Azure Striker Gunvolt

 3DS
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Nintendojo
    Sep 22, 2014
    91
    It’s a 2D shooter-platformer that has one eye on the past and the other on the present, coalescing to form a game that firmly takes the genre another step forward into the future.
  2. Cubed3
    Apr 9, 2015
    90
    Combining the tried-and-true formula of Mega Man X with a modern aesthetic and a fun, unique combat style was a sure-fire hit from the start, but it's safe to say that Inafune could easily have another major success on his hands.
  3. Nintendo Life
    Sep 14, 2014
    90
    Azure Striker Gunvolt isn't just a great game; it's something of a revelation, finding an entirely new — and rich — approach to the hardcore-platforming genre.
  5. NintendoWorldReport
    Aug 28, 2014
    85
    All you need to know is that it is a great action platformer that introduces awesome new ideas while oozing with style, personality, and fun.
  6. IGN Spain
    Apr 21, 2015
    82
    Keiji Unafune does what he does best and have done the Mega Man that Capcom denies us. It's worth every single penny.
  7. games(TM)
    Jun 27, 2015
    80
    IT does offer a great time, as well as a chuckle now and again. [Issue#162, p.109]
  8. FNintendo
    Apr 29, 2015
    80
    While the game's plot is mostly unnecessary and there could be a wider variety of enemies, the top notch production values and the game's overall fluidity are enough to seduce anyone who enjoys action gaming.
  9. Multiplayer.it
    Apr 12, 2015
    80
    Azure Striker Gunvolt is a unique take to the Mega Man genre which we have been missing for years. Some stages and concepts are kinda questionable, but the core gameplay is fun and exciting and we can't wait to see where Inti Creates will take it.
  10. 3DJuegos
    Apr 10, 2015
    80
    Frantic and satisfying 2D action-platforming in the vein of the classic hero Mega Man. Fluid playability, great boss fights and plenty of secrets to uncover.
  11. Game Informer
    Sep 5, 2014
    80
    Azure Striker Gunvolt is a worthwhile adventure, even if it's wrapped in a disposable sci-fi story about telekinetic adepts. Azure Striker Gunvolt delivers some of the fun you remember from older Mega Man titles while injecting a jolt of new gameplay.
  12. Hardcore Gamer
    Sep 2, 2014
    80
    Anyone who loves the Mega Man will enjoy this, and early adopters get more for their money with the inclusion of Mighty Gunvolt as a free extra.
  13. Destructoid
    Aug 28, 2014
    80
    Azure Striker Gunvolt is a wonderful return to the technical Mega Man formula found in multiple subfranchises after the "Classic" series ran its course. Between mastering every stage, collecting every jewel, and beating Mighty Gunvolt, Azure packs in more than most platformers on the market.
  14. GameSpot
    Aug 28, 2014
    80
    Although the main mission path isn't difficult to finish, completing Gunvolt's optional trials and seeing everything through to the end will challenge and please even the most hardened veteran looking for a fresh, Mega Man-like experience.
  15. IGN Italia
    Apr 10, 2015
    79
    Azure Striker Gunvolt may just seem a nostalgic homage to the Mega Man games of the past, but speaking the truth it's an action game with a strong personality. Fast, furious and technical, it will be loved by the fans of the genre.
  16. IGN
    Aug 28, 2014
    78
    With just the right pace, an appropriate level of challenge, and some customization options that make it much more than just another old-school side-scroller, Azure Striker Gunvolt comes heavily recommended to those that want to relive a sliver of the platformer golden era.
  17. SpazioGames
    Jun 8, 2015
    75
    Azure Striker Gunvolt is a delicious appetizer while waiting for the main dish, represented by Mighty No. 9, but the taste would have been much better if the enemy design wasn't so weak and if more levels were included.
  18. Everyeye.it
    Apr 23, 2015
    70
    A well crafted 2D action game, Azure Striker: Gunvolt falls short only when it comes to fully develop some of its most interesting and original ideas. As it is, just hardcore fans of the genre will enjoy it.
  19. Universo Nintendo
    Oct 13, 2014
    70
    A little patience unveils an interesting title and one that is not a Mega Man X with another skin. With a little more polish, Azure Striker Gunvolt could even be worthy of this comparison.
  20. Metro GameCentral
    Apr 21, 2015
    60
    A loving tribute to the later Mega Man games and a 2D platformer with plenty of new ideas of its own, but a lack of consistency spoils the overall package.
  21. USgamer
    Aug 29, 2014
    60
    Azure Striker Gunvolt looked like a second coming of Mega Man Zero. It's not, and that's no bad thing; it works on its own terms. However, between a lack of variety and some wild variances in difficulty, you get the impression that IntiCreates needed considerably more time and budget to invest in Gunvolt.

Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best 3DS Game of 2014
27
#27 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2014
18
#18 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2014

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 85 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 85
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 85
  3. Negative: 8 out of 85
  1. MARUYAMA
    Apr 9, 2015
    3
    A really bad case of style over substance...

    before you even start the game throws at your face a lot of needlessly complicated plots and    A really bad case of style over substance...

    before you even start the game throws at your face a lot of needlessly complicated plots and names, some of it will only start making snese about halfway through the game
    the gameplay itself is needlessly complicated too, it could have been much more fun if they stayed true to megaman x, which they're clearly borrowing from.
    gunvolt has to mark enemies with his gun and then press R to use his magnetic forcefield to hit them and/or float
    a lot of areas in the game end up becoming harder than they should thanks to that gimmick.

    the soundtrack is ok, most of it sounds like filler music from megaman x5

    the level design is ok for a common game, but for inticreates it's pretty bad, they put out some of the best ds games ( in japan/europe ) and even their shinchan games had way better/ more enjoyable level design.
    some of the levels will consist of trial and error, so youll be needing a bit of luck too.

    most of the boss battles are frustrating and at times feel unfair, with the bosses leaving little to no room for maneuver,all boss battles try to be massive flashy set pieces, which would work better if at least one of them wasn't, it's unbalanced.
    speaking of the bosses, each of them is a stereotype, some of them adopting the more modern anime stereotypes, but still being characters with absolutely no depth. as an example of a modern stereotype, there's a lazy teen who says something along the lines of "i could be watching cat videos instead of battling with you"

    SO,
    this is the equivalent of Inafune waving a flashy keychain with blinking lights and treating the player like a baby
    the gameplay is very flawed, even for inticreates
    the music is average, the level design is weak and slow paced with a lot of padding with gimmicky/puzzle segments to make levels seem longer than they really are
    the american version is STILL censored despite people on the internet making an uproar about it before release and inticreates promising it wouldn't be censored here

    this game is just Inafune tryign to go back to making games with Zero from Megaman X
    just as mighty 9 is him getting megaman back, but he's missing on WHY people found Zero cool to begin with, so they spend all their tokens on style and none on making an actual good game or having a decent character development.

    but instead of bringing back exciting new ideas he's showing why the series should remain dead, there's nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing of substance, it's just him trying to emulate what he thinks fans liked about the games.

    and as a final insult, it graduated from the Shantae school of crappy endings
    both the real and fake endings are not only short bad, but is also ends with "this is not the end, it's only the beginning"
    which as the Super Mario Bros movie proved, it's a failproof way to beg people to ask for a sequel.

    he's clearly trying to reproduce megaman X, trying to reboot the franchise, but even the first megaman had a nice satisfying ending that let you sit back and think "wow, this was quite a ride"
    the ending to this made me close my 3ds and think "wow, what a waste of time"
    even later installments like megaman 8 and x7 had a more satisfying ending

    the only reason this game is not worse is because Inticreates had a solid base to work with for the gameplay, otherwise this would have been a much much bigger mess.
    instead of playing this, get an emulator or a R4 cartridge and play their shinchan DS games, I mean it, they're far superior in pretty much every way.
    which is surprising considering the "legendary" inafune is involved in this project and it turned out to be one of the worst from inticreates in years.

    his flame of passion for games clearly was extinguished long ago    … Full Review »
  2. SwitSwat
    Sep 14, 2014
    9
    There are a lot of things this game does right, and while it may not be a perfect example of what modern platformers can be like, it certainlyThere are a lot of things this game does right, and while it may not be a perfect example of what modern platformers can be like, it certainly does a great job of offering a decent challenge with a great storyline. It's a must buy for 3DS owners and platformer fans.… Full Review »
  3. destroyer3242
    Sep 8, 2014
    10
    Absolutely phenomenal game. It's made by Inti Creates, otherwise known as the minds behind other games like Mega Man Zero series, as well asAbsolutely phenomenal game. It's made by Inti Creates, otherwise known as the minds behind other games like Mega Man Zero series, as well as the ZX series. Azure Striker Gunvolt was intended to be the spiritual successor to the Zero series, for obvious reasons why. However, as it stands on it's own, it's a fantastic game without the company's history considered. This was one of the few games that I do day one purchases on out of pure hype. The game itself is relatively simple. You play as a guy who jumps, shoots, and shocks people with electricity. You use your electricity by a gauge below your character that measures how much you have to be able to use before over heating. You can 'mark' enemies with your gun up to 3 times on a single target, and activating electricity will cause the marked enemies to be shocked by up to 3 bolts of electricity that lasts as long as you hold the button and the tag stands. It sounds easy, but the game is often designed to make the player feel more underpowered than anything. An enemy might have a shield to prevent you from marking them, for instance. Enemy placement might be in places that are risky to go to to attempt to mark the enemy to kill them. Even so, the game is relatively easy to learn for just about everyone. Mastering it, on the other hand, is the biggest challenge of the game. See, when you kill enemies or get special bonuses, you rack up a 'score' of sorts called 'kudos'. These kudos rise whenever you deal damage to an enemy with your gun or electricity. You can get additional bonus kudos through combat bonuses, such as double or triples (harder than it sounds), or air strikes, secret bonuses, etc. You are then ranked based on how many points you got at the end of the stage, and, depending on your time, the score is multiplied. C is the lowest rank you can get, and S+ is the highest. You'd think if you can get an S rank, an S+ rank is not too far off. But you couldn't be more wrong. The difference between an S and an S+ rank is not only simply not getting hit, but how efficient you are at slaying every enemy in the most efficient ways possible to rack up kudos combos. An example of this might be one stage that an S rank is required with 200k points, but an S+ is DOUBLE that amount. It's an insane challenge, but it's so incredibly satisfying when you work hard at it and finally get that S+ after memorizing stage patterns, paths, and where to execute doubles or triples to maximize your possible score. If there had to be one thing negative to say about Azure Striker Gunvolt, it's that it's tragically short, and casual players would beat it within a couple hours, but the replayability of this game is insane. Levels aren't tedious at all to repeat and go through over and over just to master it. It's not a chore at all, and you can accomplish some challenges to get some new parts for your character to do it again with upgrades to your character. And with the low, low price of $15 on the eShop, there is almost no excuse for any 3DS owner not to have this amazing game.

    TL;DR: It's only fifteen bucks. You owe it to yourself to buy this game.    … Full Review »
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