#Unless this game just came out after they decided to effectively get rid of GUN lol

[not-the-conversation-starter]

The GUN Soldiers are not exactly depicted as the good guys, they're depicted as the army fighting the aliens invading the earth. Literally anyone doing that is the good guys, such as Eggman's robots in certain levels. In the very beginning of the game there's a cutscene with Towers telling his soldiers to kill Shadow no matter what. This is partially because of his history with Shadow, but also because they didn't have any time to make it so the various enemies didn't attack you if you were working with them. (I know the exception, irrelevant)

This positions them as big dumb dumbs who happen to be fighting significantly worse guys during the events of the game. Who are still targeting you because they're also bad, following orders from an old man's irrational grudge. It's just never the hero thing to kill a guy fighting the aliens from hell who are blowing up random civilian cities. Not without like, an entire Ace Attorney sequence at least.

call me a conspiracy theorist but i wanna say that was def corporate tapping the devs on the shoulders like "hey you kinda made sonic and shadow too anti cop in sonic adventure 2. can you tone it down"

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Chapter 6: Let’s Play a Game (Overprotection)

Prev

AO3

Marinette ended up not staying for dinner. She talked to Bruce for a little bit, but he had to leave for some WE emergency and Marinette wasn’t really up to bonding with the boys- her brothers- yet. But that was fine. It wasn’t like she was desperate to get to know the man and wouldn’t be able to after this trip because she had to stay in Paris because of Hawkmoth. No, she wasn’t upset. Not at all. It didn’t hurt her feelings. Nope.

---

Walking into Madame Soleil's Wax Museum with Adrien by her side, Marinette is hit with a major wave of deja vu. And not a good deja vu. No, the memories of the last time she was in a wax museum with Adrien were awful, humiliating and- feeling a hand wrap around hers pulls her from her spiraling thoughts. Glancing down, Marinette tries (and fails) to hide her grin. Adrien is holding her hand. Adrien is holding her hand!

“Hey Marinette!” A familiar voice calls, a hand squeezing her shoulder, making Marinette squeal and whirl around.

“Dick? What are you doing here?” She asks, frowning at the boy- her brother- as he stands there with a huge smile.

“Well I heard that a new wax figure is being revealed today, and I thought I might come and see it.” He says with a nonchalant shrug.

“Really? Who?” Adrien asks. Dick’s smile twitches slightly as he glances at Marinette, making her frown. Was he seriously about to play the overprotective big brother card? Really?

“Jagged Stone.” Dick finally says, glancing at their entwined hands. Marinette tries hard not to roll her eyes. Come on, her crush is finally holding her hand and her brother (who she’s known for a day!) is seriously trying to ruin that for her?

“Oh cool! Do you think he’ll come to Gotham to see it, Mari?” Adrien asks.

“I think he’s definitely scheduled to make an appearance in Gotham in the next couple days. He’s picking up his new suit in person.” She whispers, grinning at the idea of seeing her “Uncle” in person again. He’d been touring for several months and she hadn’t been able to see him for awhile, just the occasional video call.

“So! What figures did you guys want to check out first?” Dick asks, wedging himself between the two and forcing Adrien to drop her hand. Glaring at her brother, Marinette scoffs when Dick just smiles innocently.

“The hall of heroes and villains sounds cool.” Adrien suggests, looking around Dick to see Marinette.

“Hmm. Okay, but if the Nightwing figure is in his disco costume, I reserve the right to melt the statue.” She says, frowning at the choked noise Dick makes. “Are you okay?” She adds.

“Oh, uh, yeah, yeah I’m fine. What’s 1so bad about that costume?” He asks, a hurt expression on his face.

“Have you even seen it? The only worse costume is Riddler’s.” Marinette says, adding a shudder for dramatic effect. Walking past the local celebrities room and the pop stars room, Marinette’s eyes widen as their small group walks into the hall of heroes and villains. Walking away from Dick and Adrien, she’s almost instantly drawn to the Batman figure. She reads the little plaque about the artist and frowns, turning to Dick who had moved to stand next to her.

“I thought it’d be taller.” She says, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion when Dick starts choking on air, gasping for breath as broken chuckles flood out of him. “Ookay then.” She mutters, turning and walking back towards the villains. Nightwing was, luckily, depicted in his most recent costume. As was Robin. Which meant the only real fashion tragedy (besides the god awful helmet Red Hood wore) was the Riddler. Pulling her sketchbook out, Marinette circles the wax figure, occasionally making notes and sketching out slight adjustments to the man’s costume.

“His costume might be terrible, but it’s still better than half of the akumas.” Adrien whispers, leaning over her shoulder. Marinette looks up at him, eyes wide as her face heats up with a blush.

“I, uh, um, yes. Yeah.” She says, trying not to wince at her lack of speaking skills. “I mean, at least we can rule out any fashion designer in Paris as Hawkmoth. Because if Hawkmoth was a designer, that’d almost be a bigger crime.” She adds, smiling as Adrien laughs.

“Good to know you’re not moonlighting as Hawkmoth, m’lady.” He says with a mock bow. Marinette snorts, then covers her mouth, embarrassment rushing over her. Adrien just shakes his head, wrapping an arm over her shoulders.

“In case you forgot, we’ve definitely seen each other at our most embarrassing.” He says, making her groan.

“Oh god, no. I tied us up with my yoyo!” She moans, turning and burying her face into his chest so she doesn’t have to look at him anymore. Her face heats up more when she feels him chuckle and wrap his arms around her.

“I’ve always thought that was paw-sitively adorable.” He says, laughing when she groans again. She pulls away slightly, looking up at him with a timid smile. He smiles back, starts to lean forward and-

“Hey guys! I heard they’re about to unveil the Jagged Stone figure. Come on, let’s go! Don’t wanna miss it.” Dick says, grabbing each of their hands and pulling them towards the exist (and successfully separating them again). Marinette tries not to glare at Dick. She’s about to have one less brother.

---

Dick Grayson wasn’t used to having a little sister that he could protect. Sure, he had a little sister. Cas was awesome, but she could also kick his ass without breaking a sweat. No, he’d never had a little sister to protect. Someone he could watch out for and support. But now….now he has Marinette. And he’ll be damned if he lets some little punk take advantage of his little sister. Ignoring Marinette’s glare, he positions himself right between her and...the boy. He’d need to ask Timmy to do a background check on the kid later. Especially if he thought he was good enough for Marinette.

“So are you guys big Jagged fans?” He asks, trying to pull the two back into a conversation. He narrows his eyes at the smile the kid gives Marinette. It’s too...adoring. Too much. She’s only...what, fourteen? Much too young to date. Especially this kid.

“Mari’s a bit of a fan, I think. But, personally, I much prefer Jagged’s designer.” He says, and Dick turns to him, missing the way Marinette’s face turns bright red.

“Are you talking about MDC? I love them! Their work is amazing! And Jagged Stone says that he’ll never have another designer. I heard that there’s a possibility of them opening their commissions again. God, I hope they do. I’d do anything for something made by MDC.” Dick rambles with a wide smile, deciding to ignore the kid for a minute in order to ramble about his favorite designer. As the group walks into the pop star room, Dick steps back and glares at the kid. He’d stepped just behind Dick and was apparently trying to hold Marinette’s hand again. Not on his watch. No siree. No one’s gonna hurt his little sister.

---

Bruce sighs, running his hands through his hair. He’d been checking the street cameras in Paris, trying to figure out what time Ladybug and Chat Noir patrol so that he can set up a meeting. Try and offer help, or maybe even offer to take control of the situation. Anything to get rid of Hawkmoth. But instead, it was like the heroes didn’t exist. He’d read reports of the heroes patrolling before, so why were they so quiet this week? The only akuma from the past couple days wasn’t even taken care of by both of them. Ladybug did it alone, and seemed worse for the wear when she came out of the battle. Where was Chat Noir? And why did it seem as though they had gone into hiding?

---

Marinette was five seconds away from committing her first murder. Okay, probably her only murder, unless her other brothers decide to be as involved in her love life as Dick is. Because Dick won’t have the chance to be a problem for much longer. Because Marinette was honestly going to kill him. Right as she turned to finally yell at him, and tell him to knock it off, the lights flickered. She pauses her tirade, glancing to gauge Dick’s reaction to see if this is normal. And if his worried glances back at her are anything to go by, this is not normal.

“Let’s play a game! Solve my riddles and you all can leave freely, but make a mistake and someone will pay greatly! Take one out and scratch my head, I am now black but once was red. What am I?” A man’s voice asks, Marinette frowning as the Riddler walks in, a wide smile on his face. Ten goons walk in behind him, all of them carrying guns. She was used to the akuma attacks almost every day, but didn’t Gotham’s rogues have anything better to do than attack every place her class went? With guns? Come on. Riddler smirks and points at Adrien with his cane.

“A match.” She blurts out, ignoring Dick frantically shaking his head. If nothing else, she should be able to work with Adrien to get everyone out. But she knew his style. And riddles weren’t really his thing.

“Oh goody. We have a volunteer. Tell me, what has to be broken before you can use it?” Riddler asks, stalking towards her. Thinking for a second, Marinette tries to suppress a smile.

“An egg.” She says. Riddler narrows his eyes.

“I have 13 hearts, but no lungs or stomach. What am I?” He asks, Marinette frowns, running through possible answers in her head.

“A deck of cards.” She finally says.

“Buzzy, come over here and hold onto our friend.” Riddler says, gesturing to one of the goons. The man comes over and grabs Marinette’s arm roughly, she winces. That’ll definitely bruise.

“I answered your riddles.” Marinette says, deciding that now's as good a time as any to start distracting the man.

“And how did you answer them so quickly?” He asks, the frustration clear on his face.

“What do you mean? Were they supposed to be hard?” Marinette taunts, ignoring the choked sound Dick makes behind her. She knew what she was doing. She did. She had to.

“Why you-” Riddler starts, stepping forward and pulling his hand back as if to hit her. Squeezing her eyes shut, Marinette waits for the slap. The slap never comes. Opening her eyes, Marinette’s jaw drops when she sees the Riddler’s fist held tightly in Dick’s hand.

“Don’t. Touch. Her.” He says lowly, a dark look on his face. Well that was unexpected. Riddler opens his mouth, probably to start spouting more riddles or other nonsense, when the goons blocking the exits drop. Noticing Red Robin and Red Hood picking off the other goons, Marinette throws her elbow back into the gut of the goon holding her. Not waiting for him to recover, Marinette stomps his foot and twists out of his grip. Grabbing his arm, Marinette manages to yank the man off balance and toss him to the ground. A hand on her shoulder makes her jump back and prepare to hit the person.

“Whoa, whoa, it’s okay ma’am.” The voice attached to the hand says. Marinette whirls around, ready to tell off the person, but immediately stops when she sees Red Robin.

“Sorry!” She yelps, jumping away from him. And she was too. She was determined to hit the person who grabbed her shoulder, so locked into battle mode, but she had managed to stop herself. Glancing around the room, Marinette notices Dick talking to Red Hood, his usual smile back on his face. That’s good. That’s normal, that’s right. The sudden blaring of the akuma alarm makes Marinette want to scream in frustration. Really, right now? It’s definitely already dark in Paris which means- Chat Noir. Ignoring everyone else, Marinette runs over to Adrien and grabs his hand.

“Akuma?” He asks, his voice low. She nods and tugs him towards the bathrooms, unaware of the eyes following them out.

Next

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @jayjayspixiepop @jjmjjktth @mizzy-pop @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @waiting247 @laurcad123 @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @imarivers8 @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks

[zora-moyashi]

First

<---Prev    Next

Core

A bright blue arrow shot at Chara, grazing her cheek.

ZM

blood dripped from her cheek as she followed the direction the arrow was thrown from

Core

She saw someone on the roof of the castle

ZM

"what's the big idea!" she calls taking a step towards the castle once again as a sort of taunt

Core

She saw that the person, a star to be assumed, had a bow like arm, and aimed it at Chara

ZM

"you dream?" she keeps going forward

Core

The star lowered their bow, they had messy blond hair and their left arm (the bow one) was covered in black. "Depends on who's asking."

ZM

"asking you clearly" she laughs

Core

"Look kid, I don't have the time or patience for these stupid games."

ZM

"hey hey hey i just want to check out the castle, soooooo" she goes a bit faster now

Core

She got an arrow threw her shoulder. "No one likes a smart*ss."

ZM

"aghssss" she hisses as the pain holding the arrow and mumbles out through her teeth "so i've heard." she glares at the star.

Core

"Tell me why you want to enter." The Star demanded

ZM

"to. look. around." she says sternly and rips out the arrow messing up her shoulder pretty badly. she can't heal herself so she just deals with it after burning the wound to stop the bleeding.

Core

The star growled, "fine, but if you touch anything, you're dead."

ZM

"whatever." She pushes open the castle doors and is met with a courtroom with broken chandeliers and stairs with almost all the carpet ripped off

Core

There were lots of crooks and crannies, and rafters on the ceiling. tons of hiding places....

ZM

'maybe I should just let her kill me so this pain can stop' she thinks looking at her shoulder. 'when was my last save..?' she can't quite remember. "What a pretty place~ I wonder is stars are hiding in here."

Core

Killer teleported behind Chara. "Hey,

ZM

"hey, decided to join?" She grins

Core

"That and here." Killer said, showing she can make save points.

ZM

"ooo you're just full of surprises." She touches the save and she heals completely. "That dream character was untrusting, I assume she's hiding something here."

Core

"Well, that's correct. She has kits."

ZM

"everyone has kits danggg like wow"

Core

"I don't and her kits are much older."

ZM

"how much older?" She climbs up the stairs and starts shoving planks away from some holes in the walls finding not much but spiders.

Core

"two years." Killer said, keeping an ear out for the corrupted Dream

ZM

"That means they're the size of tweens or what?"

Core

"Around the size of a 5 year old human."

ZM

"alright," she does more snooping. One room caught her eye in particular most of the floor was missing. The floor below was below completely dark she walked from plank to plank seeing a small spiral staircase at the end of the room.

Core

She herd giggling coming from down the stairs

ZM

she turns to the stairs. "hey? you want to come out?" she moves things around absent minded.

Core

The giggling went silent. Killer grabbed Chara as an arrow almost hit her

ZM

"woo~" she yells "do that again!" she was impressed with her reflexes. she looks around for the one who shot the arrow.

Core

Killer moved quickly, dodging more arrows, Dream was on the rafters

ZM

"we didn't reallllly touch anything you know? we ain't gonna hurt anything!"

Core

"That's bullsh*t." Dream hissed.

ZM

"hm. if you're gonna treat us like that then yeah, you're probably right."

Core

Killer set Chara down before grabbing her knife.

ZM

chara followed suit looking at dream ready to doge more shots.

Core

Killer jumped up to the rafters, ready to cut throat

ZM

chara grins and hops over to look for the kit she heard while killer keeps dream busy.

Core

The downstairs 'basement' area was mostly empty except for some support pillars. Behind a pillar she did notice a bit of fabric poking out

ZM

she goes up to the pillers

And she looks behind the one with the fabric

Core

She saw two kits, they looked to be around 5. one was a boy, with black hair, the other was a girl

ZM

"hey there~" she smiles and waves "your mom's trying to kill me"

Core

The young male hissed. KIller soon came down the stairs

ZM

"geez don't be mean, I'm just saying hi." she looks to killer, "you kill her? cause i don't think night would like that"

Core

Killer showed Chara a yellow stone, about the size of one's eye, part of it seemed to have black corrosion on part of it..

ZM

"well there you go." with a shrug she turns her attention to the kids and kneels on the floor "your mom's recharging. how about we go on a little adventure?" she asks

Core

the blond kit looked at her brother. "bad." she whispered

ZM

she snickers "haha what?" she grins while folding her arms. "i'm not bad!" she shrugs "well, mostly not bad."

Core

The two didn't seem to trust Chara and Killer

ZM

she giggles to herself. "okayyy but don't you want to get out of the castle and go make some friends? you must get board in here right?"

Core

"Y-yeah." the male said

ZM

"exactly! yuma here has a lot of friends she could introduce you to and you guys can look at a cool abandoned city. no reason not to go~"

Core

The male seemed to like this idea, while the girl wasn't sure.

ZM

she stands and looks at the girl "what do ya say?"

Core

The boy nodded

ZM

"good enough for me, let's go!" she slides down the stair rail and heads out the door without waiting for the others.

Core

Killer handed Chara the stone. "Since you haven't seen one before." The boy tagged behind, the girl slowly following

ZM

thanks she takes it. "how do youuuu know i've never held one?" she squints at her before rolls the stone around in her hand. "it's a little weird holding someone's soul." the color intrigued her maybe only because she's never seen a multi-colored soul.

Core

"Well, she'll reform in a few hours, and hers is different, it's corroded like Nightmare's."

ZM

what's this corrosion really mean for a star?

Core

it's the corrosion from the dark fruit.

ZM

"does it have any negative side effects besides, like, being evil ahaha." she kicks some rocks and takes a glance back at the kits.

Core

The kits were following. "makes it harder for them to respawn."

ZM

"hey! good for us!" she puts a finger to her chin in thought. "i think we should introduce them to horror, what do you say?"

Core

"Bad idea, Horror is a cannibal."

ZM

"i thought you all were cannibals. like just part of a genocide star thing"

Core

"Nah, I'm not, nor is LJ or Moku.'

ZM

"wooooah." she stops. " LJ's a star??? i thought she's human?"

Core

"Well, she's kinda both, I mean, she isn't a real star, but isn't like other humans

ZM

"pfft," she scoffs "she just has to be more special than she already was i suppose. I'm not even gonna ask what's up with her, it'll just upset me. so let's go see moku than?" she tilts her head.

Core

"Sure." Killer said

ZM

they head over with the kids close behind they mutter things to each other about what they think moku's like. they're at the forest where nightmare was before. chara wonders if she'll show up or not. "moku?" she calls out a

Core

"What." Mokue hissed.

ZM

"we're saying 'hi'" she says in the same tone as her

Core

Moku saw the kits, "where the he-" she growled before grabbing her rifle

ZM

"woah woah woah what the hell! what's your damage moku?" she moves in front of the kits

Core

"It's called getting rid of future competition." Moku hissed

ZM

"well cut it out they're just kids! they want to make some friends." she glares at her her eyes flashing red.

Core

Moku made her eyes flash as well, one turned red the other yellow

ZM

she takes a step forward. "you know these are dream's kits. night won't be pleased with your little extermination plan."

Core

Moku growled, setting the rifle to the side; she knew chara was right

ZM

"that's right." she huffs and steps away from the kits and looks if they're alright.

Core

They seemed confused, but where fine, Killer was arguing with horror

ZM

chara shakes her head after looking to horror. "everyone's out to get you two. what a pain. I'd take you somewhere more pleasant but i don't have the power to." she looks back at moku being sure to keep the gun out of her line of sight. "so hey, you gonna play nice and show these two around or is that job up to me?"

Core

"I know a spot to hide them." Moku said

ZM

"mm? lead the way if you want" she checks the soulstone that's in her pocket seeing no real change so she follows moku.

Core

Moku walked, a pistol on her belt

Core

She led then to a hidden grotto

ZM

when they get to the clearing chara's eyes like up she loves the area. she puts her hands to her face and grins. "it's prettyyy"

Core

"Well, I found it a while ago."

ZM

"this where you go when you have nothing to do for nightmare?" chara makes a small ball of green-blue magic and bounces it. she tosses one to the kits as well

Core

The boy caught it and gave it to his sister. "nah, this is just where I hide my stuff."

ZM

"i see," she looked around the place to see what she had

Core

There was three sketchbooks, a journal, some old targets, and old trickets

ZM

may I?" she walks over to the sketchbooks.

Core

"I guess, nothing but just a bunch of doodles."

ZM

she picks one up and flips to a page she likes being gentle with the pages

Core

There was sketches of strange flora and fauna, the majority were drawn very realistically.

ZM

"they're good, i'll give you that." she finds a flower that she likes a lot that has jagged edged pedals with stripes going out from the center

Core

Moku shrugged, "they're decent enough, anyway, how far do you plan on trying to work yourself up?"

ZM

"all the way!" she jokes putting the sketchbook down "what do you know about any of that? does my demeanor just scream 'i wanna be strong'?"

Core

Moku actually snickered. "You're an idiot, look, here is how things go down during the blood moon. all genocide stars meet up, to establish the pecking order, one is not allowed to kill another unless it is for the role of alpha, which currently is held by Blood. Now, if one wishes to go up the ranks, they have to force those higher up in the ranks to retreat to their soulstone.if you don't have a soulstone, well, don't lose." Moku explained.

ZM

"well moku, i have more in common with you stars than you may think. i won't die, i will be able to win. i've my own powers that nearly guarantee eventual victory."

Core

You can't just fight the same person again and again, you get one chance, which is why you should try to learn your opponents weaknesses." Moku explained

ZM

"moku moku moku" she shakes her head. "you all will feel like it'd be my first time. but it'd be the final time when i win. none of you except perhaps cross or killer would be able to even know i'd done anything remotely fishy. time travel's fun like that." she squints "unless you're telling me that along with one of the highest cyan abilities of teleportation you all also have the highest red ability of time manipulation. because in that case hell why do i even try." she laughs

Core

"Well, you see, when Cross first, well went rouge she tried something similar, I wasn't alive yet, but I learned about this quickly, mainly because I tried to take her place. anyway, one has to be unpredictable, uncertain of what they will even do, if anything during the blood moon is the one time we all can lose control. So even if we don't notice, others will, and can interfere." Moku explained. "Some may be able to change your save point, so still, besides, if you can outsmart your opponent, no need to die over and over."

ZM

"smarts are over rated" she waves her advice away and folds her arms "are you trying to help me or somethin?"

Core

"Actually, yes. You see, most of the others despise me, and others similar to me, since we weren't born, rather created by a version of Gaster who studied genetic data." Moku said

ZM

"i don't see the issue with that. it's like mewtwo lol. people, monsters, stars, or whatever can be so stupid! but frankly you helping me won't make anyone like you more. if you're just helping cause 'm one of the few that don't hate you, than you should probably rethink your objective." she studies her face "what are you really after?"

Core

Moku glanced at Chara, "Anarchy." She smirked sadistically, "with you in the ranks, it is only a matter of time til the file gets corroded, then one just needs to make sure a certain squid can't repair it~" She replied

ZM

chara looks pleased with this response. if she can get rid of this whole universe's file that would eliminated almost all stars she’s come into contact with. making it that much easier to climb to the most powerful in all of the multiverse. "intriguing," she nods

"i'm all for some anarchy, but how does this help you? you just wanta see everyone suffer?":

Core

"Well, once this world gets destroyed, I won't I have a separate coding, so, it just gets rid of the compition

ZM

"fair, fair~ do what you want moku, i'll help you out whenever it's convenient." she looks over to the kits. "y'all didn't hear anything by the way." she grins and shakes a finger. like anyone would believe a couple of kits anyway. chara's impressed with all of the secret alliances she's become a part of, makes her happy to shake things up a bit.

"as far as me being able to climb the ranks i have my own ways so no need to worry. i'll be ready by the blood moon."

Core

"well, avoid any outcodes." oku said, "as for these two," she referred to the kits, "they can stay here."

ZM

"cool," she turns to the kits "you guys chill out here i'll be back a bit latter." looking back at moku. "no promises on staying away from outcodes." she waves and starts to walk out of the grotto. "ciao," seeing as her time frame just got chopped way shorter and she has no intention of giving her body over for some star to control she's hatching a bit more of a risky idea for the short term.

Next

[operationrainfall]

Title Luminous Avenger iX Developer Inti Creates Publisher Inti Creates Release Date September 26th, 2019 Genre Action platformer Platform PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One Age Rating T for Teen – Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco Official Website

I’ve been a fanboy on the Gunvolt bandwagon long before Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX. Not only did I play the first two games, but I also reviewed them both on the site. So in case there was any concern about my credibility talking about the series, let’s put that to rest. The initial question I had when I heard about Luminous Avenger iX was how far after the second game it took place. As I played, other significant questions came up, though there’s not much I can discuss for fear of spoilers. That said, I will do my best to touch upon those issues for other fans, as well as tackling the gameplay itself. While I’m still a fan of the Gunvolt series after Luminous Avenger iX, there’s also a few bumps in the road I need to address.

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As I stated above, it’s unclear how long after Gunvolt 2’s events that Luminous Avenger iX takes place, but things have definitely taken on new urgency. Now, Adepts are completely in power, and go so far as to hunt down and execute un-powered humans, referred to as Minos. Whereas I used to think of the Azure Striker Gunvolt series as a nod to Mega Man, now I can’t help but notice the similarity to the X-Men. In a way it’s a reverse of that comic series, a world where the super powered rule over the weak with cruelty. At the head of this dynamic is the Sumeragi Institute for the Promotion of Human Evolution, which is a group that should sound familiar to fans of the games. It’s not clear how this came to be, nor where Gunvolt himself is, but Copen’s not about to sit back and watch this atrocity continue. While his primary goal is to find the source of something called the Butterfly Effect, he also elects to protect a group of young street urchin Minos. Despite his often caustic and emotionless exterior, I found this was consistent with his personality. After all, he himself is technically a Mino, and his hatred has always been against Adepts. The key difference between him and your average Mino is his technical genius, which let him build Lola to copy and utilize Septima powers through mechanical means.

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Much like Inti did with previous series such as Mega Man Zero, each installment of the Gunvolt games has become slightly less hardcore and more welcoming to players of various experience levels. That is true in Luminous Avenger iX. An example of this is that the game has gotten rid of individual achievements. You still get graded after each level, so worry not if you’re a hardcore completionist. It’s just now you don’t have to worry about satisfying other arbitrary requests. Much like the last game, I found it somewhat easier to get a good score than in the original Gunvolt game, but not so easy I ever felt I wasn’t working for it. I got plenty of B’s, a few A’s and even one shining S+. The reason it’s still a challenge is that the gameplay is pretty similar to the most recent game, meaning that the bosses are still quite challenging.

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In case you need a refresher course, the game keeps the trend of tagging and then blasting foes. For Copen, you tag foes by literally dashing into them. You have a small window of invincibility when you connect, so you’re encouraged to be aggressive, but don’t be so aggressive you accidentally wander into enemy fire. When you tag a foe, it uses up a Bullit, of which you have 3. Once you’re out of Bullits, your Prevasion turns off, meaning you can take damage again. So combat is a tight balance of dashing into foes, hitting them with homing rounds, avoiding getting hit and rinsing and repeating. One nice new change is if you reload your Bullits in mid-air, you’ll charge down to the ground with a crash capable of breaking objects. Though you’ll have to be careful using it, since if you don’t land on solid ground, it’s game over.

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I’ve said previously how much I enjoy playing as Copen, and that’s still true. He’s fast, furious and frankly brutal. Coupled with Lola’s Septima EX weapons, he’s a veritable Swiss Army Knife of mayhem. Even then, playing him requires great reflexes and better strategy, especially against the bosses. One thing that’s changed from previous games is Copen can’t use credits to buy new active combat abilities. There is a Customize screen, where you can buy things like additional Bullits. You can also buy passive modifiers, such as Regenerator, which restores Copen’s health when he uses his SP Skill, or OD Guard Up, which halves damage when in Overdrive mode. If I sound a bit uncertain about these, it’s cause I didn’t purchase any of them during my playthrough. I like playing a game in as pure a form as possible, and for me that meant learning to master Copen without any extra helping hand. That said, if you’re the sort that likes to tinker, there’s a multitude of options for you to try out. If you’re feeling brave, you can also try out Lola’s new Darkness Trigger, which puts her in berserk mode, attacking with random EX skills until her meter depletes.

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While the combat is most definitely one of the biggest draws in Luminous Avenger iX, it would be meaningless without exhilarating boss fights. This game assuredly carries on that tradition, as it does the pattern of having 7 main Adept bosses you confront. While I normally don’t cover these in detail, I feel I should touch upon all seven Falcons real quick. First let’s talk about Rebellio. He’s on death row for crimes he committed, and Sumeragi decides to offer him a deal – kill Copen and live. His Septima is Energy Wool, which lets him create crimson constructs out of thin air, such as mace balls, gatling guns and more. As for his appearance, he looks like nothing so much as a very angry Ram. Then there’s Crimm, a psychopath who loves explosions and considers himself an artist. His Detonation Septima lets him rain pure destruction wherever he desires, gesturing with crustacean limbs while protected by a circular shield. Then there’s Stella. She may look like a floozy and talk like a sailor, but she’s actually the president of an electronics manufacturer. Her Septima is Gravity, which not only gives her the power to alter your movement, but to also manifest dangerous buzzsaws and energy beams. Of all the Adepts in this game, her transformation is the most mechanical, making her look like a living blade.

More Falcons on Page 2 ->

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If you think Stella’s a hard case, then you should see her android manservant, Dystnine. He’s the only robot capable of using Septima, other than Lola, and his is particularly strange. His transformation makes him look like a mix between a unicorn and a bullfighter, and his Vectored Cloth Septima allows for some very interesting tricks, such as blocking attacks and tangling you up. Beyond just being a skilled fighter, he’s also completely loyal to Stella, to almost a romantic degree. Or take one of my personal favorites, Isola, who is essentially an evil Idol. Think Hatsune Miku but pink and insane, and you’re on the right track. Her Septima is Companion, and while you might not think she’s that dangerous, you’d better watch out before Isola shatters you with bright pink lights and holograms. If you feel like a tough guy, you can try on Bakto for size. He’s essentially a Yakuza boss, and his Spiral Septima turns him into a fierce, blue lion man. Lastly, there’s Blade. Blade is incredibly powerful, and doubly so when outraged and in berserk mode. Unlike the other Falcons, Blade seems to not be entirely in control of their actions. But don’t let that lower your defenses, since you’ll need all your skills to beat this recurring boss character.

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Frankly, I really enjoyed all the Falcons in the game, and felt they added a lot of personality and depth to the story. Especially since they reveal how diabolical Sumeragi has become. Most of the Falcons are only working for Sumeragi cause they’re forced to. Hell, Rebellio is on death row unless he can finish the job. Despite being in power, this shows how out of control and desperate they have become, a fact which becomes painfully apparent very late in the game. I can’t say why, but once you find out the truth behind the Butterfly Effect, you’ll hate Sumeragi with a burning passion. And by the very end of the game, you’ll question a good many things about the Gunvolt universe.

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As much as I loved the Falcons, I’m not sure I can say the same for all the Minos. They’re all adorable, especially self proclaimed pixie leader, Kohaku, but they just don’t feel that relevant in the game. Sure, Kohaku and her history serves a purpose, but the rest of them kind of feel like kawaii Charles Dickens knockoffs. Maybe if they got a bit more development I wouldn’t feel that way, but frankly I feel this is a pattern in the Gunvolt series. We get introduced to a new band of side characters each time, and very few of them actually matter. Which is a shame, since there’s so much I otherwise enjoy about the games.

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Visually, I can easily say Luminous Avenger iX is the most beautiful game in the series. Everything is bold, colorful and full of detail. Though I would never call the original 3DS graphics ugly, everything is so much better on Switch. Even the menus are attractive, and I really like the portrait art as well. As for the sound design, it’s also fantastic. The music is dynamic and draws you in, and the sound effects pop with personality. One of my favorite changes here is that now dialogue happens at set points in the level, and NEVER during combat. This is such a great improvement, and shows Inti Creates listens to fan feedback. It doesn’t hurt that all the voice actors in this game are tremendously talented. If we were grading this game just on the artistry, it would easily get a perfect score.

I know typos happen, but they still take me out of the experience…

Sadly, there are a few areas I feel Luminous Avenger iX falls short. Firstly, it really bothers me that I’m not sure if this game has different endings, as is tradition. While I can’t go into reasons why this bothers me, suffice it to say that some of the late game revelations really have me scratching my head. I would almost go so far as to suspect this game takes place in an alternate universe, it’s that big. But without knowing that for sure, it’s hard to ascertain how much I enjoyed the story at large. Another area that my lack of clarity irritated me was with the Bonus Medals. There’s 4 in each stage, and I’d love to tell you what they do, but I have no idea. While it’s true I did apparently unlock some Special Missions at some point in the game, I’m pretty sure that had nothing to do with the Medals. A more substantial gripe I have is with the translation. I usually don’t point out this sort of thing in the games I’m fond of, but it’s unavoidable here. Not only do some characters have very awkward grammatical flubs, there’s also some weird Westernization that occurs. I mentioned Bakto early, and how he’s essentially a Yakuza boss. I said “essentially” since in the game, he’s called a Mafia boss. Problem is, everything about him screams Yakuza, from his name to his demeanor. This wouldn’t bother me, except for the fact Inti Creates usually waves their Japan flag pretty high and proud. It just struck me as awkward to change that sort of thing, especially since fans of the series can tell what’s up. Lastly, a recurring issue I have is with the leveling system. It still feels too passive and unnecessary to me. It’d be one thing if leveling up did more than increase your base health, such as opening up modifiers you can equip or something. As it is, I just don’t feel that’s necessary at all for a game this fast paced and frenetic.

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I did truly enjoy Luminous Avenger iX, but I can’t help but feel it wasn’t consistently awesome in every regard. The plot left more questions than it answered, and while the combat was definitely a lot of fun, I wanted more of it. Perhaps that’s because the last game had two protagonists instead of just one, but regardless there should have been something more to keep me playing. I managed to beat the entire game in a little over 3 hours, though I spent another 2 and change to try and find a secret ending. While I didn’t succeed in unlocking any new endings, there is still a bit of replay value. Those who like to tinker can unlock a lot of customization options, and truly hardcore fans can try and get an S+ for each stage. There’s also the aforementioned Special Missions, which are basically remixed forms of stages with harder boss fights. For $14.99, you still get an amazing game with Luminous Avenger iX. I just hope that the next adventure does more to explain the setting of this title, as well as to expand on the areas the series already excels.

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[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″]

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

REVIEW: Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX Title Luminous Avenger iX