New Patch for Steam Version of Gunvolt Released

Inti Creates has just put out another patch for the Steam version of Gunvolt. This update fixes a lot of general problems and that players have been experiencing since the game's release. Hit the jump below to see the full list:

Gunvolt Boss Damage Analysis by Saairan

Have you ever noticed when fighting a boss, that you seem to do more or less amounts of damage at different points in the battle? This is because some bosses are more vulnerable or resistant when they're using certain attacks. I've reproduced a full damage analysis below that speedrunner Saairan compiled some time ago. With Inti Creates' live speedrun contest, Azure Blur, coming up, I thought that this would be a good opportunity to share this information. Might help some people out in the actual competition!

So, without further ado, hit the jump to check it out!

Gameplay Footage of GV in Runbow

My good associate Yoshinator has just uploaded over 90 minutes of Runbow footage that shows GV in action as a playable character. There's honestly not really a whole lot to say about him in this game, but I found it cool how the sound effect used for his double jump is the same sound from Azure Striker Gunvolt. Also, the sound for when you pick him is the selecting sound from Gunvolt. You can check it out for yourself below! And thanks to Yoshinator for sending this to me!

Azure Striker Gunvolt Steam Review

Heya folks! The Steam version of Gunvolt has officially released and, as a result, my team at Get Me Off The Moon just published a review of the game in its entirety. I collaborated with one of my teammates, Yoshinator, to write this review, and I daresay he did a really good job! Almost all of the views that he expresses in the write-up resonate with my own opinions towards the game. You can check it out here. For the sake of convenience, I've also reproduced it below.
Enjoy, folks! Hopefully this will help people who are on the fence about buying the Steam version!

Azure Striker Gunvolt Speedrun Contest Announced by Inti

At Takuya Aizu and Keiji Inafune's PAX Prime panel, Inti Creates has just announced plans to host an Azure Striker Gunvolt live speedrun competition, in collaboration with Games Done Quick and SpeedRunsLive! Named "Azure Blur", this contest will require use of the newly-released PC version of the game and it's unique "Speedrun Mode". Participants will first be required to clear two "qualifying races" and then one "championships race" to determine the final winner. The first qualifying race will take place on 9/12 at 10am PST, the second will take place on 9/19 at 6pm PST, and the final, championships race will take place on 9/26 at 6pm PST. The winner will receive a free trip to Tokyo, Japan (or Boston, MA if the winner is Japanese).

For additional rules and guidelines (and there are a lot), please see the link below: http://inticreates.com/azureblur/

I would participate myself if my computer was more up-to-par, but since it's not, I'll be enthusiastically watching these races from the sidelines! Personally, I'm betting that Japanese player Tori's gonna take the cake with this contest. Anyone who can do a true ending run of Gunvolt in 55 minutes is nothing short of a god amongst men.

- Skybane

"Fire And Water" Drama Track Translated

Eclipse5632 (aka "Sensei Hanzo") has once again graced us with another Gunvolt drama track translation! This one, named Fire and Water, details a fight between Daytona and an unnamed water-using adept who goes around looking for strong opponents to fight with. As usual, the track is full of exclusive story information that you wouldn't find in the game, and it really gives you a better idea of the personalities of the game's characters.

Definitely be sure to check it out! And thanks to Eclipse for translating this track!

Hi-Res Version of Gunvolt Steam Art

Ever since the Steam version of Gunvolt was announced, I've seen quite a few comments from people wishing that there was a higher-res version of the new cover-art on the web. I thought I'd help folks out by publicly posting the full version of the Steam art, since I received it in the press email that 8-4's Mark MacDonald sent me for the sake of promoting the game. Also, I know myself how frustrating it can be to not find high-res artwork. To this day, I still can't narrow down a good resolution image of the Gunvolt 3DS North American cover-art, lol.

So, without further ado, here you folks go! Enjoy! And don't forget that my team at Get Me Off The Moon will have a review for the game out later (which I'll be contributing to).

(Click for full size!)

GMOTM to Interview Takuya Aizu at PAX Prime; Accepting Questions From Fanbase

So, here's something that I thought a lot of my readers would be interested in: My team at Get Me Off The Moon currently has plans to interview Inti Creates President Takuya Aizu at this year's PAX Prime. What's more, we're allowing our followers to submit questions for Aizu-san to answer. If you have something on your mind that you've always wanted to ask an Inti Creates higher-up, just send it in the comments of this post and we may ask it in the interview!
The deadline for submitting a question is Wednesday. I'm really hoping we get some good ones in that time!

Inti Creates Announces Steam Version of Gunvolt!

Welp, my mind is blown.

In celebration of its first anniversary, Inti Creates just announced that a Steam version of Azure Striker Gunvolt will be releasing worldwide on August 28, which is just a week from today! This version of the game will include almost all of the Japanese content that was cut from the EN version, translated into English, in addition to a new Speedrun Mode, Japanese Voice Mode, and the option to choose different templates for GV's two game windows. The Steam release will run you $14.99. Also, if you buy the game within the first month, you'll get a free copy of Mighty Gunvolt!
For more details, check out the announcement video below:

Gotta tell you folks, of all the things I expected Inti to do for the first anniversary of Gunvolt, I didn't expect this! My team at Get Me Off The Moon received some review codes for this game, so be sure to check out the page later to read our hands-on experience with it!

Intriguingly enough, though, it appears that this isn't the only announcement that Inti has planned. My advice is to stay tuned to Takuya Aizu and Keiji Inafune's PAX Prime panel next week, on August 28! There just may be a few more surprises!

Happy First Anniversary, Gunvolt!

Artwork by Kokuka on Twitter

It's officially 8/20 in Japan right now, which means that today marks the first anniversary of Gunvolt's release! There should be some news from Inti Creates themselves later to commemorate this occasion, but for the moment, Japanese fans have been making tons of celebratory fan-art and messages all across the web. Personally, I've been retweeting Gunvolt artwork all day! It really makes you realize just how big of a fanbase the game has over in Japan.

To this day, Gunvolt remains my favorite game on the 3DS, and my collection of GV merch isn't getting any smaller. I sincerely hope that the series only manages to hit it off bigger from here! A very happy anniversary, Azure Striker Gunvolt, and congrats, Inti Creates!

What's Inti Creates Planning for The First Anniversary of Gunvolt's Release?

Over the past week, Inti Creates has been hinting (particularly on their Japanese Twitter) towards a special "something" that they're planning for the first anniversary of Gunvolt's release. It's uncertain what this project will be at the moment, but the official JP twitter has stated at least twice within the past week that they'd like to see an official artbook for the game published, so it's possible that this is related to that.

They also posted a very mysterious-looking tweet a few hours ago, which roughly translates to the following:

"A new melody rises up against horror, the blue lightning descends upon a new battlefield."

Pretty enigmatic, huh? I'm really hoping that this is hinting towards some Gunvolt 2 news that we'll be getting soon! The time definitely seems right for Inti to talk more about the game, as not only is the first anniversary of Azure Striker Gunvolt's release coming up, but Inti will also be attending PAX Prime in about 10 days from now. Incidentally, the overview for the panel on the PAX Prime website states that Keiji Inafune and Takuya Aizu will be giving a "peek at other projects". Maybe one of those projects is Gunvolt 2!

In any case, we won't have to wait long to find out. The first anniversary of Gunvolt's release in Japan is tomorrow (JP time), and Aizu and Inafune's panel at PAX Prime is next Friday, the 28th, at 11:30am PST. My advice is to stay tuned to the official Japanese and English Twitter accounts, as well as Inti's Facebook pages. You can also keep tabs on this page for additional updates. I'll bring more news as it comes.

Gunvolt True Ending Speedrun in 55:09 Achieved by Tori (Current WR!)

This is admittedly pretty old news, but since I haven't seen anybody else sharing it on the English-speaking end, I thought I'd go ahead and do the honors.
A while back (and by "a while" I mean as early as March 2015), Japanese speedrunner Tori uploaded a video on his Nico Video channel of a Gunvolt true ending speedrun that he completed in 55:09. This time currently stands as the world record for a true ending run of the game, as it surpasses Greenalink's time, 1:01:33, by about six minutes. This is especially impressive in light of the fact that Tori was using the Japanese version of the game, which sets him at a disadvantage because it has more content that needs to be skipped.

Anyway, it's overall just an extremely solid run! I highly encourage everyone to give it a watch!

The video quality's not the best, but it's not the worst either. You can check out the RTA in four parts via the link below. Bear in mind, however, that you need a Nico account to watch videos on Nico.

Source: Nico Video

What Went Wrong With Asimov?

CAUTION: Spoilers from the true ending of Azure Striker Gunvolt ahead. Read at your own risk.

The Mythological References Regarding Gunvolt's Bolts

A while back, I mentioned that most of the weapons in Gunvolt reference creatures from a wide variety of mythologies and folklores. In this post, I'll be covering this topic in more detail, explaining exactly what each bolt (with the exception of the Technos, which, to my knowledge, wasn't named after any mythological creature) was inspired by, and any similarities they share with their namesakes. I'll be going in order from the weapons you obtain first in the game.

Gunvolt to be Featured as Guest Character in Runbow

It's just been announced that Gunvolt will be appearing as a guest character in Runbow, a multiplayer-focused platformer in which players race to reach the end of a stage first. This is an indie game being developed by 13AM Games and set for release in the third quarter of 2015. You gotta love how GV's in the middle of all the other guest characters in the picture above! 13AM Games must certainly think a lot of Azure Striker Gunvolt!
Anyway, you can watch the reveal trailer below. GV is shown at about 0:33 into the video.

The Biblical References in Azure Striker Gunvolt

Gunvolt is chock-full of references to various different mythologies, folklores, and religions. For example, did you know that almost every single gun is named after a creature or character from Greek, Hindu, Japanese, and even Irish lore? What I find particularly interesting, though, are the numerous biblical references that appear throughout the game. This post will cover the main things I've discovered in this regard so far.