similar in the Stratocombs (instant 1000 kudos) but I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I think I destroyed one of the guiding light robots about midway into the stage or something. I still have no clue, I'll have to replay the stage.

OK did this too and i thought i bugged out the game. It was definitely destroying the guiding light robots but i havent been able to replicate it at all.

EDIT: Found this that says stuff : http://www61.atwiki.jp/gunvolt2ch/pages/90.html

So trying to clear the first wave of challenges. Whats the best way to dash past the shutters?
 

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
What's the best stage/s to get the material in order to do both an air dash & double jump? I really want to air dash, but at the moment, I'm only using double jumps.

& how does one unlock more music in the store? Seems I only have Beyond the Blue at the moment.
 

PsionBolt

Member
It's very rare for me to say something like this, but I have to admit that I love this game's style almost as much as its actual content. The menus, the special move cut-ins, and most of all the pre-mission load screens are just so cool. The mission names and descriptions remind me of the PS1 Mega Man X games, but extra absurd and stupidly awesome.
Mission: Hostage said:
A ghost from the past catches Joule off guard. Gunvolt speeds to the rescue like a bolt of azure justice...
Tha's right. I'm justice. And not just any old justice - azure justice. Yeah, take that. Ahahaha.
 
What's the best stage/s to get the material in order to do both an air dash & double jump? I really want to air dash, but at the moment, I'm only using double jumps.

& how does one unlock more music in the store? Seems I only have Beyond the Blue at the moment.

get 3k+ kudos for a boss mission will unlock one necklace song. Its a pain to actually craft and use them though, wish they have a music gallery so we can listen to the song we unlocked
 

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
get 3k+ kudos for a boss mission will unlock one necklace song. Its a pain to actually craft and use them though, wish they have a music gallery so we can listen to the song we unlocked
Can it be on the same mission over & over, as long as the song plays? So far, I can only get 1000+ on the very first stage.
 

Weiss

Banned
wait... there's a good and bad ending?
what am I supposed to do to get the good? lol

The seven levels have hidden jewels you collect. After you get them you have to talk to Joule, and she gives you a necklace. You have to wear the necklace during the final level.
 
Just heard about this from a friend, after doing some reading on it I definitely want to buy it. The purchase sounds so much sweeter with the addition of Mighty Gunvolt as well, both sound awesome. Shovel Knight really piqued my interest in action-platformers recently, so this sounds right up my ally. Definitely purchasing.
 
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