Sunday, October 30, 2016

Check Out the Official Gunvolt Timeline!

The Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 original soundtrack has been out for quite a while now in Japan. Those of you who have picked it up likely already know that it features a booklet full of awesome character artwork, illustrations of the world of Gunvolt 2, and more. It includes one especially fascinating thing that many of us were not expecting, though: an official Gunvolt timeline that covers all the most important events in the series leading up to Gunvolt 2. This is not your average, run-of-the-mill timeline, however. It doesn't just limit things to the games, but extents to the drama tracks, the Dengeki Nintendo short stories, the Fleeting Memories events, and even the GV1 epilogue and prologue detailed in the OST booklet! Suffice to say that Inti's taken all the starts and stops to ensure that this timeline's as thorough as possible!
If you're interested in checking out this timeline, you can give it a gander below or view it here. Thanks to J-Love on Twitter for sharing this with us, and Tavi for translating the Japanese!

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Nintendo Everything Talks With Inti Creates About Scrapped Ideas, Amiibo Interest, Gunvolt 3 and More!

Nintendo Everything recently had a chance to sit down with Inti Creates' President Takuya Aizu and Gunvolt series Director Yoshihisa Tsuda for an exclusive Gunvolt-oriented interview. Some really fascinating things were discussed, including the team's interest in making a Gunvolt amiibo, their eagerness to produce a Mighty Gunvolt 2, the new Gunvolt anime, and more! They also talked at length about some ideas from Gunvolt 2 that had to be scrapped. One of these ideas is particularly fascinating: Apparently, early on in GV2's development, Copen was planned to be the only playable character. And GV? He was actually going to be the game's main antagonist!

From Nintendo Everything's Interview:
Tsuda: In the earlier days of Gunvolt 2’s development, we originally going to make Copen the only playable character, with a mask-wearing Gunvolt appearing as the new top dog of the Sumeragi Group (the evil organization from Gunvolt 1). He would be in the game as a boss character, appearing before Copen in mid-air surrounded by 1000 Glaives that he would use to transform. If you beat Gunvolt, he would be unlocked as a playable character, but due to varying circumstances we changed things to what you see in the game now.
Man, how about that? All said and done, though, I'm happy that they decided to keep GV as a playable character. That said, I gotta say that I still am a little bummed that that masked GV design didn't end up used in the full game. Woulda been cool!

Anyway, you can check out Nintendo Everything's full interview with Inti Creates here! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Inti Creates Interested in Making a Third Gunvolt Title

Inti Creates recently revealed that they were interested in producing a third game in the Azure Striker Gunvolt series: In an interview with Nintendo Everything, series Director Yoshihisa Tsuda stated he really wants to produce another title “that continues the series with Gunvolt at the helm as the main protagonist.” He definitely thinks that it can happen with enough fan support, and furthermore, he has “a rough idea for what I would want the potential sequel to be”.

Inti Creates President Takuya Aizu also weighed in on the conversation to say that Azure Striker Gunvolt “is incredibly near and dear to us,” but in light of the fact that enjoyable games take time to produce, “any discussions about when the next game will be coming out are probably a pretty long way away.”

Nintendo Everything's full interview with Inti Creates will reportedly be published "soon " Apparently, NE also went to Yacht Club Games with some questions about the Striker Pack, so it looks like we have quite a lot of information to look forward to in the coming days!

In the meantime, though, it's pretty awesome to hear that Inti Creates is interested in developing a third title, especially considering that the second game left a few unanswered questions here and there! Here's wishing Inti Creates the best of luck with the conceptualization process!

Friday, October 14, 2016

JP Voice Mode Patch For Digital Ver. of GV1 to Release on October 20!

Rejoice, folks! Inti Creates has just announced by way of their last Twitch stream and blog that the long-awaited Japanese Voice Mode patch for the EN 3DS version of GV1 will be releasing on October 20! For those not in the know, the Japanese Voice Mode is a game mode that re-includes a bunch of content that was cut from the initial 3DS EN release of the first Gunvolt title. This entails stuff like the real-time dialogue, additional Joule conversations and original Japanese voices in the cutscenes. What's more, this mode features an English script that has been re-translated from the ground up in a very faithful manner to the original Japanese version. In short, it pretty much sets the English version on equal grounds with the Japanese version. It's taken quite a long time for Inti Creates to put this patch out, but believe it or not, we'll finally be able to download it for our digital copies of GV1 as soon as next week!

In the meantime, I would advise you to make sure that you have a sufficient amount of space on your 3DS SD card: I estimate that this update's going to take up around 500 blocks (at any rate, that's how much data was taken out of the initial 3DS EN release).

Saturday, October 8, 2016

New Gunvolt 2 Lumen Album Announced

I'm a bit late with this, but a couple days ago, Inti Creates announced a new Gunvolt music album: Entitled -Into the Blue-, this album is set to contain the full versions of all the Lumen songs in Gunvolt 2. In that respect, it can be seen as the GV2 equivalent of the Azure Phosphorescence album. It will be priced at 2,000 Yen and include a full-color 12-page booklet.

The artists are as follows:
  • Morpho/Lumen (Megu Sakuragawa), Sumegami Electronic Symphony Orchestra (Ippo Yamada, Ryo Kawakami, Yamajet), Jaco Factory
-Into The Blue- will be officially released on November 3rd, but members of the Inti Creates fan club who purchase this CD will be able to get it on October 27, a full week early.

Here's hoping that this album comes statesside eventually! (If I had a nickel for every time I've said that, I'd be able to buy Inti Creates. Seriously, though, the vocal tracks in GV2 are insanely good!)

By the way, according to a tweet I received from Sidier, Inti also stated on Twitter that a RoRo album is on the way. No release date for that has been confirmed yet, but I want to say that we won't be waiting too long for it to show up.

Source: Perfectly Nintendo

Thursday, September 29, 2016

"Oversurge, Azure Striker!" Gunvolt 2 Now Available Digitally!

Welp, the long wait is over, folks, and the digital version of Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 has finally arrived on our shores! You can now pick it up on the Nintendo 3DS eShop for the cool price of $13.49. The file size is 3,728 blocks. It will be followed closely by the physical Azure Striker Gunvolt Striker Pack on October 4, which will be priced at $29.99.

I'd imagine that there are a number of people who are waiting for their copies of the Striker Pack to experience Gunvolt 2, but for those of you picking up the digital version today, I hope you have a blast playing it! I know that I certainly will, at any rate!

If you'd like to share your thoughts on the game, feel free to sound off in the comments below! Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have an urgent appointement with my 3DS that will probably last a few hours.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Inti Creates Releases New Trailer for Gunvolt OVA

Inti Creates has just released a new trailer for the Azure Striker Gunvolt OVA that was announced back in July. This trailer mostly features footage that we've seen already elsewhere, but it is now accompanied by voice samples for GV, Joule/Lumen, Asimov and Nova as they'll be heard in the anime. You can give the vid a watch above! I must say, after this taste, I can't wait to hear the voice cast in action when this OVA rolls around!

The Azure Striker Gunvolt OVA will officially be releasing for Japanese audiences this Winter. The staff is as follows:

[STAFF]
Director/Continuity/Producer: Yoshinori Odaka
Senario: Shigeru Murakoshi
Character Design/Animation Supervisor: Masakazu Sunagawa
Action Director/Key Animator: Koudai Kawase
Props/Mecha Design: Ryuta Nakahara
Film Director: Polunt Sai
Backgroud Art Director: Keinichi Kurata
Color Design: Kanna Terawake
Animation Inspector: Mikie Matuyama
Backgroud Art: Baku Production
Music: Ippo Yamada, Ryo Kawakami
Film: LandQ Studio's
Production: INTI CREATES, TOHOKUSHINSHA, LandQ Studio's


(Thanks to Yoshinator for the tip!)

Friday, September 23, 2016

More GV2 Song Previews from Inti's Latest Livestream

Inti Creates hosted yet another live stream today where they showed off two more GV2 song previews. These songs are "Shinjitsu ≒ Genjitsu -Reality-" (or "Truth -Reality-") by Lumen and "Multi-Universe" by RoRo. An interesting thing to note about the former song is that, according to Perfectly Nintendo, it will be the main theme for the Gunvolt OVA that is scheduled to release in Winter. Neat, huh?

Anyway, you can check out both songs below! Thanks to Perfectly Nintendo for uploading these to Youtube for our listening pleasure!

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Gunvolt Limited Edition Drama CD Translated

Zoram recently finished translating the drama CD included with the Japanese limited edition Azure Striker Gunvolt Striker Pack. This CD contains ten tracks, and covers events from before GV joined Feather. They're very fun tracks because they show some unexpected character interactions. I think this is the only place where you could expect to see Jota having it out with Gibril, Nova conversing with Tenjian, and Teseo and Merak trying to one-up each other to determine the better hacker! They're also very interesting because they show that Eden was a very active organization even before the events of GV2.

Oh, and last but not least... [Spoilers from track 10 ahead]

Thursday, September 1, 2016

New Gunvolt Shirt Now Available from Fangamer

Some of you may recall that last month, Fangamer teased a new Gunvolt shirt that they were working to release. Well, just in time for PAX West, that shirt has now hit their official website! You can pick it up here for $24 dollars. The shirt also comes with a free 1.25" metallic bonus button, which you can see below:
Overall, pretty awesome to see another nice addition to the ever-growing Gunvolt t-shirt family! By the way, if you happen to be attending PAX West this year, Yacht Club Games reported that this shirt will also be available to buy from Inti's booth. For reference, that's Booth 6908!

Monday, August 29, 2016

Gauri Stage Footage Translated


So, as I'm sure a lot of people know by now, Gunvolt 2 is officially out in Japan. I've decided that I'm not gonna be covering any of the post-release footage of the full game on this channel (primarily because I want to avoid spoilers myself, lol), but one thing that I did want to showcase was this translated gameplay footage of Gauri's stage. This comes from one of Inti Creates' most recent live streams and features Ikkan, Sawashiro Chiharu (voice of Gauri), and Megu Sakuragawa (voice of Lumen/Cyan). Suffice to say that it doesn't include the most top-notch gameplay, but it's nonetheless a fun watch. It's particurly hilarious to listen to Gauri's dialogue, as all his lines sound like rap lyrics. I was watching this video a couple days ago, before it was translated, and even though I couldn't understand the contexts of Gauri's lines at the time, I found myself just erupting into laughter! On a semi-related note, you have to wonder just how some of that stuff is gonna be localized in the North American version.

Anyway, thanks to Zoram as always for the translation!

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Details and Cover Art from the Gunvolt 2 Original Soundtrack, Plus Info on the Inti Creates 20th Anniversary Fan Festa

Inti Creates hosted another live stream yesterday where they officially unvealed the Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 Original Soundtrack. Earlier today, the official cover art and track list for the soundtrack were released. The album contains a total of 74 tracks on two discs, including two bonus tracks. These bonus tracks are "Parallel World," a Lumen song exclusive to the 3DS theme that comes with the Azure Striker Gunvolt Striker Pack, and "Enshi no Kishi," the song featured in the Shovel Knight collaboration.

The soundtrack will also include a full color 16-page booklet, cover art by Gunvolt series artist Yoshitaka Hatakeyama, comments from the development staff, character artwork, illustrations of the world of Gunvolt 2, and more. It'll be releasing on September 27th.

Also announced during the aforementioned livestream was that another Inti Creates Fan Festa will be taking place in a couple months to honor the 20th anniversary of the company. This event will be happening on November 5 from 11am to 9pm JST. It will be hosted at the Grand Hall of the Ichikawa City Cultural Center. The tickets will be 2,500 Yen, or 2,000 Yen if you happen to be a member of Inti Direct. Admission for minors will be free.

Three main shows will be taking place at this event: Here's the lineup, courtesy of Perfectly Nintendo:
  • Azure Striker Gunvolt: Super Morpho Live, with Lumen (Megu Sakuragawa), and the Sumeragi Electronic Symphony Orchestra. Music from the Azure Striker Gunvolt 1 and 2 will be played live;
  • a talk show about Gal * Gun
  • a talk show about the history of Inti Creates, celebrating its 20th Anniversary. Several guests will be there, including Takuya Aizu (CEO), Yoshihida Tsuda, Ippo Yamada, Ryota Ito, Atsunori Kawachi, Ikegami Kinshi, and more.

And that's about it for now! Credit to Perfectly Nintendo for the translations.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Full Rundown on Gunvolt 2's New Game Systems

Heya, folks. So, a couple weeks ago, Inti Creates released yet another Gunvolt 2 press report to several Japanese video game news sites. This update covers pretty much everything you need to know about game's gameplay features and whatnot--and when I say pretty much "everything," I mean it. This post is absolutely gargantuan. It covers a ton of stuff, from the new skills in the game, to the "Online Ranking" mode. It's extremely extensive and highly informative. You can give it a read for yourself after the jump! As always, thanks to Zoram for the translation!

Friday, August 5, 2016

Introducing "Asrock" and "Jibril" of the G7

Welp, looks like we've finally come full circle with the G7 adepts! Yesterday, an official press release revealed information on the final two bosses from the official cover art of Gunvolt 2. These bosses are Asrock, the puppeteer adept whom we recently saw in action in the latest Inti Creates GV2 gameplay video, and Jibril, a new female boss. For the full breakdown on these characters, hit up the jump below! As always, thanks to Zoram for the translations!

Gunvolt 2 Gameplay Footage Featuring Asrock Subbed

Yesterday I shared some new Gunvolt 2 gameplay footage that featured a boss fight with Asrock, the puppeteer adept. The dialogue in this footage has since been translated by Zoram, who was kind enough to transcribe English subtitles onto the video. You can check out the translated version below! Word of note, though: If you hope to read all the character dialogue, you're likely gonna have to pause the video frequently. Tsuda-san goes through the dialogue really quickly.
By the way, the last two Gunvolt 2 G7 bosses were covered in an official press release yesterday. I'll be posting a translated version of this release later on, so stay tuned for that!

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Meet "Asrock," The Puppeteer Boss

Earlier today, a special live stream was hosted on Nico Live that exhibited several upcoming game titles in Japan. During this show, new Gunvolt 2 footage was shown off by Keiji Inafune of Comcept and Yoshihisa Tsuda of Inti Creates. This footage featured the stage of Asrock, the puppeteer boss, a character that we'd formerly known very little about. You can watch it for yourselves below courtesy of Kira A, who uploaded the gameplay to Youtube.

The entire stream was, of course, in Japanese, but Zoram was kind enough to provide me with details on what went down during the broadcast. He plans to also subtitle the video later on, but in the meantime, you can read his general analysis of the stream below:

Monday, August 1, 2016

Thanks for 50,000+ Page Views!

Hey now, would ya look at that: Gunvault has officially surpassed 50,000 total page views! Dang, how electrifying is that?! Thanks to everyone who continues to take time out of their busy schedules to visit this little blog! Your support is super appreciated!

Official Concept Art Featuring Xiao, GV's New Operator


A few hours ago, Inti Creates posted some new concept art on their social media accounts featuring Xiao, GV's new operator in Gunvolt 2. This art gives us a better look at the character's design and some of the gadgets that we see him wearing. Interestingly, it seems that Xiao's in the habit of wearing three different wristwatches, as we can see in the second picture. Curious practice, huh?
Inti Creates also revealed in the posts where they shared this art that Xiao is 12 years old. This makes him two years younger than GV.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Check Out This Concept Art Featuring GV's Street Clothes

Earlier today, Inti Creates shared some new Gunvolt concept art on their social media accounts. This art features GV in his street clothes and Ouka. Interestingly, it depicts GV in different normal attire from what we see in the "Admiration to Peace" drama track album. In official art drawn for the "Karaoke" track, we see him wearing what appears to be a hoodie. I guess GV's just like the rest of us and doesn't like to wear the same clothes every day. :P

The image also includes a note from the official artist. While it's entirely in Japanese, Tavi on Twitter was kind enough to provide a translation. I've reproduced this translation below for the sake of convenience. Thanks, Tavi!
I was thinking of something that's not too fashionable but also easier to wear. I came to the conclusion that he would like wearing something that hides his body (yknow the muscles) so that they wouldn't stand out. Keeps the pendant on because it allows Prevasion. Also please change the hair color back. o(^▽^)o'

Additionally, in the post where they shared this image, Inti Creates revealed that Ouka is two years older than GV, which essentially makes her 16. Pretty intriguing!

Friday, July 22, 2016

Latest Gunvolt 2 Gameplay Footage From Inti Broadcast Subbed

During Inti Creates' stream on Nico Live earlier today, gameplay footage from Nike's stage in Gunvolt 2 was showcased. While most of this footage contained stuff that we've seen before, we got a look at a nice amount of new stage dialogue. We also got to see RoRo's Song of Diva in action for the first time. Zoram was kind enough to subtitle this video and shoot it my way. You can give it a watch and dissect it for yourselves below!

A particularly interesting thing to note in this video is how Nike brings up Panthera (Zonda) at 7:52, saying "A visitor will come to interfere with our comrade's dream... With Panthera's dream..." She goes further to assert that her mission "is to protect Panthera." Interesting, huh? Why is Nike (apparently) so loyal to Panthera? It's hard to say for sure at the moment, but here's hoping we find out the answer in Gunvolt 2.

Also of note at the beginning of the video is the green "Timid" bar seen on the stage select screen. I've seen a couple people speculate that this indicates the game's current difficulty setting, but I'm personally wondering if it's more of a time ranking, since the bar is positioned directly below Nike's stage time. 6:09:16 does seem pretty slow for a normal boss stage, so I could see how it'd warrant a not-so-flattering rank like "Timid."

More Gunvolt 2 Song Previews From Latest Inti Broadcast

Inti Creates hosted another livestream on their Nico Live channel today where they featured some new song previews from Gunvolt 2. These songs are "Parallel World" by Cyan and "Lapis Moment" by RoRo. You can give 'em a listen below! Thanks to Perfectly Nintendo for uploading these previews to Youtube!

Inti also showed off some previously unseen dialogue with Nike, the hair-controlling adept, during their stream. This dialogue contains something pretty interesting, but I don't have translations on hand at the moment. Stay tuned for news on that front, though!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Introducing "Tenjian," Nike" and "Nimrod" of the G7

Wow, do I have a lot of information to share today! A couple days ago, various Japanese gaming news outlets shared more new information on the bosses of Gunvolt 2. These bosses include Nike, the hair-controlling adept (whom we've seen previously), and two other newly-revealed characters named "Tenjian" and "Nimrod." You can read all the details below the jump! As always, thanks a ton to Zoram for the translations!


Saturday, July 9, 2016

Gunvolt News Round-Up 7/9/2016 *UPDATED*


Wow, there's certainly been quite a lot Gunvolt news over the past couple days! So much so that it's been a bit difficult for me to keep up with it all (especially in light of SGDQ, which has had me pretty hooked this week). This post will endeavor to make up for lost time and cover all the relevant tidbits of Gunvolt info that have surfaced over the last few days.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

US Release Dates for Gunvolt 2 and Striker Pack Confirmed; Gunvolt OVA Announced *UPDATED*

Image source: AllGamesDelta on Twitter
Just announced at Inti Creates' and Inafune's panel at Anime Expo, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 will be releasing in the US on September 30. What's more, on the same day, The Azure Striker Gunvolt Striker Pack will also be heading to our shores! The Striker Pack will be receiving a $29.99 retail release. As was previously rumored, it will be published by Yacht Club Games. Gunvolt 2 alone will be $14.99 on the 3DS eShop.
Image source: ChrisCuber on Twitter
UPDATE: 1st official English trailer for the Striker Pack uploaded by Inti. Interesting to note in this trailer is the fact that it highlights dialogue from the Japanese Voiceover Mode in GV1's Steam version. This would appear to mean that GV1 will contain all the cut 3DS dialogue in the Striker Pack.

Inti Creates also announced that a Gunvolt OVA will be coming out this Winter. Details about this anime are slim at the moment, but I'll leave you with this amazing official trailer that Inti Creates showed off at their panel! Enjoy!
Artwork for the anime; image source: OPRainfall on Twitter
How about that? Gotta say, my brain is scattered all over the place right now! This is one seriously glorious day to be a Gunvolt fan!

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Check Out 13 Glorious Minutes of English Gunvolt 2 Footage

A few hours ago, Nintendo World Report uploaded a video showing over thirteen minutes of English Gunvolt 2 footage. It would appear that this was recorded at Anime Expo 2016 in Los Angeles, where Inti Creates is currently visiting with a demo of the game on-hand. The demo features gameplay from Teseo's stage. Suffice to say that, between the boss's wacky dialogue and the stage's bizzare gimicks, it's pretty crazy to watch! I think Teseo's personality has been pretty accurately replicated to accomodate English Internet slang, though. Gotta say, he's really cracking me up! Joule's reactions to his nonsense are also really hilarious to read.

There are two things that I found particularly interesting in this video: First is the fact that Teseo suddenly brings up Asimov to GV at 9:33, asking if he really killed him or if that was just a rumor. You really can't help but wonder why Teseo takes an interest in GV's old boss all of a sudden like that. The second thing is that Matt Papa seems to confirm at 3:23 that, in the full version of Gunvolt 2, GV will not be able to take a maximum of three hits before losing his kudos--only one, like the first game.

Anyway, that's it for now! It seems that a demo of one of Copen's stages is also available at the Inti Creates AX booth, although I can't locate footage from it at the moment. I'll keep an eye out, however, and keep you folks in the loop!

Monday, June 27, 2016

Footage From GV's Intro Stage in Gunvolt 2 Translated

A couple days ago, I reported on a livestream that Inti Creates recently hosted on NicoNico Live. Among a number of things, this stream showed off some new footage from GV's intro stage in Gunvolt 2. The footage has since been uploaded to Youtube, and Zoram was kind enough to translate all the Japanese dialogue in it for the convenience of English speakers. You can check out the translated video above! Don't forget to enable the English subtitles!

Thanks a ton to Zoram for the translation! Also, gotta love that Gino reference at 4:33!

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Gunvolt 4-Komas From Dengeki Nintendo (June)

Boy oh boy, do I have something special to share today! This month's issue of Dengeki Nintendo highlighted some pretty awesome Gunvolt 4-komas (4-panel Japanese comic strips) drawn by Shin Ogino, whom some of you folks may know as the artist of the Mega Man ZX manga. Gunvolt fan Tavi was kind enough to send all ten of these 4-komas my way and translate them for the reading pleasure of English fans! You can check 'em out in all their hilarious glory below!

Needless to say, massive thanks to Tavi for sharing these super tasty treats with us!

Friday, June 24, 2016

Latest Inti Broadcast Reveals New Gunvolt 3DS Theme & Drama Track CD *UPDATED*

The latest Japanese Inti Creates broadcast on NicoNico revealed some pretty cool things earlier today. In particular, it was announced that a new Gunvolt drama track CD is on the way, as well as a 3DS theme for the Azure Striker Gunvolt Striker Pack! Check out all the details below! As always, thanks to Zoram for the translation!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

New Info on GV2's Story, Bosses and Stages Released

A couple days ago, several Japanese gaming news sites released a bunch of new information about Gunvolt 2. This info touches more upon the game's criminal organization, Eden, and in addition, introduces two new bosses and stages from the title. The bosses covered in this report are Teseo, dubbed the "Cyber King," and Gauri, called the "Prism Master." For the full breakdown, hit the jump below! As always, thanks to Zoram Selrof for the translation!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Check Out The Famitsu Gunvolt 2 3DS Theme

This week's issue of Famitsu is featuring something pretty special for Gunvolt fans: a code that can be used to unlock an exclusive Gunvolt 2 theme on the 3DS theme shop! This theme shows GV and Lumen on the top screen, and Copen and Lola on the bottom screen. It also includes the song from Copen's intro stage in Gunvolt 2.

Gunvolt fan Tavi was kind enough to record video footage of the theme and send it to me. You can check it out for youselves above! Thanks a ton, Tavi!

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Fangamer Releases A Bunch of Gunvolt Merch

Fangamer has released a new batch of Gunvolt merch via their online store. The items include the official Azure Striker Gunvolt Soundtrack, Azure Phosphorescence (the Lumen album), a Lumen t-shirt, and two posters. Most (if not all) of this stuff was sold by Inti Creates during Magfest, but now that they're up on Fangamer's store, they're available to a wider audience!

You can check out preview pics of the items below. If you're interested in picking up any of this merch, head on over to Fangamer!

Friday, May 27, 2016

Inti Releases New Commercial for the Azure Striker Gunvolt Striker Pack

Inti Creates hosted another livestream on NicoNico Live earlier today. The stream seemed mostly focused on Mighty No. 9, but Takuya Aizu and Yoshihisa Tsuda were kind enough to show a new commercial for the Azure Striker Gunvolt Striker Pack. While most of the gameplay footage in the trailer is stuff we've seen before, towards the very end we get a quick look at GV dodging an attack from one of the new GV2 bosses--and what an attack! You can check it out for yourselves below!

The Azure Striker Gunvolt Striker Pack will be releasing in Japan on August 25.



News Credit: Perfectly Nintendo

Friday, May 20, 2016

New GV2 Footage and Song Previews Released in Latest Inti Broadcast *UPDATED*

Inti Creates hosted a special live broadcast via NicoNico Live earlier today wherein they showed off gameplay footage from Gunvolt 2, as well as some song previews from the game. The footage displayed more of GV's gameplay, although it didn't really highlight any new aspects of his play-style. We also got a chance to listen to the new version of "Reincarnation" (now called "Reincarnation - Alternativa") for the first time, in addition to one of Lola's new songs, "Igniter". You can check out both the gameplay feed and the new song previews below:

UPDATE: Zoram was kind enough to translate the character dialogue in the gameplay feed and provide the video with English subtitles. You can check out the updated video below:

Gameplay Video:

Gunvolt fan Alvin pointed out to me that, in this video, GV is able to sustain three hits before his kudos goes down. This makes the game's system much more lenient than in GV1. Granted, it's unknown whether this is due to an easier difficulty or not.

Song Preview Video:


Pretty nice, huh? It's interesting to note that Lola's song sounds more "mechanical" than Lumen's, to the point where it almost gives off a vocaloid vibe. Of course, this can probably be attributed to the fact that Lola's essentially a robot. Anyway, hope you enjoyed these videos! I know that I sure did!

Inti Creates Releases Info on Three New GV2 Characters

Inti Creates has released information on three new characters from the Gunvolt 2 official game art. These characters include Nowa (now known as "Nori"), Copen's sister, and the blue-haired operator boy. I've reproduced their character bios and such below for the sake of convenience. Hit the jump for the full lowdown!

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Inti Creates Hosting Gunvolt Live Broadcast on May 20

On May 20, Inti Creates will be arranging another Gunvolt live broadcast via NicoNico Live called Azure Striker Gunvolt Info Station. The broadcast will be hosted by IKKAN and Megu Sakuragawa. Kousuke Masuo (Acura's voice) and Yurika Endou (RoRo's voice) will also be present as guest speakers. The livestream will be taking place at 9pm Japan Time, and as the title implies, it is scheduled to reveal new information about the Azure Striker Gunvolt series. 
Be sure to tune in if you're available at that time! The stream will be available here.

Source: Gamer.ne (thanks to Zoram for the translation!)

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Check Out Video Footage From The Gunvolt 2 Demo! *UPDATED*


Ready for something really exciting, folks? Earlier last week, I talked about a new Gunvolt 2 demo that Inti showcased at one of their public events in Japan. This demo showed off some really cool stuff about the game that we'd not known about before. As you may recall, though, at the time, I could only supply a list of the new details that were revealed. I couldn't provide any actual video footage because I had no means of retrieving any.

That's now changed, however! In a surprising turn of events, the GV2 demo footage that Inti showcased at their event has been converted into video! What's more, good ol' Zoram sent me a translation document for all character dialogue in the demo! Wasn't that nice of him?

You can catch the video footage on NicoNico right here. Word of note, though: you need a NicoNico account to watch videos on the site. Not that that's a huge deal--you can sign in easily via any Twitter, Facebook, Google, Nintendo Network or even Line account.

UPDATE: Gameplay footage now on Youtube:


And, of course, you can find the character dialogue translations below. Yeah, I know, not as convenient as subtitles on the actual video, but the dialogue is pretty easy to follow nonetheless. Hope you folks enjoy it! It's super cool stuff!

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Happy 1st Anniversary, Gunvault!

One boring day at the end of April last year, I conceived the crazy notion of starting a fan-blog for a certain 3DS game that I enjoyed to an almost ludicrous extent. It's name: Azure Striker Gunvolt. I didn't expect the blog to be noticed by very many people other than the folks I knew online, but I went through with it anyway because that's how much I enjoyed the game. I just had to talk about it somewhere, and I thought that this would be the best way to do so without cluttering up my social media accounts with waves of Gunvolt stuff, lol.

Fast-forward to today, a year later, and that blog stands at almost 30,000 total page views. I really can't thank you all enough for giving this little corner of the internet so much attention over the past year! Managing this blog has been a load of fun, and I hope to continue posting Gunvolt-related content here for many more years to come!

Let's keep up the support for Azure Striker Gunvolt!

Inti Creates Event in Japan Releases a Slew of Gunvolt 2 Info

Inti Creates recently hosted an event in Japan where new information about Gunvolt 2 was revealed. At this event, a demo version of Gunvolt 2 was available for fans to play, and this demo evidently showed off some interesting new things about this highly-anticipated sequel. Good ol' Zoram Selrof was kind enough to send me a comprehensive list of all the new information that the demo contained (or, at least, all that he caught). I've reproduced this list below. Spoilers abound, obviously.

The GV2 demo was also streamed via Nico Live, but unfortunately, I don't have a way to retrieve the feed since I don't have a Nico Live Premium membership (which you need to watch certain stream replays on Nico Live). Hence, I'm afraid that I can't share the footage here. If any of you other folks possess the means to retrieve it, though, I'd appreciate your sending it my way so I can feature it here!

Anyway, without further ado, here's Zoram's list of all the new GV2 info that was revealed in the event demo:

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Inti Creates Updates on NA/EU Versions of Gunvolt 2 & Double Pack

Following up on all the Gunvolt news that was announced for Japanese fans yesterday, Inti Creates has published a post on their webpage to update English fans on the situation with the NA and EU versions of Gunvolt 2, as well as the newly announced Gunvolt Double Pack. You can read their full message below: 

Monday, April 25, 2016

New Gunvolt Promo Video Reveals a Ton of New Info!

Hold on to your hats, guys, because a bevvy of Gunvolt news was just revealed! Inti Creates just released a new Gunvolt promotional video wherein they unveiled a ton of new info! Among the most juicy tidbits, they announced plans to release a physical Gunvolt double pack that includes GV1+GV2, and revealed the JP release date for Gunvolt 2. They also showed off new gameplay footage from the sequel, previously unseen boss fights, character voices, and more! Check it out below!

"The Morning After": A Gunvolt Fanfic by EnigmaticX

Here's just something I had to share. Hardcore Gunvolt fan EnigmaticX recently sent a really neat Gunvolt fan-fic my way that he's been working hard on for several months. Entitled "The Morning After," this story serves as an epilogue of sorts to the first Gunvolt game. As the title implies, it narrates the circumstances in which GV and Joule find themselves a day after the events of the true ending. It's an exceptionally well-written narrative. It's very touching, faithful to the characters' personalities, and overall just a really pleasing read! I particularly found myself impressed with EnigmaticX's writing style. The eloquent way in which he wove the contents of his story really makes it feel that much more authentic, and serves to give it a very heartwarming atmosphere. Not gonna lie, when I read this for the first time, I was thinking: "Holy crap, this sounds like something that Inti themselves would publish!" Someone should draw some fanart to accompany this work!

Anyway, you can check out EnigmaticX's fan-fic here. Enjoy!

Friday, April 15, 2016

The Muses of Gunvolt 2 & Copen's New Abilities

So, as some of you may have noticed yesterday, Inti Creates released a bunch of new information about Gunvolt 2 via several Japanese game media outlets yesterday. The info mainly concerned Lumen and Copen's newly-revealed Muse, "RoRo" (the red fairy girl from the Gunvolt 2 poster). There's also some information on Copen's weapon copy system. I daresay that the English Inti Creates website plans to cover this news eventually, but I'm taking the liberty of posting the news anyway for those who want the earliest scoop. After all, I daresay that there are a lot of people out there itching to know more about these new characters and the Copen's play-style!
Massive thanks to Zoram Selrof for translating this stuff!

Monday, March 28, 2016

Cyan's Story (A Gunvolt Side-Story From Dengeki Nintendo)

Heya folks. So, I have something really cool to present today! The past three issues of Dengeki Nintendo have featured a really interesting Cyan side-story, which just recently concluded. While it doesn't reveal many things that are relevant to the plot of Gunvolt, it is an incredibly fun read. It strikes you as one of those stories that would be in the "Admiration To Peace" drama track album. By that I mean that it's lighthearted, funny, and very captivating! I daresay that you folks will find yourself laughing out loud at different intervals in the narrative!
Anyway, huge thanks to the illustrious Zoram Selrof for the exceptional translation! I can't imagine that converting such a large story as this to English was a very easy task, so major props to him for going the extra mile to bring us English fans all this extra Gunvolt content!

Without further ado, you can read "Cyan's Story" below after the jump!

Sunday, March 20, 2016

The Biggest Takuya Aizu Gunvolt Interview That You'll Ever Read


Heya folks! So, a couple days ago, I had the honor of interviewing Inti Creates President Takuya Aizu again during his visit to GDC 2016. The main topic of the interview was Azure Striker Gunvolt and its sequel, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, although a couple other topics were also touched upon, such as the ending of Mega Man Zero 4 and whether Zero might still be alive. It was overall a very enlightening discussion! Aizu-san was kind enough to provide some very detailed responses to a number of difficult questions! He was even so generous as to reveal some new details about Gunvolt 2 to me! I was able to ask over thirty questions in total.

You can catch the interview in its entirety below after the jump! Hope you folks enjoy it! Special thanks to Matt Papa for acting as our translator.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Have Your Questions Answered by Takuya Aizu of Inti Creates!

So, I thought you folks might be interested to know that I'll be interviewing Inti Creates President Takuya Aizu this week during his visit to GDC 2016. The interview will revolve around Inti's past and future titles, including, but not limited to, Gunvolt 2!

I have a number of questions of my own that I'm dying to ask Aizu-san, but I imagine that I'm definitely not the only one. Ever since that flood of Gunvolt 2 news came in a few weeks back, there's just been so much to wonder about! Hence, in addition to my own questions, I've decided to gather questions from you folks to ask in the interview as well.

If you have something that you'd like to ask Takuya Aizu, sound off in the comments below! Hope to see some good questions!

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Lazy Kingdom Drama Tracks Translated

E45LP3 of Youtube has recently finished translating the latest Gunvolt drama track album, entitled Lazy Kingdom. This album covers the expanded backstories of Merak and Elise, and among the most relevant information, it tells how Elise was captured by Sumeragi. It's overall just a really fun set of tracks to listen to, as you might expect from anything involving Merak. I particularly found the "Interlude" track hilarious for reasons that you'll discover! Gotta say, though, I think it's kinda interesting how Merak seems to come off as less laid-back here than in the game.

The translations are a bit rough in some places, but overall, they're understandable. You can listen to the first track below, or catch the full playlist for the album here!

Friday, March 4, 2016

Hi-Res Version of Gunvolt 2 Cover-Art

So, ever since the latest Nintendo Direct ended and Gunvolt 2 news started spreading like wildfire, I've been looking around for a hi-res version of the Gunvolt 2 cover-art. With all the stuff in that image, you really want to examine it as thoroughly as possible to get a complete appreciation for the artwork. As I'm sure a number of you know, though, it's difficult to closely study an image that's not terribly large--which is why I set off to find a bigger image!

After conducting an extensive search, I managed to find just what I was looking for via Gematsu.com. I thought about just updating my last GV2 post with this info, but I thought this news was deserving of its own post. That said, I updated my last post as well. :P

You can check out the full-size image here! I don't know about you folks, but I'm getting this printed as a poster!

Thursday, March 3, 2016

New Gunvolt 2 Details and Trailer From Today's Nintendo Direct *UPDATED*

Well, I don't think anyone saw this coming, especially so soon after Magfest! Today's Nintendo Direct just released some new information about Gunvolt 2, in addition to some exclusive gameplay footage from the title. Among the most important details that were announced, Copen was confirmed as a new playable character, and we received a new release window for Gunvolt 2.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Dengeki Nintendo Character Bios: Panthera



Last in our set of Dengeki Nintendo Sumeragi profiles, we have the "Lustful Mirrage," Panthera (Zonda)! Get ready for some major craziness, folks, because this profile is just that. lol

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Dengeki Nintendo Character Profiles: Carrera



Next in line in our series of Dengeki Nintendo profiles is none other than "The Magnetic Avarice" himself, Carrera! Enjoy, folks, and as always, thanks to Zoram Selrof for the translation.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Dengeki Nintendo Character Profiles: Elise

It's been quite a bit since I last posted a Dengeki Nintendo profile. The wait is now over, however, and I officially have a fresh new batch of translations to share, courtesy of  the very generous Zoram Selrof! So, why don't we start things off right with the "Eternal Envy" herself, Elise!
Enjoy, folks!

Saturday, February 20, 2016

New Gunvolt 2 Footage and Other Exciting News!


There's been quite a lot of Gunvolt news over the last couple weeks! Unfortunately, since I've been pretty busy lately, I haven't a chance to update this blog with every single bit of news. As a result, this post will endeavor to cover everything that's been going on in the world of Gunvolt for the past couple weeks.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Inti Creates Sound Team Heading to MAGFest 2016

Inti Creates announced earlier today that, for the first time ever, their sound team will be heading to the West to perform two live concerts. The location? MagFest 2016.

The first show, entitled Lumen Super Live 2016, will feature music from Azure Striker Gunvolt (likely to focus exclusively on the vocal tracks), while the second will be a special 20th anniversary concert dedicated to music from the various games that Inti's worked on over the years (such as Mega Man Zero). Musical talents such as Ippo Yamada, Godspeed, Yamajet, Luna Umegaki, and Megu Sakuragawa will all be present, so you can bet that the listening experience will be almost identical to attending one of  Inti's Japanese music performances!

So far, there's been no word on whether the shows will be live streamed for folks incapable of attending MAGFest. Based on Inti's most recent practices, I'd venture to guess that they won't be (they seem to like to keep this stuff exclusive to the people who attend in-person). But hey, I'd love to be proven wrong!

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