Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX started as a spinoff of the main Azure Striker Gunvolt series, but set in an alternate universe where we take the role of Gunvolt’s rival Copen, who was introduced in the first game of the series. As far as I am aware Copen became highly popular, even moreso than Gunvolt and that helped create this spinoff series. I had the chance to play the sequel Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2 and I am pleased with everything the game has to offer, but full disclaimer, I haven’t beaten the first game. The story is standalone but for the sake of completion I’ll go back to the first one. In any case GC: LAiX offers a good experience overall with interesting mechanics that come together to bring a fast-paced and fun game that will surely challenge your skills.
The developers have taken a different approach for Copen in this game compared to the previous release where Copen used a Gun to attack and tagged enemies. Tagged enemies were susceptible to receiving more damage from your attacks increasing your combo counter and high score possibilities. In this game, Copen uses a new weapon that allows him to do a three-hit combo on the ground, and this weapon has some interesting features. For example if you hold down the button on the first or third hit a small/big sawblade will continue spinning for as long as you hold down the button.
Another feature relies on the Tag System. In this game you need to hit enemies with a bullit dash, and this dash can be performed on the air, where if you hit an enemy with it they get tagged. While tagged, if you hold the attack button blades of light will continuously attack the tagged enemy and while the tag lasts for a few seconds, it gives you enough time to deal as much damage as possible. Another interesting and welcome addition is the healing special, where by pressing X and selecting the heart icon, Lola will heal you completely. You can do this as much as you want since there’s no cooldown, but be advised that using healing will consume your Kudos.
Kudos are the games combo counter, with each attack counts toward the total and tagged enemies giving more kudos per kill. You will want to keep it as high as you can, because once you get to one thousand another system comes into play: The Overdrive mode. In this mode, Lola enters her powered-up mode which gives Copen the following benefits: Your attacks deal more damage, and as you rack up Kudos and defeat strong enemies you regain some of your lost health. You can also chain your bullit dashes which allow you to get higher combos, but if you heal or touch a checkpoint your kudos counter will reset and you exit overdrive.
It’s worth mentioning that there is also the Anthem System which is something that activates randomly and when you die it, gives you all the benefits of overdrive with unlimited dashes and hovering. If you heal or touch a checkpoint the mode doesn’t end, however, the caveat is that once it activates your score goes to 0, so those who aim for high scores should avoid it. I must say that the boss battles are awesome and trying to figure out which ex-weapon works well is part of the fun. I wasn’t expecting to be hit with the boss ultimate attack, and each one is different, but I must say that the most challenging is the one from the artic area.
You also have an ultimate attack, but after using it you need to wait for the cooldown period and once it ends you can use it again. For hard-to-beat bosses you can use it around two times if you’re patient, but with the right weapon you can beat them quickly. The game assesses your performance in each area and gives you a grade, the highest of which is X, but let me tell you it’s not as easy as it seems and the highest I got was A. So those who like to ace the challenges have got your work cut out for you.
The game’s presentation is well done and I like how detailed each of the areas is and how things that might seem insignificant play a role in the grand scheme of things. I like how the developers snuck in little details that made the experience more enjoyable, and each area is big enough to peak your explorer interest and there are plenty of secrets to uncover. I enjoyed the boss battles each to be memorable, and it made a good impression on my overall experience. The music is awesome as well, and each theme goes well with each area and boss. A nice touch is how songs vary when you enter overdrive or anthem modes, so those that are looking to enjoy the game with headphones are in for a treat.
I enjoyed GC: LAix it’s fun and challenging with many secrets. For someone who doesn’t have much time to game lately the game’s length was just perfect. For me, this game feels like just how Megaman Zero is an important complement to the main Megaman X series to give a comparison. While we wait for Gunvolt 3 this is a perfect game to enjoy.
Bottom Line Gunvolt Chronicles Luminous Avenger iX 2 is a great sequel that puts Copen in the center stage to become an integral part of the Gunvolt universe. For me the spinoff series has the same impact as the main series and I hope that it does well enough so it continues. With a great combat system and many secrets to unlock this is a game you don’t want to miss.
A review code was kindly provided for this review.